One of the Top Juniors

One of the Upcoming Top Juniors

Below is a video clip of one of the top juniors around the area that I teach. The instructions of the material that are being discussed are far more advanced in comparison to the previous material that I have posted thus far. I would just like to share some of the talent that is in the area.

Julia Andreach

Thought Process

In the video, there are two areas in focus: the second serve (thought process) and the groundstrokes (thought process). Notice how I am saying certain words that represent other information. This way, she can say them to herself and this will allow for her to feel the same way and gain comfort and confidence in applying the concepts.

Groundstrokes

When looking at the slow motion of Julia's forehand, you can see all of the steps that are discussed in my post called: Groundstrokes. She executes these steps almost perfectly... due to her commitment to the unique thought process for her at this time. When looking at her ground strokes after the slow motion portion, one can see how her hands stay inside her body after contact. This is not good... because it means she is tense and is associating swinging faster with hitting the ball harder instead of using her movement, relaxation and timing of everything moving in unison to hit an effortless, solid groundstroke.

Backhand Slice

Backhand Slice

The backhand slice is by far one of the most difficult strokes to learn, as well as to teach. But I have a secret. The secret is called: Shadow stroking, but before I share it, we must go over the three steps to a backhand slice. The first move is called the "turn".

Shadow stroking- refer to the bottom of the page*

Below is a picture of one of the best turns to a backhand slice in history... Roger Federer's turn.

The second step is the "contact point": Below is another picture of Federer's backhand slice.

The third and last step is called the "finish". Below is a picture of a finish for a slice by a player whom I don't know the name. But if you look at his finish, you can see how the racquet is accelerated through contact, not down. In fact, if there was a picture of this player hitting his backhand slice at a later moment, you would see how his racquet is moving through contact, but also come back up to a higher point.

Shadow Stroking

If a player goes through these motions without playing (no pressure to hit the ball in or at a certain location), they will develop a tendency to move in the correct manner. The more the player practices the motions, the more likely they are to move in the correct way.

This practicing of the motions is called shadow stroking. If a player were to do this with a "weighted racquet", the hand, wrist and shoulder muscles will grow stronger and have a stronger tendency to move in the correct manner.

How to make a weighted racquet?

Take many pennies and scotch tape and place ten pennies on a strip of scotch tape. Overlap another piece of scotch tap over the ten pennies to complete a strip. Repeat this process to choose the weight you would like. Then, take electrical tape and tape the strips of ten pennies onto an old racquet that you don't use anymore.

When shadowing, practice slowly! Do NOT play with this racquet. There should be NO STRINGS in it.

Volley ( Net play)

Thought Process when Volleying

A volley is hit when a person is standing near the net. It is typical that a person at the net is in an advantageous position when their opponent is at the baseline.

How to think

The most important part of volleying is movement. If the player has good movement, the chances of developing a sufficient volley is higher. The main goal in volleying is being able to control where the ball is going, power has absolutely nothing to do with a volley. In order to control where the ball is going, the player should position his/her racquet in front of them as if they are going to catch the ball that is trying to be hit by them as they move to it. As I said before, movement is the most important part. If the player has the racquet positioned in a manner where they are thinking of catching the ball as they move to it, their movement will allow them to get more "stick"(which is a well hit shot) on the ball and the positioning of the racquet as if they are going to catch the ball will allow them to control where they are aiming.

Therefore, the movement allows the volleyer to have some form of "power" and the thought process of catching the ball allows the volleyer to control the volley.

The exact thought process while hitting the ball; one should say: "Catch" (as you're moving to the ball), then say "Through" ( this helps the player to push through the ball at contact).

Groundstrokes

Groundstrokes

Grounds strokes are strokes in Tennis that are hit from areas around the baseline, or the base of the court. There are 5 steps for both the forehand and backhand side. Although they look different, they are exactly the same in concept. 

The 5 steps are:

(1) The turn

(2) The slot

(3) The touch point

(4) Extension

(5) The finish

I will be covering each of these steps in moderate detail so that each person can practice and implement or place them into their game.

The "Turn"

The first and most important part of every stroke is called the "turn", or the "first move". I will elaborate for the groundstrokes, which are used within range of the baseline. Everyone's turn is different. This is inevitable, but what should be focused on with the turn is that it must be the same. Executing the same turn allows the player to feel the same as the player runs the ball down and it allows the player to prepare to accelerate the racquet.

Below is a  picture of professional "turn". I will discuss why they turn in this manner once I find a decent picture and figure out how to upload it.

Same Closed Angle

Most people have trouble hitting the ball in a controlled but also an aggressive manner. What the missing component is "finding the same closed angle throughout the upstroke". This "same" closed angle is found through acceleration. Because, if the player accelerates every time from a low point to a high point through contact and the racquet is too open or too closed, the ball will not move in the air as they would like it to. Therefore, through acceleration, one can find the same closed angle and find confidence in accelerating. Lastly, and most importantly, this gives the player the potential to become better and have more fun!

The slot

The slot is defined as how the racquet drops below the ball when beginning the swing. When dropping the racquet below the ball, it is helpful to think of dropping the hand below the ball in order to make sure that the racquet head is below the ball enough.

Below is a perfect demonstration from Federer of how to drop the racquet below the ball. It is below enough so that it allows for the player to accelerate the racquet up, in order to create spin (higher height over the net) or drive (lower height over the net) and to stay away from the net.

The touch point

The touch point is a very important part of the groundstroke. It should be away from your body or (off to either side), but also in front of the body so that the player may be able to move forward through contact in order to hit a solid shot.

Below is a picture of Federer's touch point.

Notice how far in front of his body the touch point is...

Notice how far away from his body the touch point is...

In both pictures, his touch point is very close to the same place; he has the same balance, the same orientation of his head... many parts are the same when comparing both pictures. The SOLE reason for this is because his foot work allows him to have the same touch point and feel the same way when striking the ball. Wouldn't it feel great to feel the same comfort and confidence when hitting your forehand? (same concept as backhand).

Therefore, when on the court, think about being light on your feet and take small steps when you begin to get closer to the ball. This will allow you to have a consistently better touch point, better balance and confidence to strike the ball.

Extension

Extension is a very important part of the groundstroke. It can tell the player and coach a lot of information with regard to what the player is doing right and wrong. A lovely example is displayed below of Roger Federer.

Notice how his arm and racquet is completely extended, but is still and the right half of his body. This tells us that he is hitting through the ball most efficiently in order to get an enormous amount of pace with less energy exerted. Also, this tells us that he is very relaxed. In other words, because he is relaxed, the racquet is pulling his arm toward his target. If he was not relaxed, his hand and racquet would stay inside his body. He would lose a lot of pace and exert a lot of excess energy.

We all know how efficient Roger's game is... how beautiful!