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More Tennis

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• Local tennis: Marco's Embree wins two consolation matches at USTA Girls 18s National Championship

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It is always interesting to me to ask a few questions of my students during the wrap up time at the end of a group lesson or team practice.

I generally choose an area of tactical importance around which I structure my clinic on any particular day.

From that loose structure, as the drill session unfolds, players make errors, both tactical and technical. Those errors present teaching moments, brief windows of opportunity in which to illuminate key ideas to sharpen the groups understanding of the game or a technical fine point that if understood can boost a player to the next level.

The typical team practice involves six or maybe eight players of the same general level. When I ask a question to the group and then solicit answers, it is not at all uncommon to get three or four different answers to the same question.

This never surprises me because everyone learns in different ways and at different speeds.

If you are in a group lesson be sure to ask about the purpose of the drill if it isn’t entirely clear to you what the goal is. What are the real keys to employing this particular tactic successfully? How is this relevant to winning the point?

Be a good listener during those illuminating moments and be sure you understand the point being made. If you aren’t clear about a particular idea, you can bet there are others in the group that need clarification as well.

Don’t be shy, pin your teacher down and make them earn their stripes!

The more clearly you understand the lesson being presented the more capable you will be of applying that concept successfully in the heat of battle.

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Howie Burnett is a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association and tennis director at the Island Country Club on Marco Island. Burnett welcomes questions on strokes, tactics or etiquette. To reach him, call the tennis shop at 394-4464 or e-mail him at islandclubtennis@hotmail.com.