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Cat and Mouse: A Training Model for Positioning and Movement

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Jim McLennan, Senior Editor, TennisONE

Cat: Playful, quick, patient, silent, waits to move, pounces.

Mouse: Cornered, hapless, no options, desperate, will move first.

To master the game of tennis, you must learn to hit sound shots and move quickly, and really very little else. Even the sports psychologist would agree, a good competitive attitude is of little value when the player can't get to the ball or can't control the shot. With many of the players that I coach, we focus on aspects of hitting or of moving, and purposely separate them during practice. This separation enables the specific practice of moving (gliding quickly into position) or hitting (coming against the ball). But ... the real time connection between moving and hitting may be the most important thing to learn. This connection is the knowing and feeling of waiting for the opponent to hit the ball, the knowing and feeling of when to start to the ball, and the knowing and feeling of how to best position prior to your pounce to have the best chance to get to the ball. Knowing and feeling, not the verbal ability to describe how to move, but just knowing how it feels. Interestingly, some of the best players at our club have this instinctive ability, the knack as it were, to move to the ball quickly and efficiently. They may not have the best hitting skills or the smoothest footwork, but again they have that instinct for the ball. The opposite extreme is all too familiar, we all know the player who moves too soon and is often wrongfooted, or one that moves too late and can't get to anything. These players can improve by playing cat and mouse.

The cat and mouse metaphor is an excellent model that captures the feeling of waiting, of moving, and of hitting. The specific qualities of the cat and mouse predicament offer great visual pictures, simple training models, and challenging drills.

My cat Alex was playful, harmless, and rarely killed the little animals she captured. Once on the scent of a mouse, Alex would chase like mad until finally cornering the animal. Now the fun (for Alex) really began. Facing the cornered and (now) hapless mouse, Alex would crouch, perfectly ready to pounce, and then just wait silently for the mouse to move. The mouse, with no escape routes, would eventually move and Alex would bat it back into the corner, to replay this game again and again and again. Always Alex would wait, as would the mouse, when finally the mouse could wait no longer, Alex would pounce to block the mouse's escape. Never did Alex move first, never was Alex slow to move, and never was Alex off balance. A great game as far as Alex was concerned. As a player, I have been on both sides of this game. Years before I came to understand cat and mouse, I can remember matches where I was totally frustrated, feeling cornered, having no options, and always wondering why.

Now I realize, my opponent had controlled me, maneuvered me into a corner, and then waited for my move (shot) to which he quickly and easily responded. These days I much prefer being the cat.

The following drills will improve your ability to wait and then pounce, quickly, and silently as the cat.

1. Waiting for the ball - When to move

This drill trains footwork reactions after the ball has been hit rather than before. You are on the service tee, and your coach or practice partner plays from the opposite service tee. Your partner or coach feeds balls in a specific pattern, forehand-backhand, forehand-backhand. You must concentrate on your footwork for these shots. Ideally the feeds should be a just little out of your reach so that the crossover step enables you to hit all shots with the least effort. Now ask your partner/coach to change to a random feeding sequence. When fed with disguise, the drill will become very challenging. Whenever you guess and are wrong footed, understand that you have moved prior to their hit (the mouse), something the cat never does. This drill trains the waiting, and reinforces the correct footwork sequence to the ball.

2. The two shot volley sequence - Cornering

In this live ball drill, position as before, with the you on the service tee and your partner or coach on the opposite service tee. When they play their first shot off center, you must make a crossover step to volley, but now play out the point. You should both volley in a way that the shots can be returned (no winners). Your partner/coach must agree to rally, and only to hit a winner if there is an obvious opening. Now, if you move to the forehand and volley crosscourt, your partner/coach can easily hit to the open court. (In this instance the cat-student has moved the mouse to a corner that the cat-student cannot protect). If you move to the forehand and volley down the line, you will more easily cover your partners return. Moving to the first volley and playing down the line, or in the same direction as you had moved, immediately positions you (the cat) for the mouse's reply. A real breakthrough in understanding about how to "corner" your opponent with your first volley. Where do you position yourself for the volley? The short answer is "in the middle of the probable angle of return, with some shading towards the down-the-line pass." This enables you cover "most" but not all of your opponent's return (you must give your opponent the perfect return). You want to be a little closer to the line as you have less time to cover the down-the-line passing shot than the crosscourt passing shot.The long answer to the question, where do I position myself, is, it depends upon assessing a number of factors, including probable angle of return, the pace, depth and direction of your volley, the repertoire of your opponent's shots (does he have a lob or crosscourt passing shot?), and perhaps even the game and match score (perhaps it's time to gamble).

3. Timing the split step - Cornering and Pouncing

This live ball drill is the same as the two shot volley sequence, but now you are two steps behind the service line, and your partner/coach is on the opposite baseline. Your objective is to play the first volley, move forward and try to corner your partner. They should stroke the first ball to you in this volleying position, and after your initial shot close and time your split step to their (partner/mouse) moment of contact. If you don't close far enough, you will be easily passed. If you close too far, you can be easily lobbed. If you close correctly but are off time with your split step, you won't be perfectly ready to pounce. But when you close and time your split step just right, you will more often than not make the successful volley. Trains quickness, timing, pouncing, and confidence in moving to the ball.

4. Internal noise - Silence

An old friend and superb coach, Don Kerr, carried on at length about internal noise, concentration and effortless play. He knew, correctly, that most people could only pay attention to one thing at any particular moment (span of control) and when two stimuli are present at the same time confusion resulted. Tennis players contend with both external and internal stimulation. External stimuli include our five senses (touch, taste, smell, hear, and see). Internal noise, an additional stimulus not in the external environment but rather within, is the actual silent dialogue that often occurs in our head. We all have silent conversations from time to time, "How can I be this bad", "Get ready now watch the ball," "What if my friends can see my mistakes," "How can I possibly explain this loss to my wife." All examples of internal noise, and all genuine distractions when timing the split step, reacting quickly to the opponents shot, pouncing on the ball. The cat has it so much better than we do on this one. Having no language, the cat has no source of internal noise. And absent of internal noise (can you imagine a cat thinking, "what do I tell my pals if I cannot catch this mouse") the cat is totally concentrated on the pouncing. When some of the above drills become too challenging, and truly they will, take a break, relax, and take a moment to diminish your internal noise. When champions recount their greatest moments on court, they describe letting everything flow, time slowing down, allowing themselves to play rather than making themselves play. No internal noise, perfect concentration on the ball, silence. So many mice, so little time.

Cat and mouse. Knowing when to move. Feeling you can get to everything. Cornering the opponent. Waiting. Silence. Pounce. It's fun to be the cat.

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