Jak Beardsworth Tennis

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER, 2012:

SMART SHOTS

Jak Beardsworth Tennis Coaching Tips An often occurring talking point with both lesson clients and club members is my racket(s). They are clearly very old, their beat-up appearance featuring badly scuffed bumpers along with chipped and fading paint a dead giveaway. Instead of explaining why I choose to wield an antiquated ten plus year old Head Intelligence series model with its “intellifiber” technology - despite receiving the latest new advancements once per year at no charge - I simply point out the small, now barely legible marketing slogan at the top of the frame: “smarter racquet ~ better game.”

A laugh is always shared without any further explanation. Truth be told, it’s the closest feel to the wood sticks that I grew up with and honed my game on. Always the coach, it then becomes a perfect segue for me to happily offer some unsolicited advice that’s core to just about every club player’s game, advice that’s coupled with why these old rackets appear to still work pretty well: play aggressively but patiently, play with controllable pace, play with safe margins to the lines and the net, impart optimal spin, i.e. smart shots.

Yes, low risk tennis reaps the greatest dividends – not trying harder, trying better. When necessary, remind yourself on changeovers to stick to your game plan if you’re getting too amped up, and going too big with small, high risk margins leading to far too many giveaway, unforced errors…a trap easily fallen into. At a seminar I once presented – translated from English! - on teaching mental toughness skills at an Austrian Coaches Conference in Innsbruck, I recall the immediate pen-to-paper reaction I observed among the 100 professionals courtside upon declaring right out of the gate that I believed visualization was the #1 inner toughness component, the one that ignites and enables all else, especially the core advice mentioned earlier.

I’m still drinking that Kool-Aid® years later and encourage all my students to embrace it, stick with it, and trust it. No if and buts about it. And what’s the worst possible resulting scenario? You’ll absolutely play better.

In a variation on the Head iS2 aforementioned slogan, how about this instead: “smarter player ~ better game.”

Consider one of the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definitions of smart: “containing a microprocessor for limited computing capability.” Exactly. We’re talking about playing tennis, not sending a probe to Mars – it truly is not rocket science.

First, processing the situation presented by the incoming shot - recognition, then visualizing the correct response - shot selection: r + v = ss. It doesn’t take an inordinate amount of personal computing power to accomplish that simple task. Think cave man and commit to doing it.

In contrast there are far too many who, particularly when under pressure, strike balls with no more than a hope and a prayer that their shot will be successful. Hoping they don’t screw up! Really? That’s not your inner microprocessor malfunctioning, that’s your microprocessor not functioning at all.

Avoid at all costs: Ready, fire, aim.

Get smart. Stay smart. Play better, a lot better.

Questions and comments are welcome at anytime for all tips present and past via email.

Tips Archive

May, June, 2013 JUST TALKING HEADS OR MORE [read more]
March, April, 2013 SELF-TALK: Good, Bad, or Indifferent [read more]
January, February, 2013 BOOK-A-MILLION: Do Tennis Players Read? [read more]
December, 2012 THE KEY TO TOUR LEVEL BALL STRIKING: And How to Learn It [read more]
November, 2012 ARE YOU A THUDDER, A TWANGER, OR A PINGER: Racket Dampeners [read more]
September, October, 2012 SMART SHOTS [read more]
July, August, 2012 TEN TOP STRESS REDUCERS [read more]
June, 2012 MAKING YOUR LESSONS STICK [read more]
May, 2012 THE IMPOSSIBLE: Accelerating and Decelerating Simultaneously [read more]
April, 2012 PLAYER DISCONNECTION [read more]
March, 2012 BENDING THE SERVE IN [read more]
February, 2012 UNDERSTANDING TERMINOLOGY: Drill vs Clinic vs Team Practice [read more]
January, 2012 PLAYING SCARED? [read more]
December, 2011 CUTTING OFF THE ANGLE…VERTICALLY [read more]
November, 2011 WHY COACHING? [read more]
October, 2011 THE EASY BALLS ARE NOT EASY [read more]
August/September, 2011 NEVER TOO LATE FOR OLDER DOGS [read more]
June/July, 2011 HARD COURTS, SOFT COURTS, and YOUR BODY'S ADAPTATION [read more]
April/May, 2011 JAW DROPPNG [read more]
March, 2011 CLUB DOUBLES' INCREASINGLY MISSING LINK [read more]
February, 2011 TIP 2 | POOH POOHING DOUBLES STRATEGY SESSIONS [read more]
February, 2011 TIP 1 | CLAY TO HARD, HARD TO CLAY [read more]
January, 2011 ICING THE SERVER WHEN RECEIVING IN THE BIG MOMENTS [read more]
December, 2010 JOHN ISNER’S “GOOD MISS” [read more]
November, 2010 THE MOST NEGLECTED SHOT IN THE GAME [read more]
October, 2010 BALL BOUNCING and the SERVE [read more]
September, 2010 TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE BALL [read more]
July-August, 2010 SUMMER SCHOOL COURTSIDE CRIB SHEET [read more]
May-June, 2010 THE 2-HANDED JUMP BACKHAND: The Dumbest Shot in Tennis [read more]
April, 2010 THE STANDING AROUND SYNDROME [read more]
March, 2010 THE ELUSIVE SERVICE TOSS [read more]
February, 2010 PREPARING TO START THE POINT: Serving and Receiving [read more]
January, 2010 DEBUNKING THE MODERN GAME [read more]
December, 2009 RELAX – IT'S JUST A RALLY BALL [read more]
November, 2009 DEFEATING THE POACHER [read more]
October, 2009 PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE [read more]
September, 2009 SERVING SUCCESS: Warming-Up vs Match Play [read more]
August, 2009 THE SPLIT STEP: Defending the Court, Rushing the Net, and More [read more]
July, 2009 THE THIRD GROUNDSTROKE [read more]
June, 2009 HOW MANY HANDS DOES IT TAKE? [read more]
May, 2009 THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL [read more]
April, 2009 PLAYING IN THE FLORIDA WIND [read more]
March, 2009 Letting them Play for Peak Performance in Clubland [read more]
February, 2009 SUPPORTING YOUR GAME [read more]
January, 2009 RESPECTING THE GAME: Top 10 Do's & Don'ts [read more]
December, 2008 Getting the Warm-up Right [read more]
November, 2008 Visualize...Realize: The Mind Body Connection [read more]
October, 2008 Reading Their Mail [read more]