Home
Warrior System
Think Like a Pro
Tennis Myths
Books/Tapes
Links
Nutrition
Guest Book
Tom Veneziano
Contact Tom
Archives
Testimonials
Magazine Article


Subscribe to my free monthly email Tennis Lesson.  Your link to professional thinking.

Your E-mail Address:

Powered by AWeber

Subscribe now and receive your first online tennis lesson!
Your email privacy is respected.  I do not sell or give away email addresses

September 1, 2010
The Little Tennis Girl Who Could

RAMBLINGS!

Welcome to all the new subscribers to my email tennis lessons.  You will receive one long lesson on the first of every month and some quick tips in between.

Send your tennis buddies or whole team to www.tenniswarrior.com to sign up for their free email tennis lessons.

Official subscribers - 7,726

**************************************************

STROKES ARE BASED ON 'FEEL' NOT MECHANICS!

Remember the basic principles for learning tennis with my system is to develop a 'feel' for different strokes along with developing mental skills through REPETITION.  Repetition of simple procedures create that 'feel' NOT an over emphasis on the technical skills and mechanics.  Click here for an article that I wrote on 'feel' vs 'mechanics' in April 2001

Tom's Online Tennis Lesson
The Little Tennis Girl Who Could

Last month I discussed developing a foundation of repetition practice to support your strokes under pressure. The example I gave was how important a foundation (repetition practice) is to a building (strokes) when bad weather (pressure) hits. The deeper and stronger the foundation, the more reliable the building.

Many of my readers understood the concept of repetition practice as a foundation, but still wondered how to go about constructing that foundation. A perfect illustration came to me in the form of a spirited young junior named Colleen. She recently traveled in from another state to train with me for eight days, two hours every day. Here is the story of the little tennis girl who could.

Colleen is fourteen years old. She is a nice player, ranked fortieth in her state in her age group. Her training regimen with me would be a combination of the ball machine (my teaching 'partner') and players hitting with her each day. I teach all players the Tennis Warrior System relative to their level of play and their conditioning. Since I had not worked with Colleen before, I had to quickly assess her conditioning, concentration and drive.

On day one of training, Colleen hit 400 groundstrokes. She did not respond too well physically, which made me question her foundational conditioning. Would I have to let up on her training the rest of the week? We had two hours of practice every day and 400 balls to hit is a low number. (By the way, this does not count serves, volleys or overheads, just groundstrokes.) Colleen's concentration and desire on the first day were subdued but promising.

The next day, I was pleasantly surprised. Colleen's total went up to 700 groundstrokes and she was not tired at all. Maybe her foundational conditioning was better than I thought! Colleen seemed to be enjoying all the repetition training as I challenged her with cones to hit and various groundstroke repetition patterns. These exercises all enhance the body's natural learning process toward developing a feel with spontaneous, instinctive strokes.

Repetition does not mean just standing in one position hitting over and over again, but developing a nimble style from a number of different patterns, drills and play. To give Colleen even more variety in her repetition practice, I would bring in a hitter for an hour then alternate with the ball machine.

As the first few days passed, I began to realize I had an exceptional player on my hands. Colleen not only possessed extraordinary focus and concentration, but also showed tremendous motivation and drive. I began to test her resolve. On day three, she hit 750 balls and there was still no break in her concentration or conditioning. Then 850 balls, 900 balls and on the sixth day she reached 1,100 balls. I was astonished! She not only followed the program to a T, she was asking to hit more balls. Unbelievable concentration! Unbelievable focus! Unbelievable drive! Unbelievable foundational conditioning! And she made my exclusive 1,000 ball club.

The next day, as Colleen continued her excellent training regime, I told her about one of the pros that I train who holds the record for most balls hit in a week. Colleen quickly expressed her desire to beat this record of 7,000 balls. I began to wonder if she could do it. Her numbers for the final two days would have to be extremely high, but she was making me a believer in her incredible capacity to focus and stay focused! I was putting my money on her.

That day she hit 1,400 balls. Amazing! I actually had to hold her back, telling her that while she may not need a rest, the ball machine did!

A few surprises came through in her game on that day, too. Colleen began to feel some new sensations in her strokes. Remember how I told you that for every 1,000 balls you hit you would feel a little improvement, but with 5,000 balls you would have a more substantial improvement? Well, by that day Colleen had hit over 5,000 balls and she experienced some breakthroughs in the feel of certain shots. Repetition works! Her strokes were changing, yet I was not forcing the mechanics. The repetition was molding her game according to her own individual style, form and creativity.

On the last day, she needed to hit 1,300 balls to tie the pro's weekly record. She was definitely exhausted from all of the intense training, but she wanted to give it a try. Players from other courts, aware of her goal, came over to watch as she hit ball after ball after ball after ball. She was closing in on 1,300 balls when all of a sudden the ball machine broke down and she was unable to reach her goal. I'm only kidding! She smashed through the 1,300 mark and drove the total up to 1,425 balls hit. She broke the pro's record! Her final total for seven days was 7,125 balls hit. Way to go, Colleen! Conditioning: outstanding. Concentration: exceptional. Drive: sensational! One player even asked for her autograph.

Do you have to hit this many balls to improve? Not necessarily. It is the principle of the process that counts. Whether you hit 300 balls or 7,000 balls per week, this type of repetition foundation is what you need for your game to grow. I told Colleen to try and hit 500 balls twice a week in addition to her junior program and any other play.

Well, there you have it. This is the method I have been training players with for over 25 years. If there were any secret to improving in tennis, here it is: Stop focusing on conscious commands and verbal feedback to learn mechanics. You are not going to debate your opponent, you are going to hit balls at them. Instead, focus on your body's unconscious sensory feedback system through weeks and months of repetition practice. Build a sure foundation, and the strokes will follow.

Your tennis pro,

Tom Veneziano

**************************************************

TESTIMONIAL

Hi Tom,

I came to US in 2002 from China to pursuit my PhD in physics. I am currently in New Brunswick, NJ. I just start to play tennis a couple of years ago when I am reaching 30. I've had lots of fun but also lots of struggles. I've been watching how pros play and try to imitate them blindly, which messed up my own strokes from time to time. Later, I met a personal tennis coach who strongly recommended your website. I didn't quite believe it could be so helpful at that time, to be frank. Then it's the mind blowing concept you have, which compares learning the strokes to a baby trying to walk. It hit me so hard. I've been obsessed with copying the "correct" form and every technical detail from the pros (a PhD syndrome), and ignored the fact that I don't have their physical condition, timing ability and necessary muscles. I totally agree now with your opinion on learning the strokes, which don't think too much about technique details, just repeat and do simple things best, your body will grow the right muscle and find the right form, the best one for yourself. "Timing drives muscle", "difference between practice and match", and so on, these are really good advice, they are the truth, beautiful truth.

It's just too much to say. I can go on for an hour. I didn't even start to mention the right mind for match---reverse concentration, another totally new concept for me and my guts feel it is the right way to go. Most importantly, these advice are not just tennis advice, they enter other aspects of my life and help me find the right form and game plan for myself in my life.

Here I thank you, Tom, you discover the truth and share them with us.

Weihua Zheng
New Brunswick, New Jersey

**************************************************

ADDENDUM:  I teach a total system of thinking in regard to stroke production and mental attitude which I cannot explain in one email.  Although each lesson can stand alone you will derive tremendous physical and mental benefit by understanding the total philosophy.  These emails, my web site, books, and tapes are part of a course in tennis, not just isolated tennis tips.  They all fit together into a system.  A system that once understood can help you not only learn tennis at a faster rate, and develop mental toughness, but also give you the knowledge necessary to help guide you and your children to a better understanding of the developmental process.

Click here for more information about my books and tapes

Previous

Archive Menu

Next


  Tom Veneziano
My Wimbledon Radio Interview
Real player

Listen Here
( 7 minutes ) 

Featured Item

The Ultimate Tennis Warrior Package Including T-Shirt
Learn More

 


Think Like a Pro!

 Home 5 Warrior System 4 Tennis Myths 3 Contact Tom 2 Books/Tapes 1 Testimonials     

 Copyright © 1999 - 2013 Tom Veneziano
Website and Shopping Cart Design by:
Bret Essing
Website Hosting by: www.OnlineQuick.com
All Rights Reserved