Effective Practice Structure
Avoiding Aimlessness
In a previous article, I outlined what I believe to be the qualities of effective practice activities. This piece will focus instead on a more macro level; how to incorporate these activities in an effective practice.
Session planning begins with three questions:
WHAT are we improving?
The answer to this question provides the goal of the practice, or the problem that the practice intends to solve. Coaches must keep all activities focused around this theme, to avoid their practices becoming strings of unrelated games and drills.
In situation training, the WHAT is always a specific situation that the player will encounter in competitive play.
HOW will we improve it?
This question could also be rephrased as;
"What tools (tactics or techniques) are we giving the player to help them 'solve' the problem/situation?"
Tools may be player-generated, as the solutions players come up with are more likely to be retained and implemented, or provided by the coach.
HOW will we know if the player improved?
Even among experienced coaches, I believe this question to be the least explored. Generally, coaches and players rely on subjective feedback; however, effective practices incorporate objective feedback (e.g. tracking vs. standards) as well. An overview of potential feedback-gathering methods can be found below:
Application
Together, these questions form a cycle of Identification > Generation & Implementation > Evaluation; therefore, an effective practice follows these steps:
Introduce the problem/situation.
Allow the player to generate a solution (if possible).
Provide the player with a "tool" (tactic/technique) to solve the situation.
Allow the player to attempt to implement the tool in progressively-opening game states.
Evaluate whether the player was able to effectively implement the tool. The evaluation period can range from short to long term (e.g. the end of practice, or the next tournament).
What does this look like?
1. Identifying/Introducing the Problem
The coach identifies a situation to be practiced. This can be one that the player(s) struggled with in open play (match, tournament), or a prescribed situation from the coach's player-development plan.
They then introduce the situation and its desired outcome to the player(s) using the following statement:
WHEN _____ (describe situation, incoming shot, or opponent positioning)
WE WANT TO _____ (describe intent using a “phase of play:” attack, defend, rally consistently)
BY _____ (the “how,” include one or more ball-control foci: Direction, Depth, Speed, Spin, Height, Time),*
SO THAT _____ (describe intended outcome).
TO DO THIS WE WILL _____ (technical focus, if applicable).
*The coach may not immediately give the player this “solution”, so as to allow them to generate their own.
Examples:
WHEN the ball comes deep WE WANT TO defend and neutralize BY hitting it back high and deep SO THAT the ball is out of our opponent’s strike zone, they can’t attack, and we have time to recover. TO DO THIS WE WILL use the reverse spin contact move.
WHEN we are hitting a first serve on the deuce side WE WANT TO attack BY directing the opponent off the court with a wide slice serve, SO THAT the ad side of the court is open for our next shot. TO DO THIS WE WILL learn how to hit the slice serve.
WHEN the ball comes short and to the middle WE WANT TO attack BY directing the ball deep to the corners, SO THAT our opponent must move to get the ball and we open the other side of the court for our next shot. TO DO THIS WE WILL use the front-foot hop contact move.
WHEN the ball comes short and our opponent is far back WE WANT TO attack BY taking speed off of the ball and placing it short with a dropshot, SO THAT the ball bounces twice, or our opponent must run forward to retrieve it, putting them in a defensive position. TO DO THIS WE WILL focus on having the ball peak on our side of the net.
WHEN the ball is hit crosscourt and deep WE WANT TO rally consistently BY directing the ball back deep and crosscourt, SO THAT we have a higher chance of making the shot, and the rally remains neutral. TO DO THIS WE WILL learn to use topspin to help control the ball.
2. Player Solution Generation
The coach allows the player to attempt to solve the problem in a situation-based activity. After allowing them to explore the situation, the coach then asks the players to provide feedback based on the information they gathered.
Example:
Situation: Opponent is attacking with direction from the baseline.
Statement: WHEN the opponent attacks by directing the ball away from us WE WANT TO defend BY…
Game: Players feed a short ball and then touch the sideline. The opponent attempts to hit an offensive shot by directing the ball to the opposite side. The point is played out.
After a round or two, the coach asks:
“What was the most effective direction to neutralize the opponent’s offensive shot?”
3. Coach Provides Solution
The coach provides a solution to the problem, or a goal for the situation. This is also where the coach may introduce a technical focus for the practice.
Example:
WHEN the opponent attacks by directing the ball away from us WE WANT TO defend BY directing the ball crosscourt and deep SO THAT we are taking an easier shot, we have more time to recover, and we are not giving the opponent a crosscourt shot that is away from us. TO DO THIS WE WILL learn to use the mogul contact move.
The coach demonstrates the mogul step contact move, and shows video of a high-level player implementing it in a match.
4. Closed Practice
The coach provides blocked repetitions of the skill.
Example:
The coach introduces the mogul step contact move using shadow steps and a medicine ball. They then feed wide balls to the player, progressing from hand feeds to racket, then to open play. The coach provides targets (in this case, deep and crosscourt) for the player, and tracks their results.
5. Med. Open Gamestate
The players replay the situation-simulation game, attempting to incorporate the new skill/tactic. Targets are utilized for feedback, and scoring systems may be adjusted to reward players for accomplishing the goal.
Example:
Players feed a short ball and then touch the sideline. The opponent attempts to hit an offensive shot by directing the ball to the opposite side, and the point is played out. If the feeding player hits their defensive shot deep and crosscourt to the target, they receive an extra point. The defensive player uses the mogul contact move on the wide ball.
6. Open Gamestate Evaluation
Players play live points as they would in a match. The players call out when they recognize the situation being practiced, and evaluate their performance between points. The coach looks to see if the player has implemented the new technique/tactic.
Example:
Players play matches, calling out CROSS if they should hit crosscourt, and LINE if they should hit down the line. After the point ends, the player reviews whether their decisions were effective.
7. Continuing Evaluation
The coach and player continue to monitor their performance of the situation practiced. During the next competition, the player and coach evaluate whether the player was able to effectively incorporate the tactics and techniques practiced.
This is an Excellent article! Clear, concise and easy to understand. Coach Morris is very knowledgeable and effect in his methods.