One of my young teenage clients, is working hard to get into Team Tennis. She has a fantastic work ethic, listens, tries hard, and also knows how to laugh. She has been making phenomenal progress this spring, and I am very proud of her. However, yesterday she said something to me which amazed me, as I thought I had made clear my thoughts on the warm up many times, but evidently we can always find new ways and methods to communicate with our clients. Let us as coaches not take for granted what we know and take to be standard.
"But it's just the warm up!"
This phrase echoed around my brain and I looked across with astonishment. "It's never just the warm up" I said.
This is the moment when you set yourself up for how this practice or this match will go. Prime yourself for an excellent day, or a mediocre day, put in as much work with your feet as you can, to ensure a perfect contact point every single time. Think about what you are trying to achieve in this session, and all in a gentle and controlled manner, which leaves no excuses for not finding that perfect contact point, resulting in that stunning feeling, of just having hit a ball on the right spot of your racket. We know that sports are all mental, help yourself to be in a fantastic mental state, and do it right from the moment you step on court!
