The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Tennis: Flexible Skills Training
Static skills training, also called consistent skills training, are an elementary training method that is essential in the early development of motor programs. This is most commonly referred to as stroke development through repetition. A player is continually fed balls in his preferred strike zone in order to build proper stroke mechanics.
A sample half-hour lesson using consistent skills training may go something like this: “OK Arthur, let’s hit 50 forehands. . . . Nice job! Now 50 backhands. . . . OK, now come over and hit 50 serves. . . . Terrific! See you next week!”
However, after these skills are ingrained, in order for players to enhance their movement, they must practice in the manner in which they are expected to perform. Players who want to improve their anticipation, foot speed, and general court coverage should trade in their static skills training for flexible skills training.
A sample half-hour lesson using flexible skills training may sound like this: “OK Arthur, today we’re going to run service patterns for about 50 points. Hit your second serve into the backhand corner of the deuce box, and then I’ll quickly feed in two random groundstrokes; hit those to the opposing corner. Then we’ll shift to the advantage side.”
In both sample lessons, Arthur hit 50 forehands, 50 backhands, and 50 serves. Which session improves cognitive processing speed as well as foot speed? Which lesson also incorporates the additional benefit of presetting second-serve patterns? Advancing beyond static drills is a prime example of smarter training, which accelerates the learning curve.
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Thanks! Frank
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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