Frequently Asked Technical Questions:

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THE POWER MOVE

Question:  Of all the contact moves, why do you consider the Power Move to be the most defensive, yet spectacular?

Answer:

   The power move can also be called the running passing shot and is the most difficult and spectacular because it is the contact move that you hit when running flat out and desperately lunging at the ball. It is the famous Pete Sampras running forehand and if hit well brings the crowd to their feet and is always an immediate action replay on the TV
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   The fact that you are hitting this shot (a lot of the time) running at full speed makes this shot particularly difficult because...

a. It is a defensive shot hit on a wide deep ball

b. You are hitting off an unstable stance

c. A lot of the time the ball is behind you

d. You a long way off court so you have to GO FOR the shot a lot of the time

e. Your weight is going sideways

f. If you hit the ball late you have to hit down the line and thus over the high part of the net and short part of the court.

   That being said if hit well and for a clean winner it is a real confidence booster and can swing the momentum off a match.

Question:   Why there is a series of different brake steps (steps taken after contact to stop the body) with the power move?

Answer:

   A lot of the time you will hit the power move moving at different speeds because of the distance run to the ball i.e. if you only have to run from the centre of the court as against from one corner to the other you will be able to brake and stop the body with less steps.
Below are the different brake steps and what I teach in relation to what speeds you are approaching the ball i.e. if you are running as fast as you can and over a long distance you are running at 100% speed.

 Note: Below is a guideline and is based on my own thoughts not any established research -
 
1. At 100 % speed hit the power move and don’t even bother trying to recover i.e. hit and keep running (but don’t jump as you hit....stay low and watch the ball not the intended target)

2. At 95% speed take several little adjustment steps to stop the sideways momentum. I call these Cha Cha Cha steps.

3. At 90% make a bounce step. That is - take one extra step after your first brake step. That is - 2 steps after contact is made. This bounce step is very similar to a mogul step (see mogul move)

4. At 85% or less just make 1 brake step i.e. trail leg extends and stops the body. (this is demonstrated on the video clip)

Question:   What are some common errors made when hitting a power move?

   1. Hitting off a closed stance as against a running stance (an open stance that has become a sideways elevated lunging motion during the hit). Especially on the forehand side. A lot of players like to hit off a closed stance when hitting a backhand on the run but a power move will have to come into play when really pushed wide.

       Question:    What are some good teaching points?
         1. Feel like you are scissor kicking the legs when hitting. This helps with the concept of feeling the kick back balance move as against the leg curl balance move.
         2. Teach the move with jogging around the court with good even steps and rhythm and just swinging the racket while nice and relaxed. When you do this it will not feel natural to hit off a closed stance as hitting closed breaks the stride rhythm.
         3. Drop lower as you hit and most of the time you should think that you intend to recover i.e. that you intend to use brake steps. This will automatically keep you down on the shot.
         4. Extend through the swing don’t flick the wrist at the ball.
         5. I also like to teach the racket finishing around the shoulder of the opposite side of the body as against finishing behind the head on the same side of the body. Let the professional players hit this shot. I believe the Buggy Whip (this is what I call this swing) puts a lot of stain on the shoulder and makes you contact the ball late.

            Question:  Why is the power move such a great move to train off court? How and where should I practice this?

            Answer:

               The power move is the ultimate athletic contact move that involves speed (running to the ball), power (lunging at the ball), strength (stopping the body) and agility (having to stop and start and change direction while maintaining balance).

               Speed is a combination of stride length (strong legs) and stride frequency (fast legs) and the power move needs both of these aspects to be trained.

               The power move is hard on the joints and the body thus I like to train it off court where you can get on soft surfaces and also use the natural elements to add resistance (stride length) or assistance (stride frequency). Grass hills are fantastic as well as soft sand and slight declines (no more than 5 % gradient as form is lost). I also love to use resistance viper belts with bungee cords that again can be used for assistance and resistance work. It is so important to train the athlete off court, not only because it changes the scenery but also because it is softer on the legs (if training on hard court) and there is only so much you can gain from flat surfaces like a tennis court.

            Question:   Is the power more of a down the line, down the middle or cross-court shot?
            Answer:

               I suggest 3 different case scenarios.

               The first is a “Go for it” passing power move in which you hit with no intention of recovery back to the court. This is hit hard and down the line or sharp angle dipping cross court!

               The second is an “In Trouble” power move in which you hit with a high looping or heavily spinning lob down the middle when really defending but your opponent is not at the net!

               The third is a “Stay in it” power move where you hit the ball deep cross court and have the intention of staying in the point (probably hit and recovered with a bounce or brake step) (see above). Hitting cross court gives you time to recovery and is best hit when the opposition is still at the baseline.
            
            Question:  Should young players be taught the Power move even though it is such a difficult shot hit off a wide deep fast fed ball?

            Answer:

               Yes, if they intend to play competitive tennis....even at a local competition level they should learn to hit power moves. Why?

               Well the dimensions of the court don’t change, so there will always be ball that is hit to you in such a way that you must run to hit it. The aim in a competitive tennis match is to hit the ball into the corners and get the opposition running because it is harder hitting a shot on the run than hitting when well positioned and standing still. The power move is also a challenging shot to hit and is a lot of fun to try and master!

            Question:  In general why do players hit forehand power moves better than backhand power moves?
            Answer:

            In general forehands are hit much better then backhands! Here are some of the reasons why (in my opinion and through my experimentation and experience)

            a)    On the forehand you hit off your dominant foot

            b)    On the forehand side the hand is further behind the racket so you can hit latter and hit up the back of the ball

            c)     You don’t have the same reach on the backhand side , especially a 2 handed backhand

            d)    It feel s more natural to hit off a running stance on the forehand and many players like to hit the backhand with a closed stance, especially 1 handed backhand players

            e)    On a clay court it is easier to slide after a power move as you slide on your dominant foot. Many players struggle to slide with their non dominant foot and tend to jump up more on the backhand side thus taking away their ability to slide with confidence.

            f) Players practice hitting forehands more, especially on the run as they in general tend to go for more clean winners off the forehand side!

   2. Jumping up on contact. Because you are a long way off court the tendency is to try and gain more power and/or try and create more spin and players try and jump up to do this. It is much better to drop the weight down and keep the angles in the legs than lift the head and lose control of your body.

      Losing the angles in the legs means the player comes up with their legs as they hit the ball. The legs straighten up and all balance and athletic loading of the muscles is lost .A really good way to fix this is to have the player able to see the ball that they have just hit bounce under the tape of the net as they are looking through the net. Or wear an athletic training belt that has a bungee cord attaches to the waist and pull down to stop the player jumping. It is important to snap the hips not jump up.
   3. Not keeping the steps even when running to the ball. It is like run up to a long jump. Lots of little steps at the end will throw off the timing and balance on the hit. Running for the power move can be practised up stairs and then mimicking the power move when on the flat section at the top of the stairs. This will help emphasise good even steps. Though, 2 stairs at a time is more realistic then 1 at a time as steps to the ball need to be strong and powerful.