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How Can You improve Your Game Watching the Pros?
Watching tennis on TV can be truly helpful if your child is watching with a purpose. Below, I have outlined ten specific skills your child should focus on while watching professional tennis players on TV or in-person. Better yet, watch the professionals together as you both spot these ten tendencies.
- Watch One Player’s Feet
Most Pros take 10 steps for every 3 steps a ranked junior takes. Have your child simply watch the shoes.
- Watch Between Point Rituals
They often appear to be looking at their strings while they use internal vision. Pros control their emotions and spot tendencies. This means they pay attention to how points are being won and lost.
- Spot Offense-Neutral-Defense Shot Selection
Way before the incoming ball reaches the net; a pro has chosen the next appropriate shot selection. Call out the correct choice as a Pro prepares to strike. If you can spot the appropriate selection with a Pro, spotting your opponents next shot will become easier.
- Spot This Typical Mistake: “Change the Angle …Lose the Point”
Changing the angle is encouraged when you are inside the court. It is discouraged when you are behind the baseline. Watch for appropriate angle changing and inappropriate angle changing attempts. Even top pros often miss when they attempt a down the line screamer from way behind the court!
- Spot Styles of Play
Who’s the hard hitting baseliner? Who’s the counter puncher retriever? Is there an all-court net rusher? Spotting the opponents style is the first step to devising patterns and controlling a match. If your child can spot a pros style of play, my bet is they’ll be terrific at spotting their next opponents style of play!
- Spot Proactive Patterns
Pros do not simply react. They run one-two punch patterns. Can your child spot them? Ask them to point out serving patterns, return patterns, rally or net rushing shot sequences.
- Spot Secondary Shots
Pros do not just have a forehand, a backhand, a serve, and a volley. They have a whole “Tool Belt” full of secondary shots and they know when to activate them. Can your child spot a swing volley, a short angle/side door building shot?
- Watch for Open versus Closed Stance Ground Strokes
Call out “open” and “closed” when you spot a pro choose the appropriate stance. Understanding when and why you need them both is an important tool.
- Chart Errors to Winners
Having a great understanding of where your winners and errors are coming from as well as your opponent’s winners and errors may prove to be the deciding factor if your next match goes into a tie breaker! Actually charting a pro will lead to comprehending the importance of limiting errors.
FUN FACT: Top professionals often generate 5 unforced errors a match and 30 winners. Juniors generate just the opposite!
- Court Positioning Chart
Chart a pro’s winning percentage while they stay behind the baseline versus their winning percentage while going inside the court. Often, juniors think they are better from behind the baseline. After charting a match, they find their winning percentage is actually better from inside the court.
Watching tennis on TV can be a wonderful learning experience. It will secretly lead to improving your child’s mental and emotional performance on the court. Thanks, Frank Giampaolo
Contact:
Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.maximizingtennispotential.com
www.RaisingAthleticRoyalty.com
