I took private lessons from only one professional growing up. I owe a great deal of my passion for tennis to him, as well as a most of my development as a player. During a lesson one day he explained to me the four stages of learning any physical skill, and it's stuck with me to this day. Today's Essential Tennis article won't be as long or technical as the previous few, but the information is very important to understand.
Phase 1: Unconsciously Incompetent
People who are in this phase include everybody who's never played tennis before, along with those who have played for fun, but haven't spent any time pursuing the improvement of any skills or abilities. This is the starting point for every player, no skills, and no knowledge of proper technique.
Phase 2: Consciously Incompetent
Now we have players who are in the beginning stages of improving their games. These players are seeking out information and hep that will benefit their strokes, strategy, and other technique. They now hold knowledge concerning tennis (hopefully it's correct), however, they've yet to experience and practice enough to put these skills into practice consistently. A very large percentage of recreational tennis players fall into this category. They go out and play with their friends once a week for fun or exercise, once in a while they'll flip through Tennis Magazine or discuss a certain stroke with a colleague, but when it comes down to it very few if any of their technique is fundamentally sound.
Phase 3: Consciously Competent
These players play often, and have invested time and effort into really improving their game. There is now an awareness of technique, strategy and stroke production. There is an understanding of right and wrong, good and bad, which elements of their game are strong and which are weak, and they are continuing to improve based on that knowledge. Very few players will get to this point without some kind of professional teaching or coaching, so most consciously competent players are taking lessons either regularly or at least once in a while to make sure they're on the right path. I would say level wise, most of these players fall between 4.0 and 5.0 on the NTRP rating scale.
Phase 4: Unconsciously Competent
This is the ultimate! Only the highest level amateurs (5.0-5.5) and professionally playing tennis competitors ever get a taste of this. This player has the full package in terms technique, every stroke is fundamentally sound and confident after years of repetition and purposeful practice. When this player is operating at full capacity there is no conscious thought! Thats right, they go out and simply perform each part of their game automatically. Each and every stroke has been grooved enough that no thought is needed to perform it correctly. That doesn't mean that this player doesn't make any mistakes. After an error he or she will identify the problem, and the next time said stroke occurs, will be ready to perform it correctly again.
So there you have it, the ladder of tennis success. Only a very small percentage ever reach the top. Please realize that each of these terms is a generality speaking of a players entire game. In other words, one could be at Phase 3 for their backhand, and Phase 4 with their forehand, or have Phase 2 volleys and a Phase 1 serve. For a player to get their entire game to Phase 4 takes a great deal of dedication and work, and its my hope all of you will strive for the excellence that this takes!
Greetings Essential Tennis readers. I hope that you are finding these articles helpful and informative. If you ever have any questions or suggestions feel free to contact me at ian@essentialtennis.com.
Several weeks ago I wrote about the importance of good contact. I daily remind my students that technique becomes almost irrelevant if the strings are not being hit, and so obviously its an extremely high priority on the list of things to accomplish in each and every tennis swing you make. And so, the question is then asked: "Ok great, I understand, but HOW do I hit the strings more often?!".
This task is easier for some people than others. How often you hit your frame or off center on the string face is going to be determined by three main elements: your concentration level, how well you physically watch the ball, and your overall coordination abilities. Below I will cover all three.
Did you know that only a very small percentage of your eye is actually able to focus on a tennis ball, or anything else for that matter? The human eye is able to view almost 180 degrees of vision. Out of those 180 degrees, only two or three of them are actually finely focused and used for daily tasks such as reading, driving, or whatever else your "focus" happens to be on at the time. I often demonstrate this to lessons by picking up two tennis balls, each with a different number on them. I present one to the student about 3 feet away from their eyes and ask for their focus to be on the number of the ball, and to keep it there. I then take the second ball, and start about two feet away from the first one, and ask if they can read the number on the second ball without moving their eyes from the first. The answer is always "no". Then I slowly move the second ball towards the first, to see how far away they can read the number without moving their eyes. Most students can read the second ball once it gets about 2-4 inches from the first. Thats it! From three feet away, you've got about 3 inches of focused eye sight. If that small percentage is not locked on to the ball as it is traveling towards you and meeting your strings, you're using blurry vision to see the ball, and sometimes (depending on your habits) no vision at all! Your focused vision will ONLY stay on the ball if you move your eyes along with the ball through out its path to your racket.
Now that you understand how crucial this watching business is lets discuss the actual technique. What I teach people to do is what I do myself. It's very counter intuitive at first, but I believe its the best way to focus on the ball. After the ball is struck by your opponent your fine vision needs to begin tracking it immediately as you start positioning yourself for your stroke. Now here's the hard part for most people, as the ball approaches and comes into your racket as your make your swing, track the ball with your fine vision all the way to your racket strings, and then LEAVE YOUR EYES THERE. People have an amazingly hard time with this at first. Make your swing, watch the ball hit your racket, and keep your eyes at the point of contact. You will find (if you've never done this before) that you'll have an extremely strong desire to look up and see where the ball is going. Don't, contact is more important, and that needs to be where your focus is. After the ball has left your racket and your swing is complete go ahead and look up to see the resulting shot, and start the process over again when the ball gets to your opponent. Here is an amazing video of Roger Federer doing exactly what I'm describing.
Once you have disciplined yourself to do the above technique, your contact will become better. After you've made it a habit, a great deal of how good of contact you make will be determined by your concentration level. So often during the day I see a player on my court or another set up a great point by hitting a series of strong shots. They work the point well and as a result are rewarded with a weak easy shot that should be an easy put away. They move in for the kill, and shank the ball terribly into the net or outside the court. Sound familiar? Everybody who's ever played tennis has done this. It was the easiest shot of the point! How could this happen? Lack of concentration (or possibly lack of confidence as well, for another article). Do NOT take any shot for granted, no matter how easy. As soon as you lose respect for the swing you're on and stop watching the ball closely your chances of missing the shot go up dramatically. Concentrate on each shot equally and fully, your chances of making good contact will be hugely increased.
Another function of concentration is being aware of exactly where the ball is striking your racket. Not only should you know when you hit your strings and when you don't, but when you errantly strike the ball you need to be aware of exactly where the ball DID hit on your racket. Often times I see students make off center hits in exactly the same place on their frame over and over. Obviously they're making the same error in judgment on each swing, resulting in poor contact. If you're not able to identify where the ball is hitting patterns of contact will be lost on you, as well as valuable improvements that could be made. If you find that on a certain stroke you often hit the top edge of your racket, you're judging the ball to be lower than it actually is, and so make a conscious effort to raise the height of your racket when you make contact next time. This is a combination of concentration and trial and error. Keep paying attention and your contact will continue to improve.
Lastly, good eye-hand coordination will greatly increase your success at hitting your strings. Is it possible to improve your coordination? Absolutely . My #1 tip to students who lack good eye-hand skills is to learn how to juggle. Yes, learn to juggle! I firmly believe anybody can do it if enough time is invested, and your coordination skills will benefit hugely. Think of how easy it will be to watch the ball to your racket when you are able to watch two, three, or even four tennis balls all at once while you juggle. Here is a good link to instructions on how to do it. I taught myself how when I was 10 or 11 from a book, and I'm certain it had a big effect on my development as a player.
Thats all for this week! This turned out to be a longer article than I expected, hopefully some of you read it all the way through and found the information informative. Good luck with your tennis!
In this article I'm going to discuss something thats a large part of my teaching; being relaxed. I find that such a large majority of recreational players are tense and tight while playing and practicing tennis, and very few realize it, nor understand the implications that it has on their game.
First off let me go over why this is so important. You will never realize your full athletic potential unless you learn to train your body and mind to stay relaxed. Obviously there needs to be a mental and physical sharpness and awareness to perform any kind of athletic skill at a competent level. However, actual tension of muscles while trying to execute a stroke, or anxiety of the mind and thoughts during a match are incredibly destructive to ones game. Today I will go over how essential a relaxed body is to your tennis.
As a teacher of tennis I have done my best to study each stroke in tennis very closely. The more I can understand about technique the better I can serve my clients in improving their skills as much as possible. In watching a person's strokes, tension and tightness is definitely way up on the list of things that I try to identify right away. Why? Because any muscle tightness during any tennis stroke immediately make every movement much more work and effort to perform. Worse yet, somebody who is very tight will not only have to work harder, but usually it means that some movements and techniques of any given stroke won't even be completed because their own body is holding them back. Take for example a forehand ground stroke. When behind the baseline and making a swing at the ball you have at the very least 78 feet of court at your disposal. A good ground stroke is lifted over the net and driven deep into the opponents court so as to keep them pushed back away from you and in a position that makes it difficult for them to attack. The longer of a path your racket travels before, during, and after contact the more likely you will accomplish the lift and drive necessary to hit such a shot. The shorter of a path your racket travels, the more effort it takes to hit the same shot. Basically, speed multiplied times length is going to equal your potential for power and spin on your forehand, and every other stroke requiring pace and spin.
Now consider for a moment how many muscles must be summoned and used to create a deep and effective ground stroke. The human body has around 700, so its pretty safe to say dozens, and probably hundreds of muscles are in use depending on how advanced of a swing you have. The more relaxed those used muscles are the more freely they're going to move, and the more potential will be available for both length of swing, and speed of swing. The more of them are tight, the less likely your swing will be long or fast to begin with, and even if you still manage it, it's going to take a great deal more effort than it should. While reading an article recently I saw a great quote coming from the realm of martial arts. I'm sorry I don't have the exact words nor the source, but it stated: "One's ability to create power, is directly proportionate to ones ability to relax". They know their stuff.
Lastly let me talk about where I believe a great deal of tension comes from in the fist place. Failure. Listen to the average tennis player after missing a shot long or wide outside the lines: "oohhh, too much!", "Darn, I hit it too hard again". Rarely is this actually correct. If sound technique is used, a great deal of pace is available for any player to take advantage of. When said "too hard" shot is missed, most players' immediate physical response is to become tentative on the following shot. This may or may not keep the next shot in play, and then the next time a shot is missed, often times the player tightens up even more. This is how people get stuck playing at the same level of tennis year after year. Rather than fix the actual technical reason that the ball left the boundaries of the court, a great deal of players will simply pull back physically to try and rein their shots in. The result after repeating this time and time again is short, tight strokes that take more effort and net less results.
So in conclusion, stay relaxed! If you're a better than average player please don't think you're exempt. Over the past several months I've been really rehashing my backhand ground stroke big time. Through less than great technique I've acquired a great deal of tension on that side, and it has taken a lot of conscious effort to start loosening it up again. If you're an average, or less than average player then you're in luck! This can really help you out a great deal. Next time you go out to practice really be conscious of your muscles as you swing. If your hand, arm, and core feel tight what so ever through out any certain swing, then there's a lot more to be had. Find a tennis professional who knows good fundamental technique and start getting everything you can out of your game!
As always, its my sincere hope that this could have helped your game! Feel free to leave me any questions or comments at tennisproian@gmail.com. See you next week
I'd like to write today about something that all players should be considering as they play and practice. Most lower and mid level recreational players are not even aware that there are patterns of play that are more successful than others. Mid to upper level players may be conscious of it, but I rarely see very many of them take full advantage of it in their point play on the court.
Ever watch a professional tennis match on TV, and wonder to yourself "why do they keep hitting the ball back to each other?". Often times you will see pros get into repetitive cross court court rallys. The reason is, each is waiting for an opportunity to hit down the line that would give them an advantage. Hitting cross court is safer, and they know it, so a smart player will often only hit cross court unless there's an opportunity that out weighs the risk.
Most of the reasons that cross court is better are pure geometry. Tennis is a game of angles, and you need to know how to take advantage of them. Below I will list the three main reasons that you need to be playing and practicing cross court.
1. There's more room to hit to! In fact, a lot more room to hit to. Every tennis court is 78 feet in length. When you aim down the line, thats about how much room you're going to have to lift the ball over the top of the net, and still have it fall safely within the lines. From corner to corner cross court in singles, you have an extra 4 and a half feet! Thats huge. Think about how many ground strokes you miss by a foot or two, if you were smart and aimed to the largest part of the court, these mistakes would be reduced. In doubles, the difference between down the line and cross court is a full 8 feet. Thats larger than a 10% increase in space to hit to. Please re-think that return down the alley.
2. This one is self explanatory, but certainly worth stating. The net is lower in the middle. When you hit from corner to corner on a tennis court, not only are you using the largest amount of court space available, but you're hitting over the lowest part of the net. You've now decreased risk in two different ways. At the net post, a regulation net is 3.5 feet. At the middle, it is 3. So that cross court return in doubles gives you an extra 8 feet of court, and half a foot of net.
3. When you hit at an angle, your opponent has to work harder to get to the ball. Everything else being equal, when you hit cross court, your opponent will have farther to travel to get to the ball, as opposed to hitting down the line. The angled shot will travel farther and farther away from him or her the longer it takes for them to retrieve it, where as a ball hit straight will continue to stay the same distance from them through out its path.
So there you have it. Not only is cross court safer in every regard, but your opponent will have to work harder to get to the ball. It just doesn't make sense to go down the line a lot. Now, as with anything, there are exceptions. Here's a short list of reasons why you may want to go down the line and incur the extra risk:
1. If your opponent has a noticeably weaker side. Sometimes it just makes sense to put the pressure on a weak backhand or forehand. Wait for a relatively easy shot, and then go for it.
2. If your opponent is well out of position. If they're having a hard time recovering towards the middle of the court after a well hit angle from you, then down the line can pay off.
3. If you're approaching the net in singles. This is called "shading", or following the ball as you approach. I will write a full article on this at some point.
4. In doubles, once you get up in front of the service line and get an easy volley or overhead, often times you have a net player directly across from you also at the net. In this instance straight ahead and at the feet of the net player is a great place to aim.
Well hopefully you now have a good understanding of why cross court is in general superior to down the line. Down the line isn't "wrong", but if you're trying it even close to the number of times you're hitting cross court I can pretty much guarantee you're making a lot more mistakes than you should be. Save the high risk shot for when you have the upper hand, and you will be more successful!
In my 40 hours of teaching tennis each week, there is one phrase that I undoubtedly say more often than any other: "Off center!". By this I mean that the student has made contact with the ball somewhere other than the center of their racket. If you're a recreational tennis player then I can just about guarantee you this happens more often than you think.
After making terrible contact on a certain shot and not even coming close to their target I will often ask my students "so why did you miss that shot?". If they've never had a lesson with me before more often than not they will answer "because I didn't turn my shoulders", or "because I didn't swing up" etc, when in fact the ball didn't even hit their strings.
Why am I spending time writing about what seems to be an incredibly obvious thing that needs to be done in order to be a successful tennis player? Because its so important, and because I'm quite convinced most average level tennis players have no idea when they do it correctly or not.
When it comes down to it, whenever you attempt any stroke in tennis if you cannot hit the middle of the racket face then nothing else even matters. Did you hear that? Nothing else matters. All those hours you spent working on that new top spin forehand swing, go right out the window. Why? Well, because your strokes are all formed based on the premise that you're going to be hitting your racket face. When good contact doesn't occur, even the most perfect technique can't guarantee a successful shot, where as perfect technique along with correct contact WILL occur in a good shot every time.
Hitting off center on your racket will basically bring a random result, based on how far off center you actually are. If any part of your frame is hit you can pretty much forget about making your planned shot most of the time.
So how can you tell if you're hitting off center? This is something every tennis player needs to be conscious of, it's extremely important. There are three main ways in which you'll be able to tell if you've made good contact on any shot. They are:
1. The sound. Pay close attention to this. I hear thousands of contacts per day, and could easily tell you blind folded how good of contact any particular shot has been. In trying to teach this to junior clinics, one of my helpers likes to say that a nice shot will make a pretty "ting!" sound, where an off center hit will create a "thunk!" type noise. There's many variations of these sounds depending on how closely you get to the exact center of your strings, or exactly how much of your frame you hit, and everything in between. Listen closely and see the resulting shot, and you should be able to start identifying which is which.
2. The feel. This is another big one, in fact, I would say this is probably the biggest indicator. Often times after not even being close to making good contact, a beginner or intermediate tennis player will say to me "wow I need to start gripping my racket tighter, it keeps slipping in my hand". My reaction to this is "NOOOOO!". Ok, so I don't react that strongly, I would have lost my job by now if I did. If the ball hits right in the middle of your racket, your tennis racket will NOT twist or turn in your hand. It will stay stable because where the ball struck the racket face is right in line with the grip of the racket where your hand is holding it. The farther contact deviates from the center of the strings, the more the racket will want to twist in your hand. You will also feel a twinge and vibration caused by the poor hit, more or less depending on how poor contact was. I like to refer to a shot where great contact was made as a "clean hit", it will sound and feel nice and crisp. Again, if you're not conscious of these things in the first place then you won't be able to tell the difference.
3. The result! If you had a certain target in mind, were in good position, and made a reasonably good swing only to have the ball fly way off course then most likely your contact was poor. Being just a little bit off center will cause softer touch shots and volleys to fall woefully short of their goal, being very fall off center can cause any shot or swing to miss by large margins. Now, there's a myriad of different reasons why you can actually miss any given shot, thats why I can actually earn a living as a tennis professional, heh. Therefore, you need to be reasonably sure that your stroke was correct in order to use this indicator for good contact.
So the next time you miss a shot, try to recall the sound, the feel, and the result. If any one of those three things seemed off its quite possible you just hit off center. If you can recall any two, or even all three being off, then you can be 100% certain of it.
How can you improve your contact? By watching the ball! I will write on that in a later installment of this blog. It's a whole subject in and of itself. Until then, play well!
