I have been wanting to outline a few important TIPS for competition that might seem simple and sometimes obvious, but that unfortunately the nerves and anxiety of junior competition bring can make them feel almost impossible to consider when the player is in the heat of the battle, and that is why it is important to plan ahead with them.
The key components of the windows of time right before the match and once the match begins are:
- Our students are trained to run through very specific dynamic flexibility warmups before our sessions. When a player is getting ready to play a match, these warmup exercises are the place to go!!! The body knows them well, and it will react positively to them on those minutes before competing.
- Start all matches with a commitment to hitting the first serves in and the returns of serve deep down the middle. At least the first four games of every match should be focused on these two. The command needs to be this simple. Slow starters are exactly what the better players are looking for in their opponents.
- There are two basic strategies in the game of singles. A player identifies a particular weaker side on his opponent (for example, the backhand side), and he or she works on building patterns to attack that wing. The second basic strategy is against those players who don’t seem to have a clear weakness, and against them, the objective is to attack their movement at any opportunity. The game should be simplified, and the decision of where we are going to attack on the important points needs to be decided in advance based on who is on the other side of the net from us.
- Our last tip is that when a player is in doubt, or a player is struggling to get going on the score, the player should try to hit as many cross court shots from behind the baseline to increase the length of the rallies, build more timing, and simply make the opponents job harder. Remember that the harder to beat that a player is, the more wins this player will have.
I have been teaching the game for thirty years, and while the technology has brought an evolution to the speed of the ball and the athleticism of the players, the game is still the same, and our job as parents or coaches during competition is to help our players to simplify it and become more solid during stress.
