Have you ever watched a really good player seem unable to hit any shot? When this happens there are two possible outcomes…they spiral out of control or they work themselves back into the match. Why such different outcomes?
I was playing just the other day with a very good friend. She is an amazing tennis player and a phenomenal athlete. Like many of us, she has had to get rid of a lot of her old tennis habits to improve her pickleball game. On this particular day, she suddenly forgot how to hit a third shot drop. In fact, as the game went on she seemed to lose all her pickleball shots and instead started playing tennis on a pickleball court. As the game progressed she lost her confidence. It was hard to watch.
back to basics
While there are many different reasons one might go off the rails on any particular day…the solution is always the same. It always comes down to getting back to basics. This is why great players are great. When things go bad and their shots don’t work they go back to soft hands, elongating the point, swinging through every shot, footwork, and balance.
Unfortunately, for some players, their basics aren’t as strong as they could be. Some players, often those that are naturally gifted, skip over the basics and move onto things that seem more interesting or that they think a better player should be focusing on. Then in a match, when suddenly the “yips” occur…they struggle to hit the ball over the net.
Is it only a bad day?
Certainly, everyone has a bad day from time to time. We can’t expect ourselves to be perfect every time we step onto the court. But we must work to develop a solid base. That is why you see so many of us practice a simple dink when we first go onto the court. We aren’t trying some crazy spin or to outshine our practice partner. We are focusing instead on perfect form. From that base, we can move on to challenge ourselves.
