Have you ever worked to set up a shot? You seemed to do all the right things…but you missed the ball. The fact is, we all make mistakes.
Root Cause
Usually, when we make a mistake there is a cause to that mistake. Something in the sequence that went awry. My job as a coach is to help you identify and treat the root cause. Often this is not obvious to the student. For example I player might say, “Oh, I know what I did wrong…my paddle wasn’t up.” This is true, however attempting to hold the paddle higher may not be possible if they are hunched over or compressed when standing at the non-volley zone line. Rather than coaching you to hold the paddle higher, I might focus on your posture or stance. We might work to improve the stability of the body.
As a coach, my job is to treat the root cause of the problem rather than the symptoms. These may not be immediately obvious to the student…however, I would be doing a disservice to the student if I didn’t do everything I could to help them get better.
We all make mistakes
At the same time, there will be times when we are in the correct position…have set up the shot perfectly…and just miss the ball. I find that many players are too hard on themselves! They might attempt to analyze every single shot. Beating themselves up for what they think they did wrong. It might be that this analysis is wrong…they just missed. We are all human.
Frankly, I would much rather miss the ball doing the right thing then compromise and get the ball over in a mediocre manner. I try to hit the best shot I can. I am trying to do more than “get it in”.
We will all make mistakes trying to do the right thing. But the results are worth it. If we simply try to get it in, we will end up playing on defense constantly. We’ll always be waiting to see what our opponent is going to do with the ball. Instead, I want to make a better shot…hit a better ball… pick out a target…choose where I am hitting the ball. By doing this, I will develop consistency.
You are human
The important thing is to practice with a purpose. Just don’t hit back and forth while chatting about the week’s events. Choose a target for every shot. Focus on the fundamentals. And remember, we are all human! We all make mistakes and that’s okay.
