The Decision Making Course - Knowing Which Shot to Play, and When
The Decision Making Course - Knowing Which Shot to Play, and When
Most club players don't lose points because they lack the shots. They lose points because they play the wrong shot at the wrong moment.
Attacking a ball they should have neutralised. Slicing when they should have driven through. Going for a winner off a ball that demanded defence. The shots are there - the decisions aren't. And no amount of technical practice fixes a decision-making problem.
That's what our Decision Making course is built for. Over six lessons, it gives you a clear, simple system for knowing exactly which shot to play in any situation - so the game you already have starts winning you far more points.
Quick Summary
Decision Making · Six-lesson course · One-to-one with an LTA qualified coach · Winchmore Hill, Southgate and Enfield
Decision Making teaches you when to play each of your shots, built on two frameworks. First, DNA - reading whether a situation calls for a Defensive, Neutral or Attacking shot. Second, the shot families - topspin, flat and slice - chosen based on the trajectory of the incoming ball. Together these create a clear matrix of options, so you always know what to do. It's the natural partner to our Complete Shot Making course: that one gives you the shots, this one teaches you how to use them.
Two Questions, Answered Every Point
Every shot you play is really the answer to two questions. The course teaches you how to answer both, quickly and reliably.
1. Should I defend, neutralise or attack?
2. Which family of shot fits the ball coming at me - topspin, flat or slice?
Answer those two, and you've made the right decision. Get them wrong, and even a beautiful shot loses the point. Here's how we teach each one.
Part One - DNA: Defend, Neutralise or Attack
The first half of the course is our DNA framework - understanding whether any given moment calls for a Defensive, Neutral or Attacking shot.
This sounds simple, but it's where most players go wrong, because the right answer depends on a whole web of factors happening at once:
• Your relationship to the ball - where you are, where it is
• The characteristics of the incoming ball - pace, height, spin, depth
• The score line and the scenario
• Your setup and weight transfer
• Even your state of mind in that moment
The course pulls all of these together into a simple way of understanding what the right thing to do actually is - defend, neutralise or attack - at any given moment. Instead of being overwhelmed by all those factors, you learn to read them almost instantly and arrive at the right intention.
This is also where your own game comes into it. DNA decisions lean into your archetype - your own style of play and your belief about the kind of tennis you want to play. A player who likes to attack will read certain situations differently from a player who likes to grind, and that's fine. The course helps you build your own decision-making matrix around who you are as a player, rather than forcing one rigid model on everyone.
Part Two - The Shot Families: Topspin, Flat or Slice
The second half is about which family of shot to play - and this is where players often have a lightbulb moment.
We split every shot into three families based on the trajectory of the incoming ball:
• Topspin - for a falling ball
• Flat - for a level ball
• Slice - for a rising ball
Unlike the DNA decision, which flexes with your archetype and the scenario, the shot-family decision is much more set in stone. Match the family to the trajectory of the incoming ball, and you'll play the percentages correctly almost every time.
When players first learn this, they often describe it as a cheat code - because their consistency goes through the roof and their error count plummets. It's one of the most immediately transformative things we teach. Suddenly the wild misses stop, because you're no longer fighting the ball with the wrong shape - you're matching it.
We've written more about why trajectory sits at the heart of our coaching:
The 18-Option Matrix
Put the two halves together and something powerful emerges.
Within each shot family - topspin, flat, slice - you have a defensive, a neutral and an attacking version. Across the forehand and backhand, that gives you a complete grid:
• Nine forehand options (three families × defend/neutral/attack)
• Nine backhand options (the same)
Eighteen clear options to choose between at any moment.
That might sound like a lot, but the beauty of the system is that it makes decisions *simpler*, not harder. Instead of a vague "what do I do here?", you have a clear two-step read: what does the trajectory tell me about the family, and what does the situation tell me about defend, neutralise or attack? Two quick questions, one clear answer, eighteen well-defined options.
Built Around Your Archetype
A thread runs through the whole course: your own identity as a player.
The shot-family decisions are largely fixed - trajectory dictates them. But the DNA decisions are where your archetype and your beliefs about how tennis should be played genuinely shape your choices. Two players in the same situation might legitimately make different DNA decisions based on the kind of player they are - and the course helps you build a decision-making matrix that's authentically yours, rather than a one-size-fits-all rulebook.
This is what makes the course more than a set of rules. It's a system for making *your* game sharper, not for turning you into a generic player.
Not sure what your archetype is? Our guide to player archetypes will help you find it:
The Natural Partner to Complete Shot Making
Decision Making and Complete Shot Making are designed to work together.
Complete Shot Making gives you the shots - adding new weapons to your arsenal and sharpening the ones you have. Decision Making teaches you how and when to use them. There's little value in owning a beautiful new topspin shot if you don't know when to play it - and equally, good decision making is far more powerful when you have a full set of shots to decide between.
Do both, and you have a complete individual coaching journey: the tools, and the wisdom to use them.
How It Fits With Our Other Individual Coaching
Decision Making is one of our structured individual courses, delivered as a block of six lessons. Alongside it we offer:
• Complete Shot Making - a six-lesson technical course adding new shots to your game
• Serve Mastery - a focused four-week course dedicated to the serve
• Monthly direct debit individual lessons - ongoing weekly one-to-one coaching that naturally covers the ground of both the shot making and decision making courses over time
If you'd prefer regular ongoing lessons to a fixed block, the direct debit option covers all of this material as part of your weekly sessions.
Booking
You can book Decision Making as a six-lesson block, with the same LTA qualified coaches who deliver our whole programme. Because individual lessons are scheduled around coach and court availability, we arrange these individually - submit an enquiry or give us a call and we'll set it up.
Where We Run Individual Coaching
Across our North London venues:
• Winchmore Hill (Firs Farm Tennis)
• Southgate
• Enfield
Convenient for players across Palmers Green, Edmonton, Cockfosters, Barnet, Potters Bar and the surrounding areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Decision Making course teach?
When to play each of your shots - using two frameworks: DNA (defend, neutralise or attack) and the shot families (topspin, flat or slice, based on the incoming ball's trajectory).
What is DNA?
Defend, Neutralise, Attack. It's our framework for reading whether a situation calls for a defensive, neutral or attacking shot, based on the ball, the scenario, your position and more.
What are the shot families?
Topspin for a falling ball, flat for a level ball, slice for a rising ball. Matching the family to the trajectory is the single fastest way to cut down errors.
Why do players call the shot families a "cheat code"?
Because matching your shot's shape to the incoming ball's trajectory makes your consistency jump and your error count drop, often dramatically and quickly.
How long is the course?
Six lessons, one-to-one.
What's the difference between this and Complete Shot Making?
Complete Shot Making gives you the shots. Decision Making teaches you how and when to use them. They're designed to work together.
Do I need to have done Complete Shot Making first?
No, though the two complement each other. You can do either, or both - and our ongoing direct debit lessons cover both areas over time.
Who coaches it?
The same LTA qualified coaches who deliver our whole programme.
How do I book?
Submit an enquiry or call us, and we'll arrange it around availability.
Enquire About the Decision Making Course
If you've got the shots but keep playing the wrong one at the wrong time, this is the course that fixes it. A clear system for knowing exactly what to do, on every ball.
Submit an enquiry through our website or give us a call to arrange.
