I am often asked, “What in the world do you do for over six hours with an athlete on the court?” Every lesson starts the same-looking at forehand and backhand mechanics.This player is a top pro and the mechanics review sometimes finds a little flaw they had no idea had crept into their game. Most of the time at Pro level it turns into a routine drop and hit to set up and hit. (est time 45 minutes-1 hour)
From there we head to serve and serve return. The little things that apply to technique can add to a poor serve or a great serve. After first serve work, we head to second serves work, lobs, z’s etc.. (est time 2-3 hours)
After that, shot selection, positioning, and footwork, emphasizing serve and serve return. (2-3 hours)
Then we have to look at schedule, and see how the training is fitting in with life! This is the time we usually come up with a training schedule!
So if I broke it down in time it would look something like:
forehand and backhand-45 minutes to an hour and a half depending upon the athlete’s needs
Serve-two hours minimum
Serve return-two hours minimum
positioning, footwork-two hours
Setting up a daily training schedule based on that athlete’s life and demands-one hour.
Have I covered everything in four hours? Of course not! Never enough time!