Bailey’s Blog

A defining element of successs in tennis and life is CONFIDENCE.

Without it it is very hard to do well. You can’t win a tournament if you don’t believe you can win. If you think that your opponent is  “Too Good”  then you are beaten before you even step on the court.

If you train your footwork and know what shot to hit on what ball then this gives you confidence because you know HOW you want to respond when you see a certain ball come across the net! I believe if you understand your footwork, and work hard on improving it, then you WILL move well because you BELIEVE you have put in the hard yards.

Confidence comes from trusting. Trusting your training, trusting your preperation, trusting your ability to out last, out think and out rally your opponent. Trusting….it is crucial for the tournament and life winning attitude called confidence.

If you go through life and spread the feelings of LOVE, HAPPINESS and ENCOURAGEMENT with everyone you know and everywhere you go then I swear these will be relected back 10 fold! It is basic common sense but we forget the importance of doing this everyday!

This is my 100th Blog so I want to share with you some thoughts that are close to my heart!

“One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is the gift of knowledge. It is such an incredible life experience to INSPIRE someone because of your infectious passion towards your subject matter. The greatest salespeople are people who totally believe their product will benefit you. You see it in their eyes, you hear it in their heart, you feel it in their voice.

I really hope that when you are learning about footwork,movement and balance that you don’t become over critical, analytical or closed minded but take the information presented and have fun introducing something new, exciting, different and more importantly educational.

My AIM is to have The Bailey Method help you view tennis from the waist down with an educated eye, a biased eye. ……for people to see, understand and experience footwork and balance in tennis in a whole new light. Remember, having a open mind is the key to turning you onto the wonderful world of learning.

As I have said before - Education is about about making people WANT to learn. And, there is some awesome power in that!!!”

David Bailey 16/6/2007

P.S….. Hope you have enjoyed my blogs and I am stoked to have posted my 100th! Thanks heaps for your interest!!!! Tennis Rules OK!!

In this blog I am quoting comments made on Fox sports by a good friend of mine and great tennis commentator Wally Masur at this years French open 2007. Wally is a past US Open semi-finalist and past Australian Davis Cup Coach.

• ” The reason why (Raphael) Nadal is so good is because of his incredible footwork. He works so hard to get behind every ball which gives him lazer control over his groundstrokes and so many options with his shot selection. “
• ” If you swing viciously like Nadal you had better be in good position!”
• ” Decrease quality of movement, decrease the quality of shot!”
• ” It is so important to move well that you take those little steps around the ball instead of running to it. When your legs get heavy you lose the ability to make those fine adjusting steps and that hurts your game ….big time !”
• On beating Nadal on clay….” It’s not about being good enough, there are a lot of guys in this tournament who have the game …the question is - Are you fit enough?”
• ” The French Open is as much about fitness as it is about tennis and tactics!”

The type, number, intensity and technique of the FIRST recovery step used after making a contact move will depend on a lot of factors. Because of this, it is important to train a variety of first recovery steps and not only have the skill to do these different steps efficiently and effectively but know which steps to use when and where. Following are some different examples of common first step recovery footwork and the best time to select them. Of course selection will depend on age, level of athletic abilty and personal preference.

1. Shuffle (feet stay apart and base is wide)- use when having to move a short distance quickly
2. Sideskip (heels clip and base is narrow)- use when in control and opponent is at baseline. Sideskipping helps keep flow and momentum with your movement.
3. Pushback (push back off front leg after a step down) - use when opponent is at net and you don’t have time to bring trail leg through aggressively.
4. Front crossover (drop step inside foot and cross in front with outside leg) - use when hitting ball down the line (step down) or pushed out wide like a mogul, closed pivot move or low spin. Is used when you need to recover quickly and cover a lot of ground.
5. Cross behind (back leg crosses behind front leg) - Federer uses this a lot..especially on his backhand side. It is because he really stays on his closed stance for a long time and doesn’t bring his trail leg around as far as some other players. He does what works for him!
6. Running steps (use 1,2 arm drive to run to next ball…don,t hold racket)-use after you have hit the ball on the run or thrown up a lob (power move). You pump the arms to aid recovery as you are in trouble and must recover quickly and explosively.

Remember, to move well  you need to be a great athlete and have the ability to control your feet, balance and posture and use what ever step suits the situation so you are balanced not rushing or reaching for the next ball.

Movement is self imposed! Both the above and the previous statement are 2 of my favourite catch phrases on footwork as they really emphasise that footwork is all about ATTITUDE.

The great movers like Nadal and Hewitt have a driving passion to chase every ball, they focus hard on reading and reacting, they push themselves to make explosive first steps and always make a concerted effort to recover after every shot.

If you realise that if you move well….then you play well, then, making the effort to improve your footwork and your attitude towards it….is a very smart move!