Guess what? I agree, everything does happen too fast to read the situation, make a snap decision and go off in the direction of the ball. But you say, net players are supposed to be able to read physical clues and quickly move in the direction of the ball. Guess what? I agree with that too!

Okay let's sort out this conundrum and clarify the different aspects of net play so you too can begin making those snap decisions, and have brilliant success at the net. First and foremost you must rightly divide and analyze these three areas.

1. Levels of play
2. Principles of learning
3. Principles of net play

LEVELS OF PLAY

If you are a 4.5 or higher player reading the racket face and body position of your opponent becomes a natural result of experience.

If you are a 1.0 to 4.0 player then to attempt to read your opponents passing shot by looking for particular signs is often a frustrating exercise in futility. Unless of course you learn to follow the correct principles. The point is, your level of play has much to do with how you learn, and what method you use to learn.

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

Much of the confusion and frustration when learning any aspect of tennis can be avoided by understanding what I call the "professional model syndrome." The syndrome works in this fashion: Using scientific studies on the top players to determine what they are doing mentally and physically to make them great players. In the case of reading an opponent's shot, pros are masters at picking up on certain clues to quickly determine where an opponent will hit a shot. Science breaks down the key elements of this feat and then this information becomes a model for teaching. Not a bad idea, used correctly this can be extremely beneficial. Unfortunately there is a down side to this learning model that causes much confusion.

Professional tennis players do not learn by coaches teaching them to watch the racket face and body position. They have learned to read their opponent's shot through a process that took them many, many, many months and years of practice and experience. What science is breaking down is the RESULT of all those months and years of experience and placing it in a 'technique' category. Somehow you are now supposed to take this technique WITHOUT THE PROCESS OF EXPERIENCE and begin reading your opponents passing shots. Sorry, but this is just not going to happen. Not unless you have gone through a process (of experience and repetition) which will prepare you correctly to assimilate and apply that information.

As a result you become frustrated and think to yourself, "I guess I'm just not quick enough, smart enough, or skilled enough to read my opponent's shots. But, this is not true! You can learn to read your opponent's shots by first working on the same core principles that the pros practiced when they were learning. In other words you MUST understand the process.

PRINCIPLES OF NET PLAY

Below is a list of many different clues a pro sees or senses when reading an opponent's shot. A pro does not always move according to what he sees, but what he senses. Thus the reason why there is not a mechanic or a technique that will allow you to read your opponent's passing shots. You must develop your senses. These different clues are:

1. Racket face
2. Body position
3. Ball position
4. The score
5. The opponent's patterns

Keep in mind this analysis happens quickly and instinctively to send a signal to the pros mind so that he can calculate where he thinks the ball will go. Often it is a combination of several different clues.

Now, where do you begin to create the correct mental environment necessary to develop your ability for reading these different clues. You begin by first developing three simple mental skills at the net.

1. A relaxed mindset
2. Impact awareness
3. Shot priority

A RELAXED MINDSET

First, you must learn to relax at the net and alleviate any unwanted anxiety that produces a racing mind. When the mind is galloping you are playing with a more conscious, rigid mindset not allowing the instinctive and spontaneous nature of the subconscious to function properly. To begin the process of reading your opponent's shot and improving your senses you must learn to control mental anxiety. I teach my students to practice shutting their mind off, similar to turning off a radio. Simply stop the internal racing by clicking the mind off and thinking about nothing! With practice this mental technique will teach you to tap into the automatic and instinctive subconscious.

IMPACT AWARENESS

Second, with this relaxed concentration you must next learn to focus on the exact moment your opponent will impact the ball with the racket. At that moment you are in a heightened state of awareness. You are relaxed, but alert! Not an easy combination, but one that is necessary to begin the journey toward anticipation at the net. With this heightened state of awareness your subconscious will go to work and begin taking note of your opponent's position, racket face, etc. In time reading the ball WILL become easier and more automatic. You are beginning the repetition process that will give you the experience to anticipate your opponent's shots.

SHOT PRIORITY

Third, when you are at the net your mental priority should be that your opponent will drive the ball at you, not hit a lob. Most players have lob in their mind the moment they arrive at the net. As a result they are constantly playing back on their heals and never ready for a volley. There is not much of an opportunity to anticipate where your opponent's driving shots will be hit if your mind is obsessed with a lob! Also your opponent's driving groundstrokes will arrive much faster than a high lob over your head, therefore driving groundstrokes should be the FIRST PRIORITY in your mind if you wish to improve your anticipation at the net.

If you practice these three mental skills consistently, a relaxed mindset, impact awareness, and shot priority I guarantee you will create the correct mental environment that will influence your senses and teach you to read those crucial clues at the net. It may take some time, but to develop a more automatic, instinctive and spontaneous net game will be well worth the wait!

Here is a SIMPLE principle of tennis you probably will not believe either. Yet, what it can do to your game is extremely powerful and can also solve a host of different tennis problems. Like the water analogy, it's just too SIMPLE...how can it be?

The principle is, whichever way you point the racket face is the way the ball will go. Too SIMPLE for you? Tennis pros are going to be angry with me for this next phrase. Even if you do everything technically wrong, but have the racket face correct the ball will go toward your desired target. Now, I am not telling you to go out and play sloppy tennis. I am trying to teach you a principle. The racket face determines the direction of the ball, not technique. Technique can help you acquire more power. Technique can help you hit topspin or slice. But control of the racket face determines where the ball goes. And practice, trial and error, and repetition determine your ‘feel' of the racket face.

* If you would like to hit the ball down the middle of the court you place the racket face on the back of the ball.

* If you would like the ball to go cross court you place the racket face on the outside of the ball.

* If you would like to hit an inside out forehand or backhand you place the racket face on the inside of the ball.

* If you would like the ball to go up in the air (a lob) you place the racket face on the bottom of the ball.

* If you would like to hit the ball down toward the ground (a lousy shot) you place the racket face on the top of the ball.

* If you would like the ball to go backward toward the fence just miss the ball entirely. :)

WHICHEVER WAY YOU POINT THE RACKET FACE IS THE DIRECTION THE BALL WILL GO.

Do you know how I teach players to understand their racket face? I suggest taking it to dinner, a movie, or perhaps a good nightcap. :) But, the next day I make them hit hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of tennis balls...really! Last week I had a lesson with one of my students. Her name is Judy. Sonny, the fellow who feeds balls to my students for me, counted how many balls she hit. We were working on backhands. Judy is a strong "A" player, but had a weak one handed backhand. I gave her some SIMPLE procedures and we're off. Sonny stands up at the net and feeds her ball after ball after ball. The total came to 550 backhand hits. Would any of you like to take a lesson with me? :) I have done this with Judy week after week as she is developing her backhand. Is her backhand improving? You bet it is!...this phenomenon is called practice! One of the simple procedures is to encourage her to experiment with the racket face, hitting cross court, down the line, in the net, out of bounds. I don't care where the ball goes as long as she is experimenting and learning a feel for the racket face. Because it's her understanding of the racket face that will ultimately determine the control she will have over the ball. The same is true for every player including yourself.

* The next time you're playing and you hit a ball in the net, you simply placed the racket face toward the top of the ball too much - the next time hit the bottom of the ball more.

* If the ball goes long you hit the bottom of the ball too much - the next time place the racket face toward the top of the ball more.

* If you're trying to hit the ball down the line and it goes cross court - the next time place the racket face toward the back of the ball more.

* If you're trying to hit the ball cross court and it goes down the line - the next time place the racket face toward the outside of the ball more.

* An so on and so on.

Note where your ball goes and the next time attempt to change the racket face to compensate. It's SIMPLE! Your ball may still not go exactly where you want, but you're learning a feel for the racket face. And like most players, you won't have to over think all of your misses. I know you think you missed because you didn't do all this intricate technical jargon correctly, but this is not true. Again, technique may help you with extra power, topspin or slice but it's the racket face that will determine the direction of the ball.

Still don't believe me? How about this? Have you ever seen a pro hit a ball from behind his back for a perfect shot in the court?

* Why did he not bend his knees?

* Why did he not prepare his racket early?

* Why did he not move his weight into the ball?

* Why did he not stay still and balanced?

* Why did he not have his racket head above his wrist?

* Why did his ball land in the court?

Answer. Racket face. Case closed!!!

Now, let's show you what each method has in common. The serve and volley is the most difficult, but one of the keys is to hit the first volley without going for a winner. After you have served and you're running up to the net the first volley you hit should be used as a vehicle to get you to the net, not as an opportunity to win the point outright. The second way to take the net, return serve and run in, should eventually be used on all slow second serves. Why not, it's a perfect ball to come in on. Again, do not try to hit a winner, instead go for a medium pace, deep approach shot keeping your opponent back as you advance forward. The third way, serve or return serve, rally, wait for a short ball then come in, should also be with the same mind-set. Hit the short ball deep and come into the net. Again, you're not trying to hit a winner.

Here's the point. Notice the similarities with all three. You are not going for winners, but setting yourself up for the win. Most people are in a hit winners mind-set all the time and take most of these shots and hit the back fence. Take for instance the slow second serve. I know if you're the person returning serve you think, this is it, I'm going to wallop this slow ball home for a winner. And you do, about four miles down the road where you live. Mission accomplished! You knocked it home!

The next time you're playing take one of these shots, let's say the return of second serve. Hit it without going for a winner and advance to the net. Stay ready for a return and you'll be surprised how many times you'll have an opportunity to then win the point! This is a simple strategy, but you'll be surprised how this strategy eludes most people.

Now, if you're a C player this is not a bad idea, but if you're a B3 player or higher you need to begin practicing thinking about aiming your shot. Notice I said practice thinking. The key here is thinking. During practice you must begin practicing the correct thought process of aiming the ball. Each time you're about to hit a ball think about where you want to aim it. At first this will feel awkward because you're not used to it, but with repetition thinking where you want to aim the ball will become very natural. In fact, eventually if you do enough repetition the correct thought will pop into your mind automatically. This brings me to the pop principle.

The pop principle is something I use extensively in my teaching methods. It goes like this. If you repeat a thought (like aiming a ball) enough times over and over again for weeks and months, eventually that thought will automatically pop into your mind at the right time. To learn a physical skill you must repeat that skill over and over again. Well, the same is true for the thinking. You must repeat a thought over and over again until you learn it.

The next time you're practicing try some repetition of thought. Begin by thinking about where you're going to aim your shot. Do this enough times and presto someday it will amaze you by popping into your mind all by itself. The pop principle works...use it!

In your next three matches give yourself the freedom to go for your shots, whether you win, lose, or draw. By going for your shots, I do not mean blasting the ball all over the court. You can be hitting a slow drop shot and still be going for your shot. It's more a matter of what you think. Going for your shots is merely the absence of being tentative. You mentally let go. To mentally "let go" you must be willing to accept the mistakes and failures that come with this mental attitude. When you "let go" a percentage of your shots will go in and a percentage will miss. You must accept this as your level of play. I repeat, you must accept this as your level of play. This is one of the keys to accomplishing this challenge. You can not think to yourself, I could have played better if I would have played my old way.

I have told many players to do this in some of their fun matches, but they always come back and say "I did let go, but only for half of the time." I have often said it's easier to play on a higher level, than on a lower level. Why? Simple, pros only know one way to play...they go for it! If they did not go for it, they would lose. As a result, there is no indecisiveness when they play. When there is no indecisiveness there is less mental confusion. They make one decision (even if they miss) and that one decision is to "give themselves the freedom to go for their shots and if they miss, accept it." Nike had it right "just do it!"

What I remember the most about finally "letting go" was the sense of freedom that came with it. I stopped worrying about winning or losing and just played. I was just on "go," win, lose or draw. The amazing thing to me was how well I eventually started playing. To me it was a secret that catapulted my game up a notch or two. It was fun! You can do the same. Give this a try in the new year. Start by just "letting go" for three matches. You will experience something you never have before. One word of caution though. Do not go on the court thinking to yourself, yes I'm going for it! Then, the first shot you miss you say, well I tried that, back to my comfort zone! See if this year you can step out of your comfort zone and into the Mental Toughness Zone by "giving yourself the freedom to go for your shots and if you miss, accept it!"

By going for your shots I do not mean hitting the ball with power. You can go for your shots and hit a slow drop shot. It just means the absence of playing tentatively. I was also guilty of playing tentatively in my college days. I remember the decision I made to stop playing tentatively and to go for my shots. To this day I clearly remember why I made that decision. It is really not complicated. One day I was playing a college match, I played tentatively, and lost! After the match was over I remember thinking to myself, I could have had the same results playing with the correct mindset and enjoyed myself. I would much rather lose playing my match correctly, than lose playing tentatively.

That moment changed my attitude for good. I suggest you do the same. Here is a hint on how to break the tentative syndrome. You must "give yourself the freedom to go for your shots and if you miss, accept it!" The key to stop playing tentatively is to first learn to accept the negatives, mistakes, and failures that are part of the package - "give yourself the freedom to go for your shots and if you miss, accept it!" The ability to accept failure while thinking correctly is what mental toughness is all about. You should constantly make decisions to go for your shots - win, lose, or draw. Mental toughness does not mean you never fail. That bears repeating. Mental toughness does not mean you never fail. It means you make decisions that will give you the best opportunity for success. The first tough decision to master is to not play tentatively - even when you fail! "Give yourself the freedom to go for your shots and if you miss, accept it!"

There are three major mistakes that most players make when hitting approach shots. First, they go for too much. Most players see a short ball (especially if it is slow) and think this is it, I’m going for it. Usually they knock it out or into the net. Their mindset is one of trying to win the point (there’s that hit winners mindset again!) instead of hitting an approach shot and looking for a volley or overhead to win the point. When hitting an approach shot your mindset should be to set yourself up for the win, not win the point outright. What you’re thinking when hitting the approach shot is crucial for long term match play. The key is, stop trying to go for too much!

The second major mistake is trying to stand still when hitting approach shots. Forget it! This is not the way to make a fluent transition from the baseline to the net, and in reality if you put on the brakes to hit an approach shot, you will affect your timing and rhythm. The pros do not do it this way and neither should you. On the surface it seems to make sense, because if you’re still, you’re balanced, but tennis is a moving game and you should learn to be balanced while on the move. Just like learning to ride a bicycle or learning to walk, you practice until your balance improves. Standing still and hitting any tennis shot is a myth and is not based on true application. The next time you're playing, give yourself the freedom to hit your approach shot on the move and enjoy the ride!

The third major mistake is not hitting deep enough. If you hit the approach shot deep the ball will stay in the air longer and give you more time to reach your net position. Also, if your ball stays in the air longer to reach your opponent, this means it will stay in the air longer to get back to you, and as a result give you more time to react to the ball. Obviously, this means you will not be rushed when hitting your shots. Short approach shots, less reaction time - deep approach shots, more reaction time....it’s a no brainer!

In summary, the three major problems players have when hitting approach shots are:

1. Going for too much.

2. Trying to stand still when hitting.

3. Not hitting their approach shot deep.

Learn them, apply them, and watch the difference!

After a while I pull them all up to the net for a powwow. I have many such discussions in my day! I begin by quizzing them, "do you know why you are having trouble with this drill?" They usual are not one hundred percent sure why they are having so much trouble. My answer is, "because you are not good enough." Well, you can imagine that comment is not a big hit, but I usually do not get my self in trouble without a means of escape, so I quickly explain to slow down a shot and play at a different speed is an extremely high level of play. Have you ever seen a pro run full speed on the court then hit a slow touch angle? Do you think you can do that? To move fast and hit slow is tough!!! But, this is a level of play you must strive to reach. With this explanation I barely escape unharmed and we go back to the task at hand.

NOTE TO TEACHING PROS - try this at your own risk.

Another problem I run into is players think the ball they hit is moving too slowly. The truth is when they slow their shot down they are not really slowing the speed of the ball down all that much. What's happening is when they slow down their shot they have to slow down their mind at the same time, creating the illusion the ball is traveling super slow. Most players hit with their mind racing and think everything is happening faster. Do you? This is one of the main reasons I do this drill. To teach them to move fast but slow down their mind. If they can accomplish this slowing of the mind they will play more relaxed, aim their shots with more accuracy, and improve their feel of the point.

The reason their timing goes off is because they have their timing connected to this frantic state of mind when hitting. When they attempt to slow down their mind their timing goes completely out of whack!

The challenge is for you to learn to play with this relaxed slow mindset and not blame your misses on slowing down. Your top pros play with this mindset, so why shouldn't you. That's right the pros move FAST, but maintain a slow controlled mindset. Even when they are hitting hard they are mentally relaxed and controlled. You can do the same. But, first you must learn the art of moving fast and hitting slow.

Below is a list of benefits you can expect if you can master this mindset.

* Improved accuracy
* Play more relaxed
* Save energy
* See the ball better
* Improved feel of point play
* Move more fluidly
* Not over play as much
* Create a sense of mental control

This is only a partial list. You will even improve your confidence. This is one of those magical moments of doing less to get more. The art of moving fast but slowing down your mind is a mental challenge that is well worth the effort. To accomplish this mental technique, practice slowing down your shots just a little during some of your fun matches and experience the slowing of your mind. At first this can be frustrating. You will have to work yourself through some of the pitfalls explained in this lesson, but if you stay with it long enough you will experience an inner tranquility that you never knew existed on a tennis court. And without Valium! :)

Let's see if I can illustrate this better. Will you agree that when the ball is a foot or so off of your opponent's strings a certain set of conditions exist that are different than when the ball is 5 or 10 feet off of your opponent's strings? I hope your answer is yes.

When the ball is a foot or so off your opponent's strings no one knows for sure if the ball is going to be in or out. When the ball is 5 or 10 feet off the strings players can begin to tell if a ball is going in or not. When it gets 15 to 20 feet off the strings your chances of figuring whether a ball is in or out increases dramatically. The conditions change the farther the ball is off your opponent's strings. When you tell me you knew that ball was going out, you've waited 15 or 20 feet off your opponents strings before you began reacting to the ball!

The art of the Direction Reaction is to react when the ball is a foot or so off your opponent's strings and begin moving immediately. No one knows, including the Pros, exactly where the ball is going. You react first, then analyze if the ball is going in or out. The next time you're practicing give it a try! Move according to the direction of the ball off your opponent's strings. Do not wait until you know for sure if the ball is in or out. I'll see you at Wimbledon!