This is the fifth in a five part series representing aspects of Jack Broudy’s new book The Secret Game of Tennis©1998. We suggest that you read these articles in their order, beginning with Part 1, which you’ll find in the Tennis One Lesson Library.

The Secret Game of Tennis" is dedicated to exploring and testing new ways to experience and play the game of tennis. We are forging a new approach for the new millennium that challenges many of the attitudes about tennis and how the game is approached. Does one really have to be born a great tennis player? Are rote repetitions the best way to train? The Secret Game takes a more holistic approach and attempts to answer these questions and others by utilizing the body’s own innate symmetry and principles based on cosmic laws and wisdom.

The most exciting aspect of this approach has been the opportunity to test it with young players, to see them respond and grow both as players and human beings. We have been fortunate to develop two young players, Steven Forman and Bijan Moallemi, who are currently ranked #1 and #2 nationally in the Boys’ 10 and Under division. Following our approach, Eric Riley, 12, and other juniors in our group have also developed games aesthetically far beyond their peers.

Playing the "Secret Game"
Bijan Moallemi is currently
ranked #2 nationally in the boys
10 and under division

One central aspect of our teaching is what we call "living thinking." We believe players can learn to perform out of a natural wisdom or higher self that transcends many of the mental pitfalls created by our individual personality traits. We teach students to pay attention to what is happening in the moment and to make their own decisions on what to do on the court. This eliminates the universal over emphasis on the outcome of matches. It allows them to play with imagination and creativity rather than succumbing to the psychodrama of a match and it’s imagined effects on their own personality and self-esteem. The result is their games show a calm, fluidity and poise often missing in other players their age. Positive attitudes naturally follow this, creating a more enjoyable court experience, culminating in sportsmanship awards and the admiration and respect from the other players and spectators.

Paradoxically, this perspective often leads to great competitive success. What is more important, however, is the experience of playing from the wisdom of the moment. Eric Reilly showed this great poise after losing to a top seed (two years older than he), in a close three setter. Commenting on the match he said, "I was in control out there, I just lost a little steam in the third set, but I felt like the winner, because I know now I can beat him. I feel almost as if I won the match."

A second central aspect of the Secret Game is our non-linear approach to stroke production. We avoid separating tennis strokes and body movements into parts and then trying to string them back together with commands like "get low to the ball", " get your racket back early" or "swing low to high". As we have outlined in previous articles, our non-linear approach uses the infinite and continuous motion of the figure 8 to bring balance and perfection to the body in stroke production and cultivate perfect body rotation and a more natural flow. We have also developed an incredible training device that facilitates this non-linear development in dramatic ways. Called the 8 Board™, it is a rotating platform placed directly on the court surface. Hitting from the 8 Board™ allows a player to experience a process of never ending movement, thus finding balance and the ability to manifest movement creatively. The 8 Board™, develops movement involving the entire body-including the arms, hips, knees, and ankles. Players learn to maintain balance and form naturally and without conscious thought. This is turn helps them to concentrate better in other words, it facilitates the "living thinking" process.

The 8 Board™, develops movement involving the entire body-including the arms, hips, knees, and ankles.

The 8 Board™ literally creates muscle memory so that good hip rotation and deep-rooted strength can be developed in an unprecedented way and more rapidly than heretofore imagined. By using a ball machine in conjunction with the 8 Board™, players develop good habits even in the absence of a tennis pro. In the future, you’ll see more about this training device for the new millennium on TennisONE and find out how you can incorporate it into your own development.

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We encourage you to email your comments (pro, con, appreciative, whatever) directly to the author. To send email to Jack Broudy, click here.

Visit the TennisONE Library to see Jack Broudy's complete series on The Secret Game of Tennis.