Returning: Long-range sniper or Ninja Assassin

If you find yourself missing your targets in the return, ask yourself: "am I a long-range sniper or a Ninja Assassin?" Sometimes, I find that a student is missing too many returns off totally playable serves. The standard question often is: where were you aiming? The standard answer is (pointing at a particular spot on the court): there or there.

For the most part when returning, the fact is that the server controls the point (at least in the later stages of your development). This means that even if your forehand is a weapon, so is his serve. Using a hyperbole, your forehand may be a bazooka but it's usually trumped by the A-bomb posed by the serve. Therefore, when missing the serve, remember to throttle back your ego and play smart.

Instead of aiming for targets on the other side of the net, aim for imaginary targets ON TOP OF THE NET. Instead of being like a long range-sniper, get up close and personal with your intended target. In other words, aim for something closer to you. Know that if you hit the target on top of the net, the ball will follow its intended trajectory and find its ultimate target on the other side of the court. To put it another way, if you had a gun, would you rather shoot a target that's 15 feet away or a target that's 50 feet away?! If you've ever fired a weapon, you know that the bullet will drop due to gravity and wind resistance. The further the target is, the more adjustments you have to make. Furthermore, you only have a split second to make these adjustments since your "bullet" (I.e., ball) is a moving target itself making it all the more imperative that you bring the target closer.

So learn from the Ninja Assassin and bring your target closer for the definite kill. To practice this, thread broomsticks or PVC pipes through the net and aim for them initially. Keep a mental check of where the ball landed in comparison with your close target. When you're in a match situation, you will have developed a feel for how you need to strike a certain ball in order for it to reach its ultimate spot.

Steal This Drill: Minefield Tennis

Do you find yourself losing points because you're too far away from the ball?! Maybe you're too far away from the middle of the court? Perhaps your opponent has managed to yank you side-to-side and you find yourself in the proverbial vineyard inspecting next year's crops. This can be attributed to a number of factors (which can be independent of each other): you are slow; you are not good at reading your opponent's intentions; you are not comfortable recovering or don't know how to properly recover in the first place. Another possibility is that you have not develop a keen sense of court awareness. The top players - see Federer, for example - have spent so many hours on the court that the map of the court is ingrained in their psyche. In many ways, they are like ballroom dancers who feel their steps around the room without looking down. Similarly, the tennis players know exactly how far they are from the the center of the court and when they are getting dangerously close to overstepping their comfort zone. In other words, in their 10,000 hours of training they have covered so much ground that they are intimately familiar with every square inch of the court. Furthermore, they know that when they reach certain zones, they are likely to lose the point as their opponents are utterly ruthless; they punish poor positioning and actively work to create it one behalf of their opponents.

Besides spending 10,000 hours running side to side, up and back as well as diagonally, is there a quick way to learn proper court positioning?! Answer: come on! This is CAtennis.com! Quick-fixes and band-aid practices are for the DVD hucksters. What we can show you, however, is an effective way to learn. Take "minefield tennis" for example. At the higher levels, chances are that if you ever find yourself in one of the spots designated by the red "Xs", you will lose the point. If you're too deep, the opponent will hit a deft drop-shot. If you're too far to the side, the opponent will bomb the ball the other way - sometimes deep, other times with a short angle. So, like any good soldier, learn to read the lay of the land. Set up a parameter of "mines" around the court... 15ft deep; 5th away from the sidelines; all around the court in a half circle - even off-court and short. Play points where you lose the point automatically if you step on one of these mines. The key is to practice being "tethered" to the middle of the court - like Federer - so that you're never too far away from having a decent play on the next shot. Sometimes, this means scrambling; hitting shots from a deep lunge; moving low to the ground; maybe even jumping ala Marcelo Rios. Since your opponent is actively trying to get you out of the comfort zone, don't give him too many looks at an open court; hit and recover. If you spot an oncoming shot that you think may take you away from your center of gravity, figure out the most effective shot you can hit so that you remain close to your base...instead of backing up 15steps, maybe taking 5 steps in is a more effective and efficient strategy.

Bob Brett: 5 Qualities To Hang On Your Bedroom Wall

From a recent interview, Bob Brett shared 5 characteristics of a champion.  It's safe to say Bob Brett is a humble spirit who possesses a wealth of experience from working with world class players on the tour.  His notable players include Becker, Ivanisevic, Medvedev, Ancic, and Cilic.  The most impressive quality about Bob is the length of time he worked with each player.  

Here are the 5 qualities of a champion according to Bob Brett:

1) World class talent.  The ability to learn. The ability to see the court.  Intuitive skills.

2) Play one's best when it counts the most.  

3) Be able to push one's self to do the right thing.  How strong is one's character to do the things one does not want or like to do. Do the right thing with one's behavior, training, and to stay disciplined.  

4) To overcome difficulty.  It could be injury, confidence, keeping one's mind through it all.   

5) Loyalty to what you want to do.  Believe what you are doing is the right thing and what you want to do. Choosing the right people to work with and trusting them, not turning to someone else when difficulty comes.  Disruptions in coaching break develop and one should be cautious of such changes.  The best players had very few coaches.  

After reading through the list, let's discuss each point in how it relates to junior/college players.

1) World class talent- yes, one could argue each player is born with it or not.  However, if one has a high ability to learn (love for the game) and willing to put in the time (10,000 hours), they can reach their own potential. Most juniors/college players do not have the ability to LEARN HOW TO LEARN.  Without love or thirst for learning (just give up!), tennis is too hard.  To the PARENTS- just give up and stop fighting a losing battle if your dreams are to make your child something he isn't (big time D1 scholarship or world class player).  

2)  Play one's best when it counts the most- This one you can't teach, but it can be helped along by putting kids into pressure situations more often.  This includes dominating your own age division before moving up, not ducking tournaments, playing all the tournaments regardless if you are #1 seed, playing atleast 8-10 practice sets a week against people at your OWN LEVEL, and not substituting lessons for matchplay. Have to practice being in pressure situations.  Non-PRESSURE situations include jetting around the world playing ITFs, chasing points at National Junior Events, playing Professional events, ducking Nationals after you signed with a college, taking lessons over matchplay, etc.  

3)  Be able to push one's self to do the right thing- This comes down to character and usually the guidance and parenting a child receives.  Be honest, don't cheat, be self-motivated...all qualities of someone of high character.  Children look to copy their role models (other good players, so beware if they are acting like idiots), parents, and coaches.  

4)  To overcome difficulty- again, this is a character issue.  The parents can help foster a child to respond to difficulty in an encouraging way.  

5)  Loyalty- again, not looking to place the blame on others but yourself if things don't go your way.  Starts with the parents again.   

Notice how Bob Brett didn't talk about forehands, backhands, serves, and spin ratio on the slice backhand (that ain't it!).  Enjoy!

Can Your Trainer Move Like a Cat? Teaching Pro?

There are different types of movers in today's game and they all have their strengths. Djokovic is extremely flexible, sliding around the court. Nadal is a powerful runner, heavily pushing off the ground to explode on defense. But Federer is the lightest of them all, barely touching the ground, dancing on his toes. The way Federer moves is extremely efficient, spending very little time on the ground (less friction with the court surface), making very little noise (like a cat sneaking up on its prey).

I would argue many trainers have never played the game of tennis before. Tennis is unlike any other sport where the movement is 360 degrees and unpredictable in nature. I pose this question: how many trainers have moved with the gracefulness and ease of a world class tennis player? Do they know what it feels like to move like a cat? I would argue they do not know firsthand. Bless their heart, I'm sure they are wonderful people and knowledgeable trainers, but you will naturally copy what you see/learn/immerse yourself in. Big problem!

The great news is there is a solution and it doesn't require any coaching or fancy $50 training sessions! Listen up ELEPHANT STOMPERS, this is for you:

1) Find a box 12 to 18 inches high (or make it out of plywood 12 x 12 x 12 inches). Practice jumping on it as softly as you can, making no noise! Practice jumping OFF of it as softly as you can, making no noise! Absorb the power with your legs and absorb the sound.  

2) High knees for 10 yards. NO NOISE, balls of your feeet. Light light light.

3) Butt kicks for 10 yards. NO NOISE. Minimize friction on the ground, don't burn a hole in your shoes.

These are the most basic and simplistic exercises, but have you done them with this sort of awareness?  Now this is just scratching the surface, but the point is to start moving like a cat in the jungle. I must not hear you. Pride yourself in being different from everyone else. Practice walking around the house as light as possible. Take this with you to the tennis court. See how many weeks you can go without wearing out your tennis shoes. Play barefoot and you will understand how to absorb the power when you are in the corners of the court or chasing down a dropshot (or else you will have bloody feet).  

Injuries can be prevented from more efficient moving. Less wear and tear on the body. Better tennis and happier muscles!

Give Yourself a Heart-Attack for Better Serves

OK, no, not really! This would be a terrible idea and you are advised against it. However, on a tennis-note, have you ever wondered why your serves always break down in a match but you're virtual maestro in practice? Well, let's think about it for a second...when do you practice your serves? In the middle of the workout? At the beginning? The end? Do you sprinkle serves throughout your practice? Of course not. If you're like the majority of players taking lessons, you will spend 52.5 minutes working on your ground-strokes and then finish your workout with a couple of minutes of serves. Even if you are extremely motivated and practice serves for 20-30 minutes at a time, you could still use some tweaking in your method in order to get the most out of your serves in a match.

Here's the deal: when you play points, you are likely to move... sometimes a lot. The movement takes a physical toll on your body. You will breathe harder and maybe even break a sweat. To keep up with a higher demand of your muscles and lungs, your heart will start beating more vigorously in order to supply more oxygenated blood and glucose (i.e. energy) to your cells (at least, this is what we remember from that one day we stayed awake during high-school Biology class). To summarize, when you're actually playing points your heart works hard(er).

Conversely, when you're working on your serves in practice, you are doing it at a relatively resting heart rate. You hit a serve... you walk back to baseline... you think about your motion... you bounce the ball... wait for an airplane to pass; etc. If you were getting ready for serving at a County Fair, this is the type of exercise that you would require. However, when you're playing a match, your opponent has something to say about the state of your cardiovascular system when you're executing the motion. Your opponent doesn't toss the ball for you or tell you where to hit the serve but if he's made you play a long, hard point beforehand, he will have a say regarding the quality of your serve... unless, of course, you practice hitting serves with a slightly elevated heart rate thereby training your system to respond better to stressful situations.

With this in mind, if you are committed to improving your serve under pressure, try this next time you work on your serves: incorporate some form of physical exercise between serves. For example, hit a serve and do 5 burpees; hit a serve and do 5 kangaroo jumps; hit two serves and then shadow-swing 8 side-to-sides; hit a serve a sprint to the service line and back; etc. The key is to train yourself to hit serves when you're tired; when you're winded; when your brain lacks sufficient oxygen to make smart decisions. By giving yourself these mini heart-attacks, you will be a lot more prepared for dealing with serving at a key point while your heart is pounding out of your chest. This skill is particularly important when the rest time between points is not sufficient to bring your heart rate back down to normal levels - which tends to happen quite often the higher level you play.