JAK'S MONTHLY ESSAY SERIES: Achieving Your Personal Best
HEY!… MAYBE IT'S JUST YOUR GYRO NEEDING RECALIBRATING
Once upon a time, while driving back to my former summer gig in Lake Placid, NY, right after participating in a colleague's clinic/mini-camp in NH, I was stopped and ticketed by a Vermont State Trooper. Far behind schedule in getting home after taking a short-cut, which turned into a frustrating long-cut , I finally reached a long straight away after a maddening half-hour behind slow pokes. So, I punched it, all the way up to 100 mph. Of course I was looking out for cops in the far distance horizon on that empty stretch of road just in case. Suddenly, a tiny dot appeared, but wait, oh no, it's a cop! I'm sure I went by him with my front end heaving downward , this time with a heavy foot on the brakes. He made an immediate u-turn as we went by each other in a flash. I immediately pulled over and surrendered. Caught red handed.
As he walked up to my car I prepared my license and registration for the inevitable. In a surprisingly friendly manner, he queried me about my tennis gear in the back seat and the Florida license plate. Satisfied I was probably not a serial murderer, he then asked how fast I thought I was going. I sheepishly offered, "70?" His dead-pan, response was, "When was the last time you had your speedometer recalibrated?" Huh?
In a more tennis specific vein, still analogous, much like a match that took place at the 2024 Miami Open women's doubles final, color commentator Martina Navratolova – no wall flower and one never timid about critiquing players – offered- up this after star doubles specialist, New Zealander Erica Routliffe, was, inexplicably, unable to buy a first serve in the second set after serving well in the first. Her "factory settings" were suddenly not working, and she, apparently without a saving "a get out of jail serve"… a phrase attributed to stellar ESPN commentator Leif Shiras. After Routliffe audibly whined to her coach seated close by, Navratolova exploded on air without a trace of empathy, "Oh my God. Figure it out! Aim higher. Aim lower. Aim more to the left. Aim more to the right."
In other words recalibrate.
Even world class players have to adjust for wind, sun, balls, or an opponent's different ball bounce, and themselves as well. It could just be a momentary hiccup – a single point, or a full game. Or, when really off, perhaps the whole set, or even an entire match due to an uninvited, repeated, loss of shot accuracy.
So, it follows that when it comes to mere club player mortals with far less accuracy and reliability, it becomes an absolute necessity to recalibrate when your shot intentions are not what you intended or visualized, despite striking balls cleanly and solidly.
Far more than most clubbers realize it's often more than just the strokes themselves. Adjusting your inner gyroscope (your personal GPS if you will) when your shots are a bit off involves some adapting. Your mind's eye actually starts "aiming" slightly wrong to get it "right."
In any event, as Navratolova makes clear…sometimes you just have to "figure it out" with what you've got.
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