High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR37/PTCSHARE.ZIP/COACH.TXT

Text File | 1993-08-04 | 23KB | 505 lines

Welcome to the
Personal Tennis Coach

     Thank you for purchasing the Personal Tennis Coach.  As an
avid tennis player, I'm sure that you are always looking for ways
to improve your game.  By tapping into the power of the personal
computer, it is our hope that this program will help you to
strengthen your game and add to your tennis enjoyment.

     The Personal Tennis Coach is based on the universal rule
that success in any endeavor comes only from a consistent and
dedicated effort toward a goal.  Improving your tennis game is no
exception.

     The PTC provides your game with the advantages offered by
your own tennis coach.  It  will keep a record of all your
matches and practice sessions, analyze your strokes, keep a
library of stroke tips and practice drills, keep you organized.
With this information you will be able to more effectively plan
your practices and match strategies  If you commit to using  the
PTC it won't be long before you see improvement in your game.

     Years ago when I first started playing I was told to
"practice, practice, practice."  Well, I was young and
impressionable and the advice seemed sound, so I followed it. And
yes, after a few years I did indeed become a very good player.
Yet looking back, I see that a key ingredient was missing.  An
ingredient so important that it meant the difference between
becoming just a good player or reaching your full tennis playing
potential.

     Today I would reword that advice to be "practice, analyze,
focus, practice."  Your game's development depends on more than
just time spent on the courts.  While there really is no
substitute for hitting the ball, it's only half the picture.
Even with all these new powerful rackets and big hitting players,
tennis is still a thinking person's game.  Many players are great
ralliers on the practice court, yet losers on the Match court.
Until you fully understand your game, you won't be able to use it
most effectively.

     We all know players who spend a great deal of time playing
and practicing tennis.  And yet many of these same players have
the same game that they've had year after year after year and the
same old flaws and bad habits.  Their games stopped growing
because they stopped thinking on court.  They either didn't know
what their weaknesses were, or if they did they didn't focus
their efforts to improve them.

     For example, you could take a basket of balls to the
practice court and hit 500 serves and actually be hurting your
game (not to mention your arm!).  What if you were ingraining a
bad habit?  Or what if your serve was OK but it was your volley
that needed work?  You've now spent time and effort in an area
that didn't need it, and no time and effort in an area that did
need it.  The bottom line after such a workout is that you
haven't improved your game.

     The road toward improvement begins with understanding your
own game's weaknesses and strengths.  Only then can you focus on
improvement and maximize the effectiveness of your time spent
practicing.

     Professionals have known this for years, so they hire full
time coaches to do the thinking and planning and focusing for
them.  These coaches study their player's game and then focus on
the player's weak areas to maximize their workouts and plan the
best match strategies.

     For those of us who can't afford that luxury there is The
Personal Tennis Coach.  Using this program your home computer can
analyze your game and helps focus you on the areas that need
improvement.  With your help it records vital statistics on each
playing session, such as notes on your playing strategy, your
opponent's game, and very importantly, your thoughts for your
next workout.  These will prove to be invaluable aids to building
your game from past experience and focusing on improvement.
Using the analysis from the PTC and its collection of stroke tips
and practice drills you can focus your attention on becoming a
better tennis player.  And I'm sure we all agree that playing
better also increases our enjoyment on the courts.


Installation

     The minimum system requirements for the program are a DOS
PC, XT, AT or higher system with a minimum 256k memory.  The
program will run on most monitors, however a color VGA is highly
recommended, and it may be run from either floppy disk or your
hard drive.

     Insert your Personal Tennis Coach diskette into your floppy
drive.  At the DOS prompt type 'install'.  This will install the
program either on your hard drive or a floppy.   Once installed
run the program by typing "coach".

     For windows users we have included an icon file,
"coach.ico".  Use this when adding the program to the Windows
desktop.

Using the PTC

     The program contains a series of popup menus that navigate
you through all its functions and utilities.  Each menu consists
of choices designated by a corresponding letter.  Simply press
the letter that represents the function you wish to use.  Here is
the Main Menu:

               Activities

          R       Record Notes
          B       Browse your Notes
          A       Analyze your Game
          T       Tips and Drills
          H       Hardcopy printout
          P       PhoneBook
          S       Scheduler
          Q       Exit Personal Coach

     After you choose an Activity, the ESCAPE Key usually return
you to the MAIN MENU.
     Pressing the F1 Key will usually bring up a help screen
related to the menu you are currently using.

Let's start with the Utilities..

The Phone Book

     One key advantage offered by a coach is organization.  While
a world traveling professional player certainly needs such help,
we could also benefit.  The PTC includes a phone book that will
keep track of your tennis buddies.  This is very helpful,
especially if you're like me and you keep phone numbers on strips
of paper in racket covers and tennis bags.  The program keeps
track of the last time you played and a running tab of your
win/loss records, an important fact when scheduling those rivalry
matches!  It also allows you to keep a small note about each
player.  You can make a note about their strengths and weakness,
rate their game, say from 1 to 10, or just about anything that
will help you when you are setting up some matches.

     Choose 'P' from the Main Menu to pull up the phone book.
Pressing the SPACE BAR or clicking your mouse will scroll through
the list.  To add a player, choose 'A' from the phone book Menu
or 'D' to delete one, or those with VGA systems, click on the Add
or Delete buttons.

     When you are finished, 'ESC' will return you to the Main
Menu.

The Scheduler

        Another organizational aid is the Match Scheduler.  This
utility reminds you of your upcoming tennis dates and helps you
plan new ones.  Choose  'S' from the Main Menu to start the
Scheduler.
          For those without a VGA monitor, a popup will appear
listing in sequence your upcoming tennis dates. If you have a VGA
monitor a full page calendar will appear.  To view your schedule
matches, use the mouse to click on a day or type the day you wish
to view.  Days with scheduled matches will show a small tennis
ball.  To change months click on the top arrows surrounding the
Title Bar or press the '+' or '-' from the keyboard.  Click on
the Schedule button to add a match or press 'S'.

     Choose 'A' from the Scheduler Menu or for VGA systems click
on the Schedule button to add matches.  The program will prompt
you for the player's name, date and time and location of the
match and any notes you may have, such as "Bring balls," "String
extra racket" or more importantly  "Owes me $10 from last time!".

     The Exit button or 'ESC' will return you to the Main Menu.

 Now for the good stuff:

Recording Your Play

    The chief job of a coach is to help you become the best
possible tennis player.  In order to accomplish this the coach
must be able to pinpoint weak areas and correct them during
practice sessions.  They must also understand your game's strong
points and build match strategies around them to help you win
matches.

     With your help the PTC keeps notes and ratings about your
game every time you play.  Using this program after you play
takes only about 5 minutes.

     Recording is divided into three different levels:

     The first level involves recording such information about
your play  such as whom you played, when, how long, the score,
and finally match and practice notes.

     The second level uses a rating system to measure your
progress in 24 different stroke areas of your game.  This
information shows which areas are improving and which need more
attention and more importantly helps you think about your game
and strategy in different dimensions.

     The third level involves actual stroke charting.  This
probably will not be used every time you take to the court, but
if you have someone sitting on the sidelines who can chart your
strokes while you play, this could be an important tool in
helping you eliminate errors from your game.

     Choose 'R' at the Main Menu to begin recording your game.

     This brings up the notepad.  The first entry in the notepad
is the date you played (mm/dd/yy).  This helps keep all your
notes in chronological order.   Next the PTC prompts you for the
basics, was it a Match/ Practice/ Lesson (M/P/L), how long did
you play (ex: 2.5 equals two and a half hours), opponent's name,
score (if a match), and whether you won or lost (W/L).

     Once these are completed, we come to the match and practice
notes.  Here is where you stop and think about your game.   This
is one of the most important elements of the Personal Tennis
Coach.  Saving your thoughts about your play will prove
invaluable later when you review your past performances.

     Use the Match notes to record the thoughts you have about
the match you've just played.  What strategy did you use, what
strategy did your opponent use?  Why did you win, or why did you
lose?  Answers to these questions give us the foundation for
improvement.  They not only give us a reference point to focus
on, but they stimulate the thought process that must be active
not only after the match is over, but during it when there is
time to change a losing outcome.

     For example did you play serve/volley?  Did he beat you at
the net? Did you attack his backhand?   Did he exploit your
backhand?

     If you ever play this person again, the PTC will give you a
printout of these notes so that you can plan a match strategy
based on your past performances and results.  Using them you will
know which strategies worked in the past and which ones didn't.
Learning from experience is still the best teacher.

     In the practice notes' area, list the strokes that need
improvement. For example, if you just played a match and your
backhand return was suspect, write it down so that the program
will remind you to work on it at your next workout.  The PTC will
give you a printout of these notes to take to your workouts so
that you can focus on these areas.  With these notes we know have
a much clearer understanding of where our game stands today and
what we will want to focus on at our next practice session to
help us reach our goal and improve our game.  Or if you take
lessons from a pro, these notes will help him to help your game.

     One quick note: The program tracks how you divide your time
on the courts between matches, practicing, and lessons.  If you
divide workouts between drilling and some sets, record separate
notes and ratings for each.

Stroke Ratings

         The biggest challenge of a tennis rating system is
giving number values to your game to measure improvement.  One
solution is to have someone at court side charting your play.
While this is a great tool and one that is offered by the PTC, it
however is not easy finding someone who will want to do that
every time.  Instead, to find our solution we turned to that
noted tennis player, Albert Einstein.  Using his theory of tennis
relativity, we come to a solution.

     Simply put, our goal is to play better tennis tomorrow than
we did yesterday.  So whatever rating system we use, all we need
is for it to reflect how we play compared with how we played
yesterday.  We need a way to recognize improvement, not so much a
way to measure exactly how much improvement there was.

     First the program divides your game into six basic strokes :

           Forehands
           Backhands
           Serve
           Service Returns
           Approach Shots
           Volleys

     Each stroke in turn is divided into 4 levels :

           Consistency
           Placement
           Spin
           Power

     Each stroke is rated by its performance in each of these 4
levels.  The rating scale we chose is one based on 1-10 scores
with 10 being the highest.  Using this easy system you rate your
strokes according to their performance that day compared to how
they were rated your previous time out.


     Start by rating your game as it stands today as a 4 or 5 or
6.  Our goal is to bring every area up to a 10, so the lower the
rating you start with, the more work you will have to put into
that area.  When you can consistently rate as a 9 or 10, you have
reached your current goal.  It is then time to set a new goal.
Again, start over by rating each part of your game at a 4 or 5 or
6. Keep repeating this cycle and before you know it your game
will have improved in many different dimensions.

     As another example, if you've just started playing tennis,
your first goal for your backhand may be the ability to hit a
consistent slice.  At this point in your development achieving
this would deserve a 10 rating.  Now your goal becomes a little
more advanced.  Again, once this level is reached you reset your
goals and start all over.  After a few successful cycles you will
be able to hit both slice and topspin.

     This method of consistently setting small goals and
achieving them will keep you motivated, improve your game, keep
your frustration to a minimum and raise your level of enjoyment.


     By evaluating your game in these 24 different areas after
you play will soon lead to evaluating them while you're on the
court.  And once you start thinking about different areas, you'll
soon start playing better.  You'll be varying spin on your shots,
mixing up your placement, changing the pace and tempo of rallies
- in short, you'll be controlling your matches!


Stroke Charting

     In addition our method of self evaluation and rating, the
PTC includes a stroke charting utility to be used when you have
the services of someone courtside to record your every stroke.

     To print a form for charting choose the Hardcopy function
from the Main Menu, then from the Hardcopy Menu choose 'F'.  This
form includes sections for recording both serving and returning
percentages, and individual stroke winners and unforced errors.
     The main focus of our Charting function is to focus on your
number of winners and unforced errors during a match.  Remember
that every unforced error gives your opponent an easy and
undeserved point.  With only four points needed to win a game and
six games to win a set, this is usually the weakest link in the
average players game.  But it is also one of the easiest to
correct!  The PTC will calculate and graph your winners and
losers to illustrate their importance.  If you find that you are
giving away two points for every winner, simply slow down!
Patience can also be a deadly  a weapon, just ask Bjorn Borg or
Michael Chang.

     This advice is just as crucial to your serving game.
Generally speaking, you can't win if you can't hold serve.  And
you can't hold serve if you don't get your first serve into play.
The PTC calculates and graphs your first serve percentage.  When
your first serve percentage is low, take off some speed!  This
takes the pressure off your second serve and puts it on your
opponent's return where it belongs.

     The same holds true for your service return.  By putting as
many balls into play as you can, you take pressure off your game
and give it back to your opponent. Let your opponent deal with
the pressure of holding serve.


Analyzing Your Game


     After recording a few playing sessions you'll be ready to
have the PTC analyze your game.  Choose Analyze from the main
menu.

     The PTC will first give you a spreadsheet-like breakdown of
your game using the self evaluation ratings.  Each column of
numbers details the ratings from each tennis session, arranged
chronologically broken down into the six strokes and the four
levels.

     At the far right is a column with calculated average ratings
for each of your strokes and each level.  These averages give a
good feel of how each area rated over the time period, targeting
the stroke and level which rated highest and which need the most
attention.

     Each column is also totaled to give overall points for each
playing period, a good way a measuring your Total Game.  While
this is a broad measurement, it clearly shows the trend your
progress is taking.

(Note: The spreadsheet only gives information on 12 different
sessions, always starting with the first and ending with the last
time played. For example, if you have 24 sessions recorded, the
analysis will show every other session, though the averages will
be calculated from all. This helps to consolidate your whole
history onto one screen.)

     To get a printout of this screen, use the Print Screen key
on your keyboard.  When you're finished reviewing the numbers
press the SPACE BAR to continue.  A time played breakdown now
appears showing you the time spent on court during the current
goal period, your Year To Date hours, and the total hours played
since using the PTC.  The bottom line analysis here is that it
takes time on the court to improve your game.  Press the SPACE
BAR to move on.


     The PTC will now take you through a series of graphs to help
illustrate various parts of your game.

     First is a bar graph of your Total Game ratings.  This shows
the direction your complete game has been taking.  Hopefully
you'll see a steady rise.  Press the SPACE BAR for the next
graph.

     This graph shows the progress of the individual strokes.
Using this you can easily see which stroke has shown the most
improvement and which still need some work.  Next is your total
game ratings.  This is a good visual to show if your game is on
course for improvement.

     Third is a pie graph representing how much of your goal has
been reached.  The primary goal of course is to bring each area
up to a 10 rating.

     Next the program displays a summary of your playing time.
This screen is composed of two graphs.  At the far right is a bar
graph representing the average number of hours played each week.
To the left is a pie graph showing the percentage of time devoted
to playing matches, practicing, and lessons.

     Finally the PTC graphs your progress using the Stroke
Charting data.  The upper half of the screen shows your
Serve/Returning percentages.  The serve percentage is for your
first serve.  If this is low, particularly if it is under 50%,
take some speed off your serve.  The same is true with your
Return percentage.  This number shows how many returns you
successfully put into play.  Remember, you can't win if you can't
get the ball over the net!

     After using the Personal Tennis Coach for a few weeks,
you'll clearly see what strokes need attention.  You'll also find
yourself thinking more on the court and planning a strategy based
upon your new understanding of your game.

     At this point the analyzer takes you to the Tips and Drills
database.  Here it offers a tip on the stroke that seems to need
the most attention according to your stroke ratings.

Tips and Drills

     This is the area of the program that will really make the
PTC your own personal coach.  Every one of us has our own
favorite tips that work to improve our strokes or favorite drills
to keep our game well oiled.  We've included some standard tips
with the program, but adding your own will make the PTC much
better suited for you, especially if you take lessons from a
local pro.  Tennis lessons are not cheap.  What good is a tip if
you forget it in a few weeks.  With the PTC you can easily add
the tips that help your game that you've picked up from lessons.
Later, if that stroke begins to give you trouble, the program
will remind you of that valuable tip.

        Looking for a tip is easy.  Pick Tips and Drills from the
Main Menu, then from  the Tip menu pick "Lookup."  The rest is
self explanatory.  Simply choose the stroke and level that you
would like to see a tip for.

             Adding tips is just as easy.  After choosing "Tips
and Drills" from the Main Menu and "Add" from the Tip Menu, pick
the stroke that the tip is for and the level.  Then simply type
in the tip.  This can be up to 200 characters long.

     Each tip is given a frequency number, which you may have
noticed if you've already looked one up.  This is a number
between 1 and 10 to tell the program how often you'd like to see
that tip.  Some tips are so good that you want to see them every
time. Give those a rating of 9 or 10.  Others help you
occasionally so give them a 2 or 3.  If you never want to see
that tip again, give it a 0. The higher the number the more often
it will appear.  After a while you'll get a feel for what number
is right for each tip.


     Using the Personal Tennis Coach will help you get the most
from this great game.  It isn't magic and won't take the place of
hard work and sweat, but then again nothing will.  But it will
help you organize and focus your game to

PLAY BETTER TENNIS!

           Well, that about covers everything.  We hope this
helps you enjoy the Game more and play better tennis (and win
more matches!).  We'd love to hear any comments or suggestions.



Most of all, Have fun on the courts!


                      The Personal Tennis Coach
                Copyright  1992 MSR Software Development
               P.O. Box 471918, San Francisco, CA 94147
                       ALL RIGHTS RESERVED