The Power of Process in Tennis

Whatever it is that you are attempting to accomplish, there is a road map that guides your behavior.

When I was in Army basic training in 1967, I discovered and was taught many things about myself. One very important life skill that was imbedded into my approach for successful problem solving, was to break complicated things down to small manageable pieces.

The military term for that concept is doing it by the numbers. The best example of the by the numbers approach, is the breaking down your weapon (field stripping) to clean it, and then reassembling it. That fairly complex task is first done sitting at a table in a classroom, with the instructor leading your every action. After the requisite number of instructor guided repetitions, you are then required to field strip and reassemble your rifle by yourself. (You’d better not get caught looking at the guy next to you!)

Eventually, over a period of a week or so of focused practice, you are required to perform this task while being timed. Not just timed, but timed after being awakened at 3 AM, in a pup tent, in the pitch-black middle of the woods!

The point of my little reminisce is to illustrate the power of PROCESS!

To improve a skill, be it in tennis, golf, archery or playing the oboe, you must first identify the issue, and then begin to build a solid foundation on which to assemble high level performance.

If you are a beginning tennis player, or are working to raise your level of play, learn to worship the processes that lead to concrete improvement.

If you are taking lessons or participating in clinics, ask questions of your coach. 

I've watched innumerable lessons and clinics where no corrective action was given to foster improvement and the student never got any better, just sweatier!

Tennis at its essence, is a skill intensive sport and in as much demands a clear understanding of the physical processes of delivering a projectile (that’s all a tennis ball actually is) to a target.

Get clear information from your coach (be sure you understand what you need to do and why) and then repeat the correct physical act with deep focus until you feel you could do it in the dark with your eyes shut.

Improving a tennis skill is not an event, it is the fruit of a well understood physical action, executed over and over in a controlled manner, and gradually increasing the speed and intensity until it functions in the heat of battle.

Always practice using targets. Practicing without targets provides no feedback to the quality of your execution and devalues the process of practice.

Worshiping the PROCESS is the common denominator that connects virtually all elite performers in whichever discipline they choose to engage.