The Best Tip Ever

[johnyandell]

Share your thoughts on Keith Hayes' new article "The Best Tip Ever!"

[GeoffWilliams]

The best way to defend your contact point in front is done by coiling back early.

[bman]

I thought it was pretty good. Its always refreshing to hang around a good teacher and learn to see things in a new light.

[don_budge]

my thoughts...The Best Tip Ever!

Share your thoughts on Keith Hayes' new article "The Best Tip Ever!"

Keith...you got my attention right away with your reference to Mill Valley, California. That is right across the bay from San Francisco isn't it? In 1971 my friend and I hitchhiked to California from Michigan and somehow, by some twist of fate we ended up in Mill Valley. We had met a couple of sisters down in Carmel that we got to know...ahem. A summer night in a sleeping bag down on the beach...when Carmel was only a sleepy tourist town. Anyways the girls were from Mill Valley...we went back to their house. I wonder if you knew them? I can't imagine what goes through parents minds when their daughters bring home a couple of strays. We picked up a stray ourselves...a puppy named Sheba that we hitchhiked back to Michigan with. Sheba became the loyal companion of an acquaintance of my sister's for 15 years. It's funny how things go sometimes...isn't it?

The Best Tip Ever? It could very well be. Trying to run up to a volley and eat the ball. Good volleyers always seemed to have that mentality. I think your buddy Bill is a classic. I love him.

Play like you practice, and practice like you play. I think you are right. I think Bill is right. You absolutely cannot say it any better...you can take it several steps further if you like. I am almost certain that is what your dear friend intended. There is much to discern about a person regarding their relative attitudes toward practice and play. I agree with Bill...both must be approached with a singular attitude. Do your best...at all times.

I think that as a tennis player every time you set your feet within the boundaries of those mystical lines some deep part of your very being must automatically become engaged. Even as a teacher these days I feel a little tingle in my bones every time I step on the court. That mystical tingle. That part of you that is your fighting, passionate spirit. If you go to practice and dog it what is to say that when you show up for a match you won't do the same...if you don't feel like making the effort. My practice partners were sometimes surprised how much a practice match meant to me. Even today I refuse to lose to my students...so far. Practice meant every bit as much to me as match situations...it taught me to show up and do my best under any and all conditions.

When you are trained to do your best...even as a young tennis player it just may have that effect on the way you pursue your life. Perhaps a large part of the meaning of life is to show up all the time and be ready to do your best. Give it everything you got. When you play tennis. When you go to work. When you love your lover. Give it your passionate best. Don't leave anything in the bag. This way you won't be unhappy when it is all over. Win or lose. You did your best.

Moe Norman...the enigmatic, unique great Canadian golfer was quoted as saying..."the longest walk is from the the practice range to the first tee". If you learn to treat each as an arena that is deserving of your best efforts perhaps the bridge is not so long to traverse. You find yourself being more comfortable on both sides...if you learn to treat them just the same.

Most definitely...it is the "Best Tip Ever"!

[macbeth]

Share your thoughts on Keith Hayes' new article "The Best Tip Ever!"

so often we hear practice makes perfect but Lute Olson,famed bb coach, says no practice make permanent

thanks well done i can really relate to your words

Britt Feldhausen
SWPTA Pro emirtus

[ravirama]

The most useful tennis article ever

Share your thoughts on Keith Hayes' new article "The Best Tip Ever!"

Very rarely does a tennis article translate to better court performance but the 'practice as you play and play as you practice' advice really works by calming the mind,reducing fear of the result and increased focus on execution. It has an uncanny ability of un-cluttering the mind and prevent a lot of thinking during a rally-something that is crucial in a match.

[keithhayes]

Flattered

Thank you so much for all of the encouraging reviews. Bill Hager really is a classic, and as the videos show, he's still an amazing doubles partner. As an instructor, I'm often asked for "magic" tips--in other words, easy solutions to beat better players. A little strategy can sometimes make a difference, but the only way to beat a real player is to become one yourself--and there's no short cut to becoming a real player. Every tennis player needs a Bill Hager.

[GeoffWilliams]

I warmed up on that court at Boyle before a Marin cat. II seniors. I had six set points on Craig Virgin, and during which he said, "You are supposed to play at my pace!" (I sweat a lot and sunscreen was blinding me so I was toweling off.) Let it affect my concentration and lost the set. Battling a calf pull, and work injuries, which have wiped me out for match play. Another great tip is: Play to improve and ignore the score. Exactly what Sampras did when he lost 19 straight junior matches when he switched to a one hander. Pete Fischer was his coach, and he got put away for child molestation. He was able to affect the confidence of a losing Sampras and steer him towards the joy of the game for improving, not just winning.