Evening star., 1926-06-11

The only result is that tney pecoHle
extremely tired. They leave the court
worn out and winded, yet often look
ing still for another set, which would
ONLY tend to increase their fatigue
and further fasten their poor tech
nique. That is what they call prac-
tice. Needless to say, such methouS
will leave them hopelessly mediocre.
Quality of Practice Counts.
II is not the amount of time spent
in practicing that counts. 1t IS the
quality of practice that is OF value ana
the manner in which it is carried out.
Suzanne, perhaps. spends less time
1han any other player of her rank
on practice. but she makes every
minute count. a half hour every
other day, occasionally daily, SUI
fees to keep her III excellent form
Nevertheless, no matter how long
the match, or how hard she may be
pushed by her opponent. she always
energies the less tired of the two.
The reason for this is extremely
simple. 1t is that l have always con-
sidered the ordinary physical training
as important and as Indispensable as
the tennis practice. That accounts
for the fact that Suzanne often, after
a hari-fought set, will come and chat
tagged and winded. can barely drag
herself to the dressing room. Suzanne
has been taught to train and harden
herself by regular physical exercises.
This branch of training. which no
one should forget, is more important
than the technical part. Strange to
say. however, it is the part that is
almost always left out. l maintain
that it is impossible TO acquire what
wit hny h q
help of these exercises. More than
that, it is thanks to them that form
once acquired, is retained. These
exercises are scientific and should
be carried out in methodical manner.
Every sport requires a special kind
of physical training and the choice
Of physical exercises for the tennis
player should not be a haphazard one.
Suzanne's physical training was pre-
scribed by our good friend Col. Mayes,
who has written an interesting little
volume on this subject. She has
followed his system religiously. 1t
consists of a series Of exercises selected
especially for tennis players Col.
Mayes is himself a player of no mean
ability which are performed stimuli
taneously with a series of breathing
exercises. The lungs are filled to
capacity and all the breathing is done
through the nose.
Exercises Every Day.
directed Suzanne to follow these
exercises. morning and evening, in
the open air when possible, or before
a wide-open window. The time spent
was between Is and 20 minutes. To-
day Suzanne does these exercises auto
matically, and thinks no more of
them than she does Of brushing her
teeth. l have always attached much
Importance to these exercises and 1
earnestly recommend them to players
who are desirouS of making progress.
Bathing exercises especially, are
seldom regarded with sufficient seri-
BUSINESS. I insist that they are of the
utmost benefit in developing and pre-
serving q good wind. Col Mayes'
exercises are of great benefit even
TO those who do not indulge in sports.
They are excellent for reducing the
weight (as Suzanne can testify and
Will contribute toward the develop
nent of the muscles.
Jumping the rope constituted an
important part of Suzanne's training.
1t is excellent for the muscles of the
arms and legs as well as for the
wind. 1t is especially good for in
areasing the speed. After about
fifteen days of this exercies a player
will find that he starts for the ball
with much more ease and that
there is less natural inertia TO over
come. The amount of jumping should
he progressive, but very moderate
the first few days.
With Suzanne, I used to count the
number of jumps she could make each
day before getting out Of breath, try
ing each succeeding day to do lit
tie better than the day before. At the
slightest sign of fatigue. however, I
made her stop. Thus I was able to