Lessons typically have two kinds of learning – technical and integration, and they’re followed by habituation, which occurs over the next few months.
Technical learning aims to unlock new insights for the first time. For example, a new way to hold the racket might help you control the ball better, or a new way to rotate your trunk might give you more power for free.
Once that “aha” moment hits for you, you’re far from finished. The next step is integrating that into your tennis game. First into full strokes, then into rallies, and ultimately into competitive points.
The third step, habituation, isn’t done on the lesson court, but rather on the practice court. Over the next month or two, the new insight slowly becomes habitual, and eventually it happens as you play without you having to think about it anymore.
The 2-Coach Format
Alexa and I run two-court lessons with two students, one student each. On my court, you work on the technical side, and on her court, the integration side. For example, with me, you might be doing a kinesthetic drill – something like a hand-toss, slow feed, or shadow work drill in order to unlock new sensations for the first time. On Alexa’s court, you attempt to integrate that new idea into something more complex. Maybe rallying, a hitting pattern, a live-ball return, or a competitive point.
Over the course of the lesson, you iterate between courts. You uncover new insights, test them out, and then report on how it went. We revisit, re-explain, give you new or different ways to feel them. Very often, over the course of a lesson with us, you’ll hit at least one of the best shots of your life, and this format is designed so you leave with a clear idea of how to habituate that feeling over the course of your next few months of practice.
There will be one other student training at the same time, on the opposite court as you are. You’ll probably get along, since FTT students are all super nice people, but your lesson is mostly separate from theirs. (Some of you will already know each other from the SF trip!) If you’re of a similar level, we might have you rally or play points with them occasionally, so we can see the new concepts in action. Mostly, you’ll be training and rallying with Alexa and me, rotating opposite the other student who’s there at the same time.