July 2003 -- Question: Reaching most levels of tennis up to the 4.5 NTRP level requires an understanding and practice of tennis fundamentals. To reach the next levels, ranked players up to the 6.0 (NTRP) pro tour must take risks on the court. How do you develop the correct amount of risk to get to these levels, and even on top of these levels?
Answer: Your question deserves a treatise; it’s not a simple one to answer at all. Perhaps the difficulty in answering this question stems from the fact that we are all different in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual makeup. I know of little research that delves specifically into the issue of risk taking in sports. Actually, I am not sure if there is a correct amount of risk that can be developed. The personality traits of the player must play a role. Jim Courier, for example, never took the risks of a serve and volleyer like Sampras, yet Jim felt he definitely knew when to take risks during a match.
I would begin, however, by teaching the student patterns of play, including when and when not to take risks. Some teachers use the analogy of traffic lights on the court – red light means “Don’t do it!,” yellow light means “Proceed with caution” (No, yellow doesn’t mean gun it!) and green light means “Go for it!” Other coaches have used zones of the court in teaching when and when not to take a risk.
The key, no matter how you go about teaching it, is to develop rituals of decision making. The student needs to practice when to be patient and wait, when to let it rip, when to play it safe, and so on. The behavioral rituals must be developed first under practice settings where no or very little pressure is felt. If the student perceives threat or consequences in the shot execution, it will be very difficult to develop risk-taking habits.
Some people believe that you should just push and push players until they either develop the right habits or realize they will not reach the level they want. This is a false assumption. Human beings will
not naturally expand their capacity to meet whatever demand is placed on them. They must learn how to do this. Yes, it can happen through trial and error, but that is just like rolling the dice.
The behavior rituals you want to develop must be developed
intentionally. That is, you must have the athlete perform the drills under little or no pressure and gradually build the perceived pressure. Once the player is outside his or her comfort zone, the risk taking takes on a completely different picture.
The key in practicing is that the challenge you create on the court must match the ability level of the player. For beginners, anything might be a risk, whereas skilled players may not perceive risk until they are pushed to hit a ball on the run, or until the score is really close and they have a chance to lose. You, as the teacher, must identify where the athlete gets out of his comfort zone and then develop the drills accordingly to test the “risk-taking capacity” of the player.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how “safe” the player feels during the shot’s execution. Intermediate players might care what others will say if they lose, or they simply care too much about what their peers think of them in general. When these feelings are present, a safe environment is difficult to create. You are challenged to bring the task in practice to the level where the athlete can develop the habit of being performance-oriented and not results-oriented. For example, intermediate players often feel a huge load lifted off their shoulders when they realize that few people truly care about how well they play tennis and whether they win or lose.
So, whether a player is a 4.5 league competitor or a tour professional, he or she may not feel comfortable taking risks in every situation based on the strengths and weaknesses of his or her fundamental shot-making skills and his or her mental state. Just like anything else in tennis, practice is the key. If a player has strong fundamentals and can determine when and how to take a risk, the gamble can really pay off.
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
