5 Most Important Things A Junior Tennis Player Must Develop
“A jack of all trades, master of none.”
I prefer to work on a few things at a time for a long time. If a player works on too many things at once, they’ll be mediocre at everything, great at nothing. It’s better to master the most important things first, then start adding in everything else later.
Below are the 5 most important things a junior player should work on once they have the basic skills down:
1. Footwork - This is the most important thing a tennis player needs to “hit” well. You can have the most beautiful racket preparation in the world but if you don’t move your feet, then you won’t be in the proper position to hit the ball well.
It’s important to move as fast as you can. I see a lot of juniors who move at the speed of the ball, which gets them JUST in time to hit the ball. This means they won’t be able to set their body up in the most efficient position. You need to judge where you’ll be making contact with the ball and SPRINT to that position. This way you can arrive early, setup and hit the most effective shot.
The best juniors never stop moving their feet and sprint around the court. How about you?
2. A Weapon - How are you going to hurt your opponents? What’s your go to shot that you can rely on during a big point? This isn’t the shot that is simply better than your other shots. It’s the one your opponents fear because they know if you’re setup to hit it, you’re probably going to win the point.
For most players it’s their forehand. It’s the easiest shot for most players to take control with, but it can be any shot. Drop shot, slice, first serve, etc.. The most important thing is to develop something you can take matches over with. Master that weapon, build your game around it, and take control.
3. Second Serve - Yes, second serve, not first. Most juniors won’t be acing kids off the court because they’re not big or strong enough yet. They can double fault matches away though. A great second serve does multiple things.
First, it reduces free points for your opponent.
Second, it prevents your opponent from taking offense right away. Especially if it’s a kick serve. Most juniors struggle to handle balls above their shoulder (hence why junior coaches teach high heavy shots). If your second serve bounces above your opponents shoulders to their backhand, there’s a high probability you’ll be neutral to offensive on your first shot.
Also, if you have confidence in your second serve, you’ll be more willing to go for a bigger first serve. This can earn you more free points. If your second serve is weak, you probably won’t go for an aggressive first serve because you’re afraid of double faulting.
Don’t settle for having just a consistent second serve. Work towards having an effective one.
4. First Volley - Once you develop great footwork, a weapon, and an effective second serve, you’ll start earning short balls from your opponents. But if you can’t hit an effective first volley, it was all for nothing. Even worse, you’ll hit approach shots too close to the line because you know you can’t volley well, causing you to miss.
Develop a great first volley to cap off the work you put in to earn the winning position.
5. Mental Skills In Between Points - Footwork is the most important detail in regards to hitting well. Mental skills are the most important in regards to winning matches.
Junior tennis players fall apart more because of their mental skills than tennis skills. If you’re looking for more immediate success on the court, learn to talk to yourself in a positive and uplifting manner. During a match, you are your own coach. The way you speak to yourself is of utmost importance. You wouldn’t want a coach screaming and yelling negative things at you so why do you do it to yourself?!
It’s impossible to control our immediate reaction after a point, but we can control our reaction to the initial reaction. Take a deeeeeeeep slow breath as soon as a point is done. Learn from what just happened. Then coach yourself the best advice for the next point.
Mental skills are the most difficult to learn so if you find yourself continuing to struggle in his area, hire a mental skills coach. The best way to learn is with the help of an expert.
Good luck and get to work!