Tennis instruction: Teachers, coaches and players sometimes have this perfectionist idea that everything must be fixed at all times, which in some cases can lead to total disaster. I am going to give you an example.
A few years ago I was working with a group of top ATP players and one of them was just going to play the South African open in JOB (Johannesburg) in a couple of days. With my tournament experience and knowledge of the player, I was positive that he was ready and the practice point play and match play we had undergone in the last week went excellent, so there was nothing to fix, but rather stimulate and reinforce confidence on the players self and he was ready to go!
Nevertheless, I was wrong, a "big guru" we will call him Mr. D. (this was NOT Nick Bollittieri!) just the day before departure came onto the tennis court to watch the practice and out of the blue he decides that some thing was wrong with the players ball toss (which in my honest opinion there was, but since the player was serving very well and that was a problem endemic to probably 20 years and he was going to play ATP competition soon, I did not touch it). Ok, a long session on the toss until Mr. D. walked away satisfied with his fix.Result, the player goes to JOB, loses first round and produces 16 double faults! I do not need to tell you why! In some of my articles I brought out to your attention NOT to copy or teach the extreme sideways tilt Roger Federer does on all shots. Do you think I would have tried to change it when he was around 20 years old? Certainly not! I would have tried to help him when he was between the ages of 9 and 14 years old, yes I would. And I would have been stretching it considering that some top youngsters at 14 are already close to futures and challenger ATP level. Does this mean we should not correct anything after a certain age? No, it just means players and coaches have to be careful not to tinker with core elements of the players game (therefore affecting the confidence) unless there is enough time between the correction and competition. Keep in mind that some changes can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months. Changes should be made preferably without official competition. So be cautious, if you and your coach are looking to change anything (that is not working!) before you do it, assess your ability to implement such change, consider your short and long term goals and expected benefit in relation to your tournament performance and calendar. And...always remember, "if it is not broken do not fix it!" Enjoy your tennis!
Here are other tennis video instruction lessons:
How to Hit Your Dream Tennis Backhand Slice?
How to hit the tennis backhand topspin like a champion!
How to Hit a Great Low Tennis Backhand Slice!
How to Master the Tennis High Backhand Topspin
How to hit an easy topspin tennis backhand?
How to hit a forehand and a backhand volley?
The Topspin Backhand with a Forward Step
How to Master the Tennis Topspin Low Backhand?
How to hit a basic high forehand topspin ground stroke?
The Tennis Overhead-smash footwork
Bjorn Borg - Roger Federer Tennis Forehand Comparision!
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