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April 2001 -- Question: I have an organized group of juniors who play at a fairly high level, but I want to keep them striving for higher levels of performance. Does sport science have any information about how to effectively facilitate a skilled player in learning new things: improving tactics, strokes, competitiveness, etc.?
Answer: This type of question is probably the most popular one I receive: How can I help my players improve at a more effective rate? We have all heard the overused phrase to “practice with a purpose,” but I will try to take that phrase to another level as it relates to learning.
Let’s begin with what I have termed the “five limiting factors” of tennis. These factors are limiting only in that they are the reason you win matches, and also the reason you lose matches. If you truly practice to enhance your strengths and improve your weaknesses, you also should improve how competitive you are. These five factors are: Strokes, movement, general fitness, mental toughness and tactics. I will briefly examine each area.
• Strokes – Theories abound about the best way to improve one’s technique. The skill level of the individual plays a role in this, but assuming that you are working with a skilled player, there are several factors with which to be concerned. How long has the player used the technique in question? How motivated is the player to make a technique change? Is the player truly willing to work at making a change? For example, assume you have a player who has a pretty strong forehand but a much weaker two-handed backhand. Many people make the mistake of just drilling and drilling and drilling to improve the weaker backhand but nothing happens.
Learning a new technique doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth. Here is a simple drill that I have used many times in this situation. Have the player hit a solid forehand and literally try to “feel” what it was like – the speed of the racquet, position of the body and arm, rotation of the trunk and so on. Then, immediately grip the racquet with the two-handed backhand grip but take the base hand off (the right hand for a right-handed player) and try to duplicate the feel of the forehand the player just hit with a forehand on the opposite side (a left-handed forehand in our example). Then, no matter what the result of the ball flight, have the player duplicate the feel again with the two-handed grip. This kinesthetic method of learning works very well in many situations for learning tennis technique.
• Movement – There are two fundamental types of movers in tennis, good and not so good. Speed in tennis is dictated by the first step toward the ball. After all, the distance a player moves per stroke is only about four meters so the first step is critical. Teach the player that as the ball is struck on the other side of the net, be ready, read it immediately, react to what has happened and explode to the ball. This visual concept of ready, read, react, explode can be enhanced by the teacher in an auditory way by speaking the word at the time the athlete is to be experiencing it.
• General fitness – Athletes need to be programmed on the needs of their body. Often, tennis players believe they can just play tennis to get fit. As we know today, that is not enough; a player must get fit to play tennis. This means having a sound aerobic foundation. The aerobic base needs to be developed four times per week over a six-week period. Then intermix interval work to the point that the off-court training becomes mostly tennis specific. Ball reaction drills, agility drills and other sprint drills lasting anywhere from 6 to 30 seconds followed by 20 to 30 seconds rest train the body to explode during the point and to recover quickly between points. Combining this form of tennis-specific training with good strength and power training techniques can help the athlete improve performance and prevent injury better than anything else. Just remember, safety is key in any form of fitness training and recovery for the athlete’s body is just as important as any type of stress the athlete encounters.
• Mental toughness – Possibly the most important factor related to an athlete’s success in a match is how “tough” the athlete is when performing under pressure. How well does the player manage mistakes? How easy is it to get through a crisis like high winds or a bad line call? And how does the athlete prepare between points? Shadow tennis, where no ball is in play but the athlete mimics the actions and rehearses the response to making a great shot, missing an easy ball, while also learning how to use the time between points and on the changeover, can help immensely in this area. Again, how realistic the actions are and how specific the drill is to what really happens in a match is important. Of primary concern is that players learn to be process-oriented and not overly results-oriented as competitors. Obviously, any tennis player wants to win but when the competitor’s focus is only on the result and not on the process of playing each specific point with high intensity, the individual can often have a difficult time.
• Tactics – Many skilled players make performance errors when playing because they simply haven’t practiced correctly how to set up and finish a point. Again, drills should be designed to accomplish realistic situations in a match. For example, I have seen many athletes make major competitive mistakes because they didn’t understand the geometry of the tennis court or couldn’t make a decision quick enough about how or where to hit a certain shot. This is readily seen when an easy sitter in the middle of the court causes major stress for a player. A skilled but inexperienced player often thinks he can do anything with the easy shot – deep down the line, deep crosscourt, short angle crosscourt, drop shot down the line, approach down the line and so on. Interestingly enough, the higher the skill level of the player, the fewer choices the player usually has at his disposal. I have always found this interesting since a world-class player truly has the ability to hit almost any shot but may only have two choices for the sitter in the middle of the court (for example, down the line deep or sharp angle crosscourt). That great player has learned to use his strengths in that situation and will finish the point with his weapons. You, as the coach, can conduct drills where the athlete must learn to make decisions that limit what he can do in certain situations. Again, it is all about being specific to the needs of the player.
In summary, practices must be geared around the words “structured” and “specificity.” I am a big believer that each player on your squad or junior group should be profiled and evaluated as to where each one is with strokes, movement, general fitness, mental toughness and tactics. Strengths and weaknesses should be openly discussed. Once the limiting factors are identified and the players are instructed on expectations, each practice session becomes purposeful and the player has the chance to see improvement at a more effective rate. It is this type of structure and need response that will challenge the athlete to improve. So, to overuse another phrase, only “perfect practice makes perfect.
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