Today’s playing tip comes from Oscar Wegner. To learn more about Wegner, go to www.tennisteacher.com.

This article could also be called, "Why some people learn better than others" or, "Is it the student fault or the teachers?"

On one side there is the viewpoint in regards to the quote "there is nothing that any human being knows, or can do, that he has not learned ".

Proponents of this assertion exclude natural body functions, such as breathing, as well as reflexes, such as the involuntary closing of the eye when an object approaches it.

Let's assume for a moment that the natural body functions, as well as the reflexes, are learned over a longer period of time, such as the span of the species. Let's call that instinctual.

How could the student learn anything quickly and efficiently? Would it be best to follow the natural instinctual lines, or, on the contrary, with no regard to previous learning processes?

Would it have to be learned on a progressive scale of difficulty, where simple learnings accumulate to obtain a whole that is a composite of the earlier steps taken?

Would it have to be adjusted to the learning speed of the student or could you just force the person to the class or the teacher's speed of teaching?

Would every step have to be understood, felt and experienced so as to permit the student to use his own judgment on whether it feels good and is effective?

Would it have to be adjusted to the learning preferences of the student, whether the person learns by feel and repetition, or by more of a mechanical system, such as making mental image pictures? Furthermore, could a person be guided towards learning by feel, even those who thoroughly depend on memorization through mental image pictures? Even further, which mental image pictures help you and which detract from your effort?

And finally, what is focus? Would the person need to easily acquire an understanding of how he concentrates on a certain task in a way that he simplifies it and repeat at will?

I am afraid that the answer to all these questions is an emphatic YES.

And that's the crux of tennis learning. Which also answers how some people learn quickly and efficiently just by themselves. Number one: they have the ability to simplify matters. Number two: they prefer to operate by feel, simplifying matters. Number three: they are very aware of what causes what and what is not efficient. They judge situations and responses instinctually. If it does not feel good, they throw it overboard. In sports this is usually called athleticism. I would define it as a natural selection of the simplest way to achieve something.

A friend of mine, Manuel Santana , who won Wimbledon, Roland Garros (now the French Open ) twice, and Forest Hills (now the U.S. Open), told me how, as a ball-boy in Madrid he learned first with a piece of wood. Someone later on gave him an old racquet and he sneaked at slow times some games with the other ball boys. In time, with no lessons whatsoever, having seen (and most likely copied) the best players of the previous generation, he had a complete game, including the best forehand in the world at his time.

His schooling, as he told me, was almost nothing. So, rather than thinking, he adopted what felt best and had the best results.

Not all of us have the time to spend the entire day on the tennis courts, playing, observing, and running around catching and throwing the ball, as he did.

That is where my teaching techniques come into play. All throughout my books and videos, they teach you, number one, to follow what you would do instinctively anyway, should you have the time to spend countless hours, or a lifetime, on a court. Number two, I teach you on a gradient scale of difficulty. Number three, I make it easy for the student to follow his own pace of learning. Number four, I insist on drilling each step until you are comfortable and familiar with your own interpretation of it, and it just feels like your own. Number five, I gear you to learn by feel. If you don't have much feel originally, or you are, by your own nature, rather mechanical, the techniques in my book and videos develop your feel, learning to perform just like a top pro would.

And finally, these materials teach YOU to play, not just your mind. The mind is just a tool you have. You are a lot more, a wonderful being, full of feel, ability, sensitivity, innate intelligence, coordination, athleticism, sense of timing. You can probably add many more traits, such as balance, grace, feline moves, you name it. Are some of these traits hidden? I help you bring them out.

Tennis is a beautiful sport, extremely simple should you know (or feel) certain basics which include knowing how you operate, how you create, how you feel, and how to quiet your mind. After all, you are the creator, you are the boss, not your mind!

Sounds too good? It CAN be achieved, as shown by thousands and thousands of results.

Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
Steve Pratt - Editor, Variety
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According to the editors and contributors of Daily Tennis News the top tennis events of 2009 were;
1 Roger Federer setting a record by winning his 15^th major
2 Serena Williams’ anger at US Open semifinals
3 Federer-Roddick Wimbledon finals
4 Rafael Nadal’s health problems
5 Kim Clijsters winning the US Open
6 Andre Agassi admitting taking drugs
7 Roger Federer winning the French Open
7 Juan Martin Del Potro winning the US Open
7 Emergence of Melanie Oudin on the international scene
10 Larry Scott leaving the WTA

In 1978, Nick Bollettieri founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the first full-time tennis boarding school to combine intense training on the court with a custom-designed academic curriculum. To learn more about you can check out: www.nickbollettieri.com.

It is a proven fact that unforced errors go up when a player tries to change the direction of the ball.

Some of the reasons for this are (when you’re going down the line):

a. The court is shorter.
b. The net is higher.
c. The amount of court you have to cover increases.
d. Hitting the ball back in the same direction is much easier than trying to change the direction of the ball.

You must be able to hit down the line at certain times. I suggest more of a looping ball with spin when hitting down the line, unless you are well inside the court and want to apply more pressure on your opponent.

Here’s a drill we use at the Academy to work on changing the direction of the ball and hitting up the line:

How the Drill Works: Start the drill at a rally pace with Player A and Player B standing at the baseline of one side, while Player C is on the baseline at the opposite end. Player A will hit balls crosscourt to the forehand side of Player C until Player C is able to get 1-2 feet inside the baseline. Once Player C is inside the baseline they will hit a ball down the line to Player B. Player B will then hit back to Player C and Player C will hit crosscourt to Player A and the drill starts over again.

Variations: Move Player C to the other side of the court and have them hit balls down the line from their backhand side.

Areas of Focus: Marinating a rally speed throughout the drill to keep the players focused at all times. Also, learning how and when to step inside the baseline to hit the ball down the line.

Andre Agassi was one of the best at accomplishing this shot, but he only tried it when he was in total command of the crosscourt ball, and inside the baseline!

Bob Larson - Publisher
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Ana Ivanovic, who has not played since October after watching her ranking slide out of the top 20, is optimistic about the upcoming season after spending several weeks in Australia with her family and golfing boyfriend Adam Scott.
“It wasn't easy but still I learned a lot, it made me a lot stronger,” she said of 2009. “You realize when you are on a winning run you maybe take it for granted. I think I started to appreciate it a bit more. I know now I will never let myself go down that far again with injuries - I know how to prevent them in the future. I have got the right people now who are going to help me get on track. My fitness is coming together, I have a great team around me at the moment. I would love to win another grand slam but I am looking at the big picture.”
She will be part of dream draw that will be in the first tournament of new season. Though not an elite spot on WTA road, Brisbane will host four very attractive players.
Q. How ready are you to fight Henin, Clijsters and Dokic in first tournament after so long break and what result would make you satisfied?
A. "I’m very, very excited about this tournament. I think the break I have had is the longest in my career and I’m really looking forward to competing again – I miss it. I am trying to approach the tournament with no expectations but I know that I have the potential to go far.
Q. What do you expect from Australian Open and who do you think will be main contenders for the title?
A. My goal is obviously to win the tournament but rather than thinking about that, I am concentrating on my preparation, so that I can be in my best form for this Grand Slam. I think there are many players who can win the tournament: the Williams sisters, Clijsters, Henin, Dementieva. . . at least 10 players could win it. It’s going to be an exciting tournament for sure.
Q. Some of Serbian players (Jankovic, Tipsarevic) voiced dissatisfaction because after so many big successes of Serbian tennis, there are no better conditions for practice in Belgrade, nor better courts. What is your opinion and do you plan any investment in Belgrade like Djokovic did? 
A. I agree that it is a shame that facilities haven’t improved much. It’s no secret that I would like to help bring a WTA tournament to Belgrade, but we have to be patient because there aren’t any licenses available at the moment."

Justine Henin is scheduled to arrive in Australia later today to begin her comeback at next week’s Brisbane International at the Pat Rafter Arena.
With no ranking, the Belgian will, of course, be unseeded when her name goes into the hat for Saturday’s draw along with the likes of compatriot and US Open champion Kim Clijsters, former world no.1 Ana Ivanovic and Australians Jelena Dokic and Alicia Molik.
Henin, seven times a Grand Slam champion and retired for 20 months, can expect no special treatment but tournament director Steve Ayles is yearning for the two Belgians to be on opposite sides of the draw as a potential final would capture a massive international audience. "I'd love to see Henin and Clijsters in the final," said Ayles. "Obviously there are a lot of good players in this event. They're all going to test Henin and Clijsters but it will be a great outcome if that happens, if they both got through."
Ayles has been in regular contact with the Henin camp and added: “She's fairly cautious in what she's been saying and what she expects from the Australian summer." But she's one of those players, she left the game at the top, she was No.1 and I don't think she will accept nothing less than coming back and playing the same as when she left. "It's not as easy as that but nevertheless I think she will be playing pretty well here. I won't be surprised at all to see Henin win a few matches here."

Bob Larson - Publisher
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In 1978, Nick Bollettieri founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the first full-time tennis boarding school to combine intense training on the court with a custom-designed academic curriculum. To learn more about you can check out: www.nickbollettieri.com.

By Nick Bollettieri

Over the years I have developed some of the biggest forehands in the game. Jimmy Arias, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Tommy Haas and Xavier Malisse are all fine examples of how to use the forehand as a weapon and control play. While Malisse, Haas and Agassi have some big backhands to go along with the forehand, Arias and Courier made their careers on the ability to control play from the forehand and minimize the amount of backhands they hit. Here’s one of the ways we work on it at the academy.

How the drill works: Player A starts in the middle of the court behind the baseline. On the opposite side of the net, player B stands in the deuce corner. Player B feeds a ball in play to player A. Player A must hit every ball into the deuce corner directly to Player B. Player B can hit the ball anywhere he or she likes to Player A. Here’s the catch: Wherever the ball lands player A must hit a forehand. So if Player B hits the ball into the backhand side of Player A, he or she must run around the backhand and hit a forehand back to Player B. This drill should be timed, and depending on your conditioning, you can go from 1 to 5 minutes. Be sure to switch Player B into the ad court for the second round to practice hitting that corner also.

Variations: This drill can also be done in a two on one format. Two people will be on one side moving a single player around on the opposite side. The single player must still hit all forehands but now can vary the target to both corners. You may also add targets for the person working on their forehand to hit.

Areas of Focus: Obviously when doing this drill you are working on depth and control with your forehand. But this drill is also a fantastic workout and will help with conditioning tremendously. Footwork and speed come into play and will improve the more you train in this manner. And finally, you must learn to recognize the ball and even anticipate in order to be successful. Even without increasing your foot speed, if you can learn to recognize balls earlier and anticipate, your first step will be quicker and you will move faster around the court regardless of whether you are hitting a forehand or a backhand.

***

Bob Larson - Publisher
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Tennis Tip of the Day

Today’s tip is on practicing with a purpose and comes from International Tennis Academy instructor Mark Gellard. To learn more about the ITA, go to http://www.itausa.com.

How can players/coaches ensure practice maximizes ability?

Optimizing your game through efficient and intelligent practice sessions is easier said than done. While it is true that there are no shortcuts to becoming a pro playing at your full potential, practicing all hours of the day is similarly not the secret of success. All aspiring tennis professionals will be familiar with the sight of that player at their local club who diligently practices and practices for several hours a day but never seems to improve. This is simply because their current practice regiment has been exhausted and is no longer able to provide the player with the necessary framework for future success.

During my coaching career I have been fortunate enough to work, and travel with players such as Martina Hingis, Nadia Petrova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, all of whom have excelled within the sport. What can other players and coaches learn from these high performance athletes that can be readily converted in to their current practice routines?

Below are three key areas to address in order to have an efficient and constructive practice;

1) Practice outside of your ‘comfort zone’ (Practice drills that will challenge your game style)

According to research, in order to become a master of your domain you are required to ‘log’ a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice spanning at least a decade in time if you are to become World class (Daniel Coyle-‘The Talent Code’). However many athletes believe that practicing for hours on end is their key to success, yet studies have shown virtually no benefit to an athlete’s performance when durations of practice exceed four hours per day, thus (Welford, 1968: Woodworth & Schlosberg, 1954) indicating the ‘required’ 10,000 hours must be coherently structured, and deliberate if you are seeking to be an expert performer (K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer). Each practice you participate in offers you a chance to master a new skill and add more dimensions to your game, thus, practicing new drills will increase your repertoire of shots.

2) Challenge yourself by setting goals and having specific focal point -- small things are often the best

During a practice you should address all aspects of the game as often as possible, testing yourself in areas including, but not limited too; physical, tactical, mental, emotional and technical. For example, instead of hitting crosscourt forehands with your partner for an unset amount of time, you should set a goal for each of the areas listed above, e.g. ‘hit cross-court forehands past the service line for five minutes with no errors, whilst recovering back to the center of the court between shots, utilizing different stances (open, closed and semi-open)’.

· Physical -- Recovering back to the center of the court between shots

· Tactical -- All past the service line

· Mental/emotional -- For five minutes making no errors

· Technical -- Utilizing different stances

Now we can see how a simple drill has measurable outcomes and a specific purpose, and so the rate at which we can improve our level of performance has been greatly accelerated.

3) Learn your cues to success (what words or actions ignite your game)

After close observation of some highly ranked women on the WTA tour it became apparent just how dependent they are on “cues” in order to help their game, e.g. Correcting positional and mechanical mistakes, making adjustments, and gaining motivation and/or positive energy (this is often why you will see players looking to their coaches during a match because they are in need of an external “cue”). All of these “external” cues are a basic psychological mechanism that allows for the creation of a stimulus-response link (the stimulus being the cue and the response being the action taken because of the stimulus).

Some examples of cues I saw from coaches were; “be aggressive” referring to court positioning, “reach up” -- referring to extending your body upwards on the first serve, or “finish the swing” referring to the follow through on a particular shot. Every athlete has an idiosyncratic set of “cues” that can be used to ignite certain areas within their game in order to achieve higher levels of performance, so it is critical that you learn yours.

Expert performers and teachers should schedule deliberate practice in a way that will avoid becoming overly fatigued, or “burnout”, leading to an athlete taking shortcuts or learning bad habits. Self-discipline and structured practices will almost always be the difference between being good, and being great.

Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
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Roger Federer is the International Tennis Federation’s male World Champion for the fifth time in his career while Serena Williams is the first woman in ten years to take both the singles and doubles crown for 2009.
Federer attained the world no.1 spot with his Grand Slam wins at the French Open and Wimbledon while also making the finals of the Australian and US Opens.
Williams was last ITF Women’s World Champion in 2002 but she also won two majors at the Australian Open and Wimbledon along with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Doha. Along with big sister Venus, she dominated the Grand Slam doubles events to edge out the year-end No. 1-ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber as Women’s Doubles World Champions.
The Williams sisters recorded two victories over Black and Huber in winning three Grand Slam titles, at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, to take their career total to ten Grand Slam triumphs. Serena joins Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis as the only players to become singles and doubles world champions in the same year.
The Bryan Brothers have been named Men’s Doubles World Champions for the sixth time in seven years. The brothers clinched the year-end No. 1 men’s doubles ranking in the final match of the season, having missed out in 2008 in the same circumstances. The Bryans won six titles during the year, including the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Finals, and were runners-up at Wimbledon. They were also unbeaten for USA in Davis Cup.
Daniel Berta becomes the first Swede to be named Boys World Champion since Thomas Enqvist in 1991. The 17-year-old captured his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros to complete a memorable event for his home country following Robin Soderling’s run to the men’s final. Berta also won the Grade 1 singles event in the Philippines and two doubles titles, and was selected for the Swedish Davis Cup squad for its first round tie against Israel.
Kristina Mladenovic is the first French player to become Girls World Champion since Amelie Mauresmo in 1996. The 16-year-old won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros and went on to reach the final at Wimbledon. She also won the Grade A title in Osaka and Grade 1 event in Roehampton. In doubles, Mladenovic captured four titles, including Grade A successes in Osaka and at the Banana Bowl.
Shingo Kunieda remained unbeaten for a second successive year to win his third Men’s Wheelchair World Champion honor. The 25-year-old captured eight singles titles in 2009, including all three Grand Slam singles events, Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open. He also won five doubles titles, and helped Japan to third place in the Invacare World Team Cup in Nottingham.
Esther Vergeer extended her unbeaten run to 383 singles matches in becoming Women’s Wheelchair World Champion for the tenth successive year. The 28-year-old won seven singles titles in 2009, including all three Grand Slam events, and finished the year with her 12th successive victory at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. She also won six doubles events and led Netherlands to a 22nd Invacare World Team Cup title.
The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the annual ITF World Champions Dinner on Tuesday 1 June, in Paris , during Roland Garros.

Bob Larson - Publisher
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Tennis Tip of the Day

Today’s tip is provided by Daniel Linley, a teaching professional at the Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club in San Francisco.

Doubles is fun and exhilarating if played well. There are huge differences between singles and doubles. The serve, for example, is even more important in doubles than in singles. A good server can set up his volleyer for the winning shot if he or she can predictably serve down the middle T.

Doubles is a game of angles. Hit an angle to your opponent and you give them an angle to potentially burn you with. But serving down the T robs of them of easy angles. They can try to hit an inside out backhand from the deuce court (for a right-handed player) or an inside out forehand on the add court. These are possible but very difficult given the limited angles available without going near the server's volleyer.

So by serving down the T, the returner's most reliable shot will be across the volleyer's reach. The server's volleyer can then poach and put the ball in the gap between the returner and his volleyer or at the feet of that volleyer. If this works a few times it will then put more pressure on the returner and result in over-hitting. Manage the middle of the court and set up your volleyer for the win.

Posted from Bob Larson's Tennis Variety 12/21/2009

Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
Steve Pratt - Editor, Variety
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Friday, December 18, 2009

VARIETY

Tennis Tip of the Day

In 1978, Nick Bollettieri founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the first full-time tennis boarding school to combine intense training on the court with a custom-designed academic curriculum. To learn more about you can check out: www.nickbollettieri.com.

By Nick Bollettieri

“Live Ball” is one of my favorite live ball and fed ball drills. “Live Ball” denotes that the drills are done keeping the ball in play with your partner, while “Fed Ball” means the balls are hit to you one at a time out of a basket. Both are beneficial in different ways and we use both extensively at the academy with our students.

The box game is one of my favorite drills because it can be adjusted for different levels of play.

How the drill works: Make a box using whatever is at your disposal (cones, balls, etc.) in the deep corner of the deuce side. The size of the box can vary from 2’ x 2’ for professionals to 6’x 6’ or even bigger for lower levels of play. Player A stands in the center of the court on the opposite side of the box while player B stands behind the box. The objective of the drill is for player A to hit the ball into the box as many times as possible. It is player B’s responsibility to keep the ball in play to player A mixing up forehands and backhands but not so difficult as to make it impossible for player A to hit the target.

Scoring: Starting from 0, every time player A hits the ball into the box their score goes up one. Every time they miss the box the score goes down one. Player A must keep playing until he or she reaches 20. If player B hits the ball out or hits a very difficult ball to player A, this is a “free ball”. Which means if player A makes it in the box they get a point but if they don’t it doesn’t count. This is important so that player A tries for every ball, not just the easy ones.

Variations: This drill can be adjusted for the level of play. The most important thing is for the drill to be challenging but not impossible for the player. For lower levels increase the size of the box and play up to 10 or 15 instead of 20. For higher levels, make the box smaller and play to 20 or 25. After completing the goal on the deuce side, move the box to the ad corner and try again.

Areas of Focus: The great thing about this drill is that in order to be successful you must be focused mentally. You will find the better you become at this drill the longer you will be able to keep your concentration during tough points in match play. Your unforced errors will begin to decrease dramatically. You must also move your feet and have good balance to be able to hit the target consistently. If done right, this drill is a fantastic cardiovascular workout.

***

A Closer Look

The following was submitted by esteemed author and instructor Vic Braden, who has authored more than 25 books and videos on tennis instruction. He is the founder of the Vic Braden Tennis College which recently began operating at the Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island. He is a member of the USTA Midwest Hall of Fame.

I have read many articles and statements made by tennis coaches that do not sync with information Dr. Gideon Ariel, Andy Fitzell and I generated in the Coto Research Center. I will present our findings and eagerly await any scientific information that would indicate contradictory discoveries.

We have recorded thousands of shots from the world’s top players. Thanks to BNP Paribas, Charlie Pasarell and Steve Simon, we have a three camera set up at the BNP Paribas tournament in Indian Wells to capture every shot hit by the top men and women players. We have Dr. Ariel’s Apas software that provides us with 3-D information that generates the kinematics for which we are searching. 

First, we have never discovered a single player who could roll his/her racket over a tennis ball to generate topspin. In every case, topspin was generated by a racket swinging upwards and contacting the ball with a vertical racket face. We have been told by others that they have evidence of a racket face rolling over the ball from a quarter of an inch to an inch. We have requested the high speed video, or film, and have never received it.

In our research center in the 1980’s, Dr. Ariel and I shot film up to 10,000 frames per second while asking top players to try to roll their racket over the ball. In every case, the ball had left the racket in four to five milliseconds and there was no racket face that rolled over any of the ball’s surface.

As for keeping one’s eye on the ball and watching it hit the racket face, we were again surprised that no one was able to see the ball hit the racket.  We asked each hitter to try to see the ball hit the strings. The human eye has great difficulty seeing a four millisecond event. One ophthalmological researcher on our team explained that the ball is moving too fast in the last 5.5 feet that the eye movement (saccade) trying to track the ball actually causes one to be legally blind. But a more interesting fact when recording eye movement on the “Eye Mark Recorder” equipment was that many of the player’s eyes actually went past the point of impact and then back to the hitting zone. In many cases, the hitter’s eyes actually moved towards the opponent’s side of the net long before the impact.

As for the “New Game” concept, I eagerly await information that shows me something new. The “Open Stance” was used decades ago by some players. I have seen “new equipment” that makes it easier to hit shots with greater speed. Having been on the management team for several pro tours since 1950’s, what I see that’s new is the wrap around the neck that happens long after the ball has left the strings. What the “wrap around” has done for many players is to force their center of gravity to the center of the court and prevent them from attacking the net. In fact, there are professional matches played with almost no net rushing involved. In 3-D studies done by Andy Fitzell and myself in 2008, many of Roger Federer’s forehands translated four feet before any wrap around the neck. And Federer’s backhand often translated over five feet with no “wrap around”. We were not able to see any “sidespin” shots.

We will be on the court with our cameras for the 2010 BNP Paribas tournament and will be eagerly reviewing our digitized video to see effects that others have claimed, but we have not observed.

***

Did You Know?

In view of the International Olympic Committee's recent announcement of the addition of mixed doubles to London 2010, the last time mixed doubles was actually contested as a medal sport at the Olympic Games was Paris 1924.

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