Practice Made Perfect: The Doubles Court Sense Manual

It is logical to assume that the old saying, “practice makes perfect” is correct. After all, if you do something over and over again you should get better at it, right? But what if you are repeating something that is technically incorrect and you are not making any corrective adjustments? What if you are practicing without any real targeting goals in mind? You can doodle on a pad of paper for hours on end but that will not make you an artist.

When you and a friend go out to practice tennis, if you just whack balls up and down the middle of the court you are essentially doodling. Yes, it is fun and good exercise, but you are not really advancing your skills. Why? Because you are not practicing anything specific. Your ultimate goal in tennis (or any ball sport) is to coordinate with the ball and control its complete flight. Make it consistently do what you want it to and be able to hit certain targets on the court that will put your opponent at a disadvantage. To move up to the next level in this game you need to practice from all areas of the court and be able to adjust your stroke to hit both the length and width necessary.

Doubles Court Sense (available free at the front desk) is a simple ball machine practice manual that is designed to make your practice sessions more efficient and effective. In just a few short pages it gives you basic doubles strategy, targets and stroking tips. It also gives you a way to measure your progress by testing your accuracy and consistency. The ball machine itself is easy to set up and it is free to use with your paid court rental. You may practice and take the test by yourself, but it runs more smoothly when you use it with a friend.

By taking a little time to study the diagrams and understand the logic behind the positioning and target points, you will soon find yourself much better focused in your match play. You will have a low risk game plan you can trust. You will have a mental image of your positioning and targets so you can focus on hitting the ball squarely. Let your opponents play the high risk game of staying on the baseline and overhitting their groundstrokes. Sure they may win a few games, but, over time, the odds will always favor you. That’s using your court sense!