OK – this book I bought because I just liked the title so much – “Vic Braden's Laugh and Win at Doubles” by Vic Braden and Bill Bruns. Laugh and win at doubles? Ha!
But its a great book because it is 100% focused on doubles and that's pretty much all I play. “Laugh and Win” covers it all – partnership decisions, strategy, court positioning, teamwork, psychology, practice drills.
And you can tell from the writing, Vic has played and thought about doubles plenty. In a section on resolving partnership conflicts, he says:
For example, when terrible things are happening to a good player – you – on a day when you clearly are making most of the errors, you must somehow remain confident and not succumb to frustration, since a lot more shots are going to be coming your way as the other team attacks the weak link. Here's where you need not only internal fortitude and a better volley but also a partner's open support. You need a partner who starts taking more balls down the middle and assures you, “Don't worry, just keep playing hard; you'll get back on your game.” You want a partner who is strong enough to respond to your problem in a healthy way, not someone who snipes at you with barbs such as “God, can't you get one service return back?” or “That's about five overheads you've missed. I've got to start taking all of them.”
Geez, I hope I've never said anything like that to my partner!
So – “Laugh and Win at Doubles” – another book I've read multiple times and highly recommend!
© Kim Selzman 2009
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