Practice makes perfect(or at least better)

I have been taking lessons over the summer as many of my friends know. How does one choose a teacher.I think it is a personal choice to some extent and also a matter of budget for others. I know some very good players who are terrible teachers and vice versa. I tried to become certified(no not crazy)by AMPRO and that did not go so well so maybe I am not the best to judge. Compatibility and personality type I do believe will help you focus. I personally wanted someone who I knew would be a little hard on me and I found that person. If you are not willing to do what a coach is telling you to do obviously you are wasting your money.Any coach in any sport is going to make you train or in our case drill. For many people drilling is boring because it is monotonous but I always had my music to keep me company during the drills. I was drilling about an hour a week before i started my lessons and felt I was doing good for myself,little did I know. My first error in drilling was not drilling with 100% intensity.That means I need to hit every shot as if I was going for a winner. Secondly 1 hour was four hours short of what I should have been doing. The killer of it all was no more music while drilling. This was by far the hardest thing for me to do but as I said you are wasting your money if you are not going to listen so i regrettably obeyed. My teacher was right he said how do you know the pop,and feel the ball.How can you truly concentrate on the task at hand. I have to tell you I tried it the other day with the music and I felt like it was a distraction but I was told someday I can return to it when everything comes natural.You must learn from each shot you take while drilling and truly understand your mistakes or you are cheating yourself.So that is the mental aspect,relatively speaking.Now for the physical side. For a person who really doesn't drill They do not understand the punishment your body takes from heavy drilling. As the movie title says somethings gotta give it is true. If I am proud of myself for one thing it is not really missing any drilling sessions because of fatigue or even some days muscle aches. Once I get in there smacking that ball around I always feel energized. I believe that one of the great aspects of this game is that it is multi-faceted there is the physical with the psychological always lurking behind you. There is something to be said when that door closes behind you and your opponent ,almost a cage match mentality.A glass back wall for all to see your glory or crash and burn and a viewing area high above reminiscent of the Romans cheering on their gladiators. That is the true time to see if all of your hard work has paid off or if you should ask if your accountant if you can write your lessons off as a "loss" Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"