Hey Tennis Friends!
Knowing your, and your partner’s capabilities, is key to a successful team. For this 8.0 mixed doubles match, I was again teamed up with my new Tennis Friend, Elinor. Since she is a 3.5 player, “playing up” at the 4.0 level, I knew that I would need to cover a little more of the court, in order for her skills to be better utilized.
Communicating with your partner is very important. In the middle of today’s video, I have included a clip that is at the end of one of our changeovers. For over 30 seconds, in this clip, we are discussing is what is working, and what is not, and reinforcing those plans that are keeping us in the match.
Since you cannot hear what we are saying, it seems like an awfully long time, . . . and that is my point. You have the time between changeovers to talk things out with your partner, . . . so DO it!
Working together as a team, and talking about strategies both before, and during the match, enabled us to avoid the blowout that happened at our last match. The more that you play together, the more comfortable you should become with how your partner plays. It is this familiarity that will help to breed better results.
I’ll see you next time, with more tennis, . . . outside the lines!
– Marcus Tennis
Tags: 2010, Elinor Pond, Mixed Doubles, Southern California, Tennis, USTA League
Mark, way to go and keeping it fun! John T “Keep it together”