Let’s talk tennis practice shall we… Or should I say what NOT to do in tennis practice…

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that winners never quit and quitters never win.  Now, for the most part, that’s true.

But there’s a time when quitting during tennis practice can actually translate into BIG Ws on on match day.

How?

KNOW YOUR LIMITS IN EACH TENNIS PRACTICE!

A lot of players think that it’s the longer you practice, the better. But the reality is, it’s the smarter you practice, the better your results!

For example, when you’re involved in a tennis practice session, you likely will be going through a series of tennis drills.

And with each of those tennis drills, you’ll have specific goals in mind with the hopes of strengthening certain parts your game.

Now, working to reach these goals, is not going to be a walk in the park most times. If you’re an intense player who practices hard, you’ll need to draw pretty substantially from both your mind as well as your body to achieve success.

So yea, you’re definitely going to be working hard. And the longer you’re mentally and physically engaged, the less mental and physical energy you’ll have at your disposal.

Then, as you continue to work, little by little, the harder it’s going to be to focus and execute properly. It’s only natural.

It’s like when you’re driving your car. The more you rev the engine, the longer you have your foot on the gas, the more quick turns you’re forced to take, the more you’re forced to speed up then slam on your brakes, the faster your car is going to deteriorate. And the harder it’s going to be to achieve top performance.

So, once you feel that starting to happen to you…  When you’re feeling overwhelmingly fatigued and start to see your form take a plunge for the worst, you want to seriously consider stopping, or at least taking a break for a moment then coming back to it.

Why? Because, when practicing, your body is learning. So if you force the issue when your performance is becoming consistently poor, you’re going to start teaching yourself some very bad habits.

Your tennis mind and your muscles will begin to record those movements (…those awkward swings, lopsided stances, those delayed ways in which you recover), and you’ll sub-consciously think that it’s OK to do that. The invisible bar that determines what is needed to win will be drastically lowered.

And with each sub-par or ill-prepared shot that you end up “shanking” over the net, you’re going to be erasing one of your solid ones you completed before the breakdown.

Yea, you’ll be undoing all the “good” work you just did and replacing it with the opposite.  As a result, those undesired movements will be a lot more likely to creep up in your next match by surprise.

And let me tell you, with all the added pressure piled high when it counts most, they’ll be much more difficult to correct.

So, let’s say you’re working on increasing your footwork skills and staying on your toes, and you’ve been doing it pretty efficiently…

Then all of a sudden, your feet  start to feel like cement. You find yourself flat-footed and lunging at the ball time and time again (…even though you know what to do). The balls keep shooting into the net.

What should you do? Quit. Yes, I said it. Quit for for a minute or two, then comeback to it. Or go on to something else.  Now some players may say, “Hey no pain no gain. You have to make mistakes if you want to get better!”

That’s very true. But don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.  Certainly, at times,  it very well CAN be the result of  a quick lapse or hitch that you can get passed if you just keep working at it.  But if you try a few more (…say 5+) and still NO improvement, then you know it’s time.

By discontinuing the negative or unwanted behavior in tennis practice (… the flat-footedness, the lunging, the reaching etc) once you’ve reached your thresh hold, you won’t be tricking yourself.

The positive results will greatly outweigh/outnumber that of the negative and will be the majority of what you remember. Your body and mind will really only know one way to operate – one way that feels and appears acceptable – the way that will produce solid shots and great court movement.

And because of that, it’ll be much easier for you to produce those same results later on when things are live and the stakes are at their highest, because you’ve really grooved it in deep.

So, if you feel ultra fatigued and things aren’t going right, don’t sabotage yourself. Don’t do what many players do and force it.

A couple times doing it the right way int tennis practice always trumps doing it the wrong way 100 times over in tennis practice.  So, store the good habits, and eliminate the bad ones.

And the best way you can learn that is, while in tennis practice, listen to your body. Take a break to re-group, re-think, and re-energize before you continue on.

Have a great week and an even BETTER game!

All the best,

Brian Hall, Head Coach
TennisMindCamp

Tagged as: quitters never win, quitting in tennis