Sword and Shield Concept

When starting to play tennis more competitively, it is often helpful to understand the sword and shield approach. The sword and shield concept is derived from gladiator fights in old arenas. Fighters were pitted against each other bearing various weapons although the weapons of choice for most were the sword and the shield. The sword was, mostly, used for attacking the opponent (see below) and the shield was, mostly, used for defending. Now, that's not to say that the shield could not be used to bop the opponent over the head or the sword for deflecting a thrust, but generally each device has its role.

Tennis is, in many ways, a modern gladiatorial contest (except, if you lose, you get ice cream on the way home). In this regard, it could be helpful to remember that your forehand is - usually (not always and not for all) - your weapon and the backhand is (again, usually - not always) your shield. Generally speaking, players tend to practice their forehands more and even consciously or unconsciously rally or feed with the forehand side. So that side develops faster than the backhand. In addition, with most players prefering a double-handed backhanded, the two arms can't swing as fast together as a one-armed shot would. Yet, when playing matches, these same players seem to have the same expectations from their backhands as they would from the forehands. They go for just as much power and just as many risky winners. Unless the player has truly worked to develop the "two-sword fighting technique" (see below), my normal advice is to treat one shot more for defensive/consistency purposes an the other for attack.

Now, defensive doesn't necessarily mean pushing. You can certainly press the opponent around the court with your "shield". However, your primary goal should be consistency and penetration. Move the opponent around the court with safe but penetrating shots in order to expose the court for the forehand/kill-shot. As you get better, your backhand will become more of a "sword" and you will be able to hurt your opponent more with it. However, if you only manage to practice 1 backhand to every 4 forehands, try to be smart with how you use your shield in a match. If it's solid enough, the opponent will wear out his sword by hammering against it and you will be in a better position to attack when he's fatigued. 

Dealing With Hooks

The stories are often the stuff of legend. They spread from person to person often picking embellishments along the way: "he's the worst hook in country"; "better get a line judge in advance"; "lines are out against him"; "she gives the worst calls", etc. Since tennis players have to call their own lines (most of the time), it's no surprise that cheaters pose such a dilemma for developing players. At times, it's downright intimidating. After all, it seems downright UNFAIR to work hard just to have someone run away with the match on a bad line call. Heck, there are some coaches out there who are shameless enough to not only condone this type of behavior from their pupils but to downright encourage it (without a doubt, these coaches never amounted to anything worthwhile as players). 

Now, I can give you the standard advice and tell you to get an umpire or cheat the other player back to teach her a lesson. However, that's not what Im about. You see, I've played my fair share of high-level matches (college, futures, challengers and open tournaments) and in my experience I can't remember A SINGLE bad call that I've gotten in these matches.

Did they happen? Probably. Did they determine the outcome of the match? Most definitely not. Did all the junior players who had a bad reputation find religion or develop consciousness once they got into college? I sincerely doubt it. The fact is that players who rely on cheating to get through their early matches in the career never really manage to achieve respectable levels later on. They use cheating as a crutch and, like anything else that makes things easy, it takes the focus off something else that's more difficult: hard work. You can only rely on bad calls to get you through so many times and you can't cheat your way through workouts, practices, gym, running, jumping rope, etc. Eventually, taking the coward's way out will work against you and, by that time, it will be too late to right the ship and adjust your attitude. 

So, when faced with a cheater my advice to you is the same as my dad's advice to me: you shouldn't put yourself in the position where one point - one bad call - can make the difference in the match; seek to be SO much better than your opponents that one or two bad calls won't make a difference. If you find yourself the victim of a cheater say "THANK YOU". Rather than being discouraged, use this experience to motivate you to work harder - get better, faster and stronger. I'd go as far as putting a picture of this nemesis on your mirror and stare at it every morning when you wake up. See his face when you're jumping rope, running your sprints and miles, lifting your weights and crushing your serves. What can I say?! Contempt is a heck of a motivator. In no time, you'll be giving him points just to make it an even contest.

How to Start The Second Set

The scoring system in tennis is unlike any other sport. Although one could argue every point is important, not every point is valued equally. Recall some of your toughest matches, some points were more stressful than others. Especially in a tight match, where each player is losing every other point. Down the final stretch towards the final points of the set, each point seems larger than life. The mountain of tension builds and finally explodes when one player is halfway to victory and the other has to start back at zero. In no other sport does a player or team have to go back to zero halfway through the match. How crushing! Usually the most stressful point of the set is the last point.

For the player who squeaked through the first set by the narrowest of margins, his/her spirits are sitting pretty good. The natural reaction is to relax and enjoy the good feelings for a few minutes. However, a few minutes can't be afforded against a good player. This is the optimum time to bury your opponent and double-up your efforts. This is when your opponent is liable to fold and hand you a 7-6, 6-1 victory. You see it all the time when you look at draws. 6-4, 6-1 or 7-5, 6-2. A proactive player will be weary of this "letdown" after a hard fought first set and start the second set with increased effort. This is not the time to relax, this is the time to put all your returns in the court, keep the pressure on by making balls, and make every point miserable on your opponent. This is when your opponent is most vulnerable because they are down in spirits and might just "let go of the rope" if you give them a reason to. A rookie mistake is to take this situation lightly and play loosely giving away cheap errors.

For the player who is down in the dumps, this is not the time to sulk. With all your hard work erased to zero on the score sheet, this is not the time to sulk and feel angry. This is the time to take advantage of your opponent relaxing after a hard fought set. Try to catch your opponent off guard, pouncing on their complacent attitude. If the first set was determined by a few points, I suggest not changing your strategy at all. Keep the pressure on and keep working on their mind. Keep delivering body blows, trying to mentally tire your opponent. Right away, send a message that you aren't rattled and you want to go the distance.

Often times losers of the first set panic and change their strategy. Often times this results in a quick 6-1 loss in the second. Parents, coaches, and players often overthink strategy as the answer to winning matches. Most of the time, the matches have nothing to do with strategy, but everything to do with working on your opponents head. Sometimes the original strategy was the best, especially if the first was determined by a few shots. The key is to not let your opponent off the hook and try to do something dumb. Plan A with a few minor tweaks is much better than your not-as-consistent Plan B. Try to work on their head, find their breaking point, and keep delivering body blows. Often times there is no clear roadmap to winning the match and if you are patient enough and persistent enough- a good player will want to escape the stress and eventually hand you the second set.

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.

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.