Today, we want to show you the stages of learning a new skill. For illustrative purposes, we are going to use the backhand loop against backspin as an example for you today. This approach can be used for any stroke, such as pushing, flipping, looping, counter-looping, lobbing, chopping, smashing, and any other skill that you want to develop. Before beginning stage one, take a few minutes and assess your game for strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and game patterns.
There are some short-cuts that you can do for a quick improvement in your game right now, some elements that you can improve this year, then some aspects that take 5-10 years to fully develop. In this article, I’m going to talk about mid-range improvements that you can make during the next 12 months.
The way you manage pressure has a huge impact on your performance. About 90% of coaches don’t rightly understand this important concept. This article isn’t designed to offend average coaches, but rather to educate both coaches and players as to what it means to be mentally strong.