About How To Practice

Here is the main question that was asked by David, one of my book owners. He then pretty much answered his own question and hopefully I added a little more to the answers he found in Lesson #15 and #41 in my book.

 

"Is there ever a time on court, during a point, when one should consciously think about strategy (or stroke mechanics)? I think the answer is no during a tournament match or match that is important. But how does one practice stroke mechanics and consciously be aware of your body mechanics and/or strategy? Only during practice or drills? "

 

And he answered himself with this:

 

"After I emailed you I realized that probably all I had to do was go back and read "the book" again. Of course, it's all right there. I found some good answers to my question in lessons 15 & 41, and they are very helpful. I have been working so hard on my stroke mechanic and strategy stuff that I'm afraid I have neglected practicing the mental game. As you have pointed out, we all practice the other stuff at the expense of not practicing the mental game. Perhaps the answer to my question lies in deciding when and what to practice at any given time. Or, as you have pointed out in lessons 15 & 41, one can practice both strokes and strategy and the mental game at the same time. In a tournament match however, it's all mental game. Thanks again for your help and congratulations on your good summer season."

 

Here are my additional thoughts:

 

I am glad that you found the answers to your questions in my book. That saves me a lot of thinking and typing. (lol). Maybe, that should be my answer to all the questions people ask. I should tell them to just read my book again.

 

One of the things I would add is that you can use what happens when you hit balls to direct your practice. Here is what I mean. When I am practicing, different things happen as I hit the ball. Maybe I am hitting balls long. When I become aware of this, I then spend a few minutes dealing with that issue. If, for some reason, my backhand feels “off,” then I will deal with that for a few minutes. Maybe I notice that I am not breathing properly. I will then spend some time being aware of my breathing. So, what I practice on will depend on what is happening at that moment, but I will only work on one thing at a time. These things will change from day to day. How to “fix” these things, as you said, are all in my book.

 

Now, I also have a check list that I use from time to time. My check list is a list of things that I have become aware of that I need to either work on or need to make sure I am doing. See the index of my book for a list of some of these check lists. And, I add to my check list as I become aware of different things that are going on with my game. This check list is a work in progress.

 

I use the same process to fix “my problems” when I play games except that as things come up, I only visualize the correction and then I let it go and just go back to my core principles. I do not work on fixing it (except in my mind and in between points) when I am playing points. If it continues to be a problem, then I will work on it in my next practice session.

 

My last words of wisdom are to make sure that you spend enough time practicing the core principles. I practice them this way. Let’s say that I am hitting backhands cross court and I am working on my footwork. After a time, I will then play a game of seven points, again just hitting backhands cross court. Now that I am “in a game mode” I will forget about my footwork and just work on seeing the ball and breathing (core principles). See Drill #5 in my book for more ideas.

 

Thanks for your e-mail and I hope I have added to the answers you found in my book.