Preparing for the first tournament

The skill levels is this week.  How time flies.  I spent the summer vacationing and not training.  I had a great time with my family in France and then on a north west road trip with my boy.  Followed by an end of the summer weekend in southern California that included a nice Legoland trip for my son.  So this means I spent all of three weeks preparing for the tournament.  Culminating into my last lesson today before my first match Friday.  I learned something new from my new coach.  Dominique has been helping me on three things - watching, big correct steps, and slowing down.  Slowing down has been the most startling.  I never thought of slowing down to be better, but that's what it turns out I have to do.  When I watch well, I can slow down.  Consequently I get to the right position just in time to take a proper swing at the ball.  It is highly choreographed.  It is a dance in a way, but as I was practicing it in my lessons, I could feel the rhythm comes together and the motion becomes fluid.  The conditioning I need for this rhythm is also different.  It's not a sprint and stop.  It is a slower but sustained tempo.  The pool training with the swimming is a good measure of the rhythm I do on the court.  Tomorrow is my last day of training before the rest period.  I will do a pool training to cap it off.  Wish me luck!