Hey tennis player, 2018 is here!
You must be thinking of setting New Year Resolutions right?
But do you know that studies showed that many people failed their resolutions very early?
If you have set some goals to become a better tennis player, I have 2 quick tips for you to stick to your goals:
#1 Break down your goals into smaller and achievable steps.
If you goal is big and requires time to achieve it, I suggest you break it down into smaller steps. Every small steps should allow you to get small wins and inch towards your big goals.
In this way, you are more likely to stay on track and focus towards your grand goal.
#2 Get an accountability partner.
If you have someone that you trust, get him or her to be your accountability partner. Avoid getting your spouse or best friend because they will let you off easily.
What you need to do is to tell your partner what you want to complete every week. Report to the person at the end of the week. He or she will hold you accountable for your promise. So make sure you do it!
Be A Better Tennis Player in 2018
There are many other powerful tips that can help you to achieve your grandest goals in 2018. I suggest you can read Michael Hyatt’s book, Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals. I’m sure you can abstract plenty of gems from this book.
In today’s blog, I am not going to talk about my goals for 2018. Rather I want to share my review of 2017, specifically what were the things that made me a better coach and player. I think by doing a review of what were useful, I can continue to do more of them in 2018.n
So let me share what were the 5 main things that made me a better tennis player and coach.
#1 Better health and fitnessn
In the middle of 2017, I signed up to join Ritual gym where they focus mainly on high intensity exercises. I like it because it’s short and I will feel a sense of accomplishment after the workout. But more importantly, I could see an improvement in my tennis game and coaching because I could move better and last longer.
So improving my fitness and health have definitely played an important role in making me a better player and coach.
#2 Investing In educationn
I’m a firm believer in continuous self-development. Last year, I spent thousands of dollars on my personal education. The money was spent on books, online courses, and coaches’ conferences.
Besides these paid materials, I consume podcast and online videos on a daily basis that are relevant to my personal development or tennis coaching.
I found that these resources have reaped tons of benefits for my coaching as I’m able to help my students better. You will never know when a nugget from these resources can spark a new idea and change your life.
#3 Coached more tennis students
I took on more coaching jobs in 2017 and have many more students. During the Singapore Tennis Festival, I have conducted 4 clinics for many tennis enthusiasts.
Through on-court coaching and interacting with the students (mostly adults), I was able to deep dive into their difficulties and challenges in tennis. It’s great to know their problems and think of solutions to help them. I always like to see their eyes brighten up when something worked for them.
Having more coaching meant having more court time. As a tennis coach, my feeding and ball control have significantly improved after feeding and rallying tons of balls with my students.
#4 Play more tournaments
What’s the best way to gain more experience as a tennis player? Play more tournament!
If you keep training without playing matches, you miss out a lot on the mental part of the game. The pressure to hold serve, close out the points and serve out the match are difficult to replicate during training.
You have to play real matches and play with different opponents to gain that kind of experience.
I was happy that I played in two tournaments last year. It’s not a lot but definitely more than my normal number. Moving forward, I would like to maintain this number of tournaments or even play one more.
#5 Launched Unleash Your Serve System Course
I launched Unleash Your Serve System course in the last quarter of 2017. The deep research and the preparation of the course have got me to really know more about the serve. When you are teaching a subject, you have to break it down into the simplest form so that the audience can digest and learn easily.
The serve course has received very good feedback and I plan to relaunch it again at the end of the first quarter. I’m very sure this cutting-edge tennis serve course is able to help tennis players serve more consistently and accurately and win more matches.
Alright, there you have it.
The 5 keys that made me a better tennis player and coach.
How about you?
What is the ONE thing that made you a better tennis player or coach in 2017?
Share with me in the comment box below.
I look forward to your sharing.