Number of schemas ?
Wister asked 4 years ago
Hello,
Iām wondering how you approach your game schemas ?
# How many do you have ? I’m wondering if it could be nice to have way less in order to master them fully and be more clear about what the game plan is.
# When do you think it’s just a variation of the same schema or something fully different ? Like i feel backspin / side spin serve gets me a very different outcome when served to the middle than served to wide BH so i’m not sure if I should consider them separately. Same thing with a side spin serve versus full topspin serve, it’s not so different but i feel the return are often very different
For some context right now i do this :
- Backspin, no spin to middle : Forehand attack
- Backspin / no spin to short FH or wide BH : I usually push once then attack (because i’m usually not sure what kind of return i’ll get)
- Half long or long topspin to backhand : Backhand down the line
- Hook BS or TS to short FH : Still quite new for me, i push the BS and attack the TS
- Pendulum backspin side, pure side, side top to middle or short FH or short BH : Usually i try to pivot on them but the return can vary so much. I’m absolutely not clear if i should consider them separately or just improve my reaction to the type of return i get ? And maybe ditch some in order to be more clear
I know it’s a bit a confuse question and not very practical to explain over text, i hope i was clear nevertheless šĀ Thanks !
Tom Academy Coach answered 4 years ago
Hey Wister, ok so I’ve read through and I understand what you mean. The main thing I would say is try to keep things as simple as possible. Whenever I serve I try to prepare for what the noat likey return will be, but realistically there can be so many returns from your serve so you can never be 100% sure to set up and play a certain shot after you serve.
I would definitely reduce the amount of different serves you do,just in the begging and get really used to and confident with the type of returns that most often happen with each one. Then as you get very used to them you can gradually introduce more different serves or variations of spin or placement.
Also in your mind don’t feel you have to put things into exact plans or tactics, it’s good to have some structure in your mind when playing but if you over think this it can stop you making natural decisions. So just focus on keeping things simple and using the serves which you find most often set up your strengths š
Anything else on this topic just reply to me below, I hope that’s helpful!
WisterHello, thanks for your answer š So you think i’ll progress more with les schema ? In a way i feel i don’t have a lot lot of schema so even if I agree, i’m also surprised. Right now i play around 1500/1600 and i’m aiming to play around 2000 and i feel i currently mainly need to improve my efficiency at getting points as my technical fundation is OK (for my level !)
You think it’s better to just master 3 schema ? Like no spin / backspin to middle, pendulum backspin / pure side to middle and one long topspin to backhand. And forget the other placement and serve.
I understand i can stay flexible and don’t need to play like a robot š Just to know if it can be a good idea to be very clear with 80% of my points, and just do some variation here and there
Hey Winster, sorry I missed this reply so I was a bit slow getting back to you! I think to begin with it’s good to not have too many things going on in your game and tactics that you do. Keeping things simple is really effective for improving. I believe you can keep adding more tactics and parts to your game plan as you become comfortable with the returns you usually get from players.
I think having 5 or so is fine and then as you say you can still add variation and try to be clear in your head for the majority of the time. Everyone is different and can handle things in different ways in their head, so you might find you can add different serve variations and placements quite quickly and still be comfortable with them all š
Thanks for your answer, i will try that š
