By Peter Nicol
One of the hardest aspects of trying to improve is the time it can take to make the slightest change and have that be implemented into your game. A change in technique or movement should feel better immediately in practice, but to transfer that into a game situation can take some time. Also, during this time of change, your game may get somewhat worse as the tried and trusted makes way for a new and untested method. How can you cope with this and actually make the whole process into a positive experience?
Be sure the change is right for you: think about what you are trying to achieve with the change and it will improve your game. Change for change’s sake when frustrated or down about your game is not the way to go. Once you’ve made the decision to adapt your game—go for it—and stick with it!
Focus on the change: it’s easy to focus on your whole game, however, I would recommend compartmentalizing during any time of major change to your game. Spend the ‘adapting’ period focusing solely on the aspect that you are changing—try as hard as you can to ignore most other aspects of your game during this phase and create practices that really allow for this focus. Trying to play a full game while focusing on grip change will not generally lead to a happy conclusion. All that matters during this training period is maintaining that correct grip so target all practices to allow you to focus on this.
Don’t worry about results: If you are in the process of change, try not to worry about the results of matches during that time. Think positively about what you are trying to achieve and every time you manage, it’s like a win. I lost games in practice (and actual competitive matches) when trying to implement change but was happy with the results—as the result was implementing the desired change!
Persevere: Too many players give up on change because it’s too hard to implement or their game is suffering because of the change. If you believed it was needed and a necessary change, stick with it! It has not suddenly become a bad idea, it’s just hard (or harder) to adopt than you hoped. As long as the change and goal is realistic, you will be able to make the change—believe in yourself and stick to the plan.
Enjoy the process: I’m a huge advocate that enjoying yourself on (and off) court will mean your game will improve quicker— at the very least you’ll have fun along the way, which is really important. Every time I’ve stressed and been frustrated when working on my game my standard has either gone backwards or improvement has stalled—not the result I was after. Remember to keep a good sense of humor, especially when hitting the tin repeatedly on an easy shot!
Everyone is different and has their own way of learning. How- ever, following the points above should definitely help make your path through the stages of improvement more enjoyable and productive. Good luck.
