Five Steps to Incorporating a New Skill
The drop shot definitely falls into the category of a new skill. Unlike with frequently used strokes such as the forehand, backhand, and serve, learning how and when to use the drop shot generally happens later in a tennis player’s development.
Incorporating any new skill, including the drop shot, into a sport you already play requires a five-phase progression of learning activities. Professional athletes need several weeks of practice to make a major change. Recreational athletes may need as many as 2,000 repetitions before a new skill becomes second nature.
Step 1: Observation
The first step in learning a new skill is to get a coach, teaching professional, or friend who has the skill to work with you on breaking that skill down into smaller components. Someone who can see only the big picture (e.g., whether a serve goes in or out) is of little help. A skilled observer or teacher can watch for the correct positioning of hands, feet, head, or any other part of the body instead of focusing on the result.
Step 2: Visualization
The second step, visualizing and then shadow-practicing the skill, is skipped by many players but can be a valuable tool in the learning process. It has two parts. First, imagine yourself executing the drop shot. See yourself take the shot in your mind, imagining how you would execute each element of the stroke. You can practice self-visualization on a tennis court, at home, or anytime you have a few moments to see yourself executing the skill.
Second, actually go through the motions by yourself, much like a boxer going through a shadow-boxing sequence or a free-throw shooter going through the motion without a ball before the actual shot. Practicing in this manner takes dedication—you need to be secure enough to tolerate the curious looks that will come when others see you playing an imaginary game. If space permits, try going through the new motion in front of a mirror at home or in a locker room. This scenario is more private and allows you to be your own coach.
Step 3: Simulation
The third step involves working on the new skill by simulating game situations during practice. The soccer player develops a move to get open for a pass. The swimmer makes a perfect turn off the wall. The golfer hits out of a trap and gets close enough to the hole to save par. The tennis player maneuvers an opponent into a position in which a drop shot wins the point. The idea is not to play out the whole game, but instead to repeatedly rehearse the situation in which the new skill will be used.
Step 4: Experimentation
The fourth step is to try the new skill in real but less valuable points, games, matches, or situations. At every level, opportunities exist for experimentation when little or nothing is at stake. You have to be comfortable with the idea that you may hit a terrible drop shot or lose to an inferior opponent because you are taking time to develop a new part of your game.
Step 5: Utilization
The final step is to be confident enough to make the new skill an automatic response in pressure situations. If you have to think about using the drop shot first, it’s not ready for prime time. Your readiness is revealed when you no longer analyze, plan, or experiment; you just use it. Like any other tool in your kit, your new drop shot is simply there when you need it.
Tennis: Steps to Success Jim Brown,Camille Soulier