Center of Eyes

[Guest]

I got a message from someone asking what I mean by watching the ball in the "center of the eyes" (you will see it is actually ball in center of eyes and eyes in center of eye sockets.

As with everything else, I cannot take credit for this concept, but my coach developed a ball watching learning system that has helped many of my students and my game as well and i believe it takes watching the ball to higher levels.

Since it is easier to provide video than explain in words and surely someone will ask for a video, I've included a link of my 1 year old son doing what I have only seen being done to perfection on the tennis court by Federer.

I think my son performs the same way because of such focused attention on a new and exciting object. And likely because he hasn't developed the good/evil thing of "hand eye coordination."

There are some good exercises that go along with teaching this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYmKQeZh4M

[carrerakent]

I started this thread because I've read on this site bewilderment at Federer's head turn and does it cause him to misshit? on the contrary. it's part of why his vision on the court may be superior to everyone else.

i read a post or something on here recently about when and where the player loses sight of the ball. i wholeheartedly believe those research results are accurate, but those results did not surprise me based on the fact that most tennis players stop turning the head and start relying upon peripheral vision for the remainder of distance to contact.

it is very true that in the peripheral you cannot keep up with the ball. the way that fed turns his head and keeps the ball in the "center" of everything does allow sight of the ball to contact.

i was always amazed at how agassi's eyes would almost pop out of his head trying to keep his vision and focus on it, but then he would stop turning his head.

we all turn our heads to follow the ball when it leaves the others racket, but i believe because of hand-eye coordination we rely upon it to make good contact and stop turning the head when it becomes more difficult.

Federer says that he doesn't know why he turns his head, he just always did and was made fun of for it when he was a kid. Isn't that amazing...he does not know why he does it? but he did it naturally as a child beginning tennis player without being told to. now, that is natural. the fact that he kept doing it puts him into a class all his own because he continued to reply upon natural senses and the right brain and the rest of us shift to left and diminish our potential.

anyway...that is the reason for this thread.