October 08
Keep Things Simple
I like to keep things simple. I remember one gentleman I was teaching in Georgia who was really very serious about his game. He ran a big hotel chain and was able to get around the world to a lot of different pro's at some of the various resort holdings they had. When he came to me he had usually seen another tennis pro some where in the world who had pointed out a dozen different things that he was doing wrong on any particular stroke.
Often a lesson with me was very frustrating for him. I would find one thing and focus on it with him. He would begin to fume and become flustered. After a while I would ask him what was bothering him and he would then begin to tell me about how he had seen Pancho Whoever at the Key Biscayne resort in Florida and I was not able to see any of the flaws he had pointed out so brilliantly just a week ago. He had to have been doing many more things wrong and I was just too stupid to see it.
Many people love the technical side of the game and want to understand it from that standpoint. They are now free to go on to the many tennis websites which can show strokes in super slow motion. They love to listen to somebody who can point to all of the things they are doing wrong but they cannot focus on the important aspects which allow them to hit the ball better and get better results.
The hotel guy in no time was hitting the ball better and cleaner focusing on one thing but he could not be satisfied. It could not be that easy or simple. Eventually he ended up leaving me and found a smarter and sharper local pro than me. It did not bother me in the least and I still see him every once in a while riding around the area when he is in town going to take a lesson with a really smart tennis pro.
I just do not teach tennis that way. One time I heard Bill Tym give a talk at the U.S. Open and he said, "I am not a scientist. I am more of a philosopher of the game. I cannot tell you exactly why this works. I just know that it does." I like that approach to the game of tennis. Try not to get caught up in the small stuff and focus on what gets you results. |
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