MY THBUSTER S
Can You Play Too Well in A Lesson? BY RICKY BECKER
By Ricky Becker Yes. Yes you can. Think about the best that you’ve ever played. This was the time that everything seemed easy. The time you felt like you had all the time in the world to hit your shots. The time you almost wanted your opponent to play even better because you wanted to be challenged, and you knew you had the answer. Were you thinking much about the
technique of your strokes every time you hit? Each shot you hit, did you think about where the smart place would be to hit your shot? I hope I’m not putting words in your mouth...But no, you probably were not. It’s a commonly accepted theory in sports psychology that you play your best in any sport when everything comes naturally and you don’t have to think through things. You are just reacting. The concept of paralysis by analysis is alive. This is where the title of this article
comes into play. If you are looking to improve during your lesson you need to think about what you and your coach are working on. If you are thinking about making a technical improvement during a lesson, you are thinking during your shots. This is not conducive to playing really well. But this is ok! If you play tournaments, school tennis or even leagues, does it really matter how well you are playing in a lesson? You are trying to acquire and master tools that you can use in competition without having to think
CHRIS LEWIT TENNIS ELITE COACHING IN THE NYC AREA HIGH PERFORMANCE SUMMER CAMP FULL-TIME TRAINING AND BOARDING IN MANCHESTER, VERMONT
CHRISLEWIT.COM
914.462.2912 CHRIS@CHRISLEWIT.COM
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Long Island Tennis Magazine • September/October 2020 • LITennisMag.com
