The Concept of “Shifting Gears”

[luv_all]

Hello everyone, I’m a fairly new member and have always wondered about several concepts in the game of tennis, with “shifting gears” being one of them. In my tour of the site I couldn’t find an article discussing it exclusively (though I could have missed them), so I figured I’d start a thread on it.

When commentating, John McEnroe uses this phrase quite a bit. In watching matches (especially Federer in his prime) I’ve witnessed this taking place. Federer, or whoever the player in question is, visibly begins playing better, or more intensely, and speeds away like a car shifting gears. I would often see this happen mid set (3-3).

My question is, how can “shifting gears” be quantified (and then integrated into our game)? Are these pros intentionally playing at 75% effort (or thereabouts) initially and then stepping up to 90, 100, 110% only if needed? If so, is it to conserve energy for the match and tournament, or to catch the opponent off guard? How does one play at 75% vs 100%? Is it physical (not hitting the ball as hard) or mental in the form of concentration? This line of thinking obviously goes against what the average coach will tell you ("always give it your all!"), so I’d be interested in hearing what those with more experience have to say on the subject.

[johnyandell]

Not sure there is anything as simple as "shifting gears." Something that can be done mechanically. A lot of it may be how one or both players feel at various stages of a match. Negative emotions may give way to positive ones. Tension ebbs. Sometimes being down releases a player. One great shot by one player results in the same from the other. If I were you I would immerse myself in the mental game section. Start with the older Jim Loehr articles about the 16 second cure etc. Also Greenwald and Allen Fox, although everything there has value--read the ones on momentum as well from Alistair.

[stotty]

Hello everyone, I’m a fairly new member and have always wondered about several concepts in the game of tennis, with “shifting gears” being one of them. In my tour of the site I couldn’t find an article discussing it exclusively (though I could have missed them), so I figured I’d start a thread on it.

When commentating, John McEnroe uses this phrase quite a bit. In watching matches (especially Federer in his prime) I’ve witnessed this taking place. Federer, or whoever the player in question is, visibly begins playing better, or more intensely, and speeds away like a car shifting gears. I would often see this happen mid set (3-3).

My question is, how can “shifting gears” be quantified (and then integrated into our game)? Are these pros intentionally playing at 75% effort (or thereabouts) initially and then stepping up to 90, 100, 110% only if needed? If so, is it to conserve energy for the match and tournament, or to catch the opponent off guard? How does one play at 75% vs 100%? Is it physical (not hitting the ball as hard) or mental in the form of concentration? This line of thinking obviously goes against what the average coach will tell you ("always give it your all!"), so I’d be interested in hearing what those with more experience have to say on the subject.

Great Post!

Shifting gears...interesting. For me, shifting gears is more about urgency than a conscious 'let's play a bit better now' concept.

In soccer, when a team is 1 nil down with 10 minutes to go, the players play with a lot more energy and urgency than they ever could at the start of the match. Only when there is a a crisis can players switch into that kind of mode.

Even Rafa finds a little bit more energy and speed when those big moments come around. No one plays truly 100% all of the time. Shifting gears is about finding that little bit more in the parts of a game that count most. The better players seem to be able to do that.

[doctorhl]

Great Post!

Shifting gears...interesting. For me, shifting gears is more about urgency than a conscious 'let's play a bit better now' concept.

In soccer, when a team is 1 nil down with 10 minutes to go, the players play with a lot more energy and urgency than they ever could at the start of the match. Only when there is a a crisis can players switch into that kind of mode.

Even Rafa finds a little bit more energy and speed when those big moments come around. No one plays truly 100% all of the time. Shifting gears is about finding that little bit more in the parts of a game that count most. The better players seem to be able to do that.

I agree with Stotty. The great ones in any sport look lazy at times but know instinctively when it is cost effective to increase mental and physical intensity. I took coaching language like “ always give 100%” to heart in basketball and was burnt out by halftime. American football is weird in that it requires up to 100% mental and physical intensity for 4 second bursts over a two hour period for a total active time of about six minutes. How do the soccer greats know when to drop to 50% or increase to 100% in mental/ physical intensity levels? Tennis has its “ urgency moments” that require raising the intensity a notch( but not too much). That’s why it can be so hard to close out a match against a smart player. How to quantify.? No idea. It would be interesting to see if EMG sensors could be put on various parts of the body to measure muscle tension throughout a match and see if increases or decreases actually correlated with any particular moments. But too many confounding variables to control for I suppose.

[arturohernandez]

Hello everyone, I’m a fairly new member and have always wondered about several concepts in the game of tennis, with “shifting gears” being one of them. In my tour of the site I couldn’t find an article discussing it exclusively (though I could have missed them), so I figured I’d start a thread on it.

When commentating, John McEnroe uses this phrase quite a bit. In watching matches (especially Federer in his prime) I’ve witnessed this taking place. Federer, or whoever the player in question is, visibly begins playing better, or more intensely, and speeds away like a car shifting gears. I would often see this happen mid set (3-3).

My question is, how can “shifting gears” be quantified (and then integrated into our game)? Are these pros intentionally playing at 75% effort (or thereabouts) initially and then stepping up to 90, 100, 110% only if needed? If so, is it to conserve energy for the match and tournament, or to catch the opponent off guard? How does one play at 75% vs 100%? Is it physical (not hitting the ball as hard) or mental in the form of concentration? This line of thinking obviously goes against what the average coach will tell you ("always give it your all!"), so I’d be interested in hearing what those with more experience have to say on the subject.

Brad Gilbert commented on this in Winning Ugly. The only player that got him every time was Lendl. The very first time he played him he was surprised. Lendl was playing well but was nothing special. Then, somewhere around 3-3 or so in the first set he just hits this unreal forehand. Then Gilbert suddenly realizes that this is Lendl.

I also remember in Pete Sampras's autobiography reading about his practice matches with Lendl. Lendl had Pete fly out and hit with him. During their practice sets, Lendl was good but not great.

Then, they met in a match, and Lendl was another Lendl. Sampras referred to it as "He was mauling me."

Pete paid it back a few years. But this an example where Lendl shifted into another gear. My guess is it would be both physical in terms of energy and concentration but also mental in terms of focusing a little better.

Finally, I remember at the end of a match, Federer was being interviewed, and he apologized because he could not answer the question very well. He said that his mind was still focused from the match.

It is a really good question. How do players shift into that gear?

[luv_all]

Very insightful responses. I think I've been able to make sense of what exactly it is.

"Shifting gears" is something that the average tennis player can do, but it will only be visible when playing someone considerably less skilled than they are. Basically you enter the match confident, but not overconfident. You initially play a relaxed game, hit your strokes smoothly and easily, go for high percent shots, take few risks, etc. Entering the match playing like this can go one of two ways against someone less skilled than you; you are either well ahead of them or they keep up. If they keep up you in turn step things up; take bigger risks, increase power, and play closer to the limits of your game. If you're unable to do this, then the match just ends up as one of those messy, close matches where it seems like no one can close things out. I'm sure all of us have been there.

The example of Lendl in Sampras’ biography is a prime example of this concept. Of course, when the best of the best raises their game, it is much more visible than when the average tennis player does it.

The great ones in any sport look lazy at times but know instinctively when it is cost effective to increase mental and physical intensity.

No one plays truly 100% all of the time.

These statements are very true. Once again, the average tennis coach’s advice is quite false (“always give 100%”). Like doctorhl said, if you do that you will be quickly spent. What the advice SHOULD be is to raise the level of your sub-100% game over time through practice. Can you hit x and y shots without being hyper focused and expending all your effort? If not you need to find a way to do so.

[doctorhl]

In my experience the better players have the ability to raise their level just enough, at the right time. This might be individual points or games. They do not come out of the box 100% which means you can only come down. If their opponent is playing level, 6, they play level 7. If their opponent raises it to level 8, they are aware and quickly shift to level 9. Sometimes lack of awareness catches them off guard and they don’t shift their gears fast enough. “A momentum streak” occurs.

[don_budge]

Hello everyone, I’m a fairly new member and have always wondered about several concepts in the game of tennis, with “shifting gears” being one of them. In my tour of the site I couldn’t find an article discussing it exclusively (though I could have missed them), so I figured I’d start a thread on it.

When commentating, John McEnroe uses this phrase quite a bit. In watching matches (especially Federer in his prime) I’ve witnessed this taking place. Federer, or whoever the player in question is, visibly begins playing better, or more intensely, and speeds away like a car shifting gears. I would often see this happen mid set (3-3).

My question is, how can “shifting gears” be quantified (and then integrated into our game)? Are these pros intentionally playing at 75% effort (or thereabouts) initially and then stepping up to 90, 100, 110% only if needed? If so, is it to conserve energy for the match and tournament, or to catch the opponent off guard? How does one play at 75% vs 100%? Is it physical (not hitting the ball as hard) or mental in the form of concentration? This line of thinking obviously goes against what the average coach will tell you ("always give it your all!"), so I’d be interested in hearing what those with more experience have to say on the subject.

The expression of "switching gears" might have some validity in driving a stick shift on a car but I fail to see what if any validity this would have on anyone's game unless they were some kind of tennis god. As a coach or a tennis teacher I would recommend to any student of the game to always play hard and to the best of your ability. If at some point in your illustrious career you find yourself in the luxurious position of being able to give away points or play less than one hundred percent...I would strongly recommend that you resist the urge.

It might be true that the beginning of a match players are warming up to the situation and getting used to the conditions and "feeling out" their opponents. But don't confuse this with giving less than one hundred percent. Always give one hundred percent if you have any intentions of raising the level of your game in the future. If your one hundred percent of today is your ninety percent of tomorrow that will only because you have pushed hard and consistently hard to raise the level of your game. This business of shifting gears seems to be confused with a player finding "their groove" or finding the level they are seeking.

If you can beat a player 6-0, 6-0 I strongly recommend that you do so. There is another player out that who will have no mercy on you in a similar predicament. Play each and every point for the value of that point. It's true that a point at 40-0 on your serve is not so dire as one at advantage to the receiver but it good to play it as such. The reason? Learn to play hard on each and every point and eventually you are going to surprise yourself and see that your level has actually raised itself. This isn't going to happen if you think that you can ease up at some point. It isn't going to be gifted to anyone. If a professional looks like he is cruising it is because he is. He has trained himself all of his playing life to get there. They might make it look easy but there is some kind of other worldly concentration going on behind it. As the anecdote about Federer not being able to concentrate on the interview because he still hasn't detached himself from his game face.

Play hard, hard and harder. Learn to concentrate on each and every point from beginning to end. Learn to do the same in practice. That is why they call it practice. If you practice it enough in practice hopefully it will come to you as second nature once the competitive match begins. Once you are on that tennis court learn to go all out. Don't think of anything as meaningless. Make demands upon yourself...nobody else is going to do it for you.

[arturohernandez]

The expression of "switching gears" might have some validity in driving a stick shift on a car but I fail to see what if any validity this would have on anyone's game unless they were some kind of tennis god. As a coach or a tennis teacher I would recommend to any student of the game to always play hard and to the best of your ability. If at some point in your illustrious career you find yourself in the luxurious position of being able to give away points or play less than one hundred percent...I would strongly recommend that you resist the urge.

It might be true that the beginning of a match players are warming up to the situation and getting used to the conditions and "feeling out" their opponents. But don't confuse this with giving less than one hundred percent. Always give one hundred percent if you have any intentions of raising the level of your game in the future. If your one hundred percent of today is your ninety percent of tomorrow that will only because you have pushed hard and consistently hard to raise the level of your game. This business of shifting gears seems to be confused with a player finding "their groove" or finding the level they are seeking.

If you can beat a player 6-0, 6-0 I strongly recommend that you do so. There is another player out that who will have no mercy on you in a similar predicament. Play each and every point for the value of that point. It's true that a point at 40-0 on your serve is not so dire as one at advantage to the receiver but it good to play it as such. The reason? Learn to play hard on each and every point and eventually you are going to surprise yourself and see that your level has actually raised itself. This isn't going to happen if you think that you can ease up at some point. It isn't going to be gifted to anyone. If a professional looks like he is cruising it is because he is. He has trained himself all of his playing life to get there. They might make it look easy but there is some kind of other worldly concentration going on behind it. As the anecdote about Federer not being able to concentrate on the interview because he still hasn't detached himself from his game face.

Play hard, hard and harder. Learn to concentrate on each and every point from beginning to end. Learn to do the same in practice. That is why they call it practice. If you practice it enough in practice hopefully it will come to you as second nature once the competitive match begins. Once you are on that tennis court learn to go all out. Don't think of anything as meaningless. Make demands upon yourself...nobody else is going to do it for you.

Wasn’t there a famous coach who realized the best players don’t spend energy between points? I once saw Feliciano play live. He looked like he was going to d
fall asleep between points.

[stotty]

I think this is being looked at the wrong way. In athletic terms, 100% is the level a player can consistently maintain from start to finish. Looked at like this it is possible for a player to try 110% (a level he cannot maintain throughout) for a shorter duration. This is what the term shifting gears is all about, and looked at like this it is entirely possible to shift gears.

Everyone in the world has watched Roger Federer consistently apply pressure on his opponents....turning the screw...then try that little bit harder (move slightly quicker, take the ball earlier, bear down) at the key moment to break serve or seize the set. Actually, no one applies pressure and pounces better than Roger, no one. He is the epitome of shifting gears.

[doctorhl]

I think this is being looked at the wrong way. In athletic terms, 100% is the level a player can consistently maintain from start to finish. Looked at like this it is possible for a player to try 110% (a level he cannot maintain throughout) for a shorter duration. This is what the term shifting gears is all about, and looked at like this it is entirely possible to shift gears.

Everyone in the world has watched Roger Federer consistently apply pressure on his opponents....turning the screw...then try that little bit harder (move slightly quicker, take the ball earlier, bear down) at the key moment to break serve or seize the set. Actually, no one applies pressure and pounces better than Roger, no one. He is the epitome of shifting gears.

Agreed! What say you tenniscoach1 about this concept as a MMA coach? Do the two sports have any “shifting gears” crossover. Trying two rounds of boxing one time and giving 100% resulted in my complete exhaustion. I think the better performers can drop or increase muscular intensity levels at the right times without dropping mental intensity. Better performers can also sense when their opponent has dropped their intensity level and instinctively know when to go “all in “ for the kill on a particular point or game. It would seem like this is a difficult concept to teach to those of us whose style is once “lit up”, stay “lit up” for fear of turning off. Golf, at the other extreme from boxing, seems to be 100% mental with very little associated muscular intensity release and would be particularly difficult for the “ lit up” performer.

Stotty, is there value in a player knowing where they fit on the this spectrum and if so, can it be taught, or is it only learned through match experience?

[stotty]

Stotty, is there value in a player knowing where they fit on the this spectrum and if so, can it be taught, or is it only learned through match experience?

I think it is more about becoming an overall better player that will raise the 100% level a player can consistently maintain. To give a crude example, Nadal and Federer can hit forehands at 100mph but do so sparingly and perhaps only a handful of times over the course of a match, but what if they improved so they could hit 15 or even 20 forehands per match that travelled at 100mph? What if Roger consistently got another 10mph on his already well placed serve? I think if a player works on these more extreme metrics along with a host of other more subtle ones, then their baseline 100% would go up and the ability to shift gears with it.

But ultimately it is about practicing to become a better player so you can cruise along at your 100% which you hopefully find more comfortable to maintain than your opponent's 100%.

[tenniscoach1]

Agreed! What say you tenniscoach1 about this concept as a MMA coach? Do the two sports have any “shifting gears” crossover. Trying two rounds of boxing one time and giving 100% resulted in my complete exhaustion. I think the better performers can drop or increase muscular intensity levels at the right times without dropping mental intensity. Better performers can also sense when their opponent has dropped their intensity level and instinctively know when to go “all in “ for the kill on a particular point or game. It would seem like this is a difficult concept to teach to those of us whose style is once “lit up”, stay “lit up” for fear of turning off. Golf, at the other extreme from boxing, seems to be 100% mental with very little associated muscular intensity release and would be particularly difficult for the “ lit up” performer.

Stotty, is there value in a player knowing where they fit on the this spectrum and if so, can it be taught, or is it only learned through match experience?

I am a CNS/Neurology/Programming coach - the things I do will put an athlete in a position to hit, strike, shoot, ski, skate, punt, bodycheck, kick ... it does not matter. In the other thread you can see a few of the specific machines I use with athletes. Gravity and anatomy are universal. Craig O'Shaunessy has it mapped out how a match works - yet, his data is not the ABC of how tennis is played and how associations program all they do! You want to win a match - not practice Ethiopian style drills which train the wrong energy system for the game of tennis which is played in a very specific way. You'd be amazed at the pro players who have no understanding of the metrics of this sport. Map your program up with what Craig says, study Verkoshansky's methods, do the right programmed variance and you will see result. Why train like a tennis Ethiopian long distance runner that can't do shit in a match in terms of energy system management? It's insane. But, it's happening all around us. Slapping balls around the tennis court, playing hard, balls to the wall - generally does not lead to sustainable success, and not understanding the energy system required for tennis and how to train specifically for this sport generally results in injured athletes or ones that end up quitting because its just not fun and the results are not there. I am not sure why that concept does not make sense to organizations that are losing players year after year due to their own fault. You want to build myelin and enhance the central nervous system - not destroy it. I am amazed to meet so many uneducated pro tennis player that have no idea of O'Shaunessy's stats or the metrics of this sport - and, of course they will never get better, perform better, peak and then break down. It's a crazy road so many of these guys are on.

[glacierguy]

...study Verkoshansky's methods...

Just ordered Shock Method and Jump Training Guide for Beginners from Verkoshansky website. Expecting great things! Will I finally be able to explode into serve? Here's hoping.

[tenniscoach1]

if you work on depth jumps (which no one does) your serve will get better - good eccentrics always lead to superb concentric's - stay safe.