I recently received an email from a 4.5 tennis player in the US who posed the following question: I could use some help with a plan to improve. I am a 4.5 rated player in the US and would like to be a 5.5. For some reason, I can’t find a tennis coach to help me with an overall plan; they just want to work in strokes. Any ideas?
After coaching tennis at a large country club in Texas for over five years, I was often faced with the same question from our tournament players who felt like they had plateaued and that simply getting out on the court and working on their strokes didn’t help. I was taking them. to the next level. As a tennis coach, you must be flexible and able to analyze each player and create a plan for their specific and individual needs. This means taking into account all the factors or variables that make a great player.
Professional tennis players cover all areas and there is no reason why you can’t incorporate some of their training plans with a club level player. As you will see below, I discuss and cover some specific areas, from physical, psychological, tactical, etc., that are often neglected by a coach who only sees his role as working on strokes.
So for our 4.5 player I would talk about focusing on some of the following areas that will help him get to the next level without just working on hitting.
Psychological:
gameplan:
Work on your game plan. That’s it; have you scouted your next opponent? Do you have your own game plan ready so you can control the match how you want to play it? Do you have a backup plan in case your first plan doesn’t work out?
Concentration:
Telling yourself to focus more won’t work. However, if he can establish routines before the game, during the game, and after the game, he will be able to focus more on the task at hand. Intermediate points allow your mind to relax and regain your focus as you approach the line to serve or return. The human mind cannot focus continuously, so there is no point in trying to do so.
Scout your opponent:
If you’re in a tournament, go and check out your next opponent. Analyze and watch how they play, what is their favorite shot, what are their weaknesses, do they struggle on big points, do they always go for their favorite shot on a big point, do they have a big shot, etc. Once you have this information, go ahead and create a game plan to beat this player.
Routines:
Have a routine for midpoints that will help you maintain control and composure when you win or lose. Once again, this allows you to have control over how the game is played.
Goal setting:
I know, you’ve all heard this before, but I can’t stress enough that as soon as you write down some realistic goals on paper, you’ll immediately feel like you have a direction and something to train for. It’s a great feeling when you accomplish a goal and can move on to the next.
Physical:
Footwork:
One of the most common problems I faced with club level players was that they had poor footwork which led to poor execution on their shots. Many coaches spend hours and hours trying to teach a player the correct hitting technique when, most of the time, the real problem is that they do not set up the shot correctly and, as a result, being out of position causes the player to use poor technique. technique. Incorporate some of the tennis-specific footwork drills we’ve provided in our e-books.
Strength:
Maybe you lack the physical strength to earn those few extra miles on your serve. One way to add more power to your serve without just serving for hours on end is to hit the gym! Have an experienced gym trainer develop a weight training program to increase her strength and watch her serve become faster and more of a weapon!
Speed:
Maybe you’re not fast enough on the court. Being too slow will have a negative impact on your strokes. You may not recover quickly enough after being out of position, you may not get to the ball in time, and as a result, you may not execute the shot correctly. Speed is a weapon! Just ask Lleyton Hewitt or Rafael Nadal and you’ll soon see how speed is used to your advantage.
Flexibility:
This is often a neglected area. In addition to the known benefits of preventing injuries, there are many direct benefits to improving performance on the pitch. One of my friends, Mark Wellington, trained Maria Sharapova for a couple of years and he always mentioned that he put a lot of emphasis on flexibility and teaching Maria how to move on the court. Having more flexibility will help you recover after each shot and get back in position more quickly for the next shot.
Endurance:
Tennis is often described as an “anaerobic” sport due to the nature of the reasonably short points. However, you need to train your aerobic system so that you can maintain a high level of play until the end. Often a player may be losing matches simply because they fade. All those hours working on strokes won’t help you if you run out of gas!
Reflexes:
By improving your reflexes, you can become more proficient at net and improve other areas of your game, such as returning serve. Many players just don’t react fast enough to a fast serve. As a result, they make errors on the return of the serve or simply do not put the ball back into play.
Tactical:
Have you ever played against someone who was technically more “inferior” to you in the sense that their shots weren’t very efficient but they always had a chance to win? We all have at some point in our tennis careers! Some players are just tough. They know how to break an opponent’s game. They know how to create a game plan that will be successful. They have that ability to win the big points.
So what you need to do is analyze your own game plan. Do you have one when you step on the court? Do you have the ability to stick to a winning game plan but also change a losing one? This is where you can ask your trainer to work with you. Spend an entire lesson playing points and ask your coach to talk you through how to build your points. No hitting technique, just a “Match Play” lesson. This will give you an opposing player’s perspective of what they see in your game.
General:
Technical:
Make sure you have the correct technique on all of your shots. If you have a visible weakness, you can count on your opponent exploiting this blow.
Matches! Matches! Matches! I can’t stress enough how important it is to play games. You can’t just practice or just give lessons and then expect to perform in a competitive situation. You need to play more matches and as a direct result you will become tougher, more experienced in dealing with different players and you will also be able to see what areas you need to improve on when you are in a match. You could even ask a friend to use match evaluation forms to explore your match and then you can see exactly what areas you need to work on. Remember: be a match and not just a practice player!
When coaching competitive women’s teams, I tried to build a lot of my drills around “live ball” or “match type” drills rather than just feeding drills. The more point-based drills you do, the more comfortable you will feel in a real match, as these drills simulate match play that includes unpredictability rather than the predictable ball thrown by a coach.
Practice Partners:
Train with players better than you! If you are a 4.5, do you always play with 4.5 players? If so and you want to get to 5.5 then go out there and play with those top players that will help you raise the level of your game. If your practice partner isn’t pushing you hard enough, find a new one. Join a workout that features these top players. Soon you will be forced to raise the level of your game to compete with these guys.
Many clubs have a men’s group training session on Saturday mornings. You could ask the coach at your club what other workout sessions you could join.
Variety:
If you practice with the same players all the time, you will become one dimensional and get used to their playing styles. Unfortunately, when you’re in a tournament and faced with a completely different style of play, you won’t know how to play them. So, go out there and play with as many different players as you can. Some at the same level as you and others better at level 5.5.
Consistency:
Too often, matches are lost because the player makes too many simple, unforced errors. Become a strong and consistent player first and then work on the big shots. If you continually outdo yourself with simple mistakes, how do you expect to win? Force your opponent to beat you. Reduce your mistakes when making a selection of shots.
fat fish:
once you’ve built up the consistency, you may just need a “big shot” to beat those 5.5 players. Ideally, work on a big serve or a big forehand. Even developing a great kick serve can be used as a weapon. A big fish will intimidate your opponent.
Drills: When training use more live ball drills or matches. Set specific goals for each session and then use our GSC exercises to build on your strengths and also improve those weaker areas. There are hundreds of new exercises in our e-books or on our site, so use them! If your trainer just wants to feed all the time, then they won’t reach their full potential. Choose exercises that are based on point games and match simulation. The transition to real matches will be much easier for you.
Summary:
Improve in the following areas:
game plans
routines
Improve the “mental aspect” of the game.
Concentration
goal setting
play more matches
Improve technical shooting
Play against multiple players
Improve your speed, strength, flexibility, reflexes and footwork
Improve consistency
Develop a big fish
Join an additional league to practice more matches
Add more strokes to your game (e.g. backhand slice, kick serve or drop shot)
Scout future opponents to get ahead
Play with better players than you to help raise your level
Find a great practice partner with goals similar to yours
The beauty of the game of tennis is that there is always something to work on. The hard part is knowing when you’re wasting time on the wrong things. Are you a match player or a practice player? Simply review your entire game and then analyze each area. When I worked with elite athletes as an exercise physiologist, I had to do what we call a “Needs Analysis,” which was simply doing and reviewing every area involved with the athlete and her sport. Then devise a plan to improve each aspect or variable.
Good luck and take control of your own destiny!