Chapter 1. It doesn’t matter who I am. Nor does it matter what I have, or have not done. Because you should take no ones word for anything.
This — nullius in verba: take no ones word for it — is the motto of the famed Royal Society. The oldest national scientific institution in the world
Our default is to defer to expertise. Tennis pros know more know more about the game than beginners. Doctors, more about disease than tennis pros.
Sure, “experts” could be wrong. After all, no one is infallible. But all things being equal… the logical play is to defer to the opinion of “experts”, right?
Wrong. And not only is this an illogical answer. The question is the wrong question.
Welcome to fallibilism. It’s a school of thought that takes some time to tease out. And I know you’re busy. So we’ll nibble away at it in each volume. If you’d like to move to the head of the class… follow this link.
Moving on…
Chapter 2. Better does not equal funner
A piece written by yours truly. It’s a five minute read. If you don’t already know me, this is a good start… I hope. And if you don’t have the time, the title says it all.
If you are involved in any kind of motor skills learning, this next chapter will interest you.
Chapter 3. Optimal Theory
This video is over an hour long. If you’re into this stuff, it’s fascinating. If this isn’t your thing… you’ll tear your hair out.
If you don’t have the time, or interest… the cliffiest of cliff notes: Optimal Theory: expectancy + autonomy + external focus = better learning.
Expectancy is the learners perception of how achievable a task is. This is heavily instructor dependent.
Autonomy is the control the learner has over the learning environment. The more, the better.
Focus is where the learners attention is focused. External is vastly superior to internal. (Visualizing the path of the racket, or the flight of ball vs focusing on a particular body part)
Chapter 4. A tennis practice incorporating the best science of skill acquisition.
Needs one server, one returner. Can work 2 x 2.
Round 1: Server hits 10 serves into the deuce court, ten into the add court. (Five consecutive to the returners forehand. Five to their backhand.) The returner knows what’s coming, in advance.
The returner hits their return cross-court. They play out the point.
Round 2: Server again hits ten serves into deuce and ad court. This time mixing the spins and speeds of each. They only tell the returner what’s coming 50% of the time. (Does not have to be evenly distributed between forehand & backhand)
The returner works on anticipating the direction of the unknown serves. They return the known serves crosscourt. The unknown serves anywhere they want. (Here the server works on anticipating the direction of the return) Play out all points.
Round 3: Again the server serves ten to deuce and add sides. Focus is variety of speed, spin, and placement. They never reveal the location to the returner.
The returners focus is on anticipating the servers delivery. They are free to hit their return wherever they’d like. Play out all points.
Switch roles.
This practice can easily be adapted for doubles.
No charge for that one. You’re welcome.
And… cue shameless plug…
Chapter 5. My book: The Art of Holding Serve. You can get your copy here