Hi all!
As I trudge through my rhetorical theory class and read up on some Aristotle and Plato, I realize that tennis does not have a theoretical grounding as much as, say, literature does. Perhaps no sport truly has a theoretical ground, but it certainly has elements that, if not working in tandem, will not work at all. That is why in this post, I give to you ladies and gentlemen, the elements of the game that need all be present in a perfect equilibrium to represent all that is in your control as a player that can make you the best that you can be.
Keep in mind folks, if you don't know what equilibrium is, that these elements must be found in a balance with each other, and should never take over one's life in a way that makes tennis the be all and the end all.
Element ONE: the game of tennis. Of course, to be the best you can be, you must have physically gone onto the court. That would be good. All jokes aside, it's really up to the player individually how much they can be on the court and still remain fresh. I've written about this in previous posts, but I cannot make more clear that there is such thing as too much. It's called getting burnt out, like when you try and light a fire by striking the match too quickly, or not allowing the embers to get hot enough before you start trying to build a bigger fire. Nevertheless, tennis takes time and commitment if "the best that you can be" is your goal. For younger kids, start out slow with lots of fun, but still get an hour or two in privates in to form technique. For average players with some experience, exposure is important; an hour or two of privates and lots of clinics and groups would be great exposure and fun for students who are developing their game. Advanced players need equal individual attention and clinics, part a for technique and real intense work, and b for some fun and exposure to match play and different tennis game styles.
Element TWO: fitness. You go to the gym once a week? Try going three for weights and more intense body work, and two for cardio. If you're playing a match soon, go with three cardio days and two more intense body work days. Fitness is the difference between an average player and an elite player. An elite player does not get as tired, is quicker and more agile, and has less injuries than an average player. The muscles on an elite player are toned but not bulky, a sign of proper fitness training. Should a player under eighteen do weights, girl or boy? Not really, unless it's under twenty pounds for arms and under half the body weight for legs. I've seen sixteen year olds get really hurt at the gym trying to bench press. Wait for college or the pro tour for that! A young players muscles are still developing, and need to be lengthened, not tightened. Plyometrics, band work, body resistance, and various cardio exercises, like stadiums and sprints, are much more effective than weight training for a budding tennis player. If you think you can't get enough of a workout with these training regimens, ask one of the coaches and we'll give you a workout that will leave you wishing you didn't. But really, you should never hesitate to ask, since we all know fitness routines that would help each individual personally.
Element THREE: mentality. Ha! This really should be number one, but remember that these aren't in any particular order, and we are looking for equilibrium. Find me a player who does not have any issues mentally on the court, and I'll give you a million bucks. (Or maybe twenty or so, who am I kidding!) Mental issues can range from being nervous before a match to the extent that it inhibits play to choking (not physically, mentally; as in leading the entire match and then losing and not being able to close out the match) and chucking the racquet across the court (aka tantrum) whenever something doesn't go your way. I wish I could tell you there is a magical pill that will solve all of these issues for you, but then indeed I would be a millionaire. It takes effort and practice to deal with these issues, and every player is unique in how they deal with their own. Typically my response to issues with mentality includes that the player has not yet had enough match play and experience to understand how to recognize and deal with these issues, but they don't go away with more match play. They do ebb and flow; one month may be awesome, another terrible. Tennis mimics life in that aspect; while the game will always stay the same, the person playing it won't, and mentality will always continue to be part of the game. Even pros deal with these issues all the time.
Element FOUR: diet & sleep. Sleeping is good, and so is a healthy diet. Sleeping in a routine that suits your schedule (as in, you won't be late to school/work/tennis) is essential for a growing and/or training body to stay fit and firing on all cylinders. You may not feel the effects of sleep right away, but they will come in forms that you won't expect, like grouchiness and cramping. Additionally, healthy food is essential for an athlete. Hydrating with coke, for example, would be like feeding a racehorse sugar cubes instead of hay. Avoid foods that are "empty;" nutritionists call foods empty because they do not give the human body any nutrition and usually add a bunch of not-so-good stuff on top of that, like processed sugars, or even worse, processed chemicals and dyes. Yuck! What I've been doing lately for my diet is checking the ingredients on the back of the product. Fun fact: the first ingredient is always the ingredient in highest concentration. So if, say, my unsweet tea that I have in front of me has the ingredients of filtered water, brewed tea, caramel color, and potassium sorbate, the ingredient my tea is made out of is firstly water, then tea, then all that other stuff. A good athletic diet does include plenty of carbs that you burn off when training, so "diet" may be deceitful as it registers as typically eating less, not more. Healthy is the key work here: Chik-fil-a, while delicious, isn't a pre-match meal!
