Steal This Drill: Mirror-Mirror

Here is an interesting drill for training groundstrokes as well as for warming up. The best part about this drill is that it can be performed with 4 (or more) players on court so it could be useful for situations where the court-time is limited (e.g. indoors). The basic drill is as follows:

1. Players play on one-half of the court. This can be either the down-the-line half (including/excluding doubles - coach's choice) or the cross-court half (including/excluding doubles - coach's choice).

2. One of the players feeds a deep (aim for 2-3 feet from the baseline) ball into his opponent's half.

3. The recipient (the "proactive" player) hits either a forehand or a backhand.

4. Here's the scope of this drill: whatever the recipient hits (forehand/backhand), the feeder (the "reactive" player) has to match/mirror. Hence the "mirror-mirror" name for this drill. It's "open play" when one of the players makes it to the net. However, players should be encouraged to play from the baseline so as to hone their groudnstroke and body-language instincts.

5. Variations for this drill include instances where the point is "opened up" (i.e., any shot goes after the ball cross the net a certain number of times: 6-8-10, etc.). Furthermore, although initially the players must only match the stroke (forehand-for-forehand; backhand-for-backhand), as the players develope they can also be encouraged to copy the spins. So if the receiver hits a slice backhand, the feeder must hit that as well. Lastly, the players can also do "opposite" mirror - so if the proactive player hits a forehand, the reactive player has to hit a backhand. An additional layer of complexity can be added by forcing the reactive player to hit not just the opposite shot but the opposite spin as well (e.g. BH slice when opponent hits FH topspin; and vice versa).

The drill teaches the players to be proactive in terms of dictating play (this goes for the receiver) and also to "read" the opponent's body language in order to make adjustments with respect to stroke and spin (particularly for the feeder...the "reactive" player). The reactive player MUST REALLY PAY ATTENTION in order to do this drill well. So focus is also improved. In addition, the feeder (reactive player) is taught how to control the point and seek to gain the upper hand from a relatively defensive position (i.e., turning defense into offense). Footwork is also a huge component of this drill - as the the "reactive" player hits the ball and immediately has to recover and adjust for the next ball from the "proactive" player.

If you would like to share any drill ideas or practical suggestions for improving the game, please email us at catenniseditor@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook. As always, if you like the information, please pass it along to anyone who may be interested.

Steal This Drill: Aggressive Doubles

This drill comes to us from Mr. Frercks Hartwig who is currently associated as a tennis coach and player devepoler at TMS - Die mobile Tennisschule in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.

Thank you, Mr. Hartwig, for submitting this drill to CAtennis.com. We hope that all of you take the time to incorporate it into your tennis development process. The drill is as follows:

1. Draw a line about 1meter (3ft inside each baseline).

2. While the ball is in play, the doubles-players may not over-step this line.

3. The players are encouraged to take the ball early - either off a half-volley, regular volley or swinging volley.

4. The coach alternates feeds from A to B and points are played up 12. Feeds are to be mixed in terms of height, depth, pace and spin in order to put the receivers in the position to make a variety of adjustments [Editor's Note: there may or might not be "re-dos" for missed feeds; coach's choice depending on the level of the players]

5. Immediately after the feed, both teams proceed to move in and engage in a volley-volley exchange. By being forced to move in, the "volley-shy" players learn that it's more effective to win points at the net than at baseline.

6. This drill can also be performed by either (a) having the A-B team hit a groundstroke first; (b) having the teams sprint in from behind the baseline at the same time or (c) by moving the "artificial" baseline forwards or backwards to take into account the skills of the players.

For a similar singles drill, see here. If you would like to share any drill ideas or practical suggestions for improving the game, please email us at catenniseditor@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook. As always, if you like the information, please pass it along to anyone who may be interested.

Steal This Drill: Half Court Battle

Here is another great drill for developing proper court instincts, basic strategy, ball control as well as physical and mental toughness. When playing points - and not many juniors play sufficient points in practice - it is sometimes important to break away from the routine of simply playing to win and actually work on getting better. One of the ways to work on improving is to actually limit the possibilities for your shots and see how good you really are.

For example, in the first drill, use plastic lines or tape to demarcate 1/3 of your opponent's side. That's the "out" zone and on the diagram to the left this area is hashed out in white. However, leave an 8 ft x 8 ft box in the corner formed by the deuce service line and the deuce side-line (singles) - short-angle temptation. If you hit the ball in that area, the ball is still good. Play point where the unhandicapped player is serving up to 11, 15 and 21 and then switch roles. In this game, see how good you are at managing to control the shot into 2/3 of the court - particularly hitting a deep ball to the backhand. Remember, most points at the development level are, in fact, played in that portion of the court. Often times, however, juniors play sets and they slap the ball nilly-willy hoping that it will go in. Sometimes, they aim cross-court but the ball goes anywhere but near the intended target. Of course, if the ball goes in, there's no penalty except when the opponent is there to intervene and punish your lack of accuracy and control. But, with this being practice, there should be a penalty for the unintended consequences since the purpose is to sharpen your skills. 

In other words, when it comes to a lot of junior players, accuracy and control are too often sacrificed at the altar of power. However, if you don't know where you are capable of hitting the ball, your game will suffer since it will be difficult for you to create any strategy to help you succeed. As stated above, this is also a way to test and develop your mental and physical toughness because you will have to grind long points while your opponent pushes you around the court. That's OK - this is what tennis is all about: GRIT.

In the second drill, the concept is the same but the game becomes a bit tougher. In this alternative, more than 1/3 of the court is marked off for one of the players - perhaps close to one half. The 8 ft x 8ft box remains, however, to tempt one of the players to still for this shot which, in this scenario, is fairly low percentage. Again, the player should attempt to play points where, as in the first drill, the unhandicapped player attempts to work his opponent around the court. The handicapped player has to be even tougher than in the first drill and his shots have to be way more accurate.

When performing this drill, you will really see the importance of actually hitting your targets in practice - target practice is not just for show; there's an actual purpose behind it and being proficient at hitting your targets (from anywhere in the court; whether you are standing still or are on the run) will help you develop more sensible offensive and defensive plays.

The dimensions outlined above could, obviously, be adjusted to fit the particular scenario. For example, better players (good juniors or college players) may only require a 3 ft wide sliver ("out" zone) to make the game very challenging (as opposed to 1/3 of the court). Also, the safe zone box could be enlarged or reduced to suit the players' skills. The game could also be coupled with a "one serve only" practice or "mirrored" (I.e., the opposites side of the court could be marked off).

Again, the key is to be (or become) a thinking player and work on practicing with the purpose getting 1% better today than you were yesterday. By varying your practice your mind will be more engaged on the task at hand while still being competitive.

Steal This Drill: Third Set Training

Have you ever made it to a third set against a tough opponent, come close to winning but, due to fatigue, managed to only snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?! If so, you understand the role of proper physical conditioning when it comes to tennis. Unfortunately, too many players don't play enough sets (particularly THREE SETS IN A ROW) or train hard enough to get themselves in the best possiible position to win. Often times, this a result of lack of time or inexperience. However, assuming that you are motivated to learn and improve, here is one way to train for the third set if you only have one hour available:

Grab an equally motivated partner and play serving games up to 10 (or 11, 15, 21). One player serves the whole game and then the partners switch roles. Here's the kicker: each player should do 10 kangaroo jumps before each point. If you're tough, you will do 10 before the second serves as well. This will get your heart racing real quick and teach you how to think when you're physically and mentally fatigued. Another alternative would be to have only the person who lost the point do the jumps.

Here's the deal, "muscle fatigue leads to changes in interaction between structures of abrain's neural network", Fatigue-induced increase in intracortical communication between mid/anterior insular and motor cortex during cycling exercise (Eur. J. Neurosci. 2011 Dec;34(12):2035-42. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07909.x. Epub 2011 Nov 20.; Hilty, L; Langer, N.; Pascual-Marqui, R., Boutellier, U.; Lutz; K.). As you may know, the cortex (see "intracortical" in the title of the article) plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. In the study (involving cyclists), there was a "lag" in the communication time between the various functions of the brain. See also Reduced muscle activation during exercise related to brain oxygenation and metabolism in humans (2010 Jun 1;588(Pt 11):1985-95. Epub 2010 Apr 19; Rasmussen, P., Nielsen, J; Overgaard, M., Krogh-Madsen R., Gjedde, A; Secher, NH; Peterse, NC): "Exhaustive exercise provoked cerebral deoxygenation, metabolic changes and indices of fatigue similar to those observed during exercise in hypoxia indicating that reduced cerebral oxygenation may play a role in the development of central fatigue and may be an exercise capacity limiting factor." Deoxygenation...hypoxia = being deprived of oxygen (suffocating). 

In a sport as complex as tennis, where time is measure is fractions of a second, you cannot afford to have any kind of a lag - lapse in judgment - or central fatigue as that's exactly how the errors pile on. This is particularly true in a long three-setters where you are more prone for "taking the coward's way out" by hitting silly drop-shots, going for aces (including second serves), return winner or any other quick way for finishing the point. If you train yourself, your body will be more efficient at maintaining good energy for the duration of the match. Furthermore, your body will be better prepared to return the appropriate amount of oxygen and energy to the brain in order to stabilize its functions enabling you to make better decisions. Therefore, it is advisable that you incorporate some mentally stressful exercises into your routine so that you can understand the effects on your body and decision-making; know what you need to do (almost automatically) when you are in fact fatigued; and slowly push your tolerance levels beyond your comfort level thereby allowing you to play longer and higher quality matches. 

Steal This Drill: Rock-Solid Backhand

Do you struggle with your backhand? Are you the type of person who expends too much energy running around your weaker shot? Do you find yourself doing silly things with the rest of your game in order to avoid hitting a backhand? Are you motivated to improve your backhand so that it becomes rock-solid? If the answer to some or all of these questions is "yes", then here are some creative drills to help you along. 

In the first drill (game up to 11, 15, 21, etc.), one player has to cover the whole court but must hit all his shots (including volleys) into the backhand half of the opponent's court (blue lines). The backhand player (i.e. the one covering only half of the court) can hit anywhere but, from the baseline, must only use his backhand. If the backhand, player is brought (or comes in) to the net, s/he can hit FH volleys. However, if the backhand player comes to the net (inside the service line), it's open court time (whole court may be used by the opponent). This is a great drill for one player to force himself to learn how to set up for the backhand and how to move it around without worrying about covering the other half of the court. The opponent, on the other hand, must learn how to make the backhand player move around so the his/her forehand (middle of the court) is exposed. In this eay, both players are working on something. 

In the second drill, the whole court is used by both players, but one player can only hit his backhand (including BH volley) cross-court (red line) unless the opponent comes to the net (blue line). The player who is limited to a cross-court backhand can, however, hit inside-out or inside-in forehands. For the player who can do anything, this drill simulates playing against a steady player who doesn't take too many chances on his backhand. Whenever the ball comes to that side of the court, the steady player (i.e., the one limited to a cross-court BH) tends to keep things simple and sends the ball back cross-court. The opponent "knows" this (i.e., in the drill, knowledge is artificially injected into the equation) so s/he tries to construct the point accordingly. The player who is limited to a cross-court backhand knows that the opponent is aware of the limitation so s/he works on hitting more effective backhands over the low part of the net and into the long part of the court - cross-court. Like a well-fought boxing match, both players work towards creating an opening. Same as in the first drill, play points and then swap roles.