The Four T’s
Most tennis teachers focus on two things — technique, and tactics. Carl adds two additional elements to his approach to teaching, leading to what he calls the ‘four T’s’ — technique, tactics, timing and (joke alert!) (a)ttention.
Technique
You’ve got to know how to hold the racket, how to prepare and execute the swing, and how to move. A lot of that comes naturally, especially if you’re gifted athletically. But everyone needs help.
Tactics
Tennis has fairly been called ‘chess in motion.’ Success depends on more than technique, also on more than how well you focus and compete. There’s also your use of strategy and how you work with the geometry of the court. As a person who’s been studying tennis for over six decades, Carl is more than qualified to help better understand this aspect of the game.
Timing
If you don’t time your shot well, it doesn’t matter how good your technique is. Carl’s unconventional approach helps students get their timing down fast. Something unexpected often follows. Once a student has good timing, correct technique often follows quickly because the body has a natural intelligence that knows what to do with modest adjustments and delicate guidance.
Another benefit of focusing on timing: It takes us away from overthinking, which is often the result when people focus primarily on mechanics.
(A)ttention
The mental aspect of the game is huge. If you’re focusing on the shot you just missed or made, you’re living in the past and will have trouble focusing on the shot that awaits you in the here-and-now. If you get an easy putaway and dreams of glory open up before you, you’re living in the future and, well, ditto. You succeed at tennis, or not, based on what you pay attention to.
A Window Into the Soul
Do you try to control the ball too much? Do you overhit because you believe that’s how you’ll impress people? Tennis is a yellow brick road that can take you beyond your limitations. It’s an
insight engine that can help you understand yourself better and become a happier, healthier person — and the same principle holds true in reverse. The more self-awareness you bring to
the court, the better you’ll play.
Tennis as a Secular Martial Art
You succeed at tennis based not only on what you do, but on who you are and on what you pay attention to. People work on who they are in a dojo — and they can do it on a tennis court, too.
Carl takes a ‘whole-person’ approach to helping you get better.
Why ‘Flow State Tennis?’
The term ‘flow,’ which was first coined in 1990 by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is the term that’s emerged for a special peak-performance state of mind that’s got its own unique
neurochemical attributes. Flow is an altered state — it’s when we feel most focused and alive.
Carl’s approach provides an accelerated pathway for getting into full flow, again and again and again.