Sunday, 12 April 2020 / Published in Strategy Courses

Getting Tight Sneak Peek: Are You At 75% Of Your Potential?

G’day,

Do you really know who you are as a tennis player? In other words, do you have a crystal clear mission of your ideal game style, and do you stick to it in the heat of competition?

Most players have a general idea of what they want to do, but the blueprint is loose. It’s blurry. It comes and goes like the seasons… 🍁❄️🌱🌞.

In this last sneak-peak of what is under the hood of Getting Tight, Craig O’Shannessy, and Jeff Greenwald talk about getting your ideal strategy crystal clear in your mind. Because without that clarity, you are not coming close to fulfilling your potential.

In the video below, Jeff says he is only at 75% of his potential because he has not yet fully developed the strategic side of his game. That’s a really interesting comment when you consider Jeff’s outstanding playing achievements which include:

ITF World Champion in Men’s 35’s (won in Austria on red clay)
ITF World Champion in Men’s 45’s (won in San Diego on hard court)
Won the US National 40’s at 52 years of age.
No. 1 in the world in Men’s 35’s singles.
No. 1 in the US in Men’s 35’s singles and doubles.
Jeff has won 12 U.S. national titles.

Pretty salty resume if you ask me…

I love this quote in the video from Jeff:

“That tactical intention can help you feel more relaxed.”

The message here is that if you have your game plan clear in your mind, it’s going to help the emotional side of your game as well, and help you compete in a more relaxed manner. That’s the beating heart of what Getting Tight delivers.

Watch the short video below to clearly understand how Getting Tight is going to be a huge asset for your game, and help you reach your full potential.

Getting Tight Sneak Peek Video: What Kind Of Game Do You Want To Have?

Mini-Lessons

Jeff and I expand on the key focus points in the video to provide more depth and understanding of what we talked about.

You probably have a good idea about the shots that you want to continue improving and what currently works and doesn’t work.
Even the best players in the world are constantly evolving their games and adding new weapons to their repertoire.
Prioritize what needs attention and focus on that area on the practice court, or in your lessons. Give it the time it deserves to evolve from a weakness to a strength.

Despite having achieved the No. 1 ranking in the world by the ITF in the men’s 35, Jeff believes he still has a lot of improvement he can do, primarily on the tactical side.
He must integrate these new tactics into his game while still maintaining his deep focus, level of freedom and confidence in matches.
We all have room for improvement. Identify the right adjustments you need to make and blend your ideal mental state with the highest percentage patterns of play.

This is when you will be pushed to try and execute new shot combinations, or mix in more secondary patterns.
Just because you are winning a lot of points and even getting to Deuce in many games doesn’t mean that it is enough to get the job done.
You are going to want to build these new shots and patterns into your game in practice to give yourself the repetition and confidence to execute them in a match under pressure.

Players at all levels understand how difficult change can feel, especially when you’re in the middle of a match and you really want to win.
For example, getting to the net seems simple enough of a tactic to just commit to in your next match. All you need to do is just take short balls and come into the net, right? But how much are you over-thinking when you hit that short ball? Are you still “present” for that shot or do you tend to force it?
And once you get to the next shot, do you believe in your volley enough and commit to hitting it without “bailing out?”
Having a clear and positive mindset helps so much to achieve your tactical goals.

When your focus goes to your tactical intention (down the middle on the return of serve and look for a forehand) you will be much more likely to achieve it.
In turn, this will help you feel more relaxed since you won’t be indecisive.

All the very best,

Craig

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The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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Getting Tight Sneak Peek: Are You At 75% Of Your Potential?

G’day,

Getting Tight Sneak Peek Video: What Kind Of Game Do You Want To Have?

Mini-Lessons