I have always been a believer in practicing what will most certainly happen in a match and as a coach I have always been big on drills that simulate match play situations. There is a Youtube video that I shared on my site that is from TPA Tennis.com featuring Tom Allsop and quite frankly it is brilliant. The first drill is a service square routine that is played out with a volley grip, no topspin. Now this type of drill is brilliant for doubles because the two on two format requires a bit of touch and not just power. This is my point. If players want to improve at doubles then it is an absolute necessity to work on situations that occur in a match.
Sounds simple yet I have seen kids practice prior to a doubles tournament and simply hit straight up and down ! Surely if another two kids cannot be found for the practice session then halve the court and work on cross court situations that occur during a doubles match.
Possibly one of my most worn drills would have to be the approach shot drill that brings even the most seasoned baseliner into the net to finish the point. The thing about the net approach is simple, it asks an opponent the question, one that requires a good answer.
Baseline players love rhythm but hate to be rushed and that's where smart approaches can often make the difference in a match between two baseliners. The other thing to remember is that baseliners hate to be brought to the net so that's where a shot such as the sliced backhand can come into play. Short sliced backhands can often confuse a baseline 'robot' who wants the ball deep so even the best ground stroke players will battle with a short ball particularly to their two handed backhand.
I have seen older more experienced players carve up young baseliners with slice and short balls as many kids don't really practice coming to the net unless they are shaking hands. That to me is a tactic that should be worked on by players of all ages as it throws out any rhythm that baseliners thrive off. I can honestly say that I have never seen two kids practice where one works on touch and the other works on trying to counter act it.
I only see kids working on thumping groundstrokes back and forth which is fine if they are about to play a baseliner in a tournament. So what if they turn up and find that their opponent is a touch player with regular net advances as well as someone who likes to bring their opponent in ?
There are many ways to practice at tennis but I have always liked to set up courts particularly with my advanced students and give them match play situations. On court one I may have one up and one back where the net player feeds a ball to the baseliner and they both work on trying to win the point but not on the first ball. I like the idea of a bit of cat and mouse first such as no player can hit a winner until the third or fourth shot so it can help with patience and consistency.
On the next court I may set two players up where a baseliner feeds the ball short to their opponent and works on passing shots while the other works on a first volley. Again I like the idea of no first ball winners in this drill as getting an opponent to actually hit a volley as opposed to trying to blast a winner off the first ball I believe has merit. How many times do you see it happen ? A player comes in and the opponent goes for the almighty blinding winner first up, usually to miss. Making a net rusher play a first volley always puts doubt into their mind because it creates a feeling of having to do more and more with their approaches. That can cause errors.
On court three I may look at cross court play which allows players to work on their angles. Court four would be a rally court, straight up and down the middle, just an exercise in out rallying the opponent. That type of court set up is always good for consistency. Court five I would be looking at a drill such as the one I mentioned earlier at the start of the chapter with a volley grip and just a touch shot workout in the service squares.
On the final court I would set up a serve and return drill, something that I believe is not practiced enough. Practicing returning is not deemed as something that most kids would describe as fun yet it is possibly one of the most important aspects of tennis. That would be my six court 'Meaningful Practice' session with a rotation of around 15 to 20 minutes per court. Different drills would apply to practicing for a doubles tournament but it is fairly simple to 'tweak' all of the above singles drills and make them into a two on two format.
If players are not working on things in practice that will in fact occur in a match then how on earth are they expected to make the right decision when faced with that scenario during a tournament ? Meaningful practice is the difference usually between a good ball striker and one that can think their way through a match. There are many great ball strikers out there but not enough smart tennis players who become highly successful at the sport. It begins in practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment