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JAK'S MONTHLY ESSAY SERIES: Achieving Your Personal Best

Getting the Ball Where You Want It

When on court is there any better take away than the feeling of a perfectly struck shot? The exquisite tactile feel of the ball on racket, a mere thousandths of a second, yet impacting as if it were there for eons longer. Felt really good. Sounded really good. Was really good.

Becoming one with the ball. World class for a fleeting moment.  

Difficult for club mortals to achieve this on anything close to a consistent basis, it requires a perfect storm of technique, movement and mind set in very narrow corridors of shot making time. But still, at the very least, possible for most everyone, albeit a 10 on a steep 1-10 scale.

Legendary basketball coach and teacher John WoodenLegendary basketball coach and teacher, John Wooden, had an informative take on this: "When you see a successful individual, a champion, you can be very sure that you are looking at and an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of [seemingly] minor details."

If it's groundies being referenced, if you're going to have any chance at experiencing these moments of tennis bliss, it's paramount in getting the ball right where you want it, when you want it, in your preferred strike zone - ideally an adaptable one - for a perfect shot dynamic.

Nothing to it. Right? ...Hardly!

In sharing an early career practice session with an already all-time great Jimmy Connors, Tennis Channel's Paul Annacone (career high ranking of world #12) explained his awe of Connors' uncanny ability to "get the ball right where he wanted it" every time.

Footwork

Jimmy, of course was, and still is, one of the best movers in the history of the game. Not balletic like Roger Federer, but more of, if you will, a blue collar stalker of the ball, stutter steps galore. More club player friendly, but greatly misunderstood, and with a physicality underestimated by many.

Achieving perfect shot spacing – that means both laterally and longitudinally (forward/back) – is essential in becoming a mean, clean, ball striking machine. What's that time tested adage? You play the ball, do not let the ball play you, leading to jammed, hand-cuffed, awkward hitting positions.

When you do experience being in the shot making zone and on auto pilot, there's a real deal sequence of events that – thankfully always the same without deviation! – is actually taking place, the components of which enable you to become the consistently solid ball striker you want to be. You'll even have the occasional ethereal moment that the Swiss maestro who, after his straight set destruction of the highly touted next gen grass courter, Matteo Berrettini, at the recent Wimbledon Championships, described this way: "It just feels nice. You rock up to a ball. You're like, 'I know I'm not going to miss [this] one.' You hit a winner. Then you do the same again and again. That's probably one of the best feelings you can get as a tennis player on a tennis court."

Okay, you're not Roger and you can't quite do that, but you can get a taste of experiencing what he does if you get in the habit of an all-encompassing shot sequencing template.

First you recognize your opponent's shot is incoming to your forehand, backhand, or perhaps it's a runaround your backhand opportunity. Then, based upon its approaching speed, spin, shape, and depth, you instantly know how you intend to play it, whether that's on the rise, up high at its apex, or as it descends low into your wheelhouse. Simultaneously, you also have a clear sense of where to position yourself to meet the ball – that's the crucial lateral and longitudinal spacing previously noted. Finally "seeing your shot" in your mind's eye - visualizing your reply intentions, or thinking in pictures (imagery) - all of which collectively pulses through your mind, sequentially, and ridiculously, unmeasurably fast.

Novak-Djokovic-Rogers-CupHere's a summary:

  1. Early Recognition – forehand, backhand or runaround
  2. Reading it – incoming speed, spin, trajectory, bounce angle, depth
  3. Playing it – on the descent, at the apex, on the rise… getting it where you want it with topspin, underspin, or flat.
  4. Positioning – both laterally and longitudinally
  5. Visualizing – intended margin over the net, court placement, margin to the lines.

This deconstruction of the shot response process becomes doable when you begin to become cognizant of it, including a constant, shot-in and shot-out awareness of it. It's tapping into the magical human brain's fantastic abilities, often referred to, simply, as muscle memory.

Getting the ball right where you want it, versus being randomly out of an efficient striking position far too often, will result in a huge difference in your game.

 

 

Copyright© 2019 by Jak Beardsworth Tennis. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

COMMENTS WELCOME: JB1tennis@comcast.net

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Past Essays

  • November 2024 - The Walking Wounded
    [read more]
  • October 2024 - HEY!… MAYBE IT'S JUST YOUR GYRO NEEDING RECALIBRATING
    [read more]
  • August 2024 - The Game's Most Difficult Skills & the Most Taken For Granted
    [read more]
  • June 2024 - KNOW YOUR DOUBLE’S IN-POINT SITUATION WHEN BACK or RETURNING SERVE
    [read more]
  • April 2024 - Coulda, shoulda got that: The Art of Poaching
    [read more]
  • March 2024 - Get Your JuJu On
    [read more]
  • February 2024 - Giving Opponents too Much Respect
    [read more]
  • January 2024 - Rally Ball Or Pull The Trigger
    [read more]
  • December 2023 - The Forgotten Stop Volley
    [read more]
  • November 2023 - "You're Only as Good as Your Second Serve"
    [read more]

Essay Archives

Click a year to view more essays

2023

  • October 2023 - good misses vs bad misses
    [read more]
  • September 2023 - Why good players are good players!
    [read more]
  • August 2023 - On poaching and fake poaching: Becoming a Force at the Net in Doubles
    [read more]
  • July 2023 - The Beautiful Game is Getting Ugly
    [read more]
  • June 2023 - The Approach Dropper: Lob Killer
    [read more]
  • May 2023 - Why club players don't practice
    [read more]
  • April 2023 - DON'T FIGHT TIGHT
    [read more]
  • March 2023 - Classic finish line failure
    [read more]
  • February 2023 - Defending the lob over your net partner - The "Switch"
    [read more]

2022

  • December 2022 - E. I. D. - Extended Impact Duration
    [read more]
  • November 2022 - Movement Enhancement to Stay Better In-Point Connected
    [read more]
  • September 2022 - Advanced Visualization 301
    [read more]
  • August 2022 - Tennis' uniqueness: warming-up the enemy
    [read more]
  • July 2022 - Extracting Double Faults Through Receiving Positions... and more
    [read more]
  • June 2022 - Consider Serve and Volley
    [read more]
  • May 2022 - How the Toss Primes the Serve Relaxation Pump
    [read more]
  • April 2022 - Ball Watching and Science
    [read more]
  • March 2022 - Caving
    [read more]
  • February 2022 - Kenny G and Emmo
    [read more]
  • January 2022 - The Knees
    [read more]

2021

  • December 2021 - The Match is with You
    [read more]
  • November 2021 - The Backup Racket in Your Bag
    [read more]
  • October 2021 - Every Tennis Player Can and Should Have a Weapon
    [read more]
  • September 2021 - LEARNING NEW SKILLS: First the Process, Then the Results
    [read more]
  • August 2021 - The Challenge of Visualizing… For Some
    [read more]
  • July 2021 - Playing with both your feet and your hands
    [read more]
  • June 2021 - Finding the Range
    [read more]
  • May 2021 - The Focus
    [read more]
  • April 2021 - About Your Butt Cap
    [read more]
  • March 2021 - The Essential Forehand and Backhand
    [read more]
  • February 2021 - On Being a Doubles All-Courter
    [read more]
  • January 2021 - Same Grip Volleying Myths
    [read more]

2020

  • December 2020 - On mechanics and style
    [read more]
  • November 2020 - THE BIG 3: The Glue That Keeps Your Best Game Together
    [read more]
  • September 2020 - Protocol and Game Tradition Revisited
    [read more]
  • August 2020 - As Good as Your 2nd Serve
    [read more]
  • July 2020 - Shot Shaping
    [read more]
  • June 2020 - Getting a Point in Jeopardy Back to Neutral
    [read more]
  • May 2020 - A Positive Mind-Set: On and Off the Court in Today's C-19 Reality
    [read more]
  • April 2020 - The Zombie Tennis Creed – Top Ten
    [read more]
  • March 2020 - A Roadmap Into "The Zone"
    [read more]
  • February 2020 - The service toss: myths and realities
    [read more]
  • January 2020 - Shot Gazing
    [read more]

2019

  • December 2019 - The Dreaded High Bouncing Moonball Dilemma
    [read more]
  • November 2019 - Chalk Flew: Troublesome Line Calling without Hawkeye in Clubland [read more]
  • October 2019 - In the Spirit of Don't Drink and Drive… Don't Think and Hit [read more]
  • September 2019 - Old School vs New School [read more]
  • August 2019 - Getting the Ball Where You Want It [read more]
  • July 2019 - Taking Points Off…What? [read more]
  • June 2019 - Confidence Is Confidence: Take It Wherever You Can Get It [read more]
  • May 2019 - TENNIS INNOVATION IMPLODES [read more]
  • April 2019 - Defending the Court with Older Bones: A Club Player's Guide to Saying "Nice Shot" Less [read more]
  • March 2019 - Do You Have Doubles Rally Tolerance? [read more]
  • February 2019 - I Knew Jimy Van Alen: A Historical Look Back [read more]
  • January 2019 - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Mental Toughness Skills [read more]

2018

  • December 2018 - Less Bling is the Thing [read more]
  • November 2018 - Anatomy of a Doubles Serve Return…from the Inside Out [read more]
  • October 2018 - Older Dogs and New Tricks: Still Improving at Any Age [read more]
  • September 2018 - The All-Important Dynamic of Gripping [read more]
  • August 2018 - The Cinemascope Syndrome: Undermining Your Ball Watching [read more]
  • June 2018 - Serving and Returning Better with a Quiet Eye [read more]
  • May 2018 - The Man Who Breathed for Two [read more]
  • January 2018 - Rituals Anyone? [read more]

2017

  • December 2017 - Why Serving is so Difficult in Clubland [read more]
  • October 2017 - Managing your body and mind in tennis space [read more]
  • August 2017 - Why Bother Breathing to Improve Your Game [read more]
  • May 2017 - The "Maintaining" One's Game as One Ages Fallacy [read more]
  • February 2017 - Punta Gorda Tennis Clubs: Setting the Bar [read more]
  • January 2017 - State of the Club Game: The Growing Death of Sportsmanship [read more]

Check back often for more essays.