Is tennis practice really a waste of time? Now, think about that while I ask you something else.

Do you like to win? Of course! Now, let me ask you something else. Do you like to practice? Probably not as much, right?

Well, what if I told you that you could actually practice less and get even better results, would you believe me? Well it’s true.

Now, let’s get one thing straight right away. Yes, tennis practice is one of the most (…if not the most) important aspect of your game.

It’s one of the  main catalysts for your ability to improve and get better.  No one can argue with that.

But that said, don’t get confused.  Though you want to work and practice hard (…rather than be lazy) in the time used to prepare for match day, you don’t have to be out there from sun up to sun down to see progress. It’s all about MAXIMIZING.

It’s quality over quantity.  Oh yea, I know you’ve heard it about 1,000 times since you we’re writing an essay for your 5th grade English class (…because you we’re trying to reach that required page length). But, it’s 100% true for your tennis practice sessions.

The sad truth is that there are tons of players who don’t know this. They’re out there putting in tons of time, but still don’t see results.  Why is that?

Well, one of the main reasons why players are not seeing the “fruits of their labor” and often putting down their rackets because of it, is because their central approach to the actual tennis practice itself  is very much flawed.

How so?  In many of those cases, players and coaches, are *PRACTICING COLD*.  No, they’re not conducting drills in the Siberian Arctic .

What I mean is, they come to the court without a clue as to what is going to be worked on. Yea, they just set up the agenda on the fly.  You ever done that – just live in the moment out there on the court and do sort of whatever comes to mind? That sound familiar?

If it does, let me tell you, that kind of approach and thinking is great for a vacation or a weekend sail on the pacific. But it will absolutely kill your hopes of maximizing your tennis practice.

If your tennis practice has no structure, you’re wasting a ton of time – time you could actually be learning and grooving in your strokes. But instead, you’re out there mentally lost and greatly slowing down your rate of progress.

See, you don’t have time to sit there, think about what you’re going to do – bouncing ideas off of your hitting buddy until you both can agree on what should come next. It’s kind of like if you’re in the gym working out, and you’re just randomly walking from machine to machine with no real purpose.

You don’t know if you should work on your biceps, triceps, back, chest, abs, or shoulders.  And as a result, you’ll slow yourself down tremendously.  And you’ll be there from 5pm – 10PM, when you  could have done it in 50% of the time.

THIS is the same reason why you see some players practicing for 7 and 8 hours, and still not seeing those results they want. They’re *wondering* out there – from drill to drill and from concept to concept. They have no direction.

So, to get better results with less time and effort, you NEED to have a Pre Tennis Practice Agenda:

Follow these, and you’ll see results in no time…. Promise!

4 To A Powerful Pre Tennis Practice Agenda:

 

1. Use Your Past To Shape Your Future: Analyze what you did poorly, and what you did well in your last session to decide what what needs the most immediate attention. Always start with your weaknesses first.That will help increase your game the quickest.

NOTE: You don’t want to use one from was months ago as your base either, because a lot could have changed in your game since then.

2. Narrow Your Sights: Once you’ve diagnosed your most glaring weaknesses and the things you did well, sit down with your coach or hitting partner and develop a plan of attack as to what parts of your game and what types shots as well as drills you should work on in your next session.

Now Granted, you can’t possibly give the necessary attention to EVERY facet of your game in a couple hours. That’s an unrealistic task.

You need to isolate them: For example, your backhand slice shot, speeding up your after-stroke recovery, or your forehand down the line would be good choices.

Note: As for the drills (…if they’re new, make sure all who will be involved fully know the goal of each one and how they work).

These will narrow things down quite a bit and give you a feasible goal for that day. And you can really hit the ground running so to speak (… after you stretch of course).

3. Keep Time: Once you’ve got a plan of attack, designate a specific amount of time that you’d like to spend on each element.

See, when we get into a drill (…and really in a groove), we tend to forget that there are other things afterward that need to be initialized. And those things tend to be “short changed.”

But by keeping time with a stopwatch (…for example), you’ll be able to get to everything you had planned. And you’ll be a lot more focused throughout, and you’ll really give it your best shot from start to finish.

Why? Because you don’t have all day. You’ll know that there is a time limit – and you’ll do your best to stick to it.

4. Review And Repeat: Talk about and review the progress you made immediately afterward. And, then repeat the process before your next tennis practice.

*WARNING*: Don’t think you can store all this information in your head:
Things come up. With everything that goes on in everyday life, you can (…and most likely) will get distracted.

And your whole pre tennis practice itinerary can be lost, rearranged or even forgotten about in less than 5 seconds. You don’t want to get to the court and say, “What we’re we going to work on again?”

That just takes you back to “square 1.” And… you just wasted valuable tennis practice time,  the time used to set this up before hand. When you talk about it, it’s a thought. But when you schedule it and write it down, it’s real!

No, don’t put it on your napkin you saved from lunch or a scratch piece of paper you have laying around the house.

If you’re serious about getting better, drop by the your local drug store (…mine is the 99 cent store), and pick up a durable binder you can store them in, along with some lined paper. Your game is worth 2 bucks, right?   That way, you’ll keep everything organized.

This way, you can make sure that your sessions are balanced, and you’re not overloading too much in one area and unknowingly ignoring another.

So, no you don’t have to spend 24hrs a day on the court to get results. It’s about being smart and preparing yourself.

Having this type of simple schedule ahead of time will maximize your efforts, allow you to enjoy other things you like to do (… going to beach, playing video games, spending time with the family, or catching a late night movie) and still kick your opponent’s butt next time out.

Hope you enjoyed this tennis practice tip. Let me know what you think by add your thoughts down below.

For more tennis tips on tennis practice, visit this page. And hurry!

Have a great week and an even BETTER game!

- Brian
TennisMindCamp

Tagged as: tennis practice