Hi, and yes, it’s been awhile…

Right.  A long while.  As a matter of fact, my last post was back in July.

I’ve got lots of excuses I could throw out there, but they wouldn’t stick… 

Anyway, in July at that time we were talking a lot about Roger Federer and the serve and volley thing and how he really needed to get back to that style of play if he had a chance of winning the US Open.

Well, I’m not so sure we can say he actually went back to a pure serve and volley guy, but it seemed he did come into net much more than he did at Wimbledon.

After winning trhe US Open, 2009 should be an interesting year for the pros.

But that’s not what I want to write about tonight…

What I want to talk about is this concept that perception is not always reality, or maybe it is, whatever, but it seems we all tend to think we need to do things differently from time to time in a match and all we really have to do is simply not miss the easy shot.

A little more on that later.

I want to relate a story to you about a tournament I played in during August in Seattle.

The National 60s Indoors.

I know I haven’t written much about my tournament results over the years, and I don’t know why, guess it just seems that we should be working on what will benefit you the most, but I’ve decideed that from to time I do need to tell you about my own tournamewnt experiences and what I think might be of use to you.

I’ve had a good tournamet year in 2008, my first in the 60s.

Won a national singles bronze ball (3rd place), won a national mixed doubles silver ball (2nd place), won a bronze national 55s doubles bronze ball, won a national Tier 2 singles, and also won a couple of national Tier 2 doubles titles.

My only real loss in singles in the 60s this year was to national #1 Brian Cheney in 3 sets in the semis at the national Indoors in Seattle.  (I did have to retire in the national 60s Hardcourts in April in the quarterfinals because of an injury, but I did then defeat that opponent two months later in the finals of that Tier 2. 

So, you know, I’m happy with those results.  But I am amazed at how mcuh I still learn about my gamne and more specifically about me every time I play a match.

And what I came away with this year that I want to work on and improve upon is this thing about thinking that against better players that we have to play better than we normally do to be able to be competitive in that match, not to mention trying to actually win that match.

In Seattle I had lunch one day with a guy I’ve known a long time, Jody Rush, and I can’t rememeber the specifdic topic we had dgoingm, but he said that his dad once told him that if you never miss the easy shot that you’ll be a national champ.

And I know, it sounds sound obvious and so simple, but it’s true, we all tend to perceive that we have to do something just a little better with that easy shot against a better player to win the point.

And what invariably happens?  Right, we miss the shot, make an unforced error, and it drives us nuts…

So, we ened up having this fairly long, in depth discussion about not missing the easy shot, and what I came away with was to make sure that I actually carve out time to practice that situation.

Practice the easy ones?  Absolutely….

Just think about it.  If you don’t make unforced errors off of the easy shots given to you, what’ll that do for your confidence?

The rest of your game will get a confidence boost.

If you feel that all you have to do is simply “make” those easy shots given to you, that you can really take your time and not rish that opportunity, hera that again, not rush your opportunities, I’m telling you, the rest of your game will flourish…

So, I wish I could say that I learned my lesson from that discussion with Jody, but the very next day I went out and played Brian Cheney in the semis and thought to myself that I had to servge better than normal just to make sure I got some first volleys / 1/2 volleys that I could at least handle.

And my 1st serve percentage went into the drain.  And then trying to hold serve with a steady diet of 2nd serves to the #1 guy in the country is a recipe for disaster.

You have to believe that your normal stuff, meaning that if you don’t miss the easy shots, will allow you to be extremely competitve, even against the top players.

So, set up a few practice drills where you’re fed some easy shots, and rather than thinking that you HAVE to end the point right here and now because you’ve got an easy shot, simply take your time and decide what you’re target’s going to be, not that you’re hitting as winner, but that you’ve got a target and you cabn take as much time as you need to execute that shot and never ever miss it.

OK, that’s it for now.

What’s been happening with your tennis lately?  Anything in particular that’s been a tough challenge?

Brent

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