Technique! Technique! Technique!

Sadly, I see it every day! 

A player with the sincere intention of improving their strokes will reserve the ball machine at the Y and then proceed to grind away practicing bad technique until they have used up their allotted court time. They then pick up the balls, put the machine away, and go about the rest of their day.

What have they accomplished? Well, most likely they've inflamed a tendon or two, perhaps torqued a hip or knee joint, and most certainly have not improved much! They are working to stay crummy! 

The process of improving in sport, music, dance and most other physical activities is to first and foremost, get the correct information about the process (TECHNIQUES), and only then, go about performing the requisite number of controlled repetitions to ingrain the skill.

Most players don't properly interpret what they see. They are caught up in the speed of the swing or the flair of a particular type of follow through (e.g. the Nadal  Looping Topspin forehand).

Experienced coaches, on the other hand, have trained to see actions almost in slow motion (it sounds strange, but it's true). They have honed the ability to remove (filter out) the non-essential ingredients from a stroke and then help you learn to deliver the racket face quietly and cleanly into the ball by using a sound kinetic chain. That clean chain of motion in turn helps you avoid injury (suspect technique is the main cause of tennis elbow and wrist injury) and hit more reliable and powerful shots.

Before you invest hours of practice time, be very sure you have a firm grasp of the technical details of the shot you are hoping to improve. Also, learn the correct practice habits! Practice slowly and be sure to hit to specific targets. Stay in balance throughout your entire stroke. Hold your follow through until the ball you just played either hits or passes by your target (use a physical target like a ball hopper or a traffic cone).

Good technique is the doorway to lifting your level of performance, and good practice habits pave the path to building a reliable skill.

Howie Burnett is a USPTA Elite Level Professional with over 50 years of coaching experience. Before accepting the Tennis Director position at the Island Country Club in 1998, he operated the Net Advantage Tennis Club management company and concurrently served for 10 years as Head Coach of the USTA Training Center for Elite level Juniors in Central Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Howie was inducted into the United States Professional Tennis Association New England Hall of Fame in 2016. He is currently teaching part-time on the Tennis Staff at the Marco Island YMCA. His Book --NET NOTES (common sense ideas to lift your game) is available on amazon.com. You may contact him with tennis questions or lesson inquiries at marcoY10s@icloud.com or hb10s@me.com.