April 2003
A challenging drill teaches Scott how to concentrate
When Scott walked onto the court his tee shirt was half soaked. "I was
doing sprints at the track," he said. "Afterwards, I'm to the gym."
I asked him if he thought tennis was more mental or physical. "Mental"
he answered.
"OK, then let's see what we can do today to strengthen your mind,"
I said.
I put a cluster of balls at a spot five feet behind the service line. "it's
a simple exercise--" I explained, "make ten consecutive backhands
down-the-line and past the balls."
Soon Scott discovered that it was easier said than done. After about ten tries,
he began to show signs of frustration.
"Do you know why you can't do it?" I asked, not waiting for a reply,
"Because you've never tried to do it. It takes practice and confidence.
I'm putting pressure on you and you're putting pressure on yourself. And pressure
is either to be feared or welcomed.
As we continued, Scott's concentration wandered in and out. During a break I
commented about his earlier frustration. "You got rattled because you were
thinking about how easy it should be. Now you know how hard it is to concentrate.
And in tennis it's about doing hard things. Pushups and sprints are hard too,
but we've already agreed that tennis is mental."
On one of Scott's next attempts he made ten. After a drink break, I motioned
him to return to the baseline. "You know what the next test is, don't you?"
"Do it again?" he answered, with half a smile on his face.