Steal this Drill: Variations on the Old Two-on-One Drill

Here's a little variation to try when you're doing two-on-ones. Generally, in the 2-on-1 drill, one of the players does all of the hitting and running and it seem like the other players are just barely hitting a shot and then standing around. Sure, the coach can push the players to move their feet but, eventually, the whole concept breaks down when the drill sergeant isn't looking and players are back to standing on their heels.

Instead of trying the same-old, same-old and expecting a different result, place two targets (be them wrist-bands, athletic tape, plastic lines, cones, etc) about 6 feet inside the baseline and 4 feet from each side line. The two players hit down the line (or cross-court) and then SPRINT IN AND TOUCH THE TARGET and pedal back (FIG 2 BELOW). In turn, the single player hits the opposite of the two-player team (i.e., cross-court or down-the line) and aims for the same target (so the target serves as both a point for the player to aim to as well as a spot towards which the two players must run to). The key to this drill is that while the single player moves side-to-side, the two players move forward and back so everybody is getting the benefit of running and hitting although in a different direction.

Conversely (FIG 1 BELOW), have the same set-up as above but put one of the two-player team at the net (the other at the baseline). The two-players hit down the line; the single player hits cross court. However, in this variation, the net player hits the volley and backpedals, touches the cone/target and then sprints IN again to make contact with the volley inside the service line. This is an AWESOME way for the players to practice their first volleys. 

Another variation on the 2-on-1 drill is where the two players do most of the moving. The drill is cross-courts (or down-the-line). The two players line up on one half of the court, one behind the other. A cone is placed about 1 foot (or more) in front of the baseline T or slightly into the other half of the court. The single player (or coach) feeds the ball to one of the two guys. This player hits the ball back and then sprints forward and around the cone. The other player then steps in, hits the next shot, sprints in and rounds the cone. If the players are practicing backhands, the two-player team rounds the cone clockwise. If the players are hitting cross-court forehands, the players are rounding the cone counter-clockwise. Many players have done this drill when the ball was fed to them but there's no reason why it can't be done in a live-ball setting. The key is to focus on control and movement. The same concept can be done down the line and the cone can be moved around. It's an awesome way to develop ball control and RECOVERY.

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The purposes of the 2-on-1 drill is, obviously, to make sure that the single player (i.e., the "one") learns to both move and move the ball around. In tennis, changing the direction of a moving ball (movement #1), while you are in motion (movement #2) with a moving object - the racket (movement #3) is one of the most critical components to understand and master. However, nothing irks me more as a coach than seeing the 2 players loaf around waiting for their turn to get a workout. Although I agree that the primary purpose of the 2-on-1 is to provide the single player with a good workout, the drill often breaks down because the "two" players' minds wander or their feet stop moving.

Above, we have covered things such as hitting the ball and running in and touching the cone. Again the cone can be inside the baseline (serving, also, as a target for the shots of the "one"), at the center T (thereby teaching the "two" to hit and recover) or anywhere else for that matter (e.g. 10 feet behind the baseline or even at the intersection of the baseline and the singles/doubles sideline). The concept, here, is of course, to keep ALL players hitting and moving and to also keep the minds of the "two" players focused on specific tasks in between strokes. In addition to hit-and-recover drills, the players can also include other devices to maintain the intensity of the work-out. For example, there's nothing stopping the "two" players from doing kangaroo jumps (e.g. 2-3), high knee running in place, split-lunges, squat jumps, etc. in between strokes.

Buddy System

Maybe because we're a developed nation (with greater per capita disposable income than other countries) so we don't need to, or perhaps because we are becoming increasingly anti-social, it seems that nowadays not too many juniors participate in group- or split lessons. Unless they are corralled at some high-priced academy, it seems like every developing player has his or her own private coach; one player leaves his lesson before the other player comes in for training. 

Although private training is beneficial for focusing on certain aspects of the player's game, I've found that the best way to train is by having 2 (sometimes 3) players on the court at the same time. Both the Navy Seals and the French Foreign Legion incorporates buddy-system training in their regimen. These elite units have found that a two-member unit is best for building morale, support and healthy competition. After all, seeing someone going through tough training alongside you makes it easier to deal with the pain.

Tennis players can benefit from the buddy system by incorporating a few 2-on-1 (i.e., two players + coach) practices in their weekly workouts. A lot of weaker/softer players, particularly, will be helped by this system when couple with a somewhat more advanced player (although not too much older as this could be intimidating and overwhelming for the weaker player). The concept is that the players will think "if HE can do it, then so can I". In addition, the players - if they care about tennis and are somewhat more competitive in nature - will push each other by always trying to outdo one another in the drills and various patterns.

Furthermore, after the drill portion of the practice, the players can play points and the coach can watch and critique the playing (rather than moving on to the next lesson). In addition, other benefits include that the payers can play twice as long for the same amount of money and, lastly, that the players will bond and become more involved in each other's development (for purposes of training on their own, warming on before matches or cheering each other on during tournaments). So find someone your own age and comparable skill and see if you can incorporate some shared practices into your normal workout routine. Done right, you will see your level improve exponentially. 

Give Your Son/Daughter a License to Tank

Some of the best tennis players have been coached by their parents. It's not for everyone. However, if you are going to coach your son/daughter beware of the phrase "Just go for your shots. Just go for it. Don't hold back." Only two things can happen from such vague advice, a very favorable outcome where its lights out tennis or a very quick 6-1, 6-1 loss. For any great player, this is far too much risk to assume to achieve a victory.

The moment you say, "Just go for it," you have given the player an easy way out if things don't go perfectly. No matter how well intentioned the advice may be, the player will not interpret it the same way you do. This is why it is very dangerous for parents who have never competed to give such poor advice. The advice shifts the responsibility from the player to the parent.

After another quick loss, the players snaps to his/her parent, "You told me to go for it!!!" Without the parent understanding what they have done, they have given the player an easy way out. Instead of having to face the music, the player can now shift all the blame to their parents (or coach for that matter).

The goal of every match is not to beat Serena or Roger, but to find a way to win on that specific day. Practice matches are the time to "Just go for it" and push outside your comfort zones. When it comes to tournament play, you play the percentages. You fight, scratch, claw, adjust, adapt, survive, compete and maybe if you are lucky, some of the "Just go for it" shows up at the right times.

The best remedy is to not give such advice unless you want to give them a license to tank.

If You Want To Be A Sprinter Don't Train For The Marathon

It seems that with the advent of televised matches and attendant commentary, American coaches and parents have become obsessed with statistics. Talk about unforced errors and first serve percentages has turned the audience into a generation of record-keepers. Perhaps it's cultural - drawn from the fans obsession with statistics in "sports" such as baseball where if it weren't for a religious fascination with numbers the commentators wouldn't have anything interesting to discuss.

When it comes to tennis, however, I often see the focus on first serve percentages as an obstacle in development. Listen, after 30-40 years of getting hammered with first serve percentage figures or the importance of not making any unforced errors, you'd think that we, as a nation, would be completely dominating the international tennis scene. This is obviously far from being the case.

So how is the focus on first serve percentages detrimental you ask? Well, in my opinion, it is not so much in what is said, it's how the message is perceived by the student that causes a problem. In this case, if the coach keeps dwelling on the first serve percentage, the player usually holds back on the serve and practices only to "just make" the ball in service box. This usually means slowing the ball down and hitting quasi-second serves.

Although I'm a HUGE fan of second serves, unless you're using the serve simply to 'kickstart' the point (pun intended), if you want to put some pressure on the opponent throughout you're going to go after some first serves. In theory, I think you should go after your first serve most of the time though sometimes you put slightly more spin on the ball in order to create some angles and Often times, however, players are simply incapable of hitting big first serves because all they've done in practice is hit their shot with too much emphasis on making the ball. In other words, they have practiced hitting it slow. In a recent lesson, one student would hit 1 big first serve and, if he missed it, went back to hitting 10 slow second serves in order to build confidence. So, in 30 minutes of serving, he's hit 15 big first serves and 150 second serves. Then he's wondering why his opponents - after they get a good read on his "first" serve - start hammering him with their returns.

The point is that if you practice slow, you're going to hit slow. It's like a sprinter who, while training for the 100m sprint, is running long-distance races in practice. The stride, just like the serve, is simply different. No coach in their right mind would tell Usain Bolt to run 1 mile circuits in training while focusing on the short-course sprint. If you want to run fast - practice fast.

Same with the serves, if you want to hit "hard" during during match, practice hitting hard while training. Train your fast-twitch muscles to be explosive. There's entirely WAY TOO MUCH emphasis in instructional videos, reading materials and lessons on particular components of the stroke and not enough focus on actually getting the "fire" (or anger?) in the player's belly to GO AFTER THE SERVE.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying, however. DO focus on the technique!!! But focus on the technique WHILE you're hitting hard first serves! Otherwise, you're like a race-car being fine-tuned while driving circles in the parking lot and don't know if you're capable of hitting laps at 230mph. Often times, a slight variation in degree (string bed contact with the ball) will send the ball 10-20 ft off course ( due to speed of racket; depending on mph). This means that the player needs to develop a better "feel" for the ball at that speed - not to drop back and hit an entirely different stroke. So practice hard and make small adjustments in the process. If today you can only hit 10 good, hard serves - great. Tomorrow go for 12, the next day 16 and so on. However, as a high level player you need to develop the stamina AND the explosiveness to hit hard first serves for 5-6 sets/day (i.e., in a tournament). You're not going to do that practicing only soft serves (regardless of how many you actually manage to make in the box).

Fragile and Sensitive Players

What do you do when someone hands you a box marked "FRAGILE?" On the top of the box in giant lettering is "Please Handle With Care." Naturally, you are very careful with the box, making sure you have your legs beneath it when you gently lift it off the ground. You take every necessary measure to not rattle the contents inside the box and give special attention to making sure no outside influences come in contact with the box. You treat the box as if it were a little baby that needs protection.

Unfortunately, most tennis players are very fragile. Most tennis players are sensitive (including some of the best juniors in the country, college players, minor-league professionals, and pros for that matter). Little ripples cause their boat to sway out of control, derailing their oars dipping into the water. I equate tennis matches to a water fight in the pool between two children. Johnny splashes chlorine into Ben's face. Ben splashes chlorine into Johnny's face. This goes on for a few minutes until one starts to cry. Tennis is the same idea, who can take the stinging of chlorine in their eyes longer? Whoever is tougher usually wins, plain and simple.

How does one become less sensitive? I promise you if someone could be less sensitive, they would do it right now. Nobody likes to be called sensitive and soft. Everyone wants to be tough, strong, and brave. The best way to wrap your brain around this sensitivity/fragility issue to look at it from a different angle. The angle I am proposing is from a scientific point of view. Science has proven we have two sides to our brain- one that is logical (does all the planning, making rational decisions and so forth) and the other that is emotional (it has strong urges to react to things- happy or negative). The bad news for tennis players is the emotional side is far more powerful than the logical side.

Since tennis is a contest that is antagonistic in nature where two players are calling each others lines, emotions come into play. A normal person will give into their emotions causing their tennis to seesaw up and down like a rollercoaster. Very few players can actively control their emotions and nobody is ever fixed. Sometimes a parent or coach will say, "I think Johnny has fixed his attitude." Nobody is ever cured, its an ongoing battle between the logical and emotional sides of the brain where the logical side must dominate the emotional side. Like an alcoholic who has been dry for six months, the sudden urge to relapse is always looming in the background. One can never be trustworthy of the emotional side as it has an irrational mind of its own. It takes a very abnormal individual to be able to manage their emotions under stressful situations, usually it is innate and part of their genetic makeup.

If you want to stop watching the same movie over and over again in your losses, be aware of what it means to be a human being. Think about when you practice, you practice under very little stress and the muscles are relaxed. But if your emotions are a rollercoaster, your fine motor skills will be slightly off, thus causing errors and mental mistakes.

The most successful players are not fragile, but anti-fragile. Now imagine a box marked "ANTI-FRAGILE" and on the side in giant letters it says, "Please Throw Against a Concrete Wall." You pick the box up and throw it against the wall with all your might. You pick it up again and shake it violently. You kick it, you jump on top of it, you try to break it. Nothing happens. Nothing. This is a very robust box.

One could argue a tennis player deemed "ANTI-FRAGILE" takes it one step further. Shocks to the system make the player stronger. The toughest and least senstiive players are able to get stronger and tougher in stressful situations.