Go Forth and Let The Children Be Your Guide

Great movement, intensity, passion and focus (eyes) coupled with clean strokes for her age. You don't have to watch pros to learn proper fundamentals; watch this girl. Awesome! Keep up the good work and good luck, Solana. 

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.

Late For Match? Quick Way To Warm Up

We live in a highly industrialized world and it's foreseeable that at least a handful of times in your life you will show up just in time for your match or a little bit late (perhaps due to traffic or misdirection by your navigation system). Assuming that you didn't get defaulted, how ensure that you obtain the best possible warm-up under the circumstances? That is, the same, old routine might not do the trick particularly if you're playing against a tough opponent.

I have found that the best routine is one that gets the blood flowing the fastest and also "warms-up" (i.e., focuses) the eyes. First, chase down EVERY ball. If your opponent hits an errant shot, give chase even if the ball is way wide or deep. This is the time to bring out your inner tiger and the ball has blood on it. Don't let a single ball get by you. Second, when the opponent is at the net, warm up from INSIDE the baseline. This will force you to take FAST, SHORT steps and will also serve to trigger your eyes and how they see the ball. Again, NO BALL GETS BY YOU! Get in position and work the warm-up point like a boxer with high intensity. Third, take extra overheads to get some blood flowing to your back and shoulder muscles. This will help with your serves, particularly in the first couple of games. After finishing your net routine, PLAY ONE MORE warm-up rally from the baseline. In this rally, try to hit a lot of "inside-outs". That is, rather than being flat-footed in just hitting the ball back-and-forth to your opponent without rhyme or reason, focus on moving your feet, getting in positing and staying loose. Fourth, as you're warming up your serve, again, chase down every serve from your opponent and see if you can catch it on your racket. If the serve gets by you, don't walk to get the ball - RUN. INTENSITY is the key concept here. You have 5-6 minutes to get a decent warm-up so use every SECOND to getting your body to optimal competitive levels in every aspect. As you're starting to play the match, it's important to keep the intensity flowing for a few games before ratcheting back to more manageable levels. During these 2-3 games, (1) MAKE EVERY FIRST SERVE, (2) MAKE NO UNFORCED ERRORS, and (3) IF POSSIBLE, HIT NO WINNERS. Work hard for every point and establish a pattern for doing battle the rest of the match.

Unfortunately, a lot of players show up late for the match and do the same thing as they have done for previous matches - where they may have had the opportunity to warm up. Unless you're special, this is a misguided approach to big matches. The warm-up is not just for the strokes but, as the name entails, it serves the body as well. If you're starting the match cold (which is something that happens to unexperienced juniors all too often), chances are that you will lose the first few games. In big matches, this may be sufficient to lose the set. Lose the set, and now you have an uphill battles both score-wise and confidence-wise.

Thus, if you CARE about the outcome of the match, enter the arena with the attitude of a warrior - for those first 5-6 minutes, it's not a tennis match, it's a gladiatorial contest. 

Note, however, that this should not be used as an alternative to proper warm-up. This is an emergency routine for those handful of times when you're unable to follow your prescribed regimen. 

Steal This Drill: Aggressive Groundstrokes

Are you the type of player who's been told that you play too far behind the baseline? If so, this one of the drills that you may want to incorporate into your tennis routine. As the first diagram on the left shows, the further back you play, the less court that you have to "work with". You simply cannot generate sharp angles that are designed to make your opponent run. Furthermore, regardless of how hard you hit the ball, the ball takes an extra half-second ( = to distance between your position (red "X") and your baseline) to cross the net - thereby providing the opponent with ample opportunity to recover. Thus you are relegated to being a grinder - welcome to my world. Conversely, the closer to the net you are (blue "X") the more angles you can generate and, consequently, the more court your opponent has to cover (in a shorter time period). The more miles he puts on his odometer, the greater the likelihood the he will run out of gas and bag it. 

Now, you have probably heard this advice before: "you know what?! You play from way too far behind the baseline. You should play closer in." Brilliant, right?! I've heard the same thing many times before. Although the advice is sound, things are not, however, all that simple. First, if you make your home "in the vineyard" (i.e. 10ft+ behind the baseline) your footwork is tailored to long distance running - that is, relatively slow but can go on all day. In addition, your strokes are suited for generating your own pace since, by the time the ball gets to you (or you get to it), the opponent's shot has lost some steam. Lastly, since you don't deal with a lot of low balls, your balance is also a bit out of tune. 

To fix this from a practical point of view (this is what CAtennis is all about), try performing the drill in the second diagram above. Basically, the players stay inside the baseline and, at first, rally to get a feel for the new court positioning; thereafter, they play practice points (either baseline games or figure-8s). The rule, for points, is that you cannot step behind the baseline or you "fall off the cliff" and lose the point (stepping outside the service line is OK). Players should look for rallies and not charging the net off the feed. The beauty of this game is that sometimes you have to "short hop" the groundstrokes and, other times, you must step in aggressively and take the ball out of the air (swinging volley or regular volley). For the most part, however, you can practice hitting aggressive volleys. 

The player will notice that a change in positioning will require adjustments in the strokes as well as an attitudinal shift. To master playing from this zone, your footwork must become faster, your center of gravity must become lower (oh baby, do those lunges come in handy now...) and your preparation more efficient. You will learn to use your opponent's pace and redirect without having to generate much of your own. Does this mean that you MUST play from closer in on all points? No, you can do whatever the heck you want. But if you want to be a good player you need to become comfortable playing from everywhere around the court - 10 ft back and 10ft in. Otherwise you are relegated to playing the part of a retriever for the rest of your career. A good tennis player, however, is comfortable under all situations and capable of doing what's necessary to overcome the obstacles that the opponent is throwing her way. 

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Tennis Mummies

Does this look familiar (<-)? It's the sight of a run-of-the-mill junior tennis player immediately before the match. If you've been around junior events long enough you will learn to spot the mummies - they are usually wearing track suits, hands straight by the sides, walking aimlessly with stiff legs from bag to tournament desk to bathroom and back. Sometimes they are chatting with their friends although it;s usually in monosylabic grunts. I've always wondered why it is that some kids get so...cold immediately before the match. Why are they shivering so much?! Did the temperature suddenly drop after exiting the car? Weird...

It turns out that shivers are actually reflexes - controlled by the nervous system - produced automatically by the body to keep us safe. When your body temperature drops below a certain level - say 98° - your nerves send a signals saying "I'm cold". What happens next is that your muscles contract and loosen really fast (causing friction which increases body heat slightly) causing you to shiver. What does this have to do with tennis? Researchers have conducted many tests on lab animals to see how their body temperature changes with fear. In these lab experiments, scientists use infra-red thermography to get images in skin temperatures to see the animals' response to a fear agent. What they have generally found is that the animals usually froze into immobility with a significant drop in skin temperature. It's the same with people faced with fear, anxiety and nerves - although some may experience a rise in body temperature a lot of players will experience a drop in body temperature; their feet and hands become cold; body trembles. For some players, muscle tension will increase and breathing will become shallow (i.e., less oxygen entering the system) and labored.

In a match, this usually translates into 3-4 poor first games. But here's the kicker: rather than doing something productive to keep warm and "stay loose", some of these player will continue to walk around stiffly all bundled up in their track suits. I never understood why these players - if they care about the outcome in the first place - don't engage in some productive exercises to warm-up and "shake off" the anxiety. Jog in place, jump rope, run some sprints, play some practice points...anything to keep the blood flowing to the limbs and oxygen entering the system. Perhaps nobody told them regarding the physiological importance of "being limber". Warming up is not just important for the strokes but also for the body...the heart, the lungs, the muscles, the eyes, etc. As a player, it's important to enter the tennis court "firing on all pistons". If you wait 3-4 games to find a way to settle down, it may already be too late. As you get older, "comebacks" from 3-4 games down will be much more rare. Therefore, if you're the type who freezes under pressure, find a way to stay loose and limber. Start setting warm-up rituals early. All the "great players" hame them (I bet that even Nadal's pre-match sprint is a last second way to burn off some extra nervousness. And his jumping and running in the locker-room before the match is legendary).

Initially, it's better if you (junior player) get on the court sweaty (and perhaps a little tired) than "not warmed up at all". At  least you're ready to pounce on the ball from the word "GO!" As you get older and more experienced, you will be able to fine-tune your warm-up rituals to suit your needs and energy levels. But don't wait until the start of the match to do something that could have been addressed without a racket.