Coaches
Corner
Thoughts from
Allen Fox - Strategy
The essence of successful strategy is to use
a plan that gives you an advantage against your opponent. You do not
have to be better than your opponent at everything in order to beat
him or her. In fact, you can be worse at everything except one thing
and still win, as long as you take advantage of that one thing. In
strategic planning you ask yourself, “What do I do better than my
opponent does?” The answer usually originates from a gross
assessment of your own and your opposition’s strengths and
weaknesses. Your object is to use your strengths and exploit your
opponent’s weaknesses, while hiding and protecting your own
weaknesses. Using this information can formulate a match where you
have an advantage. Then you try to structure as many points as
possible to use this edge.
Obvious examples abound. If your backhand is
better than your opponent’s, try to get into backhand cross-court
rallies. (Don’t let your opponent get into forehand rallies where
his/her forehand may be better than yours). If your volley is better
than your opponent’s backhand passing shot, continually go to the
net on his/her backhand. (Don’t let him/her keep you on the baseline
where he/she can pit superior ground strokes against your). If your
forehand is better than your opponent’s backhand but his/her
backhand is better then yours, run around your backhand whenever
possible and hit your forehand to your opponent’s backhand. And so
on.
Once you discover an advantageous strategy,
use to over and over. Throw in occasional change-ups to keep your
opponent guessing, but always return to your basic strategy,
particularly on the important points. Don’t worry about getting to
smart. Once you get a strategic advantage, the onus is on your
opponent to come up with a way to escape. If he/she cannot, they
will lose. You don’t have to do anything but persist.
Table of contents
|
