Tennis Skills to Help During COVID-19

How can tennis help us during the COVID-19 pandemic? I am not just referring to the active part such as playing through creative measures. I am talking about the mental skills we learn in tennis that allow us to be resilient and to adapt. Tennis is a game where you must have a plan, but be able to adapt that plan to the situation. Think of when we are returning serve. We don't know where the server is going to serve the ball, but we have to adjust if it comes to the right, left, or right at us. We also have to be able to adapt to the speed, the height, and the spin of the ball. As we go through this COVID-19 pandemic, think about what we already have to help us get through this. When returning serve, we have practiced our backhand, we have practiced our forehand, we have practiced moving to the ball, we have practiced the rally. The same thing applies to real life. This pandemic feels like an opponent on a comeback. We were ahead in the game and all of sudden, they caught some momentum. Now we are uncertain, the nerves start rattling, we start to think,"Oh No! I blew it."  We need to adapt. One of the things I have to tell myself everyday is,"Start over. Make it look good. It's okay, I got this. Stay the course." 

One of the things tennis teaches us is to use what we have and adjust to uncertainty. My challenge to you is to use what you have. Tennis teaches us routines, routines are mindfulness in action. The way we start a serve with checking our grip, bouncing the ball. The way we look at our strings in between points. The way we set up to return a serve. I was thinking about the Potato Race. These routines help prepare us to play a point. Use what you have a set a routine. Stay mindful and remember, tennis brings out the strengths to help us be resilient.

Do Simple Better

I am not really one for taking on too much, but I am one for trying to make a project more than it needs to be. I somehow have the gift of over complicating a task, just because I can. One of the practices I have been working on the last couple of years is to be simple. That means, do less. Less is more. Those have been some mantra's for me, but in 2018, I heard a new mantra. "Do Simple Better." 

Yes, do the simple things, the little things better. Something like our morning rituals, keep them simple and do them better. In other words, be present on the routine instead of just on autopilot. Easier said than done, especially if your mind is still waking up and you feel rushed by the clock. I think all of these mantras have helped me to do one think better, to stop and pause. When I start to get overwhelmed, I stop and pause and say,"Do Simple Better. Less is more. Just one."

I always believe in the power of one thing. I remember tennis guru Vic Braden once said, "If you just improve one part of your game, you are a better player." In other words, you don't have to try and fix everything all at once. I remember when I was first learning how to improve my serve. For years, my teaching pros in high school had told me to break my wrist at contact. When I made a trip to Arizona, a teaching pro, master professional, and co-founder of the Professional Tennis Registry, said,"You don't break the wrist, you turn the forearm." So, for a whole summer, I just worked on turning the forearm. You know, that simple thing did make me better. I still had flaws in my serve motion, but it was better. Anyway, during these days of quarantine, I encourage you to "Do Simple Better." Whether it is tennis or cleaning the sink. Find the simple things in your life and do those better. I have to tell that to myself everyday. 

What's Your Story?

Stories sell. I am not just talking about selling to make money. A testimonial story has the power to influence and transform.  I don't think I have told my story a whole lot, but I think it is one that needs to be told. One of the things I have learned about tennis over the years is you do not have to be a great athlete to be successful at this game. Unlike sports like basketball, football, base

ball, soccer, usually the faster, stronger players are more successful. Tennis is a learned sport and while athletic skill levels can help in your development, it is not the determining factor in your mastery. 

I am not a great athlete, as a matter of fact, I was the last man on my high school team ladder when I started playing. That year I was a freshman in high school. I remember telling people one day I would teach tennis and they laughed. I just remember the many hours spent learning with a friend of mine from high school, going to camps, and winter lessons. For four years I worked and worked, I finally earned a Varsity spot my senior year, but never got to play in a Varsity match. Overlooked for others. Discouraged. Yet, that was not the end of the story. Three years later I had earned a scholarship to Mesa Community College. I hung around on a team that qualified for nationals, even winning a college match. What's my point in all of this? It wasn't my talent that got me to where I wanted to go. It was my determination, passion, and a WHY that helped me on the road to mastery.  I tell this story because one of the main reasons I went into teaching tennis is because I wanted to give students the kind of instruction that I wish I would have had when I was learning. I want to be able to teach the students it seems nobody wants and turn them into somebody everybody wants. I want to help those who are willing to find great difficulty in tennis and yet they still continue on. These are the students who have that passion for mastery. 

Foam Ball Volley

Yesterday I had the chance to experience what it was like to play on a clay tennis court. My yard is hard dirt. I decided to take my racket and my foam tennis ball out to practice my volleys and half volleys against a wall. It was very interesting because I had to adjust my footwork if the ball hit a stone. I noticed that ball was slower when it bounced compared to a hard court. I tell you this story because this is a great way to practice your volleys. 
So how do you start? You will need a foam tennis ball, a tennis racket and a wall or garage door. The surface does not matter.
To start, depending on skill level, I would start by tossing the ball up against the wall and catching it. Practice tossing the ball higher so the ball will come back slower and at an arc shape. 

When you add the racket: Point the racket handle to your opposite foot to keep the racket head up.

Aim with the ball above head height and practice keeping your racket in this position while you volley. If you miss, great, you get to start over! You just start a new game.


You can purchase the foam balls on Amazon or at Big 5 Sporting Goods at Christown Mall.

Climb the Serve Mountain Greek God Style

In Greek lore there is a story about a man who was sentenced to pushing a boulder up a mountain for eternity, but if he was able to get the boulder up and over the mountain then he would be set free.  We use this story as our hook for a classic game to help students master the serve at different lengths of the tennis court. Ultimately being able to serve from the baseline on whatever court length they are playing on.
We start everyone at the 1/8 line. In order for the student to be able to move back and ultimately break the spell, they must have the karate serve grip, the ball must bounce twice within the boundaries, and they must hold their follow through for the two bounces. If that happens, they get to move up the mountain two steps. If it goes cross court, they get to move back four steps. If they miss into the net or out of the court after the 1/8 line they move up two steps to try again from where they had earlier success. We tell our students we want two bounces (or more) because no matter where you are on the court, if you can get the ball to bounce two times on the other side it will always land in the service box.  We want our students to hold the finish so they work on balance, taking time, and becoming aware of their movements. Once a student has moved to the baseline they break the spell and everyone gets to move back and serve from the baseline. We adapted this game from the Canadian Tennis Association. I have attached that here as well. This game is loved by everyone in our lessons because they are working on a learning goal of being able to aim higher over the net to be able to serve from the baseline. We sometimes will do this with a time limit as the students become more confident and competent in their serve. I hope you will use this in your practice regimen towards mastery and be able to break the spell.




Climb the Serve Mountain
Goal: To understand starting the point with an overhead serve.
Rules of the Game: Players are in teams. Each time a server comes
up they attempt to serve the ball into the service box from a different
distance from the net. If they get it in, the next time they come up to
serve, they move to the next distance. Points are gained for the team
by getting the serve in from different distances (climb the mountain):
 Base: Middle of their service box (short distance) = 1 point
 Summit: ¾ distance (medium distance) = 2 points
 Peak: Baseline (long distance) = 3 points
Place a target in the service box to point the racquet face at (they
don’t have to hit it but there is a bonus of 2 points if they do). First
team to 25 points wins. Switch teams being on the Ad or Deuce side
for the second game.
Note: This activity can be done on Red, Orange (shown), or Green
courts.

Deliberate Practice

Practice is loving the feel of the ball on the strings. Practice is the pursuit of mastery. To make your game look effortless and to be the example that will inspire someone else. How do we get there though? It isn't just practice for the sake of practice, but deliberate practice. Deliberate practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance.Taking the time to work on the little things like the forearm turn on the serve or the swing pattern on the forehand. It is that deliberate action of practicing the tedious movements as well as playing games and sets. The key to mastery is this intentional focus of 10,000 hours. When someone commits over 10,000 hours of intentional and hard work, suddenly they are an overnight success. We always incorporate the deliberate practice, the routine of working on the mechanics of the strokes and applying it in a game situation in our lessons. By incorporating that routine our students have a practice plan they can use outside of our lessons on their journey towards mastery.

The Standard Method

For twenty years I have been trained in the Standard Method. What is the Standard Method? The Standard Method is the name of the teaching methodology the Professional Tennis Registry uses as the framework to design lessons. This method is a Gradual Release of Responsibility that allows students to see a model, get guided practice, and then apply their new skill on their own. 

What makes this system so unique is how we are able to use cooperative learning and differentiation to allow students of all ability levels the chance to learn in one environment. We can adapt the lesson to the student strength and area of growth. We also focus on mastery of the skill by focusing on repetition and learning goals. Over the next couple posts I would like to discuss more about our methodology and how it helps me as well as your child  create a framework for overall mastery.