Offense/Defense

At LCHP, we the Directors and the players put our heads together and came up with what was important to us. We call that list our Core Values. We also developed a list of certain mindsets, policies, attitudes, and positions. We call these our "key concepts". These two collections are alive, continually evolving, and open to discussion.

Among the key concepts is our standard game plan. It is a starting point for the development of all specific game plans, and stands alone as a solid game plan in the absence of any other, and more specific plan. It goes like this: "Defend your court until you get an opportunity to attack theirs." That's pretty basic, but also sets forth a very clear focus for every decision and every ball.

What is defense and how do we defend? It is protecting that which you already have, or the real estate that is your side of the court. There are multiple ways to do that, but they all involve making sure that your opponent has the smallest and least likely opportunity to attack at any moment during each and every point. The most obvious is depth. By keeping your ball deep in the court, you deny your opponent the opportunity to move forward, improving their angles, and approaching the net- where they can most easily penetrate your court. Defense is also about absorbing. That is, taking pace off of your opponent's attacking balls, and returning them without creating openings for them. Defense is also about the management of time.It is about making time to recover, time to maintain an even balance in the rally, and time to turn the tables and develop some opportunities to attack.

Jay Berger, Director of Men's Tennis for USTA Player Development, once said "all the top players can play offense. They all have one or more big weapons they can hit from most places that can hurt an opponent. The players at the very top are those who can also play defense, and stay in the point long enough to mount an attack." Who comes to mind when considering that statement? Players like Djokovic, Murray, Ferrer, and Nadal are great examples, as are Radwanska, Halep., and even Serena. What do all these "great defenders" have in common? Movement. They are all quick about the court, and use great balance and speed. They have excellent " reading" skills, and come out of split steps with explosive and balanced first steps, that put them into positions to absorb, manage time, and maintain depth. These excellent examples are great for young players to learn from and model.

So yes, you should keep working on your weapons. They will be very important to provide the player with the ability to "hurt' their opponents. But make sure you give equal time to honing your defensive skills. Play better defense and win more matches. I believe it was a football coach that wisely said, "the best offense, is a good defense. " That goes double for tennis.