Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

It's really important to have a sharp competitive mindset if you want to be successful in matches. In my practice sessions I encourage players to compete strongly in everything they do.  In my sessions, most drills have a "Finish", meaning the players are required to play the point out at the end of every drill. By practicing this way I am attempting to change the mindset of players who are otherwise having trouble competing successfully in tournaments. By practicing within this highly competitive atmosphere everyday the players become comfortable competing. It becomes natural for them. But there is always another ingredient I must insist on during these practice sessions, and it's just as important. I need to tell players to be PLAYERS FIRST, UMPIRES SECOND! You see it often... players who are returning serve more concerned with calling the serve in or out. It's their first priority! They are literally putting their return of serve "On ...

I would have a very good chance of beating Roger Federer...   if I was given multiple chances to take mistakes back again or replay any shots I didn’t like. Here’s an example. If I was given multiple attempts at all first serves and was able to select the one serve that I liked the most amongst my many attempts, my service game against Roger Federer would probably be good enough to hold my own. Expand that idea to include every shot I play during the point and this "second chance"  concept would allow me to (1) Prepare myself much better for the shot because I already know where the ball is going (2) Make accurate decisions on where and how I want the ball to go, and (3) Technically perform the shot perfectly.  With multiple chances, I have a very good  opportunity to beat Federer. Now I know you are saying “but nobody has the luxury of taking shots again”, and you would be correct. But let’s look at why this “2 nd Chance” scenario is importan...

If you ask most players why they like to play tennis they will probably tell you "because it's fun". However, there are a large number of players out there, both tournament players and recreational players, who cannot handle the stress of competitive tennis.  Most of their anxiety comes from them attempting to play at a level they know they can play at, but constantly coming up short and letting themselves down by making silly unforced errors. Playing tennis to them is more like a type of mental torture! It's the age-old enemy of most tennis players... STRESS It's stress that causes us to blow a match when we are leading by a set and a break. It's this same stress that makes us miss those easy forehand put-aways with the court wide open. In nearly every situation our response to helping players deal with stress is to try to teach players how to avoid stress. But stress is an inherent part of our game.    Traditionally we have tried to eliminate st...

If the mind is such an essential part of tennis, and it most certainly is, then visualization is one of the most effective methods of controlling the mind to think and react in the way we want it to. Visualization can change us from being sad to happy, from feeling cold to warm, and from feeling hungry to satisfied. The ways visualization can be applied to our daily lives is almost endless.  We often use visualization in our without knowing we are doing so. We constantly play mental mind games to help us overcome moments that test us during our day. I have seen these visualization "Mental Mind Games" work wonders to help players overcome their "demons" and to assist players to learn faster. I have used three main visualization techniques that have been very successful for me over the years. These three techniques are: Evocative Role Model Evocative Phrase Evocative Animal Here are actual examples of me using visualization with players. 1. Evocative Role Model Su...

When tennis players begin to compete internationally the expenses involved in traveling overseas to events such as airfares, accommodation and food are quite high and put a significant strain on most family budgets. Players and their parents often try to off-set some of this financial burden by looking for sponsorship.  Here are some important points to consider when approaching companies or individuals for tennis sponsorship. It's important to put yourself in the shoes of the head marketing person of a big company. He/she are busy and any proposal you develop should be clear in what you want to happen . Don't presume that they know what you want. You need to tell them in a clear and precise way. A sponsorship proposal that is vague and lacks a clear description of what you want and how you will use the sponsorship will not send the right message to a busy Marketing Manager The head of marketing has the responsibility of planning a yearly marketing campaigne that f...

A player involved in a match and trying to play smart tennis is constantly assessing a variety of factors when trying to maintain their good momentum or make significant changes in the match because they are behind on the scoreboard. If a player feels they are losing the battle either technically, tactically, physically or mentally, there needs to be a process each player can go through to make those necessary changes. As a Davis Cup and Federation Cup captain I often had to go through this mental process myself in order to turn a match around by adjusting the way my player was competing. Those adjustments came about after a process that involved accurately reading the situation and deciding what needed to change (or in some cases to not change at all) and putting those changes to the test during the match. Here is that process in detail: 1.      EXPLORE (Analyse) This is the stage where, if there is a change of strategy needed, the player explor...

A correct physical training program can enhance your tennis game significantly, while an incorrect physical training program can also harm your game tremendously. In past years players honed their skills on-court and then participated in an off-court physical training program that was very general and non specific to the demands of a tennis match. This all changed several years ago when players, coaches and trainers began to mimic the physical demands and skills required in competitive tennis. Suddenly off-court training became highly specific to tennis and the players began to experience a marriage of tennis skills and physical ability… the two facets of training began to enhance each other! If you have not yet synchronized your on-court and off-court training programs you are definitely missing out on obtaining optimal results in competition. So what areas do you need to be aware of when synchronizing physical training with tennis technique?  Here are 5 ar...