Look Ball, Think Target

Targets. This could be a short post. 2 words. "Have one."

But I'll elaborate. A target is an integral element to every shot on the court. It is a part of your technique. "Which" target is more strategic, but having a specific plan for where the ball goes is a technical part of your shot. On your groundstrokes, the target defines the direction of your relatively linear swing path, with the general direction of the racquet heading toward that pre-determined location. Similarly on a volley, when your racquet face is perpindicular to the desired line of flight, which is defined by your target, thats's when we slow and stop the movement of the racquet. That's what some coaches call "freeze and squeeze." When serving, the intended target is introduced during the pre-serve ritual with specific technical and strategic intent.

The principal purpose is, as stated, to define the racquet's path. But a close second, is to learn something. With a target that expresses specific intent, a player gets feedback on every shot that will make that player better on the very next attempt. By comparing your result with your intention, you get valuable input about your shot. It might be "I was early/late, my racquet face was open, my point of contact was wrong, whatever. This feedbback is reason alone to make sure you have a specific target in mind every time you hit the ball. "No target, no shot."

So how do we get the informaton of the target into the process of striking the ball? It's a process called "visualization". In your mind's eye, think of where you want the ball to go as you swing the racquet, and your brain and body will do the rest. You not only don't need to get crazy technical about settings of your hand or wrist, or adjustments in the point of contact. It's critical that you don't. Simply, " look ball, think target." While staying visually connected to the ball at the critical moment of contact, the simultaneous target thought will have the desired controlling effect on the shot.

Though targets shold be specific ( "crosscourt" is a direction, not a target), they needn't be small. We like big targets. We train our players at HP to try and visualize areas of the court, say 8-9 foot circles, where we want the ball to go (except on serves). By visualizing big targets, we accomplish the specific intent, and the built-in element of margins. That way, when we miss, which invariably happens, we are still both in the point and strategically advantaged. "Big targets, big margins" is a very sound approach for players at every level.

The next time you are oncourt, try to " look ball, think target" with any fixed object. like the net post, a bench. or a cone. After the first attempt, learn something from your result and try it again once or twice. You will fiind that you get closer and closer to the intended target, and better and better at specifically directing the ball. Target your shots more specifically, and you can target winning more matches and staying longer in your tournaments.