The Psychology of a Winner: Improving Your Practice

They say practice makes perfect. I say “perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice is just the first thing you have to keep in mind when you’re aiming for that win on the court. This begs the question then on how do you improve your practice? Look to the four tips below as a place to start:

1. Create a roadmap for success with the “The 5 W’s”

• Who – would use these skills
• What – are the skills needed
• Where – would these skills be executed
• When – would you use these skills
• Why – would you choose to use these skills

2. Vocabulary tips to create a “Common Language”

• 3 Speeds – level 1 slow and spinny, level 2 rally speed and level 3 as hard as you can hit without a miss
• 7 Targets – the 4 squares on the court and serving to A B C – alley, body or center
• 10-12 Steps between each shot – the average for the pros
• 5 Tactical Priorities – in play, direction, depth. spin & speed
• Paying Attention to Tension – on a scale of 1-5, play at level 2 or 3
• Paying Attention to Attention – on a scale of 1-10, compete at 8, 9 or 10
• Watching vs Seeing – 3 tips to seeing the ball – the spin on the ball, the shadow or count as you contact
• 3 kinds of underspins – drop shot, chip shot & slice
• 3 kinds of topspin – drive, loop & lob

3. The “Thrill, Drill & Skill” or the “Skill, Drill & Thrill?”

• 3 Doubles Games to improve the Thrill of competition

1. Attack
2. Getto Tennis
3. Doubles my way

• 3 Singles Games to improve the Thrill of competition

1. 3 to win a major
2. 7 up
3. 1 point – king of the court

• 2 Drills to Improve Doubles Skills

1. The doubles dance – ow to move when you are the server’s partner and the receiver’s partner
2. Knock out – compete cross court on a half court, lose the point and your knocked out and someone else comes in to play against you

• 2 Drills to Improve Singles Skills

1. I’ll take that shot – knowing when to go for a change of direction shot
2. How long can you last – set a target number to rally for before you can try to win the point

• 2 Skills for Improved Doubles Play

1. Double touch volleys – must touch the ball up in the air then play the shot
2. Doubles by hand – no racquets only use the hands to play

• 2 Skills for Improved Singles Play

1. Level 1-2-3 – the speed a player can use to play out the point and decide on a speed for the opponent to use against them
2. 12 step and level 2 of 5 for tension – determine the # of steps a player can use to play out the point and the grip tension they must use to play out the point

4. Wining in Practice – the benefits of altered play

• Playing the score – create scores that a player would face in a match to create pressure in practice
• Situational Tactics – control play by dictating the style a player must play against or use in practice

1. Doubles
2. Singles

Photo Credits: 1

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This post involves:

12 steps, paying attention, priorities, roadmap, start 1, targets, tension, topspin 3, vocabulary

... and focuses on:

Practice, Tennis Tips

Posted by Ken DeHart on January 22, 2009 in Practice, Tennis Tips. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.