Mix Things Up in Practice in Order to Better Understand Basic Concepts

Sometimes it's frustrating to go through the same drills and concepts over and over again and not make any progress. It's not always the player's fault and it doesn't have to be the coach's fault either. The communication process takes place through various "filters" in that what the coach thinks is not always what he says, what he says is not always what the player hears, and what the player fears is not always what the player understands. So even with a two-person team, it's lot like playing telephone. Often times, coaches are advised to tell the players the same things but in different ways since not everybody associates a sequence comprised of the same terms in exactly the same way.

Take, for example, a basic concept such as "stepping in". It's not unreasonable to think that players hear this on a day-in and day-out basis. For the most part, they understand what it means - use the forward momentum of the body to hit the ball. That is, don't wait for the ball to come to you; go to it. Simple enough. But is it, really?! A lot of players tend to "step in" but leave their bodies behind. It seems as if the legs are going forwards, but the body doesn't follow suit resulting in the upper body leaning backwards - thereby sending the ball flying. In these cases, I remind the players that "stepping in" is not good enough; they must also "lean in". So I have them grasp this concept by stepping in and then leaning against the fence (or wall). Similarly, I try to demonstrate that by stepping in and leaning back, you can be thrown off balance with the tip of a finger. In other words, these players come to understand that stepping in is not enough; they have to also manipulate their weight into the ball. 

Again, a lot of times coaches repeat the same things over and over again expecting the correct result with every player. Some people are more intuitive than others so they more readily understand the basic concepts. Other players, however, need to be coached in a different manner. On many occasions, I put players in a swimming pool (with a plastic bag over an old racket) in order for them to understand how the ball is supposed to "dip" below the level of the ball, and then "push through the water" towards the contact point. When dealing with players who lack acceleration, I sometimes have them alternate between pulling rubber bands (or surgical tubing) or throwing medicine balls and hitting groundstrokes. Or, to practice volleys, have the players alternate between using foam baseball bats and tennis racket (to correct over-swinging). 

This is really not that new of a concept. Many players have been taught to serve by throwing wooden rackets over the net (or on a grass field) before hitting serves. However, it seems that the artistry of figuring out different ways to "get to" the player has been lost or diluted over time. Ultimately, tennis is fun and learning it should not be a monotonous burden. Try mixing things up in order to develop a better understanding of the basic concepts. 

Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

"Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road" (Voltaire)

This quote about conformity says a lot about who we are as a species and it's a good one to remember when you're trying to develop yourself as a tennis player. In the teenage years, you will have to deal with a lot of pressures from your peers and it will be almost impossible to resist. You must, however, be different than your peers if you are to succeed at tennis. 

In many ways, tennis players are really very different from other athletes and, more importantly, non-athletes. Our sport requires both skill and athleticism. Furthermore, you are very isolated when you are on the court since it's usually just you and the opponent. I would say that tennis players and boxers have to deal with similar psychological obstacles except that in tennis there is no corner-person to guide you through the next round. Therefore, you need to learn to think for yourself and, in this regard, you need to become your own best friend. Unfortunately, a lot of tennis players become influenced by negative persons in their lives. People tend to be jealous of the amount of travel that you do, the coverage that you get in the local newspaper, the school announcements outlining your achievements as well as the attention that you get from the opposite sex. Many will try to drag you down in order to make themselves feel better about their own inadequacies. You will often hear how you're following a silly dream and how uncool you are for not "hanging out" or for foregoing the prom to play a tennis tournament. Resist these naysayers will all your energy!

If you care about tennis, I strongly recommend surrounding yourself with positive influences - be it athletes, artists or scholars. Positive attitudes (just like negative ones) feed off, and build upon, themselves. If people feel that they have something to lose, they will tend to make better decisions in the course of their lives. There is nothing more tragic than having someone dictate your dreams for you or, through their actions or attitudes, destroy your dreams. Figure out what you want to do with your life and focus your time and energy on making sure that "you're firing on all pistons" when it counts. 

Figure out your "Likes" and Work Your Way Backwards

This may be a somewhat more useful concept for an already solid player to grasp but it may be helpful for anybody transitioning from the learning stages into the development stages. In terms of figuring our your "likes" you, as a player, have to determine who you are as a player and what you like to accomplish on the court. You have to do some focused soul-searching to evaluate yourself and your game. Are you an aggressive baseliner? Pusher? Touch-player? Serve-and-volleyer? Etc. In addition, you have to determine HOW you like to win points and, if you had it your way, what play would you want to repeat over and over again with success. 

Take for example a player with a massive inside-out forehand. Let's assume that, whenever this player hits this shot, it's "lights-out"; that is, the ball NEVER comes back. One mistake that I see a lot of players making in practice is that (a) they practice this weapon; and (b) they practice the rest of the game. HOWEVER, they NEVER (or only seldom) tie the weapon TO the rest of the game. How do you transition from one part of the game (e.g., rallying) to "unleashing the hounds" with the inside-out forehand? You have to learn to tie the two together so that not only will you recognize the opportunity when it's presented to you but that you are also ACTIVELY WORKING to CREATE such opening. 

One useful method of practicing is by having the player work backwards from the weapon/finishing shot. Take, for example, the player with the great nside-out (and/or inside-in forehand). Practice by feeding the inside-out forehand and then moving in for the volley. This is so that the player understands the concept and purpose of the shot. Then, add (for example), a deep backhand before the inside-out. So, the drill is deep backhand, inside-out, short volley. Once the player masters this "pattern" add another shot. Maybe, this time, it's a hard-fed backhand down the middle. So it's (1) hard backhand; (2) deep backhand; (3) inside-out; and (4) volley. Again, after mastering this pattern, you can add a forehand from the deuce side (maybe the player can hit this short-angle cross-court). So the drill is (1) forehand (short angle, cross-court); (2) hard backhand from the middle; (3) deep backhand (from a couple feet behind the baseline); (4) inside-out; and (5) volley. 

The key is for the player to (A) start seeing the weapon in context and (B) actively look to create the opening for the weapon. So next time she gets the hard-backhand, deep-backhand combo from the opponent, she is already thinking how to strike the ball in order to set up the kill-shot. 

Hard Work IS the Shortcut

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistance. Talent will not. There is nothing more common then unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world if full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are Omnipotent" (Joe Strummer; former lead singer of The Clash). On a related note, I am a firm believer in the "10,000 hour rule" (see, for example, Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers). That is, it usually takes 10,000 hours of focused work to achieve success in any given field. 

Unfortunately, so many people - particularly parents - hang their hat on talent alone. Often times, I am told by parents that some other coach (sometimes "reputable" a lot of times less than so) regarded their child as "talented". They tend to use this unscientific evaluation as almost a form of justifying skipping out on hard work. Don't fall for this snake-oil! Tennis is not easy; IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE. THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT FUN AND ADDICTIVE. 

From my point of view - and realize that I may be wrong (although I am not the only one) - nothing is more OVERRATED or DECEPTIVE as talent. I say that talent is overrated because (a) talent will not get you to the ball; (b) talent will have no bearing on how hard your opponent will work or what he's capable of doing with the work; or (c) talent is insufficient to make you dig deep when you're running on fumes deep in the third set.

Talent, may however, make it somewhat easier for a player to pick up strokes or concepts. This leads to the second criticism in that talent is deceptive. A lot of "talented" players tend to get lazy; they may have early success due their ability to learn quicker than other kids and continue with the same training regimen (e.g. 1 hour a day) throughout their developing years (14 and over). The fact is that 1 hour a day on the court may be sufficient when you're 8, 9, 10 or even 11-12, but it's just not enough when you're moving on to the development stages (Cf. learning stages) of the game. 

As you get older, tennis becomes serious business; there are a lot of players throughout the world who intend to make a living at this game. As a result, they spend hours and hours on the court or in the gym, learning all parts of the game and tempering their bodies and minds for the tough battles. Talented little Johnny who spends an hour a day (maybe) of unfocused hitting will have NO chance against these animals.

 

So my advice is to either remove the word "talent" from the vocabulary or know that, in the great scheme of things, it's meaningless. Beware of snake oil salesmen who sell you the quick-fix (e.g. "she just needs to work on angles" or "he just needs to improve his serve") or gimmicks. Know that hard work - be it in tennis, medicine, law, accounting, computer programming, business or digging ditches - IS THE SHORTCUT; and you have to love every minute of it. 

Challenge Yourself

There are key points in a tough match where you have to dig deep and find the motivation that you need in order to push through the barriers of pain and the obstacles posed by your opponent. You can find yourself at 5-5 in the third set on a brutal, hot and humid summer day. How do you deal with these situations?! The reality is that as you progress in the game, you will face greater obstacles and more momentous occasions. 

To overcome these situations it helps if, in addition to your standard training and workouts, you include some sort of physical challenge into your routine. Be it running up hills (like Andre Agassi or Jerry Rice), sprinting up sand dunes (like Marv Dunphy's Pepperdine volleyball team), running miles through the desert or in the snow, jumping rope for 2 hours straight, biking a century, participating in a survival race or something equally taxing, having an "extra-curricular" training method that is extra tough will assist you on the tennis court. Some of these methods can also improve your overall fitness, so that's a bonus. 

More importantly, however, they make the voice inside your head telling you to keep going louder and more convincing ("you CAN do it", "come on PUSH it"). When you're on the court, you're out there by yourself. You can have 1000 fans supporting you or 1000 fans rooting against you (and if you make the NCAAs you will experience both). But only one voice matters and that's the voice that's inside your head; your INNER COACH. It can tell you to give up ("it's OK to quit; losing's fine") or to keep going ("no pain, Rocky! No Pain!"). If you include a difficult training method into your routine - even if it's once every 2-3 weeks - you can recall the positive voice inside you. You say to yourself "hey, if I did THAT I sure as heck can do THIS." Or, "I'll be darned if I'm going to let this son-of-a-gun run away with this match. He didn't run up those hills in the middle of summer...all by himself! I DID! There's no way he's beating me".