How to Incorporate the Approach

Myself and Jeff Greenwald: how do you help the best player in the world change his game? When Jeff Greenwald consulted me to help him in his quest to come to the net more often, it was an interesting challenge. In most cases I try to develop this change by first helping the student learn the structural technique of the volleys and the approach game. This is followed by a series of drills that allow the player to really own the new tactics. Most coaches are well aware that one half of that equation is not helpful without the other. Without the confidence developed through progressive repetitions, many players never make the transition to incorporating attacking into actual match play. The intrigue in working with Jeff was that he was not only a top level player, but also a leading sports psychologist. So I knew it would be interesting to observe how he approached the challenges involved. How would Jeff deal with the combination of technical, tactical and mental changes required? As Jeff points out in his own article, the issue has as much to do with the personality of the player as anything else. (Click Here.) Jeff had had...