We talk
about plan A all the time. What kind of player are you? I ask my players when
we sit down and chat. Most of the time, the answer is clear—I’m a hitter; I
love to be aggressive and go for the lines, or, I’m really fast and can grind
anyone down by getting to every ball. Sometimes, though, when you are out on the
court already and that plan A game isn’t working, you need to come up with
something to do. Maybe you aren’t hitting well; maybe you’re sore and can’t
move as well. Sometimes your plan A fits the opponent’s game perfectly; there
is nothing worse than playing a grinder when you’re an aggressive player that
goes for shots that, naturally, the grinder will get to and get back. Sometimes
plan A needs to change, and sometimes, plan B and plan C have to change too. It
is important at this point to realize you have to be in a state of mind to be
able to think clearly about these plans on your own on the court instead of
silently (or not so silently) cursing your luck that day. I used to be that
plan A and only plan A player. I would go out, close my eyes, hit every ball
mock ten, and either come off of the court with an easy win or an easy loss.
Only when I got older and a bit more steady mentally I realized hey, maybe
against this aggressive player I need to do something that will be
uncomfortable for them, say, grind it out a bit. This doesn’t mean that you
have to change your plan A. Plan A should always be what you start off with,
but plan A sometimes changes to plan B, and plan B to C, and so on and so
forth.
Then
comes the question, what, exactly, is plan B? Or C? Or D? Plan A is always your
game—you start off with it no matter what. If something isn’t working, or if
you feel like your opponent is getting the best out of your plan A, then it is
time to switch to plan B. Plan B is usually a game that you are slightly uncomfortable
playing, but will still be able to do. For example, my plan A was always being
the aggressor; mock ten it is. But sometimes, I wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
Sometimes my opponent loved getting the ball flat. My B plan was to grind a bit
more. I was still being aggressive, but adding top spin and height enough to
ensure longer points and a slightly different game plan. My plan C was running
to the net more often; plan D was giving a different ball each time. Your
different lettered plans depend on one thing—you. It is good to sit down with
your coach from Seminole High Performance and strategize about your different
game plans, that way, when you are on court yourself in the cage of the court,
you don’t have to look over to your mom or your dad or your coach with the look
a deer in headlights silently communicating “I’m panicking EVER so slightly!”
You can grab your towel, slow your breathes down, and think—I’m going to go
ahead and change my game plan. Sometimes it can be as simple as “I’m going to
hit every ball from now on crosscourt” or “I’m going to add some slices to see
if this guy/girl can handle a lower, slower paced shot.” Sometimes it’s a
complete overhaul—I’m down 5-0, I need to change something, I’m going to go
from grinding to hitting the ball and see if my opponent can keep up
(hopefully, by the way, you’re thinking about changing something prior to the
5-0 point, but…), ect., ect.
Game
plans are important, but I cannot emphasize enough that first and foremost your
game plan is the one you start with and is the most important. Molding to each
player individually is smart, but strengthening your own game that you are comfortable
with makes your game a weapon, rather than yourself a silly putty that shapes
to whatever your opponent throws at you, hoping that you can figure something
out when you get on court. Plan A is always your priority, but you have to
remain flexible enough to incorporate the other letters if you need to also.
