Basic Tactics for Success

Basic Tactics for Success: Simple tactics to help players develop a gameplan against their opponents by using the 4 Card System.

 We use the 4 Card System to help our players begin to create a strategy against their opponents. The 4 Cards give our players the opportunity to see potential weaknesses in their opponent by looking at the 4 different categories of 1. Technical 2. Physical 3. Emotional 4. Mental. These 4 categories or Cards are broken down into subcategories that can make creating a strategy fun and it becomes a game inside the game giving our players more focus and purpose.

 1.    Technical – a. Strokes b. Footwork

2.    Physical – a. Body Type b. Conditioning

3.    Emotional – a. Mad b. Sad

4.    Mental – a. Focus b. Discipline

 If I can look at my opponent from these 4 categories, I can start to prioritize tactics to help me get going in my match. Let’s say I didn’t know my opponent before the match, but during our warm-up, I noticed they had a significantly weaker backhand, but they have fast feet. I would set my sights on trying to get their Technical Card first by attacking their backhand to see if I could start getting some errors from that side. If I can get them missing a few backhands and they start to get frustrated, I am now getting to their Emotional Card as well. Having 2 or more cards from your opponent will start to give you a strong momentum swing in your favor if you can keep working the strategy!

 Another example might be, I know my opponent has a big serve and groundstrokes but is not as quick and isn’t in great shape. I will start by trying to get to their Physical Card by running them and taking gas out of their gas tank. As I get to their Physical Card, their legs get tired and now they are start missing their big serve! Now I have their Technical Card! They get sad because they realize they don’t have the gas they need to keep up and now I have their Emotional Card! They are emotional and have lost focus on competing and so I have their Mental Card too. As you can see, the domino effect of going after the right Card can give our players a huge advantage in their matches. And it can be fun to think about how many Cards can I take from opponent in the match!