Archive for the ‘Mental’ Category

Posted on September 26, 2008 - by Michael

Even Kids Need a Strategy

Even kids need a strategy. This is something I see all the time. People learning to play tennis are so focused on the technical aspect they have very little direction in a match. Children, in particular are focused on technique AND VERY vulnerable to distractions.

So, parents, here is a great tip to tell your children, just before they go out on the tennis court to play match.

* win the first two points of every game.

* hit two balls to the backhand, then one to the forehand.

By telling children to focus on just these two simple things, they now have a plan. When times get tough in the match they have a friend. Their plan.

People learning to play tennis do not have distinct strengths and weaknesses, therefore your opponent of equal ability really has no massive strength or no massive weakness. Therefore a basic plan really focussing on yourself will be the most effective.

Let’s talk about the two tips in more detail.

Win the first two points of every game. This actually applies to players at every level however it is very important to beginners who need to understand the importance of getting in front in an individual game. Beginners in particular are more likely to have a negative reaction to losing the first two points. They are more likely to throw the towel in, have a tantrum, drop their bundle. Especially kids. Therefore if you can focus on winning the first two points they may be handed the rest of the game with easy points.

Hit two balls to their backhand, then one to their forehand. the goal of this tip is to basically have some direction with every shot that they hit. So many kids just hit the ball aimlessly. Everybody needs direction with every shot. In actual fact, it doesn’t matter where the ball ended up, just as long as you have a plan. I have chosen to to the backhand won to the forehand because usually players backhands are weaker than their forehands. If there is an obvious weakness, play two shots to that side and one to the strong side.

Recently I saw a great example of this work. The standard of the two young players was very similar. Before the match I told his father, to tell his son, to concentrate on those two tips. During the match, the opponent became very annoying on court. He was screaming “come on” on a double fault. For an innocent ten-year old this is very distracting. By having the basic plan - this gave him direction during hard times. He was able to focus during a very distracting match and beat this opponent.

Let me know what you think !! Enjoy, Michael

Posted on September 23, 2008 - by Michael

Straighten Your Strings to Improve Concentration

The tennis court can be a very lonely place for a singles player. In between points it is easy for our mind to wander and be distracted. People wandering around the behind court, planes flying over, other matches going on around you, all have the potential to take your focus away from the match.

It is impossible, nor is it recommended that you stay focused during the whole match. You need to have many breaks, in between points. The challenge, is to regain a high level of concentration quickly at the start of each point.

A technique, I am sure that you have seen the professionals do, is to maintain straight strings in your racquet. Keeping your strings straight makes very little physical difference, however is a great concentration technique.

You will see top players continually straightening their strings before each point. While they are straightening their strings their concentration is very focused. It gives them place for their eyes to focus while they think about the next point and how they going to execute their plan.

If you stick to this technique is easy to see when you are not concentrating. If you look down at your racquet, notice that all your strings are not straight, you need to concentrate more and take more time before points.

Try it out and let me know how you go!

Michael

Posted on September 19, 2008 - by Michael

Do not think during a match.

Ok, the title is not entirely true - however the point is DO NOT think TOO much during the match.

During the match is the time to EXECUTE everything that you have thought about before the match.

What am I talking about?? Ok. Before a match you would have trained and practiced. You would have worked on your technique across all your shots. You would have found great rythm on your serve and ground strokes. You also should have developed a clear plan / strategy on how you are going to play this match. Plan A and Plan B.

Do you see what I refer to when I say THINKING? During a match is the time to EXECUTE all these things. Forget about technique, you can not change that in a match. Forget about rhythm - it is your opponents objective to ensure you get no rhythm! Also forget about strategy.. it is pretty tough to work out a solid plan when you are in the middle of a match. Before the match is the time for that.

So, during the match you are relaxed and free to only think about executing your PLAN to beat this opponent. Focus on your plan, have confidence in your plan and most importantly STICK TO IT. Give your plan time to work.

So many people come into a match with a plan and then get discouraged because they are down in the first set. They go to plan B, which also fails.. What happens then? Then they are totally lost. When you are totally lost you are hitting balls aimlessly and points have less meaning. Then what do you start to think of? …. Technique, or creating plan C. During that time, game after game is slipping away and ultimately the match.

IF you PREPARE your plan well, be confident to EXECUTE it. Sometimes your plan may take a few games or set to take effect.

THINK before a match EXECUTE during the match..

Michael

Posted on August 10, 2008 - by Michael

Enhance Coordination and Awareness

Ok, I heard about this last night and tried it. This is a great little test and skill enhancer. We are not working on improving any stroke in particular however your whole game will improve.

The drill goes like this.

What you need - 2 players. One Serving and the other Receiving. 2 balls - one for the server and one for the receiver.

1. The Receiver starts the drill by bouncing a ball on their racquet, not letting it touch the ground.
2. The server serves another ball whenever he or she is ready. - Second Serve speed - about 80% serve.
3. The receiver must continue to keep bouncing the ball on their racquet, hit the ball the server served and continue bouncing the ball on their racquet.

It sounds difficult however you work it out after a few serves. What I worked out is - tap the ball gently only leaving the racquet about 1 foot. Just after the server makes contact with the ball tap the ball higher (not sure how high I was not watching the ball in the air - I was focussing on the return- maybe 3 meters)

This really trains you to work on your peripheral vision and after a while you are actually become quite relaxed and confident you can make the return and keep bouncing the ball on your racquet.

After you have finished that drill try hitting normal returns… How easy are they now !!!

By overloading your system you work on all your senses. An advanced version of this would be to have people throwing balls at you, random noise next to you, or obstacles you need to step around. When all these distractions are taken away and ‘all’ you have to do is hit a return it much easier !

What do you think? Leave a comment or let us know another drill you like and use

Michael

Posted on July 30, 2008 - by Michael

Managing Anxiety and Nerves

Ok, firstly anxiety and nerves are slightly different things.
Anxiety is where you are looking forward to achieving a particular outcome in the future. The frustrating part about anxiety is that you are basically waiting for a ‘time’ to achieve it. For example a match on the weekend, in a few hours etc. Usually anxiety goes away once the match has started and you are able to do something about the outcome.
During a match or just before anxiety is usually replaced by nerves. So, what are these nerves? A definition of nerves is: ‘the gap between what needs to be done and what you believe you can do’.

Nerves are good - it mean that you care about the outcome !
Again, ‘what needs to be done’ - beat this opponent, play strong, volley well, work out how to beat someone.
The next part - ‘what you believe you can do’ - can you beat this opponent, play well etc. The closer your ‘belief’ on your ability to ‘achieve’ what needs to be done the less nerves you should have…. Never thought about it that way? The nerves are proportional to the size of the gap! Examples
If you are confident you can beat someone you might be slightly anxious to do it - but not nervous.
If you think you are going to loose, and are sure you can achieve loosing well you wont be nervous. (being negative - but proving a point)
If you are playing a good player of similar standard however you are feeling a little rusty, well you might feel nervous about how you will perform on the day.
How do you reduce nervousness?? Increase confidence. How do you increase confidence? Be confident in your preparation leading into the match. Your fitness, technique, routines etc.
If you are well prepared, confident with what you have done before the match you should be less nervous.
Preparation is something you can work on to reduce anxiety ! It makes you already in control of the outcome - preparing yourself. Now do you see how they fit together?? Interesting…
There also other tips for confidence like strategy and mental rehersal - that is going to be in another article!!
Have a great day !! Michael

Posted on July 26, 2008 - by Michael

Winners Don’t Hit Winners

Well the title is not entirely true. However, the point is that winning tennis matches is not about hitting winners. Yes, hitting a winner feels great ! I think it is one of the most exhilarating feelings. The more difficult the shot, the greater the feeling when you make it. Personally, being pulled wide on my backhand, then executing a winner down the line feels fantastic ! You have such a small thin slice of court in which to land the ball - high risk and high reward. Anyone watching loves it and the opponent will be impressed.

However, does that win matches? Unfortunately the answer most of the time is no. The chances of hitting winners all match is very low. The risk of these attempted winners becoming unforced errors is very high. Some players, sometimes will hit winners shot after shot, however usually that will only last a few points or games. Maybe they can keep it up for a set, but not likely for a whole match.

I am considering a winner to be one where you have executed a shot at about 95%, it would need to be close to the lines and unreachable by your opponent.

So when is the best time to go for a winner? Hmmm, tough question..

Some would think - when you have a decent lead on the opponent. However you should never change a winning game. You should be closing the match out not handing points back to them.

Maybe, if you have little or no chance of winning the point so it is ‘do or die’. Clean winner or loose the point. However if you dont go for a winner and give the opponent another shot - they might make an error on their shot or play a weak shot so you can recover. So really you MAY still win the point.

If you have a short ball and maneuvered your opponent out of court, a high percentage winner is a good shot selection !

Maybe the secret is Winners in Moderation..

Let me know your thoughts… Winners feel great, they get the crowd excited but do they win matches?

Something to think about !! Sign up to ensure you do not miss the Daily Tennis Tips. Please contact us with comments, suggestions, topics etc.

Until Tomorrow !! Michael

Posted on July 17, 2008 - by Michael

Talk to Your Towel

For singles players The Tennis Court can become a lonely place. There are so many things going on out there and it is left to you to process them all and work out what to do.

Well here is a tip. Pretend, in your mind that your towel is your new best friend and coach. Take him or her with you all over the court. Your towel follows you down each end of the court and every time you need a chat do it! (You can actually wipe your face and forearms with it too !)

It may sound strange, but by talking to your towel - probably not too loud - you are actually talking to your self, and having to construct your thoughts in a coherent way. Therefore the jumbled ideas in your head become clearer. Listening to yourself or asking yourself questions, you WILL give your self answers.

There is a great book called ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ and early in the book it talks about Self One and Self Two. You become the player and the coach. Talk about what to do next, if you are feeling tired etc. IT is also a way for you to ‘vent’ and become more relaxed afterward.

By talking to the towel you start to ask the coach in you clear questions and YOU WILL get answers. Remember not to talk too loud, maybe you dont need to actually say anything out loud, but just go through the process and see how that goes !

Thanks for listening and keep the feedback coming in.. It is great to hear !!

Michael

Posted on July 16, 2008 - by Michael

Win the Warm Up

It is important to get off to a quick start in a match. Why not start with the warm up! The best part is you make the rules and start controlling what is happening on the court. I am not talking about hitting winners or junk in the warm up. It is unsportsmanlike and you should always respect your opponents needs to warm up. Tennis is one of the few sports where you actually warm up the person you are about to try and beat.

Focus on making no unforced errors. In the warmup you should be looking for your opponents weaknesses and not letting them see any of yours. Focus on not having any balls sitting on your side of the net.

After warming up your ground strokes be the first to come into the net to warm up your volleys. This shows that you are happy with your ground strokes and are moving on. You are already starting to control the match.

After you have practiced your serves to first court be the first to change sides and serve to second court.

Finally, when you are practicing your serves to second court offer to start the match before the opponent. “Are you Ready?”

This is what I call win the warm up. You are already focusing your attention to the job at hand AND you are already appearing like a solid opponent who is already in control and knows what they want.

Keep that momentum going and win the first game, serving or receiving, it sets a nice tone for the match !!

Enjoy and keep improving. Dont forget to Sign Up to ensure you do not miss a Tip!

You never know, the next tip could be the difference between winning and loosing your next match!

Posted on July 10, 2008 - by Michael

Respect Your First Serve

It happens all too often. Before we know it we are about to serve a second serve. What happened to the first one? Did we just throw it away? Is it because we have a second chance that we treat the first serve with less respect? We might just have a slap at it, go for a big hard flat serve and not really think about it. Then, if it goes in, well that is a bonus.

If you look at the statistics of elite level matches usually the winner has a higher first server percentage. Is this just a coincidence OR are we looking at something obvious here?

Lets think about it. In theory, when you are service your first serve you are in a stronger position than the returner. They do not know how conservative you are going to be, in actual fact they expect you to be attacking your first serve. Therefore most of the time the receiver in defensive mode, just trying to hit a decent return to neutralise your server - then you both can fight for the point.

Now the interesting thing, on the second server the attitude changes. As the server, you must get this one in. You are more conservative. The returner is more attacking than what they were on the first serve.

The receiver steps up into the court and is ready to attack your potentially weaker second serve. The receiver is more positive and more prepared, which you do not want.

The point is that you have so much more advantage on the first serve than the second serve. Treat it with respect. How?

Work hard to increase your first serve percentage by really thinking about it before you hit it. Treat the first serve like you do not have a second serve. Maybe back the pace off a bit from 95% to 85% and add a little spin to increase the margin for error.

The first server already has ‘natural pressure’ associated with it. Let the natural pressure of the first serve work in your favor!

A great way to practice this is play a set only using a single server per point. Pretend second serves do not exist. Sounds scary doesnt it !! Yep, miss the first serve, its the oppontnets point. As I write this t makes me nervous !!

Look forward to your serve !! Until tomorrow !