What's WRONG with YOU?!

How many times have you, as a parent or coach, asked your child or student this question? Instead of focusing on the player, it may be becoming for the inquirer to look at himself first. When it comes to relationships, we've often heard the importance of chemistry. Chemistry is the ingredient that attracts two people to each other. Although chemistry can take many forms, from a tennis point of view, it's the ability to complement and supplement each other's qualities and characteristics that is significant. And here is where an understanding of various personalities comes into play. But rather that starting with the student, it may be important for the teacher to look at him/herself first in order to figure out his/her strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, motivations as well as emotional and logical characteristics. We all see ourselves as certain people, with specific characteristics. However, the way we perceive ourselves is not always the same as we come across to other people. Often times, on-court clashes can be avoided by understanding the personality conflicts of the various parties. 

In this regard, I recommend that both pros and players (and perhaps parents as well) take a basic Jung-Myers Briggs personality test and summarize each other's specifications. I recommend the test and analysis on www.humanmetrics.com although many other online tests may be of similar quality. After taking the test, the coach will have a better understanding of who s/he is as a person and how the coach comes across to his/her students. Thereafter, it is important for the coach to understand the game of tennis from the player's point of view by looking at the player's personality profile. For example, is the player more rational than emotional? Is the player the type who can stay focused for long periods of time on specific tasks? Is the player a natural leader? Is the player rigid v. flexible? Does the player like to be the center of attention? Does the player have the tendency to get bogged down by stress? Is the player sensitive to other people's feelings? Is the player energetic? Does the player have an adventurous spirit (i.e., action oriented)? Does the player live in the world of ideas and strategic planning? Is the player interested more in the theoretical concepts of endeavors v. the practical application? 

In other words, in order to teach a player you must understand the player. And in order to achieve this objective the coach must first understand himself and his own personality portrait. Too many coaches (and parents) think that there's one way to teach a student - "come h$#@ or high water"; "my way or the highway" - and cannot understand why the player doesn't see things their way. As any good educator will tell you, not every student thinks the same or can be taught the same (but, then again, the vast majority of pros - certified or certifiable - have no background in education). For example, some players view the game of tennis as a battle of wits...a strategic affair; others see it more as a personal, gladiatorial contest; others still see it as a scientific experiment. And then there are those who see the tennis court as a canvas and the game as art. They are all right since tennis is all these things (and more). In addition, it is important to note that some players (like students) thrive in a group setting; others, may become disoriented with too many people around and lose focus. Furthermore, some players may be interested in the theoretical aspects of the game; other players are more interested in the practical approach (perhaps, these latter players are the "competitive" types). Lastly, there are those who need to be on center court in order to perform their best (i.e., be the center of attention) while there are others who like to grind their practices on the back-courts...away from public scrutiny. 

As a good coach, it's important to either (a) modify (if only slightly) your method to fit the student; or (b) if unable to do so, advise the player to seek assistance somewhere else. Anything less is a great disservice to either the player or the parents and will result in frustration and dissatisfaction on all sides. Of course, some coaches and players will have a natural fit due to their personality match. That's great when it happens. But if that aspect isn't present, don't be too quick to blame the player. Understand her and yourself and work together towards a workable solution or guide her towards someone who may be a better fit. 

NOTE: FOR ADDITIONAL REFERENCE, SEE ALSO http://parentingaces.com/2011/12/02/energize-your-childs-tennis-game/

Steal This Drill: High Backhands

Are you tired of the same old baseline game drill? You know, the one where one guy feeds the ball...then the other guy feels bad that the ball is coming right to him so he hits the ball back to the middle. Since the ball is coming to the middle the feeder feels awkward about hitting a winner so he returns the ball to the opponent's middle of the court...the process continuing with the intensity of two old men watching the sunset from their porch.

The simple baseline game is one of the most useless exercises in tennis. In terms of preparing you for an actual tennis match, it's about as realistic as fireplace DVD and as genuine as a dinner invitation from the cannibal tribes of Papua New Guinea.

If you want to get something out of the workout (besides using tennis as an excuse to not do homework), you have to use some imagination and simulate real life situations. Otherwise, you're better off sitting on your porch and watching the sunset; no need to wait to get old.

Here is a drill that simulates a live match situation: the high backhand game. The rules are simple - the feeder moon-balls the feed to the receiver's backhand; after the bounce, everything goes. That's it. The receiver can step in and take the ball off a short-hop or she can move back and let the ball drop. The receiver can hit a winner off the feed or, if she misses, she loses the point. This game kick-starts the intensity right away and the pattern resembled what goes on in a match quite often - one player pushing the opponent deep into the backhand corner and, consequently, opening up the court for the kill-shot. The feeders can alternate feeds so that everybody can have the opportunity to defend or be on the offense. The picture above shows the bounce of the ball (at least 6-7 feet high - that is, above the opponent's shoulder). This is another example of understanding the external stimuli and learning how to be comfortable under pressure. Furthermore, by noticing the level of discomfort that a high ball creates to you, you will grasp the importance of turning the tables on your opponent and utilizing this strategy in a match.

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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Steal This Drill: Low Volleys

The general consensus among most coaches (and players - current and former) who know a thing or two about the game of tennis is that up-and-coming juniors do not spend enough time honing their volley game. They learn to bash and belt from the baseline but anything inside of the service line is a foreign language to them.

What complicates the situation further is that the "modern" game (seriously, folks, Western grips and open stances have been around since tennis was played on wooden courts) seems to emphasize certain characteristics that do not translate to the volley game. For example, big backswings and open stances don't fit very well when playing at the net. Furthermore, too many players emphasize their forehand - thereby having a predetermined set-up - whereas the net requires a degree of neutrality in order to properly react to both sides relatively quickly.

Lastly, modern technology "evens out" the advantage between the baseline player and the net rusher. That's not to say that the attacking player receives no advantage but, as anyone who has grown up with a wooden racket in their hand would tell you, it was way more difficult to pass with a heavy, wooden racket - particularly when the defender was on the run. 

Therefore, having a good technical foundation at the net is even more important nowadays than "back in the day." So here's a drill to teach you how to properly move, get low and "punch" the ball. Set up a cone around 8-9 feet from the net (orange circle). The feeder (red square) feeds soft, dipping balls side to side right when the player is ready to "round the cone" (blue line). In this drill, the player does not have a racket in hand. Instead s/he lunges forward and across (left foot on the forehand; right foot on the backhand) and catches the ball with BOTH hands (THIS IS IMPORTANT) out in front (the ball is discarded to the side).

This drill teaches the net player to: (1) ATTACK the volley with his legs; (2) make contact with the ball IN FRONT; (3) by using both hands to catch the ball, SQUARING the correct shoulder in front; (4) NOT OVERRUN the volley (lunge slows the forward momentum); and (5) focus on CORRECT recovery. As the player gets better, the cone can be pushed further back in order to simulate a different angle of attack. The racket can be introduced after the player masters the proper movement and upper body positioning (preventing the player from stabbing or flailing at the ball). Remember: Volleys = LEGS! 

Here's the Beast from the East in action demonstrating proper execution of this drill: 

ABOVE: knees bent (back knee is well below the front knee); arms in front; left shoulder in front. 

ABOVE: power lunge forward with left foot; attacking the ball with both hands; back straight; head still. And notice the hind foot acting as an anchor (slowing down the forward momentum). 

ABOVE: attacking the ball with right foot; both hands in front; right shoulder forward; ball is at eye level. 

ABOVE: left knee WAY below the right knee (PERFECT positioning); attacking the ball with both arms in front of the body; ball is eye-level; perfect balance. 

Q&A: Stroking Felt With Anthony Ross

 

Our most recent contribution to our Stroking Felt With...series comes from Anthony Ross. Anthony is presently a sport psychologist registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA). He is also a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the College of Sport Psychologists (CoSP). He works primarily with children, parents, and coaches in developing well-being and performance in/through sport. Anthony is a leading researcher regarding parental roles in child development through sport undertaking his Masters and Ph.D. studies in the area. Anthony is also a principal contributor to Skillforkids.com where he writes on topics including sport parenting. Previously Anthony played tennis professionally as a doubles player competing at tournaments including Wimbledon. 

By way of background, I first met Anthony when I transferred to Pepperdine (from Fresno State) in January of 1998. I had taken the fall semester off in 1997 in order to play some tournaments and figure things out (i.e., whether to continue on at Fresno, transfer to Pepperdine or go somewhere else altogether) and I recall that he was coming in for the spring semester as well. Although we weren't roommates, we became instant friends. Initially, we shared a suite and the thing that stood out the most is how Rossie could sleep through anything. And by "anything" I mean his roommates 24/7 sessions of playing Doom at full volume. THAT would not have worked for me. Another thing that I remember about Rossie is his full-on sprint towards the net when playing a doubles match against Tennessee at the NCAA D-1 National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle. Someone on our team had popped up an easy sitter right on top of the net that was just waiting for the other team to put away. Rather than backing up, Anthony sprinted towards the net at full steam, dodged under and held the racket up with two hands. The opponent (Peter Handoyo) hit an absolutely killer overhead RIGHT INTO ANTHONY'S RACKET!!! The ball rebounded over the net for a winner. STUNNING! It all happened so fast and my partner, Oliver Schweizer, and I were awestruck (as were the opponents). I think that Rossie's hands are still shacking from the impact. This incident epitomized Anthony's attitude on-court. He was a true warrior with a solid return and net game coupled with a "never say die" attitude so typical of Australian players. In addition, he worked very hard on his game as well as developing his speed, stamina and strength off-court. Lastly, he was an all-around guy who was well-liked and respected by teammates and opponents alike. 

Quick Bio: ATP high ranking - 134 doubles; 1087 doubles. Member of Pepperdine men's tennis squad from 1996-2000. All-American honors in 2000 (reached quarterfinal of NCAA D-1 Championships along with Sebastien Graeff). Contributor to Tennis Australia magazine. Worked with Queensland Academy of Sport to provide assistance with decision making under pressure for some of Australia's finest young sports people, including the former World Number 1 Under 12 tennis player, Bernard Tomic. 

1. At what age did you start playing tennis and how did you "fall" into it? 

A: I started played around the age of 7. I did so because my family played socially so I started joining in at that age.

2. At what age did you start taking tennis seriously (i.e., when you knew that you wanted to become a tennis player)? 

A: Around the age of 11 or 12 I started playing tournaments and doing quite well. I played a lot of different sports but about this age I realized tennis was my favourite so I began playing more tournaments and less of the other sports. I think by the time I was 15 I thought I would like to try to be a professional player one day.

3. How did your workouts change once you decided that you wanted to be a tennis player?

A: At the age of 14 I moved to Brisbane to join the National program that was set up at the time. This would involve about 6 on court sessions a week either before or after school. The main difference was the increase in intensity and competition among all the players that were there. 

4. If you've had to guess, how many hours on the court do you think you've spent between picking up the racket and enrolling at Pepperdine?

A: Wow. I really have no idea. But generally speaking after high school for a couple of years it was 4 hrs a day 6 days a week. In college our training went 3 hrs each afternoon. And playing on the tour depended on the situation. Obviously many thousands of hours.

5. Who influenced you most as an athlete?

A: I would say my parents. Now since I work with many young athletes in my role as a sport psychologist at SportParentSupport.com I understand the incredible influence parents have on children’s sport development. In my case my parents provided a lot of support but most importantly they were able to communicate their unconditional love no matter how I performed. This I believe is the most critical element of any young players successful development because that base allows players to better cope with the incredible stresses of competition.

6. If you had the chance to go back in time and talk to yourself as a 15year old, what tennis-advice would you give yourself?

A: I would probably say focus more on developing your game vs winning. Obviously learning to compete and win is an important skill but I probably focused on winning at the expense of developing my game when I was young which meant that when it really mattered when I turned 18-19 my skills were limited. I worked hard in college to overcome this but to a degree it was too late at this stage.

7. What was your favorite drill or thing to work on growing up? Did you prefer playing points? Did you like working on specific things? 

A: I loved to compete so I loved playing points the most. When I was young I was a grinder who couldn’t volley but in college there was a big emphasis on doubles and I enjoyed the quick exchanges at the net so I began to work a lot on doubles drills which ended up making this the strength of my game.

8. Why did you choose to attend Pepperdine and what are your thoughts on college tennis overall? What do you think can be done better in order to have a better experience than you may have already had?

A: I chose Pepperdine because I knew some of the Aussie guys on the team, Troy Budgen and also Brad Sceney. I loved everything about college tennis and if I could I would go back and do it all over again right now. I most loved playing for a team and competing with your mates which made it so competitive. I loved how hard everybody competed and how much everyone wanted to win. I think that everyone who has the opportunity should go to college to compete in tennis. I am not sure what could be done better from my experience- for me it was the perfect opportunity to give me 4 years to compete and continue to improve my game to the point where I was able to spend a few years also competing on the tour playing doubles. 

9. You specialized mostly in doubles and achieved an ATP high ranking of 134 relatively quickly. What were some of the best tour memories and what do you take away from your experience on the tour?

A: Playing Wimbledon was probably the highlight. I remember being beaten in qualifying of doubles after serving for the match at 7-5 5-4 and being absolutely devastated that I had blown my chance to play Wimbledon but then I ended up getting in the mixed doubles so that was great just to experience playing Wimbledon. Another vivid memory was playing Chang and Hrbaty at Japan Open where Chang was like a God in Asia so there was a crazy crowd. But I think my best tennis memories come from playing big college matches. Playing against Georgia at Georgia in front of a packed stadium of crazy college kids cheering against you I think would be my best memory- the atmosphere was unbelievable. In terms of what I have taken from tennis I think I have friends all over the world who I share great memories with so I would say the relationships you build trough tennis.

On a personal level I think it is the discipline I have developed from working so hard at something over a long period. As a tennis player I spent countless hours on the court working at something not getting paid just because I loved it and to give myself a better chance of maybe making some money out of it but with no guarantees. I think that has transferred over to the development of my business life now where I have the discipline to apply myself on my own with no guarantees of any financial rewards. 

10. Tell us something about your current projects, your collaborators and how your background has prepared you for this particular path. For example, did you view tennis as mostly a mental battle and therefore endeavored to learn more about this aspect of the game? 

A: As I said I think tennis had a huge impact on helping me develop the skills for this path. Also I think I am naturally very competitive so I really enjoy to see people develop their mental skills because, yes, I do think that especially as players get to higher levels, the mental aspects are incredibly important. And as I got more involved as a psychologist I started to realize that many players lacked the mental capacity to compete effectively because of the views they had formed of themselves in relation to tennis because of less than ideal interaction with their parents growing up. Or even if players were very successful, they may not enjoy tennis or be comfortable with themselves because they were being driven by fear of how they felt about themselves when they lost through similar developmental relationships.

So as part of my PhD studies I have developed SportParentSupport.com which is an online educational service that seeks to assist parents in fostering well-being through sport. And when parents can achieve this I have found that it also helps players compete effectively as well.

Anthony, thank you for taking the time to speak with us and we wish you the best of luck in all your current and future endeavors. We're looking forward to great things to come tennis-wise from Down Under.