Brain Exercises for Your Tennis Students

Perhaps the greatest challenge for any competitive player is learning how to master their ability to stay focused during match play. This is why most coaches, when developing a student, will prioritize this challenge in the development of their students.

The common practice of coaches when taking on a new player is first to develop that player's stroke production and movement, followed by introducing tactics and strategy. Once that is accomplished, the student will most likely begin to compete. Both coach and student will soon realize the value of addressing mental challenges during competitive matches. At that moment, they devise a game plan tailored to the individual student’s emotional and cognitive characteristics. Both the coach and student will learn that the development of mental toughness is discovered through experience and trial and error; there is no blueprint to follow, and it will be an ongoing process that will evolve along with the level of play and competitive venues.

The intriguing part of coaching this phase of learning is the need to address each student individually. Just as every player has a unique personality, so shall they have a unique way of handling stress. The path of learning how to manage their emotional behavior and also find their best way to stay focused will vary from player to player. The fact that many coaches can’t always be able to observe their students during match play will make what is a very difficult learning phase even more challenging.

Because of this, coaches will often create competitive practice sessions to provide on-court evaluation to observe and find how best each student can optimize their focus and concentration under pressure. They will soon realize that emulating the stress and mental challenges of competing on the practice court will never quite be the same as the experience of match play; nevertheless, it can at least lay the foundation of how that individual can best perform under pressure.

To help make these practice competitive sessions more productive, here are a few methods and games that should work for most students.  

The following games and drills can be enhanced by extending the duration of time to add the factor of fatigue, an important element that can impact the ability to stay focused. Although it would be best to have two students playing these games, if the coach is comfortable, they can take on their student.  

The first game is called Sudden Distraction. The coach can use their cell phones to achieve a sudden disruption. The timer would be set to go off at some time between two and five minutes. Then you have your student (or students) play a tiebreaker. You can come up with any ideas for a suitably challenging distraction; just make sure you don't also disrupt the players on the other courts. Practice could include not only being able to play through the distraction but also evaluating how they were impacted by the anticipation of the alarm. This is the perfect drill to help any player learn the discipline of staying in the present.

This next game, Bad Calls, is a bit of a tease, but it will definitely improve a player’s resilience to handling maybe the most emotional moment in a match: a bad call. It’s helpful if the coach can come up with something on the line for winning or losing. Again, play a tiebreaker. Each player has one point at which they can make a bad call. The ball can land anywhere; the call stands. If the two players are of different levels, you can increase or decrease the number of bad calls each player can make. This game can go both ways, be irritating for some and fun for others. 

This game is called Offence/Defense. The players must state how they intend to play the next point, either defensively or offensively, but only inform the coach. Alternate from one player to the other to keep them on their toes.  

This last game will address the well-known critical moment in a match for a player’s ability to close out a set when serving. The biggest issue is often with their first serve, so try this game to up the pressure and help them learn how to deal with this key moment in a match. The player serving has one rule: miss the first serve and you lose the game. It’s pretty tough, but it will help build the discipline and focus needed during that moment. As a coach, you will want to see what facet of their serve breaks down…is it the toss, the commitment of the swing, or just nerves…then you can work on those key issues.

Those are a few games that will help with concentration. Now, try these few drills that are also good for exercising strong focus. These games can be great to do when waiting to get on a court to begin a match.

The first is fun and will require the coach to have good tossing skills. Stand behind the student, toss the ball over their head, and have them try to catch the ball on their racket. Another is to have them learn to juggle three balls. Both of these drills are a bit circus-like, but when you think of it, nobody knows more about the ability to focus than a performer in a circus.

Lastly, take out three balls and mark just one of them, so when you randomly toss a ball to them, they try to spot the marked ball. You can vary the distance you toss the ball to them and also the size of the marking. 

The fact that in recent years so many psychologists or mental performance coaches have entered the field of helping athletes demonstrates how important and challenging the development of a strong mental approach is in tennis. If necessary, don’t hesitate to contact one of these experts to get their input, and when doing so, take advantage of listening in to enhance your knowledge of this specialized area of coaching.