BIOMECHANICS FOR DUMMIES: NATURE OR NURTURE

 

 

This is part two of a three part series exploring the value and significance of sports science in learning and teaching tennis.  In the first part we focused on the science of hitting balls and in this part we would like to focus on the coaches’ role in facilitating an individual towards his potential.

 

Have you ever questioned the normal paradigm arising from the teacher-student model?  This model, in which the teacher actively imparts knowledge and the student passively listens, is too one-dimensional.  For me, this paradigm does not capture the essence of the learning process, especially not in tennis.  For that reason, I would like to call the teacher, a facilitator, and the student, a tennis lover.  The facilitator and tennis lover both need to be actively involved in the learning process.  The facilitator needs to listen, watch and gently guide, while the tennis lover needs to watch, trust, feel and explore as opposed to simply follow instructions, which may or may not be true.

 

The role and purpose of a facilitator is obviously dependent on the needs of the tennis lover.  Generally speaking and putting it very simplistically (there is obviously some overlap at every stage), in an ideal situation the facilitator will teach a beginner biomechanics, an intermediate strategy and the advanced player fitness.  The mental side of the game, which in my opinion is the most essential component of success in this game, should be ever-present throughout the learning process, but for most players its value only becomes evident when competition is introduced.

 

Unfortunately, the problem as I see it is that too many facilitators start focusing on strategy and how to win before tennis lovers have learned the fundamentals of stroke production.  This early over-emphasis on the outcome retards a player’s ability to learn how to swing freely and smoothly and consequently solid fundamentals never happen and players without solid fundamentals quickly hit a ceiling beyond which it becomes very difficult to improve.  For that reason, I recommend that tennis lovers stay away from competition until they have reached, at least the upper echelons of the intermediate stage.  In addition, this early emphasis on result lays the foundation for mental fragility, which only becomes obvious later.

Beginners

 

If we are agreed that playing and learning tennis is based on feel and not on how much we know, the role of a facilitator becomes easier to define.  It is not the facilitator’s job to simply provide information, but to help the tennis-lover develop his or her own feel?  It is important for facilitators to understand that feel cannot be transferred simply through words and that sometimes (often!) words can interfere with feel.  In the absence of words (or with very few words), players are often forced to become more sensitive to their own experience and feel comes through the sensitivity of one’s own experience, by trial and error.  The most important thing to keep in mind when teaching fundamentals to beginners is to be patient and to go slowly.  It is almost impossible to spend too much time developing feel for the ball through the racket in a very basic manner, especially for individuals who are not naturally athletically gifted.  In addition, and this is crucial, allowing sufficient time to develop simple skills will help the tennis lover relax and learning happens most efficiently and effectively only when relaxation has already happened.

 

At the initial stages of playing, the facilitator must allow ample time for tennis lover, racket and ball to become comfortable together.  At the outset, depending on the skills of the tennis lover[1], just ball (modified balls will make it easier) and tennis lover will need to become at ease.  Later, as skills improve smaller rackets could be introduced for younger players.  I really feel that players, especially juniors, do not stay with smaller rackets long enough.  Too many people are making money from youngsters upgrading their rackets too quickly and as a result solid criteria for upgrades, such as racket skills and size (rather than age), are often overlooked.  Many talented youngsters can adjust to the bigger rackets on groundstrokes, but struggle trying to serve with a continental grip.[2] 

 

When appropriate, I like to introduce a game I call bump tennis.  The tennis lover and facilitator, both standing inside the service box, bump the ball back and forth over the net for as long as possible in a cooperative manner.  I have spent many months with particular individuals playing this game and as a result, tennis lovers with limited athletic ability eventually have developed the feel to have fun playing this game.

 

Only after there is considerable success with this game should the facilitator endeavor to progress to the biomechanics of the entire swing.  How this evolves depends a great deal on the tennis lover.  If the tennis lover is a talented athlete, the facilitator needs to watch more and say very little and simply encourage a longer and fuller swing.  However, if the tennis lover has limited athletic ability, then the facilitator needs to guide him or her towards the generics of a basic swing.  This means a simple back swing (which will develop by itself as the tennis lover is pushed back in the court and asked to hit over the net) and a follow-through with the non-dominant hand catching the racket over the opposite shoulder in a normal and relaxed forehand swing.  This is a generic follow-through, but will work well at this stage of development.  To swing feely, without tension and continue the swing over the opposite shoulder, basically constitutes good biomechanics.  A similar progression will render a solid and fundamentally sound backhand.  As players progress and develop and as their intentions change so too will their swings, all very naturally.

 

As you can clearly see the role of the facilitator does not involve espousing profound truths or revealing great secrets, but simply spending the time and creating situations in which the tennis lover’s feel for the ball can be developed in a fun atmosphere.  These are simple skills and the mind has trouble digesting simplicity because there is much more ego-gratification in grasping the complicated and climbing the mountain for both the facilitator (especially!) and the tennis lover.  But a good facilitator will never take a tennis lover up a mountain, just small hills one at a time with an accumulative affect that will surprise even the tennis lover.

 

When corrections are needed, it is often a sign that either not enough time was spent on the fundamental skill building, or that wrong intentions arose (e.g. trying to hit too hard).  The best course of action in response to either is to back up in the progression or create a situation and intention that serves the purpose.  For example, if the tennis lover is wristy at the point of contact and the ball is flying all over the place, the facilitator can request a shorter back swing (perhaps even place an obstacle behind the tennis lover to prevent a large back swing) and direct bumps into the service box immediately in front.  In this way, there are innumerable situations and intentions that can be introduced by a creative facilitator, which will allow the tennis lover to develop greater feel, a fundamentally sound swing and avoid bad habits.

 

In a similar way, progressions that emphasize feel and relaxation before technique should be applied to other strokes too, such as the serve, volleys, overheads and under spin backhands. 

 

The serve is arguably the most difficult stroke to teach in tennis and yet it can be facilitated more easily, if one is patient and slowly progressive in one’s methodology.  The big question among facilitators and parents is always, at what point should the continental grip be introduced.  While I am unsure if any hard and fast rule exists, I do think there are certain criteria that can be considered to help you make the ‘correct’ decision.  The first and foremost would be the skill level of the tennis lover.  A continental grip is only essential for maximizing power and spin; for the vast majority of recreational players this is not a consideration and therefore serving with a continental grip is not essential for them.  Many individuals can enjoy playing tennis competently by never learning how to serve with the continental grip (in fact, most do!).  In other words, it is important to remember that even though learning how to serve ‘correctly’ may be beyond the capacity of some people, that should not, and need not, interfere with their ability to enjoy playing the game.  Many players fall into this category and it can be counter productive to make these players struggle for literally years when they could quite competently serve the ball into the court with a forehand grip and have lots of fun playing the game.

 

However, for those players who are good athletes and have fallen in love with the game and therefore plan to play quite a bit, it is better that they learn to serve ‘correctly’.  For these players, the key question is when should they be introduced to the continental grip for serving.  I do not recommend teaching the serve to players that are too young and unable to succeed using a continental grip.  The facilitator will have to make the decision based on different criteria.  Some players should be taught the continental grip as soon as the serve is introduced and there are other players who can begin serving with a forehand grip and then make a transition later on.  Generally and if possible, I tend to lean towards beginning the serve a little later and starting with a continental grip immediately.  Having said that, there are some players who will need to start serving quicker and for them the forehand grip will get them out there playing and having fun.  The age, size, athletic ability and psychology (the ability to persevere in the face of adversity) are all factors to be considered when making these decisions for each individual. 

 

The pitfall to avoid is having tennis lovers practice spin serves with continental grips for too long a period without success.  If a reasonable amount of success is not forthcoming in a short period of time, perhaps it would be best to go to a forehand grip first.  I have seen too many teenage girls move away from tennis because the ‘correct’ serve was too difficult to learn.  All these girls would have been able to serve with a forehand grip and play on their school teams and have fun with the game.

 

Similarly, when facilitating volleys allow the tennis lover to explore blocking the ball on the fly.  Allow this period of exploration to develop the player’s feel before introducing too much technique or even point situations, which will automatically introduce intention that focus’ on result, which in turn makes developing feel more difficult.  In other words, keep it as simple as possible at first and only when the tennis lover is completely relaxed and comfortable with the skills involved can simple situations and intentions be introduced that relate on some simple level to match play. 

 

Regardless of which stroke a facilitator wishes to work on, the methodology remains the same.  The focus is on saying and ‘teaching ‘ very little directly, but allowing learning to take place by helping the tennis lover relax and develop feel by creating safe situations and offering simple intentions.  As the skill level improves the situations and intentions also change; slowly, in this progressive manner, the facilitator can lead the tennis lover to conditions that come closer and closer to match play.  As one simple skill is mastered, another one is introduced and in this way the tennis lover takes little steps and eventually is able to master the most difficult of tasks at the highest level.

 

Intermediates

 

What constitutes an intermediate?  For the purposes of developing players to reach their full potential, intermediates are those players who possess a solid foundation of all the basic strokes, but are not yet very consistent.  Obviously, in the real world, this is simply not true.  Intermediates are often players who have been playing for many years and have homemade strokes that may not be pretty, but are effective.  This reality is a clear indication to me that players do not spend enough time developing basic skills and jump into competition far too quickly.  While this may be fine for players who have limited playing time, lack ambition or do not have the patience to develop uniform strokes through disciplined practice, which is true for the vast majority of players, it will not work well for tennis lovers who wish to be the very best they can be, whatever level that may eventually turn out to be!

 

Regardless, even recreational intermediate players who wish to jump a level will have to back track with a particular stroke to change fundamentally the manner in which they hit the ball.  In this scenario, they have to be treated as a beginner for that particular stroke.

 

For more forward-thinking players, the intermediate stage is a time for solidifying fundamentals by playing consistently and learning the basics of strategy while developing strokes further.  The foundation on which all strategy is based is on the ability to keep balls in play.  Consistency is a crucial part of the developing process, a part often overlooked by both facilitators and tennis lovers, perhaps because of its lack of glamour and glory.  At this stage of development a tennis lover needs to hit millions and millions of balls over and over again.  By creating situations and intentions (hitting the same stroke into different areas of the court), a tennis lover will develop a basic understanding of the geometry of a tennis court, while allowing their body to learn how to hit various strokes.  I find it best to isolate situations as much as possible at this stage of development; in other words, one particular stroke to one particular area of the court until all options are exhausted for each stroke.  This can be considered painstaking and boring for some tennis lovers, but it is the job of the facilitator to help inspire the tennis lover to see the art in the process and help them find the intrinsic joy of moving and hitting a tennis ball. 

 

Like a musician needing to learn basic notes before putting together a symphony of magical beauty, a tennis player needs to be able to execute strokes consistently in practice before going forth to construct and execute ‘perfect’ points.  Most of all, it is essential for facilitators to keep in mind that it is the body that has to learn how to hit the ball, not the mind because eventually, during competition particularly, the mind will have to be dropped and then whatever the body has learned will come to the fore.

 

It is at this stage also when sustained mental practice begins.  The problem is that the mind becomes an obstacle to peak athletic performance by becoming active.  We know that peak performance happens in silence, but why is that silence so difficult to be in.  The reason is boredom.  We live in a society that is entrenched in instant gratification.  There is an abundance of stimulation coming at us constantly and as a result silence makes us uncomfortable.  Whenever we feel boredom, we immediately try and fill the void with something; turn on the television, listen to music, read a book, pick up the phone, etc.  The key is not to avoid boredom, but to confront it head on and look into it.  For example, in tennis players get easily bored hitting one particular shot over and over again and coaches succumb to this need for stimulation by constantly changing drills and adding lots of variety.  This will be fun and the players will be content, but will it help them develop the mental skills to realize their potential?  I think not!

 

The facilitator needs to find ways to motivate the tennis lover to explore this boredom; isolating particular shots and hitting balls repetitively over and over again is one way.  Ultimately, boredom is about not being present.  It is a by-product of being result–oriented.  The joy is not in hitting the ball and playing out the point, but in simply winning the point as soon as possible.  We need to help our players fall in love with the playing and relegate the outcome to its rightful place way down the order of priorities.  This is no easy task!  As a test, ask your tennis lover how they feel when their opponent hits a double fault or makes an unforced error.  If the answer is disappointment, you are truly blessed and have someone special to work with from whom you can learn much from.  For the vast majority of players who will not have that response, is it possible to help them reach that space?  

 

Advanced

 

From a tennis perspective, the advanced player has developed a strong base and much of the tennis skills have already been learned, although a constant fine-tuning will continue to happen.  Many players who are advanced have a one-dimensional game and these players may need to now go back and learn how to do the things they never learned to do earlier.  For many players nowadays, this is often about developing volleying skills and a transition game to get them to the net such as an under spin backhand as well as the ability to attack short balls consistently and wisely.

 

Beyond the fine-tuning, an advanced player needs to examine his or her game under the proverbial microscope in order to improve.  A facilitator watching an advanced player must see what strokes are breaking down in which situations in as specific a manner as possible.  For example, which side are the errors coming from?  Where on the court?  What height is the ball?  Where is the intention to hit?  Was the intention correct?  An acute awareness of if one has to attack, defend or neutralize is essential for good decision-making during competition.  Often the problems are based on execution in match situations (which is largely mental), but other factors also exist. 

 

It is also not just about focusing on errors or weaknesses.  The advanced player, with or without the help of a facilitator, needs to understand his game and build a series of combinations that accentuate his or her strengths.  In my understanding, practice should be as structured as possible so that the tennis lover feels comfortable and confident executing the shots and combinations that he wants and needs to execute in match situations over and over again.  However, matches should be totally instinctive.  No thought!  No planning! Just a let-go!  It takes tremendous feel and confidence to play without thought because the player lacking in confidence will always want something mind-based to hold onto.  

 

Beyond specific tennis skills, the greater needs at the advanced levels are physical and mental.  The body needs to be in tremendous shape in order to play tennis at the highest competitive levels.  There are many aspects of physical fitness and often it is advisable to obtain the help of a specialist trainer, hopefully one with tennis specific experience.  Tennis players need upper body strength and flexibility to maximize power on all strokes and to avoid injury.  As far as movement is concerned players need to have tremendous stamina, speed, agility, quickness and explosion.  This is an area where sports science can be of tremendous help.

 

The mental component of competition is the one area that sports science, in my opinion, is particularly weak in.  The mind is an extremely complex entity and western science has little understanding of how it functions and its limitations.  All science is mind based and there is little understanding of anything that goes beyond the mind and yet everything we know about peak performance and the ‘zone’ state seems to be describing a state that is beyond the mind.  Can the mind take us to a state beyond itself?  In order to get to that oasis, we will have to leave the mind behind at a certain point and jump into the unknown, the let-go.  This is an extremely scary proposition for a culture that is completely mind-based (and therefore producing individuals with control issues); consequently while some players ‘naturally’ (untrained) have a disposition that allows them to turn off the mind while playing most of the time, most struggle helplessly with the mind to different degrees.  It is difficult enough to go beyond the mind when one is fully aware of the value of the mindless state and is striving for it, but it is almost impossible to nurture that state of being otherwise.  There are no quick fixes or short cuts!

 

How to help a tennis lover develop this state of active silence is outside the confines of this article.  Suffice to say the author has written 2 books and numerous articles on this subject and there is a great deal of information out there written by others also on this crucial aspect of competing.  Some of the information is conflicting and the facilitator will need to study and apply him or her self to find something they are comfortable with and most importantly, something that works.  Unfortunately, the problem is that there are short-term goals and long-term goals and most facilitators are only focused on achieving short-term goals, which often leave the root of the problem untouched and consequently, symptoms continue to re-appear at the most inopportune times.  How many of us are really concerned with the big picture and how many would settle for short-term ‘success’?

 

Studying the mind is a frightening proposition because the deeper you go into it the broader the perspective one develops and the fear is that if one goes too deep all action is rendered futile.  This is the real reason why individuals cannot be more process-oriented because their motivation for action is based on achieving a goal.  Can action emanate from love or intrinsic joy instead of greed?  It does not happen too often in our society.  Can the reader honestly look into his life and find any action that is not predicated on the result?  If there is none, does that mean it is not possible?  Should we not even try?

 

The sincere facilitator will need to examine his or her own Life in a brutally honest way.  She needs to look at her own goals and motivations and learn more about herself before she can help a tennis lover become more silent and centered.  She will have needed to have at least walked that path a little before being in a position to facilitate others to move in the same direction.

 

Enjoy the journey…………