Tennis View writer Karen Helf recently spent five days at the Rafael Nadal Sports Centre and Academy in Manacor, Spain. In Part-two of her six-part series, Karen shares the experience of her first tennis lesson which became a rewarding experience.

Part Two

Upon my arrival at the Nadal Sports Centre, two conflicting feelings dominated my mind. The first, extreme excitement while the other was doubtful trepidation. Let me explain the second. While I am a dedicated tennis fan, my tennis playing ability was at best “novice.”

Initially, I chose not to participate in tennis lessons because I felt I did not belong on these special courts. My emotional ego said, “you are going to be embarrassed, don’t do it” … but finally my rational mind won the battle fighting back with, “are you crazy? if you want to get better this is the best possible place to do that. Why would you deny yourself that opportunity?” So, I contacted the Nadal Sports Centre and asked if it was not too late to request tennis lessons. With short notice, they accommodated me.

Lesson 1-A - A near miss

There are facts to back up my lack of confidence. Although I am probably top-50 in the rankings for watching tennis, my tennis playing CV goes something like this - I spent one season on a middle school team. I was not very good and did not receive much instruction. More importantly, I did not work hard so I quit the next year and took up gymnastics. THE END

I rediscovered a love for the sport and took up recreational tennis about age 40. I played on weekends and after work from time to time. I am now 52-years old and had not hit a tennis ball in at least 9 months. In 2016, I had a back injury that kept me off the courts and out of the gym for far too long. And, even after feeling better, I allowed the back injury to be an excuse to postpone gym visits. Where I live, I can walk to my gym in five minutes but I managed to avoid that journey for months. As a result, I knew I was also out of shape. As I walked to the court, I was filled with regret about that reality.

Enter Tomas

Given the state of my game, I thought my instructor Tomas would think that I was a waste of his time… a vacationer from the United States, not a serious tennis player and someone who would not be around long enough to make any significant improvement. So why bother? But, nothing could have been further from the truth. Tomas had the right mentality but I was yet to join him.

As 11 AM approached, I walked to the court to meet Tomas and another instructor on the adjacent court who was working with a young boy. Within a few minutes, my fears were almost validated. I immediately hit a few sky balls into the next court. I could feel a wave of frustration starting.

The instructor on the next court quickly responded, “Hey do you need two courts?” My mental collapse now imminent. However, his next few words released the pressure, “don’t worry I have insurance.” I laughed hard, probably smiled, and realized I was ok but also subtly asked myself to produce something better. I am betting Tomas read the stress on my face that turned to laughter. The door opened to begin the work. I was in a better mental state. Humor, an amazing tool.

Bottom to Top - Start with the Feet

We hit a few more balls then Tomas stopped me to explain a few things. I stress a few because change doesn’t happen overnight and trying to focus on more than a few things means you generally do nothing well. This is a realization that became clearer in reflection days after I left the Nadal Sports Centre. More on that next week.

Tomas immediately pointed out that I was taking giant steps to get to the ball and that small steps were the key. The giant steps would never allow me to be in the proper body position to make a solid shot on the ball. He not only explained what I was doing wrong but he mimicked my movement so I could visualize how I looked. For me, having both a verbal and visual cue as well as an explanation of why I needed to change made all the difference. My mental message was now, small steps, small steps, small steps. Improvement was now achievable as I was thinking, “surely, I can do that.”

I stress starting with the feet because I have taken a few lessons in the past. I recall, my former teachers focused first on the swing, the arm movement. While it helped somewhat, the result was less impactful.

I learned much more on that first day about technique but I will leave you with what I believe are the more important points.

If you want to achieve anything, change your attitude towards yourself. Negative messages will rob you of any chance at success. Start with the foundation. Movement is the foundation of tennis and the swing follows. So, fix first things first. You must trust and allow the right people into your head. Tomas quickly established a rapport with me so that I felt comfortable to trust him knowing that he was on my side and sincerely wanted to help. Even when you have the right people supporting you, you must do the work. I ran down balls for two hours that first day. Tomas would remind me the next day that each basket contained about 100 balls. I recall, we emptied it 4-5 times. He validated that I had worked hard saying, you did a lot. I felt good…really good.

I ended my first lesson feeling energized and motivated. I went straight to the reception desk to see if I could add another day of lessons. As I tell stories to friends, my affectionate moniker for my instructor is Saint Tomas. What a difference two hours made. Thank you!

In part-three of her series, Karen discusses putting in the work, technical details, and practicing with the right intention. Also, how achieving results lights the fire to keep working like a train building steam.