We think it was Gary Player who was quoted as saying; “It’s a funny thing, the more I practice the luckier I get” and we all know that a bit of luck can always be useful, in life and on court.So often practise is unstructured, without any pattern, and for most Club players infrequent. At most a brief pre-match warm up and straight into action.It doesn’t have to be like this, but it does have to be planned and based on the four key ingredients; Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental.If these elements are a part of practice, then it will be possible to really improve your overall performance. If you can find time please watch this video link where Federer talks us through the whole session;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o4FZM6EQXk&t=13s
this shows how Federer ensures that he is always improving. His fitness, speed, balance and coordination, as well as his technique, patterns of play, movement and mental agility.You don’t need a coach to practise with a purpose. It is great if you can afford it, but a fellow team player, who can also benefit, can help make practise fun, and provided you copy the pattern of activity in the video, there is no doubt you will come away with the improvements you seek.So many warm up drills are straightforward, but executing to a high standard is essential. Catching and passing are often ignored, and combined with good footwork patterns and short jogs, soon add to aerobic and physical fitness; more effective than a medium distance road run?Keep on court hitting with your partner simple; work on your least favourite shot; try things out and experiment; work from the service box to the baseline; use patterns which you will need in match play; cross court in doubles, depth and angle in singles; your serving routine; always practise the return of serve; play points cross court or down line in the half court, no serve needed; keep the score.Coached practise sessions should always finish with a 10 point tie break or 30/30 games. The idea is to make sure you try and apply the elements of your practise to the live game; but there is no need to play a set; an intensive hour is a good workout if you’re trying!Straight after your session, make time to note down the pattern and purpose for next time, and the elements you need to revisit.