TennisOne Lessons

The Balance Between Practice and Competition

David W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

There seems to be a constant debate between tennis teaching professionals; those who stress competition and match play experience, and those who stress the constant development of strokes and technique through practice sessions, lessons, and drills. Equally divergent are players themselves, many choosing one activity in lieu of the other.

In reality, most legitimate pros know that there is a need for balance between these two tennis philosophies. One you need for developing your strokes and technique, the other to develop your competitive playing experience…read: Taking your practices strokes into competition. However, the vast majority of tennis players often settle in a higher degree of one over the other and even some who completely forsake one for the other! 

There are those individuals who play day in and day out, refusing to take lessons or attend drill clinics with almost a distasteful intolerance for anything instructional. Often these players assume it a waste of time to read books on tennis or even view instructional tips on line or from DVD’s and such. Then, we have those who attend clinics, take weekly lessons, drill on court with hitting partners, hit for hours on ball machines, practice on hitting walls, and then only compete when they feel absolutely ready they can or should do so.

There are several reasons for these two types of tennis players. Those who constantly play play everything from social singles and doubles to ladder matches and league play usually fall into one of three distinct molds:

1. Players who feel like they already know enough about the game and don’t believe they need lessons, drills, or instructional advice at all. Very likely, these players often have a great day of tennis, followed by several days of “off” tennis only to have another great day a few days or weeks later. Since these players had a “great” day, they believe that on any given day, they will have additional great days. However, as many opponents will silently identify, such players are usually very “lucky” on those great days. Confidence, misplaced as it may be, can be strong enough to allow even the worst player to perceive they are playing “great” tennis…even after hitting only one or two lucky shots! But that kind of confidence usually succumbs to reality over time because of the inability to repeat those shots due to poor technique.

2. Some players don’t feel like they can improve their game. These players recognize they have faulty strokes but are unwilling to put in the time to change or improve them, or, they feel that they are simply not good enough “athletes” to improve past their current level of play. Both of these assumptions are usually not true for the vast majority of players. I’ve worked with hundreds of players who possessed strokes and technique that were not only poor, but limiting them from really playing tennis at their potential, only to retool their games and allow them to reach more advanced skill levels. These players must first understand their technical limitations and then understand what it will take to improve the technique. Then must employ the new technique in every competitive environment.
   
   Relative to the second assumption, (that some are not athletic enough to become skilled tennis players), while there are indeed some players who simply lack coordination to advance in the game, these exceptions are very few and far between. I’ve had players of all ages who lacked “natural” coordination. Yet, because they applied the required techniques, tools, drills, and processes, many of these players did indeed become not only skilled tennis players, but some even became champions of the game!

3. A third concept that players who only play matches (without trying to drill or practice the game) face is the fear factor: These players fear change of any kind. And rightly so. Any change usually results in frustration, uncomfortable feelings, a diminished sense of confidence, and the angst of letting down a partner and even an opponent. (Many players feel horrible if they don’t provide at least a competitive experience for their opponent.) This is perhaps the strongest detriment to a player improving. It also is the main factor that causes even those players who do indeed want to improve and change their faulty games from doing so. This fear, this sense of uncomfortable feelings and a lack of confidence, will cause nearly all players to revert back to their old familiar and comfortable stroke patterns. Such action will stagnate every single player at levels usually far below their potential.

On the other end of the coin, we have players who practice daily, take lessons and clinics at every possible opportunity, and drill every chance they get. While the number of these players is usually much smaller than those who play all the time, it still is a large number of players. The fear of competition, the belief that such players “are not ready yet,” the perfectionist who won’t play competitive tennis until they feel they have fully "mastered" the sport, all fit this mold.

Balance

Understand that both competition and stroke development programs are essential for anyone to become a skilled “Tennis Player.” One without the other will almost always prevent an individual from reaching his tennis potential. Since tennis is a game, one must be able to play tennis and play competitive, consistent tennis, to be considered a true competitor. However, this sentence is misleading. Because a player can “compete” well at lower levels, we can say that these are people truly competing in tennis. However, if they never improve, if they languish at levels that are below their potential, they will obviously never experience the game at higher levels, no matter how long they play.

True, some people simply don’t want to move out of their comfortable or social circle of tennis friends and competition. But, I don’t know too many players who, a) Really don’t want to get better, or b) Are not interested in hitting more effective shots and sustaining more interesting rallies. It would be like someone saying, “Gee, I would really love to play tennis but I really don’t want to be any good at it.” In reality, most people will want to see how good they can get within their level of desire, dedication, and potential.

Better Play: Better Opponents

Understand that the game changes as players become more skillful and learn to hit more effective shots. As players improve, their ability to hit more effective shots gets better. Unfortunately many methods that players use to initially learn tennis fail as the player attempts to add spin, aim, disguise, and pace to a ball. This is why so many millions of players resort to “dinking” balls over the net. Good technique provides the means in which to execute shots making these more effective elements possible. Likewise, as a player improves and plays more skilled opponents, he needs to be able to defend against the more effective shots hit by opponents.

At the 3.0 level, the speed of the ball, the amount of spin, the angles and touch used by opponents is far different than those same attributes hit by a 4.5 level player. Thus, many of the techniques used by 3.0 players will ultimately suspend them at the 3.0 level for a lifetime. This is one of the reasons why the theory of changing grips for forehand and backhand volleys is so flawed: it works great until players compete against more effective-hitting opponents. Quick exchanges at the net, serve and volley, speeds of opponent’s shots, are all reasons almost all skilled players use the continental grip as their foundation grip! The hard part is that players who are introduced to tennis using the eastern grips for volleys (or an eastern forehand grip for serves), have a difficult time progressing out of the typical 3.0 or 3.5 levels: their technique can’t keep up with the effectiveness of better opponents.

These points are made to impress upon our readers that players need to learn, master, and employ more effective means of hitting shots with intention as well as defend more effective shots effectively…if they hope to become more and more competitive themselves. And then, they need to use these methods in the heat of competition. Nothing is more frustrating to me, a teaching professional, than to watch a student abandon techniques used in lessons and resort to old, comfortable and familiar means of playing tennis in competition.

Players must understand that initial use of anything new will usually feel foreign. But, to resort back to more simplistic and familiar methods is a recipe for failure at higher competitive levels. Of course, any new method will take time to master. However, the more one uses those new methods, the sooner they will no longer be “new.” It is even more interesting to watch such players make errors using the old familiar patterns without giving such mistakes a second thought. It is like players are more comfortable losing points as long as they are comfortable with the strokes that produced the miss!

Evaluation

In conclusion, all players need to evaluate their desires as they relate to tennis. Players who are completely satisfied with the way they play, at the level they play, and with the type of opponents they play against, will certainly not need to make any changes in their technique or strategy of play. However, players who have any inkling of wanting to reach their “potential” or higher skilled levels of tennis will need to evaluate their technique and then plan to make the necessary changes. It might only be one shot or stroke, or it might be an overhaul of the entire game. Whatever the case, a player must do two things in order to succeed:

1. He must learn the new methods, practice them, and master them.
2. He must use them in competition and not fall back on any old methods or habits.

The second point above is the most important. In a nutshell, players must employ new stroke components in competition. If a player says to themselves, “Oh, this is an important point, I will use my old familiar technique for this one shot,” they are destine to fail. It is a little like an alcoholic who has not had a drink in five years; one day he says, “It is a special occasion, I can have one little drink today.” The old comfortable feelings come back in the use of any old shot or stroke just like the addiction of alcohol makes the alcoholic want to take another drink.

Making the excuse that it is ok this “one time” will make it that much more easily to use it again and again.
Remember that if you hit 3.0 level shots for twenty years, you will only be a good 3.0 level player after twenty years. One must employ high level shots to reach high levels of tennis. And don’t confuse “high level shots” with hard hit balls. There are lobs, drop-shots, blocked shots, slice backhands, and relatively medium-paced shots hit at the 5.0 level! The difference is in how those shots are executed, and when they are executed. At the 3.0 level, many players lob all the time or slice all the time or block shots all the time, because they have no means to respond any differently! (At least not with much success!)

Balance your game between working on more effective shots and strokes in a controlled, learning environment, and then take those shots and strokes into competition. In time, you will improve and reach much higher levels of play…and, reach your own personal “potential.”

(Click link to purchase Dave Smith's newest Book Coaching Mastery, at tenniswarehouse.com or go to www.coaching-mastery.com for more information and order a personalized autographed copy direct from the author.

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David Smith

David W. Smith is the Director of Tennis for the St. George Tennis Academy in St. George Utah. He has been a featured writer in USPTA's magazine ADDvantage in addition to having over 50 published articles in various publications.

David has taught over 3000 players including many top national and world ranked players. He can be reached at acrpres1@email.msn.com.