Part two of a three-part seriesBy Joe Dinoffer

We've all heard the instruction, "Watchthe ball!" It's a teaching phrase that isprobably offered millions of times eachday on thousands of courts around theworld. But if it were such an effectiveinstruction, why would it have to berepeated so often? And, what exactly isthe problem that this coaching tip is try-ing to address?

Years ago, I watched a tennis pro teach an advanced beginnerduring a private lesson. The pro kept feeding the student ball afterball, accompanying each feed with the simple instruction, "Watchthe ball." The student would alternate from missing the ball com-pletely to hitting the frame to occasionally making solid contact.The student's frustration increased with each failed attempt to hitthe ball, and seemed to be fueled by the pro's advice to "Watch theball." Finally, the student threw down her racket and shouted,"Darn it! I am watching the ball!"

Clearly, the student's problem went beyond merely watching(or not watching) the ball. The following situations discuss someproblems pros are trying to fix when they say, "Watch the ball." Ialso offer ways to solve such problems more quickly than by sim-ply repeating, "Watch the ball."

Situation 1:Undeveloped Hand-Eye CoordinationFor beginners who have not played a great deal of ball sports,undeveloped hand-eye coordination may be the reason they arenot making solid contact when trying to hit the ball.Consequently, telling them to "Watch the ball" may have little orno effect on their progress. More appropriate and helpful instruc-tion is to have beginners perform various exercises to develop

their eye-hand coordination.Simple hand-eye coordination exercis-

es include bouncing a ball (up ordown) on the racket strings. Hand-eyecoordination also can be improved byhitting with slow-bouncing or foamballs to allow students more time toread and react to incoming balls.

Situation 2:Lack of FocusAn average tennis ball travels from baseline to baseline in abouttwo seconds. If players take more than the first second to react andprepare, they are usually already too late to hit a successful shot.Also, a momentary lack of focus due to daydreaming or distrac-tion accounts for more errors on a tennis court than most peoplerealize.

To prove this point, ask yourself if you ever had to sneeze in themiddle of a point. The sneeze only takes one or two seconds, butis 100 percent disruptive to staying in that particular point. Likeany other skill, improving concentration or ball focus takes prac-tice. Two components of good focus are patience and staying inthe present moment (as opposed to worrying about the previouspoint or the point that is yet to come). In today's game, a playerwith patience and focus is said to have high "shot tolerance,"which simply means that a player is consistent. And, we all knowthat consistent tennis wins.

To improve shot tolerance, students can focus on watching theball. However, more beneficial instruction may be to practicesome simple consistency drills to speed up students' progress.

For example, students should try to reach 20 points while hit-ting against a ball machine. Count each successful shot as one

An average tennis ball travels fronlbaseline to baseline in about twoseconds. If players take nlore than

the first second to react and prepare,they are usually already too late

to hit a successful shot.

point toward the total. For each unforced error, subtract fivepoints. This drill can be made as challenging as students want byadjusting the speed and spin of the incoming ball, or by creatinga target area that challenges the student's skill level.

Situation 3:Undeveloped Anticipation,or Ball Judgnlent SkillsAnticipation, or ball judgment skills, is an enormous category towork on. "Watch the ball" is simply not the most effective way tobuild this critical tennis skill. I prefer the phrase, "See the ball withyour brain and not just with your eyes." To do this, students needto develop an understanding of ball flight.

Every ball hit has five variables: speed, spin, arc, depth anddirection. The combinations of these variables make each ballunique. To progress, beginner tennis players need to isolate eachof the variables independent of one another, and get accustomedto judging these variables one at a time.

First feed a beginner student a series of about 20 balls, each with

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a different variable. Then try combining two or three variables toenable students to get better acquainted with the flight andbounce of various balls. Learning to see with the brain versus justhearing the instruction, "Watch the ball," helps all playersprogress more quickly.

The bottom line: Tennis is a complex sport and, while watchingthe ball is certainly a key element to successful play, there areother ingredients that help players more quickly advance theirskill. 0

Joe Dinoffer is a Master Professional in both the PTR andUSPTA, a distinction awarded to only a handful in the tennisindustry. He has published numerous books and videotapes and isa frequent speaker at tennis conferences around the world. Formore information, visit www.oncourtoffcourt.com.

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