The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!
HOW TO BEAT MOONBALL/RETRIEVERS
No matter what you call them…retrievers, defensive baseliners, counter punchers, moonballers or pushers, they have one common distinction at almost every level of the game-they have all the trophies!
In my workshops, I seek out competitors re-occurring nightmares- problems that happen over and over again. I then systematically destroy the nightmare by offering self-destruction solutions. One nightmare that seems to be on the top of almost everyone’s tennis list, around the world, is “How to Beat a Moonball/Retriever.” Let’s look at some common key characteristics that separate most of “us” from them.
Retrievers versus the Rest of Us:
- Patient versus Impatient
- Satisfied to let the opponent self-destruct versus Having to hit bold winners to win
- Energy conserving versus Energy expending
- Responds after reasoning versus Responds before reasoning
- Inspired by the real/practical versus Inspired by the imaginative
- Found in the present versus Found in the future
- Concerned with the task versus Concerned with the outcome and how other will view the outcome?
- Organized in their plans versus “Uh…we’ll see what happens.”
- Avoids surprises versus Enjoys surprises
As you can see, the psychological profile of a retriever may be a little different than your athlete. Tactically, retrievers prefer to retaliate instead of instigate the action. Armed with the knowledge of the actual unforced errors to winners ratio in the sport, this tactic is actually quite intelligent. Lucky for us, having a firm understanding of a retriever’s brain has allowed us to organize a wonderful plan of attack!
Please keep in mind that your child loses to retrievers because your child is not fully developed. There are most likely holes in one or more of the four major components of your athlete’s game. Below I’ve re-listed those four components and their corresponding success principles. Ask your child’s coach to develop these and your athlete will routinely defeat these pesky opponents.
