Effective Training

Oliver Asked 12 years ago

Hi Alois and Jeff,

Recently, I have not been developing my game like I was before. I still train the same amount and stuff, but just am not improving. So I was wondering, what does training do? How can you make training more effective and are there any tips on improving my game, i.e. any shortcuts?

Jeff Plumb Answered 12 years ago

Hi Oliver,

There are no short cuts to becoming a good player. You need the repetition to develop your strokes. Repetition is the single most powerful way the brain builds new skill circuits.

There are lots of ways you can make your training more effective though. The key is to remain really focussed. If you not concentrating then you aren't really developing your skills.

A great way is to mix up your training so it does not become boring. As a basic example, for your warm-up, instead of just playing forehand to forehand, try playing down the line. You can mix up any of your drills slightly to make the exercise tougher and get you concentrating more.

Another great way to make training drills more intense is to turn them into games. Almost any drill can be turned into a game by keeping score.

Lastly if you really are completely bored and none of the tips above help, you are probably better off stopping training for that day and coming back when you are fresh.