THE 3AM THEORY

Introduce Tennis Strategy to Junior Players: A Coach's Guide to Using Strategy in Every Session By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method Strategy Is Not an Add-On Playing tennis is a little like driving a car. The engine drives you forward, but without a way to change gears or steer, you can't use the car with any real purpose. Many young players develop their game almost entirely around the engine: strokes, fitness, and hitting the ball hard. This is especially common in the women's game, where so many players rely on how hard they can strike the ball. The players who catch my eye at tournaments are different. They can switch from offence to defence, and they understand which shot the situation needs and which direction to send it. Players should be developed to know not only how to hit the ball, but also to understand the 'when and why'  So my starting point is simple. Strategy should be part of every junior player's development from the beginning. It belongs alongs...

By Paul Dale |  www.3amtennis.com A Lesson I Didn't Expect to Teach It was a Bangkok morning like many others during my twenties — hot, humid, the kind of heat that Southeast Asia is known for. I was stationed at a hotel and had been booked for a lesson with one of the hotel guests. A well-built man, composed, quietly attentive. Nothing about the way he carried himself made me think the lesson would go any differently than the hundred before it. We got into his groundstrokes, and I began explaining how he could create easier, more consistent depth by simply increasing the height of his ball. It's one of those concepts that sounds almost too simple, yet unlocks everything — lift the ball higher over the net and depth becomes natural, effortless, almost automatic. He listened carefully, nodded politely, and then — with the kind of measured confidence that only comes from absolute certainty — he interjected. "If I may," he said, "I might be able to add a litt...