By Vic Braden

Under stress, your brain likes to reproduce the stroke you have been using, even though that stroke has caused you to lose a ton of matches. Teaching pros have watched this phenomenon for decades. Their students start to make some amazing gains in the lesson and then revert back to the old, and losing, strokes the minute they start to play a match. It's almost as though one doesn't really want to make a change. Let's take a good look at how your brain learns a new motor skill and is able to repeat the desired stroke under stress.

Your brain sends very specific electrical messages to your muscles to effect a particular tennis stroke. That signal is very complicated, even though the stroke may seem very simple. This complex signal is something your brain does not like to give up. Remember, there is no such thing as "muscle memory", so your task is to change the motor program, or electrical signal that originates in your brain. For nearly everyone, this is a much slower process than most people would like to admit.

The first step in achieving a new stroke is to gain intelligent information. For example, if someone is telling you to roll your racket over the top of the ball for topspin, then you're in big trouble because no human has ever been able to achieve this. The ball leaves the strings in approximately four milliseconds and has left the strings before any "roll over" can be effected. But let's say you believe that one can roll the racket face over the top of the ball, you are now attempting to violate physical laws and are doomed for failure. It doesn't matter how many hours, days and months you put in on the court.

The second step is to have your coach, or ball machine, hit you very slow balls from a close distance. You will swing very slowly while simulating your old and new strokes. What you are seeking is a clear understanding, and feeling, of the differences between the old and new swing. You may swing so slowly that you only hit a ball six or seven feet. Once you understand the true task, back up a little and speed up your shot a very small amount. Keep doing this until you are at the baseline hitting some normal tennis shots.

In step three, you will find that the new feeling can be quickly lost and you must try to regain it. The bottom line is that, if you are really trying hard to generate the new stroke, you will get the new feeling, lose it, regain it, lose it and regain it over and over again.

It can be very frustrating. This phase is often termed the "temporary learning period". In step four, you will begin to see that, after you lose the desired stroke and feeling, you will begin to shorten the time it takes to regain the correct feeling. This usually happens in the second, or third, week for many students. This is called, "shortening the retrieval time".

In step five, you will find that you can use your new stroke most of the time under stress. You are now coming closer to a "permanent" learning phase. For most people who have honestly worked hard to effect a new stroke, this often takes about eight weeks. That's why it's normally more effective to work on changing strokes in between league schedules and during dead parts of your tennis year. We did not find that it was how many times you practiced each week, but it was how you worked to change the electrical signal from your brain. For example, students simulating the proper stroke in their living rooms four days a week, while playing only one day, made almost the same gains as those who practiced four days on a court. In the end, you can tell if you have changed your electrical signal when you can produce your new stroke most of the time , while playing under stress.

The bottom line is to be patient, to practice intelligently, to monitor your "retrieval time" and to understand that a tennis pro cannot give you a new and reliable stroke in a single lesson or two. It's more of a matter of treating your brain with great respect. Sometimes that means suffering some discomfort in your journey to effect meaningful changes. It's interesting to note that if you get your average up just one more effective shot on each point, you will often beat over 50% of the people who now beat you.

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Mr. Braden has been bringing his unique knowledge and expertise to thousands of students each year through his renowned "Tennis College." He is a licensed psychologist who combines his years of scientific analysis of the game, including physics, physiology and of course psychology, with his great enthusiasm and legendary people skills to create an unforgettable learning experience. His teachings are designed for every level of player. "As a sports researcher," Mr. Braden said, "I've always been interested in trying to help the average player maximize enjoyment and performance in the shortest possible time."

Mr. Braden is delighted to be in a relationship with the California Tennis Network and to show his enthusiasm he will be offering all CTN members a 10% discount to any of his "Tennis Colleges."