Winning quote!
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007This saying is pure gold so I will give it the repect that it deserves and leave it as my entire blog!
Winning is being able to say ” I didn’t quit “
Archive for February, 2007
Finish the tumbleturn before you push off the wall!
Monday, February 26th, 2007Many players focus so hard on returning quickly to an optimal court position that they sacrifice the effectiveness of their shot by attempting to recover BEFORE they have completed a proper stroke. First - hit the ball properly, then, examine recovery i.e. is there balance (total balance control), is there a shifting of the weight and a sense of flow (merging the shot into the recovery).
When you recover you want to see a solid ground reaction force. This comes from balance and the trail leg coming around in such a way that it PUSHES you back. Avoid bringing the trail leg around so quickly that you fall onto the leg and thus thus have no thrust that you can drive from. As the trail leg swings around we want to be aware of the width and timing of this leg. If the trail leg comes around too quickly balance is lost and the shot is poor. If the trail leg comes around too slowly then you get poor recover as it is essential to merge your contact move into your recovery.
A great way to practice balance and recovery is to take your shadow tennis drills onto a court at the service line and instead of a racket hold a tennis ball in your dominant hand and release it out of the hand as if you are swinging your racket. If you come up and don’t finsh the shot then the ball will fly on you, and if you release too early the ball will go into the net. This will help you realize the importance of finishing the shot before you recover and also give you a sense of balance and timing. This drill also gives you a great sense of contact point as the release point of the ball is the same as the contact point when swinging with a racket.
It’s like dancing on the court!
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007The Bailey Method is like dancing on the court where your feet become poetry in motion and each movement is a word.
If you get the right guidance, and practice moving your feet in a way that is effective and efficient for YOU… then your hard work and discipline will pay off. Having a prescribed way of moving your feet is essential to create muscle memory. And with the right memory your movement becomes effortless and natural. It will become like dancing…
Use the side of the foot for a better recovery push!
Monday, February 12th, 2007If I went to slap you on the face, you would feel a lot more sting from a whole hand as against 2 fingers. This is because there is more surface area and thus better contact. It is the same as using the side of the shoe as against the toe of the shoe for recovery back towards the center of the court . This is particularly important with a mogul move where you SHIFT your weight sideways after contact on a wide deep ball off an OPEN stance. You should make contact with the ground with the side of the foot as not only does it mean more surface area to work with but is a good sign you have stayed low, extended through your swing with the elbow facing the net and keep good angles in your legs. If you spin the hips off an open stance ( stance where both toes face side fence like on a balance beam) then you will pull off the shot and dump the ball into the net. Spin your hips ONLY off a semi-open stance (toes line up at 45 degrees).
Anticipationary sense relates to balance!
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007As you all know I like to make my own words up. But, remember words are the powerful force in language and the means by which we communicate and understand each other. There are many parts of tennis that are unnamed and this hurts the teaching and understanding of our wonderful game. …especially in the dynamic teaching of footwork.
So I thought I might introduce a new term….what I call “Anticipationary Sense”. Anticipationary Sense is what Roger Federer possesses and makes him a champion player and athlete. It is having a great sense of his effectiveness of shot and this really relates to his balance and recovery or explosiveness quickly to the next shot after his hit. Because he holds and finishes his shot with great balance, posture and pose, it means he doesn’t fall onto his trail leg but PUSHES to his next shot. By using your trail leg as a brake instead of holding your balance and pushing off you hurt your flow and rhythm on the court. By being balanced and finishing your shot you can then feel and see how well you struck the ball and thus have a sense to where you should move to the next ball i.e. you have an “Anticipationary Sense”.
Make subtle changes!
Friday, February 2nd, 2007At this years 2007 Australian Open, Larry Stefanki coach of finalist Fernando Gonalez made a great quote about the importance of always polishing and improving your game. I really believe that the following statement relates to your footwork training as well. Stefanki said ’ Players need to continue to make subtle changes, if you don’t, you get the same broken record!’. Being a student of your game is so important. Always try and experiment with what movements and footwork patterns that feel comfortable and work FOR YOU!