On Court With Brian Gordon

[johnyandell]

Let's discuss Sean O’Neil's article, "On Court With Brian Gordon"

[stotty]

This is a terrific article. The best in a while in my opinion.

It's going to be really interesting when we revisit Sejong's forehand later down the line. There is quite a bit to put right there in my view and I am curious as to whether the stroke can be rewired into an effective and weaponised shot.

I wonder if the work done so far has stabilised the shot and cut down the error count? The next step of course will be to develop it into a weapon, which it doesn't look like at this stage.

What a tremendous journey this is going to be for Sejong and forum members if we are to get a second instalment to view progress.

Sejong's backhand by contrast is a peach of a shot. I lovely boxed preparation makes the shot rock-solid-looking and Sejong has no problem getting the hands beneath the ball on this wing.

[seano]

Sejong was a delightful young man. Great attitude. Brian said he totally reconstructed his 17 year old sister's strokes in 3 weeks time. She's going to Harvard, it will be interesting to see if the changes hold up. To be an Orange bowl & Eddie Herr champion in the 16's to totally changing her strokes is quite the feat. I saw her strokes on YouTube previous and was not impressed at all. Definitely saw why changes were needed.

[jeffreycounts]

Sejong was a delightful young man. Great attitude. Brian said he totally reconstructed his 17 year old sister's strokes in 3 weeks time. She's going to Harvard, it will be interesting to see if the changes hold up. To be an Orange bowl & Eddie Herr champion in the 16's to totally changing her strokes is quite the feat. I saw her strokes on YouTube previous and was not impressed at all. Definitely saw why changes were needed.

How long does he have to work with Sejong? I hope he gets the same 3 weeks. Also do you know if Brian used his 3D technology on Sejong’s forehand?

[seano]

His sister must have many intangibles to win the Orange Bowl and Eddie Herr back to back. Add repeatable, dependable strokes, it will be interesting to watch.

[seano]

The mother, sister and Sejong live in Florida while the father lives in Missouri. In speaking to the mother, they had heard of Brian but found him by chance. Was at Macci's and saw Brian's name on his parking spot.

[doctorhl]

Can anyone speak more to the 6-8 inch hand drop before contact? My experience is that some players try to force that drop on the forehand( and one handed backhand) in the learning process. The towel drill of pulling forward does help one to relax the hand and let centrifugal force and gravity lower the hand along with the flip. For us old timers with old school stroke motor memory, trusting that loose, 6 to 8 inch hand drop to grab the strings is problematic. It is easy to see how one might open the face like Sejong in fear of a lowered hand and possibly slightly closed racket face not flipping in time to grab the strings for topspin under stressful situations. Other than 10,000 reps, any other helpful cues or drills to get this "hand drop feel", especially for those of us who tend to "muscle" strokes under pressure with tight arms and hands? I'm am only referring to slight variations in hand drops under pressure at about Sejongs level of play.

[seano]

Doctorhl -


Brian said that Sejong had the most complicated forehand he's ever seen. That it took a while to decipher the best way to approach correcting it. Unfortunately, I don't have any "before" video. Just to have Sejong's forehand as we see it, big changes were made.

I can relate to the "old timers" forehand and my pet project has been to make my forehand as close to type 3, as I can. It's been a fun process. After looking at my forehand, one of Brian's big take aways was to lower my hand to 6 - 8 inches below contact. He said many things would naturally fall into place by doing this. It's fascinating to feel how effortless and powerful the stroke is when I'm able to execute the stroke properly.


SeanO

[doctorhl]

Doctorhl -


Brian said that Sejong had the most complicated forehand he's ever seen. That it took a while to decipher the best way to approach correcting it. Unfortunately, I don't have any "before" video. Just to have Sejong's forehand as we see it, big changes were made.

I can relate to the "old timers" forehand and my pet project has been to make my forehand as close to type 3, as I can. It's been a fun process. After looking at my forehand, one of Brian's big take aways was to lower my hand to 6 - 8 inches below contact. He said many things would naturally fall into place by doing this. It's fascinating to feel how effortless and powerful the stroke is when I'm able to execute the stroke properly.


SeanO

Seano, my experience exactly!

[BrianGordon]

Greetings TP people -

Thanks Sean for visiting my little corner of the tennis world and the time to compile this article - and for the too kind assessment.

This forehand has been the most frustrating challenge in my 40 years or so of building strokes. It was presented to me as the most convoluted motion I've ever seen - UGLY and nonsensical in every way. As Sean stated it has taken weeks to get it to what is shown in the piece. The process is a testament to poor coaching and the power of motor programs.

JC - I did not use 3D tools in this case. I will have some exciting news about 3D technology in the near future - many more revelations are forthcoming.

DrHi - the 6-8" refers only to the vertical position of the hand exiting the backswing relative to it's position at contact. It is a teaching cue to acquire a roughly 20 degree incline in the hand path during the forward swing. Though obviously related, it does not directly speak to the backswing formation.

Despite the challenge, he will have a legit forehand relatively soon - it is what I do and I never say die. Be well!

[doctorhl]

"DrHi - the 6-8" refers only to the vertical position of the hand exiting the backswing relative to it's position at contact. It is a teaching cue to acquire a roughly 20 degree incline in the hand path during the forward swing. Though obviously related, it does not directly speak to the backswing formation."

Got it. Thanks!

Great article. But i didnt Get the mouse Cue.
Kind regards
gerd

[seano]

Gerd -
The mouse cue is just a reference to find and keep the correct position of the racquet head in the backswing. If the racquet face is closed 30 or 40 degrees, keep it in that position throughout the backswing. Don't let the racquet face change positions and "wobble". Let me know if that makes sense.
Sean

Hi Sean,
The article Said Swing. But Backswing makes much More Sense.
Looking Forward for the next article.
Kind regards