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Welcome to the Atlanta Tennis Podcast.

Every episode is titled "It Starts with Tennis" and goes from there.

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Hey, hey, this is Shaun with the Atlanta Tennis Podcast,

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With that said, let's get started with 10 minutes of tennis.

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Today is 10 minutes of tennis with Justin Yeo,

world-renowned tennis coach Aussie in Puerto Rico.

Today, Justin, we are talking about technique versus tactics, not taxes.

And everybody just finished their taxes, technique versus tactics.

Different things, part of the five pillars, the five elements of tennis.

Very different things, but you seem to think that sometimes they might combine.

Where do you want to start? Do you want to start point out the differences

and then get to where they combine?

Are we jumping right in? What are we doing here, Justin?

Yeah, sure. Well, technique, when you're playing tennis,

you don't know how to think about technique.

So that's one thing we need to literally announce to everybody is

internal thinking versus external thinking.

I've been trying to help a lot of top players,

four or five players actually.

They're like, wow, I can spread that point in.

Man, I had the option. It was right there.

I just can't believe I wasn't moving my feet.

I'm like, suppose you're thinking stroke and you're thinking of an internal

versus thinking external and that is your tactics and where you're hidden to.

Well, yeah, I think that, but yeah, did you make that decision before the ball bounce?

No. Okay, so there's where you sprayed and took your upper ball.

I mean, you know, so that's sort of in a nutshell between tactics and tactics and then where they combine.

They also combine in a physical manner, because if you physically are in a great

position, it's always going to be hard to hit the right technique.

And then also how to hit the correct part of the court,

that tactically you have the option for.

So in a nutshell, I just pretty much summed that why this sport is so complex

and so hard to learn and so mentally frustrating for most people,

because they're like, "Slipp, I was going, you might put your feet in there."

Well, you didn't make the decision, but for the ball bounce, you know,

or you didn't see the vision in the court of where you were going.

So the last thing you saw was the person in the ball and you hit back to them.

So, yeah, there we go. Two minutes to tennis.

Thanks for coming. We'll get to you next week.

No.

Tech-meat tactics right there, you know.

But anyway, technique is separate.

Tactics are separate for the reason that they're just two different styles of thinking.

Internal thinking versus external thinking for players.

When they go back to the towel, or they walk off the court,

or they go into the, you know, take a toilet break and try to disappear,

they're trying to get their mind away from the internal thinking.

I was, this is bad.

I'm not even, well, I'm actually trying to say them blight words instead of you having a big

every word I'm not saying.

But that's all the internal stuff that you have to turn off,

but by the time the ball's live, that you address the court,

you're now thinking, "Right, there's my target.

This is what I'm going to do. These are the first two, three shots that are going to set up my

structure point now. I'm going to take over."

You know, and that's tactical thinking.

And to all your Americans out there listening, hopefully you got a lot of Americans listening.

You guys are the best at it.

You just don't understand that you are.

Okay. I've said this for a long time.

Every single sport in the United States that's constantly on TV is all tactically driven.

You know, your football is all here.

Basketball, they come off the time on.

All tactical driven.

Everything is tactical, happy.

Every single sport, baseball, right?

Baseball, they do all the signals and they do all the stats and they do all the data.

That's all tactical.

Everything in the surround you in sports is tactical.

So if you think tennis the same way, you'll be less internal and less technique minded while

in competition mode or playing mode.

So this is I think really phenomenal for the social player because the social player often goes out.

One of my favorite clients personally, God in Dave, right?

He said to me first off, he says, "Sean, do not fix my backhand.

As soon as you see it, you know it's terrible.

I'm not coming to you as a tennis coach to fix my backhand.

I want you to help me become a better tennis player.

I want you to work with what I already had."

I really appreciated that because what he understood is,

it doesn't matter how ugly that backhand is.

If he's tactically putting the ball where he needs to put it.

And he can get maybe we add some of those other pillars,

those other elements, get a little fitter,

which he did.

He went out and worked on his fitness.

And we'd start putting some of those things together and mentally realize

I can hit that ball over there.

It may not look good.

But if I'm focused on the tactics during the match,

we talk to sports psychologists about this.

When you're in the match, when you're there,

you can't be thinking about how to brush up the back of the ball.

You cannot be thinking about those things.

I'll appreciate the compliment and question.

Why do you think Americans are potentially better at it?

Is it simply because we watch so much tactical sport on television?

Yeah, I mean, look across.

Every, just about every major sport that you have is tact.

I mean, if you look at ESPN, see ES,

all of it for decades is a lot of it is to do in tact.

And it's obvious about the tact.

I mean, they share the handle.

And they share the handle.

And the basketball guy's got the big screen and he's showing them

what it'd be and what to do and where to go.

Right?

Then if you go into football, what's the guy looking at?

He's looking at anything.

Then he's waiting for the coach to give him a call.

And then it's all tactical.

Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum.

And then even the commentators then,

did you see that move?

He went this way, that way, that way.

And they did it.

Text for pull.

Right?

They didn't think about it.

They practiced those things.

Bum-bum-bum-bum.

They practiced the practice.

So intent is exactly the same thing.

Nowadays, more than ever,

because with all the camera and all the data

and everything that we know,

we know that Jockovich doesn't like to hide back in return.

Right?

So what do you think they're trying to do on a second serve?

Pick it way out there.

Give themselves an option on the first one.

They're not thinking for him.

They're not thinking serve.

They think of tactically what they've got to do.

So in the nutshell,

if you're three or five, four or five, five,

five or whatever you are,

try to remind yourself when you're in playing mode,

you should be thinking tactics, external thoughts.

And the technique time is off the baseline

to remind yourself,

"I need to be loose."

What does my coach told me?

Contact point in front.

Whatever it is.

Remind yourself off.

They come back on the baseline

and accept the tactical option.

But otherwise,

there it is.

So I need a huddle

before every point.

So you look at the...

[LAUGHTER]

You look like that.

The doubles team.

Well, look at the doubles, guys.

What do they do?

The girls, they do the same thing.

They go back to the baseline.

They talk, they cover their mouth.

Okay, wait a minute.

You're going to serve out wide.

I'm going to do that.

And they have a plan for every single point.

Now, I don't see that a lot at the amateur level.

At the higher amateur levels, yes.

But to be able to go back

in either way, just say,

"I mean, you know, get that serve in

and I'm going to whack the next one."

Whatever level of your tactic is.

Well, yeah.

The strategy is so important.

But in a singles match,

which we don't play a lot of socially.

Maybe it's 25%.

25% of tennis,

socially in Atlanta for the adults.

But does your kid,

does your junior player step back,

hit the towel,

and that's his own little personal huddle?

He's going to look at his arm

and have all of his plans and say,

"Okay, kick her out wide,

first ball for hand."

That's too specific.

But what do we look at?

What are we looking at tactically overall?

Because what happened in the last point?

What needs to happen this point?

Can I come from the towel

and then have that little huddle with myself?

Is that an interesting add?

Let me get it.

The easiest huddle that you can do for any level,

professionally as well,

is you just remember the three dimensions,

forward and back up and down side to side.

And just keep remembering this thing.

Okay, last time I did this, this,

and this, they hurt themselves.

They made an error.

And I got the advantage.

And then every time you do that,

you're like, "So I'll use Raphael Madal."

He knows the way to be fed,

or is he has to have 85% to sit for the backhand?

Feder tries to get around it,

he tries to look at it even further wide, you know?

So you have to understand

that there is a tact you can once you find it,

you don't let go of it

until it doesn't work anymore.

You know?

And there is, you know,

I've had a big conversation recently

about the bear inside,

and that there's two types of bears,

and that's the smile bear, and that you go there.

And that you go bear tends to

want to take on the guy, or take on this strength, right?

This is the smile bear says,

"All right, I did this little loop before,

and it looked like crap,

but I won the point."

So I'm going to do it again,

'cause I want to win, you know?

That's what you're like in between these two bears,

go, "Yeah, I want to,

I want to, no,

they just do what it takes to win."

You know, once you're in the match,

figure out how to win,

figure it backhand later.

Justin, you know, these techniques definitely combine,

but they definitely set it pretty well.

Definitely combined, but definitely separate.

That's very helpful.

Thank you.

Justin, you know, this has been 10 minutes of tennis.

Thank you so much.

We'll see you next week.

Cheers, buddy.

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