THE "NOMINATED PLAYER" GAME: Training 3am

WHAT SEPARATES GOOD PLAYERS FROM GREAT PLAYERS AND 
CAN WE TRAIN IT SPECIFICALLY?


DESCRIPTION
For many years I have traveled with some exceptional players.  The very best of these players reached top 10 ATP and top 20 WTA rankings.  It was during these trips that I began to notice a certain quality that distinguished exceptional players from merely very good players.

I began to notice that regardless of the circumstances, these few exceptional players would come on-court, either in practise or for competitive matches and strike the ball cleanly and without error immediately. It would also continue from the first ball until the last ball. This may not sound that unusual but this would happen regardless of time, place, weather, occasion or equipment issues.  

 It occurred to me that if I could find a way to develop this ability by a systematic training process I could be training the very essence of what holds back very good players from becoming exceptional players.

I developed a theory called the “3 AM Theory”.  The 3 am Theory assumes that if, say, Federer and Nadal were woken from a deep sleep at 3 am in the morning and instructed to play a tie-break, their reaction to having to play that tie-break and the level they would reach during that tie-break would be very different from the majority of players I work with each day. 

There are two key elements to the 3am Theory. The first element concerns mindset...

 While most players would be thinking of the reasons why they would not be able to peak perform at 3am (stiffness, injuries, the need for a longer warm-up, not enough sleep, equipment problems…), Federer and Nadal would be thinking of how to take maximum advantage of the situation (He will not have warmed-up sufficiently, He will miss more 1st serves, He will not respond well to a net rush early in the tie-break, "I must start the tie-break well by hitting a high percentage of 1st serves and eliminate my unforced errors"…). This is a very unique mind-set. It's a mindset of taking responsibility and is empowering.

 The 2nd element concerns the technical ability of the player...

Most players would also make a lot of errors at 3am when not physically or technically prepared.  Their timing might be "off". They would perhaps lose points early in the tie-break because of poor technique due to the limited preparation. A whole range of issues including timing, balance and control could contribute to too many errors.

My belief is that "If you can produce your best tennis under any situation you have mastery over your game" and you must obviously understand and be able to execute the elements responsible in making your game function properly. Your ability to recall these critical elements of your game will make you a much better player than you are today.

THE DRILL
One of the ways I train “3 am” is by using the Nominated Player Game.

Before you start the drill decide what aspects you want to improve.  Go back and analyse your recent matches. What parts failed you during these matches. Be brutally honest! Some ideas could include:

  • Finishing the point better from the mid-court
  • Gaining a more confidend 2nd serve
  • Creating a more effective 1st serve
  • More consistent returns
  • Constructing the point better
  • Defending better
  • Being more offensive
  • Approaching the net more
(The options are really endless)

The drill requires two players to play points.  Our student of the 3 am Theory sits in a chair in the corner watching!  As the two “Player’s” play points, the coach waits for the opportunity to send the 3am student in to play a selected point “cold”.  

 Imagine how you would feel coming in to play the points cold after sitting in the corner of the court for 5 minutes, and have to execute the very skill that you struggle with in matches.  Very tough. If you are asked to win points from the chair multiple times you begin to understand the most important element(s) necessary to achieve success with a particular skill, whether it's mental or technical. Recall that important element enough times and it becomes instinctive.


The crucial part is that you have to play points “cold”, without warming into your task. It will be the most productive time you ever spent sitting down!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KEYS TO THE TWO-HANDED BACKHAND

Image
This article aims to provide you with 5 ingredients to help simplify the  two-hander and give you more control and versatility.       1. THE BOTTOM HAND The bottom hand on the grip controls the length of your contact zone.  The further on top the knuckles of the bottom hand are positioned, the longer your contact zone. The further around to the front of the grip the knuckles of the bottom hand are positioned, the shorter the contact zone will be. The Djokovic bottom hand is positioned almost on  top of the handle.  This would indicate that he intends  to hit down the line.   Positioning the knuckles of your bottom hand on top of the handle makes it a lot easier to hit your down-the-line shots, while placing the bottom hand in the front of the handle makes it easier to hit extreme cross-court angles. Y ou  need to play your backhand in various grip positions on the handle. The important thing is not the position of your hands on the handle (grips); it's having complete control
Read more

BUILD YOUR TENNIS ON A DEFENSIVE FOUNDATION

Image
  You could be mistaken for thinking tennis is all about aggression. At the top level, players are pounding the ball at every opportunity. You'd be surprised then if you learned that my goal when coaching advanced players is to first have them develop a defensive mental foundation.   I'm not suggesting that I teach players to send up continuous lobs during the rally or for them to stand at the back fence to retrieve balls. My goal with advanced players is to change the internal mental dialogue all players experince before every stroke.  A PLAYERS INTERNAL DIALOG BEFORE SHOTS Every player has a continuous mental dialogue inside their head when they play a point.  "How aggressive should I be on this ball?", "Is this the ball to change direction down the line?" etc. The internal dialogue inside our heads drives our decision making There's nothing wrong with this type of internal dialogue, but there are better questions to ask yourself before each shot. So,
Read more

WRITING A PROPOSAL FOR TENNIS SPONSORSHIP

Image
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
Read more