There’s three things you need to make huge improvements to your game in a very short amount of time.

In today’s message and several after it I’ll be revealing what they are and how you can implement them yourself!

They’re principles of improvement that we’ve been working hard to develop into a system as we work with our VIP students on the court here in Milwaukee…

The dictionary defines the word “principle” as:

  • “A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.”

Get these foundational elements working for you and you’ll be amazed at what can happen to your strokes with just a few hours of work.

Ignore them and you’ll plateau like most of your peers.

It really is that simple.

Lets jump into it!

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Principle 1: Maximize Awareness
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Imagine your car’s check engine light comes on (again….ugh!) and it starts making a clunking sound.

You bring it to your local repair shop and come back to pick it up after receiving the call to let you know everything is done.

After paying the bill you drive it off the lot only to notice the check engine light is still on and the clunking hasn’t gone away…

You storm back inside to demand an explanation.

“Well…we tightened some bolts and replaced your alternator. Guess that wasn’t the problem! Want us to try again?”

No! Of course not!

Nobody in their right mind would take their car to a mechanic who replaced random parts in cars without diagnosing what the problem was first.

Cars are made up of many complex systems which means fixing one by swapping out a random part is literally a one in a thousand chance…

Unfortunately this is exactly how many tennis players (and even some coaches) spend their time on the court.

They’re working hard, putting in lots of reps, and even focusing on things that are important (like an alternator)….but they have ZERO awareness of if those things are relevant to their unique game or whether they’re holding them back from reaching the next level.

The only way for a player or coach to know for sure is to use video.

Until you see a stroke in frame by frame detail you’re just guessing.

Period.

Sure, it may be a really well educated guess. But it’s still a guess.

Trust me, I know from personal experience.

Each and every time a student spends time with us on the court my eyes are fooled at least a few times by what they take in.

I bring up a clip on the iPad expecting to see their arm in a certain position after watching a swing happen 10 feet away from me (I never coach from the other side of the net anymore, ever) and what I thought I saw is sometimes just plain wrong.

This is after spending tens of thousands of hours studying amateur athletes and how they move from a third person perspective…

Just imagine how incredibly off players are about their OWN swings!

I recently published a podcast episode about that topic and how vital video is to self awareness and got all kinds of messages back from players who finally did it:

  • “Yesterday I listened to Ian’s podcast about ‘what you think you are doing and what you really are doing – video yourself’. Today I went out with my ball machine and I had the worst day and a great day of tennis. The worst day because on my forehand and my serve I thought I was doing it right and OMG. A great day because I made adjustments and then re-did the video and I was either getting closer or doing it exactly right. Have 2 important matches coming up this weekend and I am so glad I did this! Thanks Ian!” -Karen in AZ

How can you possibly fix the right things when you don’t even know what’s broken in the first place?

You can’t.

You’re left to work on random parts that may be great technical elements, but they aren’t what’s holding you back.

That’s why “Maximize Awareness” is Principle #1.

Put it into play with your own game and I guarantee you’ll see faster results.

Does that resonate with you?

I’ll be back with Part 2.

Stay tuned 🙂

Yours Truly,

-Ian