You're starting to take those lessons and are beginning to feel a little better about your game and then what do you do? You go play a match and revert right back to where you were before you started taking lessons. Sound familiar? Then, you're asking yourself, and your pro, how this could be? My answer? : How much time have you spent practicing the things you work on at your lesson on your own? I don't mean playing sets with your friends but how much time do you practice?

Practice what you are learning!
A couple of weeks ago, I was giving a private lesson to one of the local girls that is a part of my Saturday academy. Her mother and her mother's best friend (who shall remain nameless) rented the other court to play tennis. They both also take private lessons and participate in a weekly group drill. Normally, people hit all of 10 balls and no serves and just start competing. These ladies of different abilities went out there with a purpose and that was to practice the things they'd been learning from their lessons! Forehands, backhands, volleys, overheads, serves, return of serves, EVERYTHING except playing points. What I saw pleased me to no end. When the little one asked me who I thought was winning, I said, "they both are"!

Forego Competition in Favor of Practice
Practice makes perfect, or so the old saying goes. The ladies mentioned above have made exceptional progress in their respective games by their willingness to forego competition in favor of practice. You see, competition actually hurts your progress. Yes, you read it right. When you are competing, you are trying to win a match and you won't even try to do the things you're working on with your pro, am I right? But when you're practicing, your only concern is to work on all of your game, which is why practicing is always more beneficial then competing. By practicing what you work on with your pro, you will learn the stroke faster then if you didn't practice. This allows your pro to add new things to your game without having to repeat the same stroke or strategy over and over again. Then, you can use your new skills in the competitive arena without hesitation and you won't believe the results! The ladies mentioned above still compete, but it's their practicing that makes them better and happier players!

Making Those Lessons Pay Off

Taking lessons from a pro is the best way to learn the game. There really is no substitute, but it's what you do outside of your lesson that really tells the story. So choose the right pro, choose the lessons that are right for you, practice what you're learning and you will make those lessons pay off! I guarantee it!

Phil Naessens is the Director of Tennis/Head Professional at the Corfu Holiday Palace Hotel and Casino in Corfu, Greece. For information regarding tennis holidays, group clinics and lessons while staying in Corfu or having Phil come to your club, he can be reached at Alphitennis@hotmail.com or by calling +30 693 644 4218.