COACH ME, PRACTICE & BECOMMING A BETTER PLAYER

COACH MEL, PRACTICE & BECOMING A BETTER PLAYER

Friday evening I arrived early at NERRC and there was a Tennis Coach working with a teen age girl.  He was using his own ball machine.  He instructed the student to stand back at the base line in center court.  He positioned the ball machine to back in no-man's land, and adjusted the speed ad intervals to send one ball after another to the students back hand side of the court.  The student had to continuously more back and forth to hit the from center to side line to return the ball.  There was a round orange target cross court diagonal to where she was returning the ball.  The object of the drill was to train the student to move fast enough to return the ball close to the crosscourt target and get back to her center court ready position.  There were at least 60 balls sent to the student for repetitious returns.  Another key factor of this drill was for the student to remain in a ready position al all times when not hitting the ball.  I counted (shagged) 60 balls for three sessions of drilling, just in the short time I was there.  I asked the tennis coach how many times does the student repeat the drill.  His answer was, "until she get's it right,"  I then asked "Coach Mel"  when does the student know she is doing it right?" Mel's response was, "when I say she is doing it right."  "Coach Mel's" sage words of wisdom was mediocre player should at hit at least 250 balls in a 30 minute session.  A good player should hit 500 balls per session.  A player destine to be great should hit 1,000 balls per session.  And an already "great" player WILL HIT 2,000 balls in a 60 minute practice session.

I asked "Coach Mel" if his students are mostly young adults.  He informed me his students range up to and including Senior Citizens.  My last question to "Coach Mel"  was do your students ever get bored with that type of one shot repetitious practice. NO! Said "Coach Mel."  I will not coach any students who complain or disagree with what I teach and the way I teach it. "Coach Mel's" parting words were, "if a student comes to class unprepared, tired or unwilling, that will be their last session.  

Coach's ME invited me to attend his upcoming coaching sessions  at  NERRC, and I accepted. 

Pickleball has many similarities with tennis.  A lot of former tennis players gravitate to pickleball when they begin to loose their mobility.  The one thing they all agree on is that practice is a necessary component of tennis. 

Many Pickleball Players have the attitude that they do not need to practice single shot sequences. Nor do they need to practice the use of stroke development components, because they get all the practice the need by playing  drop-in games, or open play games.  Often times players wonder why they peak at a certain skill level and don't improve. They just keep repeating their same mistakes over and over again.

Speaking for myself, repetitious practice improves my game and my skills. Even when I play with or against better players, I find no improvement benefits to be had.  Although I may loose the game,  I can easily detect all the flaws in my opponents game and my partner's game.

After assessing my opponents and partners, I will counter their strengths and capitalize on their weaknesses.  But sometimes, good is just not good enough. 

Keep track of your unforced errors and faults. After each game write them down in a spiral note pad.  In a weeks time you will have a perfect blueprint of flawed shots that you need to practice. Take that blue print and go to a public practice court with at least 100 balls,a ball collector, and a ball machine if available. .  Hit all 100 balls consecutively mirroring the same shot over and over again, until you can perform it at 90% success rate.  Often you most productive sessions are just you,  a ball machine, 100+ balls, and a working knowledge of what you are doing wrong and how to correct it.