I have been teaching quite a long time and am a USPTA certified pro.
My question: How do I get players to come to the net in doubles?
I have trouble getting doubles players to come to the net area after a return of serve or serving. I have tried every trick in the book. Players do it in the practices and play wonderfully. They are good at the net.
When match play counts in a League, they go back to staying at the baseline and are burned w/the opponents short and/or angled balls.
Hi Claudia,
First of all, you say that your students can come to the net when they practice but not when they are playing “when it counts.” You may want to deal with this issue first as this may be the deciding factor.
What I believe is happening is that they are making the league matches (or any match “when it counts) just too important. Making a match important is not conducive to them playing well. In fact, it will keep them from playing well most of the time. So, they will need to work on “pretending” they are just practicing if that is what it takes to convince their mind that the match really is not that important. With most of my students, they just need to be aware of the fact that they are making it too important and decide to make it not so important.
Once your student can deal with the “making it important” issue, he/she needs to figure out a way to come to net in the actual match. Here is the “process” that I would use.
The first thing that absolutely must be determined is “Does your students absolutely believe that going to the net (at the right time) is important and the best way to play winning doubles. I am assuming that they do but sometimes you never really know.
Then during the match they have to be aware of the times that they are not going to the net when they should.
Once they are aware of this, they will need to visualize or talk to themselves about the next time the proper time comes when they should be going to the net, they will just go to net as they have been taught. When the point is in progress, they will “just do it” to use a popular phrase.
When it happens again and they don’t go to the net, they just visualize or talk to themselves again. They will do this “process” over and over until they can do it automatically like they do in their practice.
If they don’t feel like this is working within a fairly short period of time, then they need to look “behind the scenes” because this process works every time when done properly.
Here are some “behind the scenes” issues that they will need to let go of or begin to deal with.
1. They are trying too hard to win the point.
2. They are trying too hard to hit the ball into the court.
3. They are thinking too much about strategy.
4. They are worrying about what their partner will think.
5. They are worrying about losing.
6. They are trying too hard to go to the net.
7. They are too tense.
8. Any other issue the may be interfering with them making the “right” play.
If your student actually forgets to even think about going to the net when they play, you can be assured that they are either not making it important enough or that they really believe that it doesn’t work and will not help them win.
If they just forget because it is not important enough, then you have to find a way to help them make it important.
If you think that they just don’t believe that it will work and help them win, you will have to figure out a way to make them believe it.
I hope this will help.
David
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