Coming soon- PREPARING FOR PRESSURE
Practice Makes Perfect … Or Does It?
“Practice Makes Permanent.”
The old school saying “Practice Makes Perfect” is not exactly true. Experience tells us that practice makes whatever you’re attempting permanent. Grooving flawed strokes only make the flaws permanent.
One of the differences that separate the good from the great is in how they practice. There is a world of difference between effective training and ineffective training. Deliberate, customized training focuses on improving strengths and re-routing weaknesses versus mindless grooving.
So, how do we customize training? I recommend starting by videotaping actual matches and quantifying the data. Researching why points, games, sets, and matches are won or lost.
Those who progress quickly don’t solely focus on repeating what they already know on the practice court.
Great coaches use match data to improve:
- Opponent Profiling
- Between Point & Changeover Rituals
- Focus/Emotional Control
- Athlete’s Top Patterns
- Cause of their Errors
- Cause of their Winners
Maximizing potential at the quickest rate is not typically found on the assembly-line practice court. It’s not just about how to hit a stroke, it includes when, where, and why.
Preparing for pressure stems from a custom built approach.
Snappy Solution To A Common Performance Anxieties: “I focus the whole match on perfect form. That’s Correct …right?”
“Athletes nurtured to focus on mechanics in match play seldom perform in the flow state.”
I recommend that athletes save most of the detailed analysis of strokes for the improvement phase which takes place on the practice court. Biomechanical analysis surely has its place; it’s just not in the midst of competition. Focusing too much on “bend your knees,” “close the racket face 30-degrees and brush up,” and “tuck the left hand in on the serve to block the third link of the kinetic chain” pulls athletes out of the flow state and into their editing, analytical brain.
The week leading into an important event I recommend trading in the need for stroke perfection and replace it with practicing picking up relevant cues like proficient pattern play, score management, and opponent profiling. This prepares the athlete for pressure by allowing their judgmental ego to slip away. Performing in the zone requires relaxed contentment, which can’t be found if you’re focused on fixing every micro-flaw.
Preparing for pressure requires the athlete to focus on the art of competing.
For More Information On Match Charts:
The Match Chart Collection is a series of ten different charts that have been designed for easy implementation and maximum information gathering potential. The charts quantify match performance by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a player’s performance under stress- match conditions.
The charts “user-friendly” format makes them attractive to the novice tennis parent as well as the advanced tennis coach. The goal is to encourage coaches, parents, family and/or friends to assist in the growth of the junior player. After charting a match, the charting notes should be shared with the player and the developmental team to organize future training sessions.
Additional Charting Advantages:
Past Match Chart Review: Players often play the same opponents over and over again at the higher levels. Reviewing past charts against the same opponent may reveal the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
Charting Opponents: You may also want to consider charting opponents and /or top seeds for a comparison study.
Self-Charting: Recognizing and applying the match statistics (charting notes) during actual match play is a wonderful learned behavior that the top players have mastered. For example, it would prove meaningful if you knew the opponent’s forehand to backhand unforced error count heading into a tie-breaker.
To Order Match Chart Collection Click Here
