Ok,
Today we will have a tip and also will give some recommendations on court etiquette.
Tip. .......
I
have discussed before about the Borg. The Borg were a race of people
on Star Trek The Next Generation. You could easily defeat them in the
short term. However they were great at closing and changing any weakness
that they had and from then on, what you used to overcome them, would
no longer work.
This is what you need to do when you play. Adapt to
your opponents and overcome. Each time you go on the court, you MUST
change your game based on your opponents and to a lesser extent, your
partner. I see players come to Miona all the time. They do not realize
that what they used against intermediate and low advanced players will
get you killed against high advanced players.
For example, hitting a hard shot from low to high
against 4.5 and 5.0 players will generally loose you the point as they
will just redirect it so quickly back to you that you cant react quick
enough. Yes, this same shot may win you points against lower skilled
opponents, but you MUST change your game based on your opponents and
what will work against them.
When you step up your game and go to play with
higher skilled players than yourself, don't get into the mindset that
you are going to show the big boys ( girls ) all your tremendous skills.
You will just make too many mistakes by hitting balls out and not
having patience. Don't be afraid to be humble. When I play with Brian,
or Phil, or Robert or Tim etc, as my partner, I have NO EGO what so
ever. I have no problem letting them take as many shots as the want.
Secondly, if I am partnered with one of these top
players, our opponents are probably also going to be top advanced
players. Probably better skilled than I. Hence my job is to just keep
the ball low and in play and NOT make mistakes. I let my much better
partner hit the winners, as it is doubly difficult for me to hit a
winner against such highly skilled opponents. I am not going to try and
prove how I can hit incredible winners. That is not going to pan out. I
am just trying to prove that I can hang in there and not get us killed.
Some opponents I play against I can come out of the
soft game fairly early and smack a winner at or through them. These are
fairly few though. There are some opponents that have such good hand
skills that I pretty much have to have a downward hit right at their
feet before I will try it just because they will burn us with their
return if I smack at them prematurely.
So what I am saying is vary your play according to
your opponents . Don't just play the same all the time. Observe what
works against certain players and keep that in your head as you play
them. Tim Nelson told me to observe how a new person plays in the first
point or so and then try and lump them into a category of other players
that you have seen in the past and then start playing against them as
you would the players you have lumped them into. Then adjust as each
point plays out.
Another thing Tim taught me is to praise highly your
opponent that makes the hero shot. The shot that they got lucky hitting
the winner against you. This will encourage them to keep hitting the
stupid hero shots that they will miss a great majority of the time. They
will miss three out of four shots, but will only remember the one shot
that went in and everyone gasped what a great shot.
Now for some court etiquette.
Don't leave your bag on the benches. These are for people, not bags.
Please throw your paper cups in the trash can.
Don't argue line calls your opponents make. It is their call, not yours.
Don't
make line calls while sitting on the bench, even if asked. I can tell
you that 40% of the time when I am sitting on a bench with another
player, we disagree on whether a ball was in or out. Players sitting on
the bench have NO better idea if a ball is in or not and it is against
the rules to consult the bench players.
Don't fight with the court next to you when their
ball comes onto your court and they want THAT ball back, not the one
that YOU have been playing with. Most 4.5 and 5.0 players want to
continue their game with the ball they started with. They get used to
the feel of that ball and they know it is not cracked or lopsided.
Please move quickly across other courts that have stopped play for
you to pass. No you don't have to run, but you are interrupting that
game and moving across like a snail is poor form.
thanks, jeff shank
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