Teaching Old Dogs New tricks
Teaching Old Dogs New tricks Lately, with the work I have been doing coaching, I have had the privilege of working with our national coach, Dave Clarke. Dave has a wealth of experience coaching the very top professional players in England. For a Pom he is quite bright, (although very short, bald and ugly.) I have tried to make some changes to my own game, based on his advice. I have tried to work on having a more compact swing (mine is usually quite big), therefore allowing me to hit early. I have also tried to get my racket up and to the side the ball is on before my opponent has hit the ball, so that I can hunt across that middle line, and hunt that volley as much as possible. Then I have tried to concentrate on good deep length, instead of how hard I can smash it. And I have been a lot more patient on when to take the ball forward, not opting to take the ball forward on the first opportunity all the time. I have been trying to wait to really get the opposition out of position before putting the ball forward. Last, I have tried to hit straight more than I usually do. Essentially playing the percentages more than I generally am inclined to do. These changes have made my game a lot better, and my results better! Cheers Rob