The wisest amongst us have told us that the body and mind are connected. That they are one.
Is that true? Let us explore!
In my observations it seems that what happens on the tennis court is that our inner dialogue and constant chatter affects the body in a big way.
I would encourage you to explore this because I feel it is happening on almost every shot.
For club players, if there is a desire to hit in a certain direction, the arm seems to go there.
For all players, if there is a ‘fear’ the ball is going out the hand will turn down or slow up; if the fear is that the ball will go into the net, the hand will automatically go up.
All this stems from our desire to be ‘sure’, so there is no trust. I have spoken about trust a lot in this blog and so readers will know that it is a central theme for me.
Briefly, I would like to share an example of how this bodymind connection works.
On the volleys, there seems to be a general consensus amongst coaches and players that when you go to the net the objective is to put the ball away. Is that true?
I feel this thought is an obstacle to players learning how to volley properly and with good technique.
What is the biggest problem for most players at the net? Is it swinging at the ball?
What if, instead of learning volleys from on top of the net as all young kids and club players seem to do, we learned volleying skills from the service line first.
The foundation of the volleys seems to be the catching motion; therefore, by starting on the service line people could learn the catching skills much easier because putting the ball away is not an option when you are that far back.
What do you think?
Volley from the service line for 10 minutes everyday, regardless of your level and see what happens.