Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

An important coaching tool I use every day is the repetitive use of phrases. T hese common phrases help the student and I stay on the “same page”. They can also be used to set the tone of the lesson in terms of intensity. Here are some common phrases I use and the meaning behind them ' COACH YOURSELF!' Every lesson has a purpose and often that purpose is introducing new techniques or patterns to the player. Once the new technique or pattern has been explained I’ll most likely go straight to live points and challenge the player to reproduce the lesson topic while under pressure. To do this successfully the player needs to recall the key parts of the new technique or pattern and what I tend to do often is gently nudge the player with “Coach Yourself”! I’m asking for self-awareness, self-discipline, and I higher degree of focus from the player when I say this.  'YOU’RE BETTER THAN THAT!' Rather than being a negative statement, I use this phrase to demo...

AS A COACH THE LANGUAGE I use is important. Something said the wrong way on court can have a negative effect on the player, while compliments tend to have a more positive effect. I use the 'TIMES SIX principle' when talking to players on-court or whenever they have just finished their match.  The 'TIMES SIX principle' means that anything you, say either as a parent or as a coach, is magnified by six times in the head of the player. It is therefore always important to filter your comments through the TIMES SIX 'filter' and imagine how your comment will be perceived if multiplied six times. An example could be if, as a coach or parent you remarked that the player had missed many first serves in the match (which could be completely correct), and told the player this soon after their match. The result of that comment could be disastrous (remember the TIMES SIX Principle) because the player could take the comment as a personal at...

I’m not a fan of using repetition to practice when training players. I use repetition drills very rarely. Repetition drills are when a player has to hit many balls one after the other, either from a basket feed or with someone at the other end giving you the same ball. Repetition drills contain very little that is similar to match-play. I understand it looks good to people watching the lesson from a distance outside the court and on Instagram posts but repetition drills offer very little to players wanting to develop a new technique or pattern for their next match. Often coaches feel that they have done their job by showing the student the new technique and then drilling it many times through repetition. They believe the transfer of information (the new technique being taught) from the practice court to match court should happen automatically and is the players' responsibility. This is false. It’s the coach’s job to introduce the new technique AND to creat...

LET'S BE CLEAR from the start, you need both options! Open and closed stances have advantages and disadvantages, and you need to adopt both stances during a match if you want to play tennis at a high level. Here’s when it’s best to hit an open stance ground stroke and why… OPEN STANCE 1.   Better for higher balls because you can generate more power and maintain balance. With a higher ball , generating power on the shot is sometimes difficult. Adopting an Open Stance allows you to achieve back-swing and follow-through by utilising upper-body rotation.  2.   It c an help you disguise your intentions on certain balls, such as a mid-court put-away. You want to keep your opponent guessing on which corner you will target. Adopting an open stance allows you to "look" the same on every set-up, and all you need to do is adjust your contact point ( late or early ), to change direction. 3.  It's e asier to recover from wide balls and return back to the ce...

With the US Open starting this week, there is plenty to learn while watching the matches, which we can use to improve our game. One technique you will see often over the next two weeks is ' THE LONG LAST STEP .' The top players use this technique to help with coordination, timing, and balance as they move around the court to hit the ball. To understand The Long Last Step, we need to break the whole topic of movement into 3 parts. All 3 parts relate to each other, and The Long Last Step is an integral element of them. #1 MOMENTUM When you run to hit a ground stroke, momentum is created. As you reach the ball, that momentum has to be disciplined before you attempt to hit the ball; otherwise, you will lose balance during the stroke. Any balance problems during the execution of a stroke will mean a lack of consistency. To control your body's momentum, we create a last step that is longer than the other steps used to reach the ball. By stepping long in this way, we hav...

The top players have few weaknesses in their games, and as I have said many times to reach the top it's really important you work on eliminating any weaknesses you may have. Weaknesses in your game eat away at your confidence and usually are worse when you are under the most pressure and occur at the most unwelcome times. The big picture when developing players for the future should also include working on strengths.  Young players should be well rounded and be equally skilled in dealing with defensive and offensive situations. Here are my 4 top choices when developing the offensive game of a young player: #1 OWN A GREAT SERVE Owning a great serve is a huge asset in tennis. If you can hold serve or even put your opponent on the defensive at the start of each point you will win a large percentage of your service games. HERE'S WHAT TO DO... https://thetenniswhisperer.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-two-must-have-service-techniques.html #2 HAVE  A STRO...

The three most important words to a player are preparation, preparation, and preparation. Thorough preparation begins and ends on the practice court and means that you will be ready for whatever your opponent throws at you in the match. It means that you will enter each match knowing that you have prepared. But what form should your preparation take? How should you structure your practice in the days, weeks, and months before your matches? Preparation for matches begins on the practice court. The ancient Chinese warlord Sun Tzu was highly sought after by many Chinese emperors because of his incredible knowledge of warfare. Back then, having a superior army meant the difference between an entire state living or dying, and Sun Tzu was the best. Based on his theories and observations, the book "The Art of War" is still a best seller worldwide even today, and his philosophies are still being followed.  Sun Tzu said this about the topic of Offense and Defense:  " INVINCIBILIT...