Video of My Serve - Question on Low Toss

[rosheem]

Hi,
Couple of basic mistakes were made in a process already.
One of them was that you did NOT provide a list
of strokes combined with a list of grips you are using a given stroke.

Next if you get any advice from a coach you should agree that you will
follow a grip requested by a coach.

A corresponding issues exits for footwork.

A corresponding issue is an issue of specializing in playing singles vs doubles.

Another issue is quality of video tapes you provided.

A corresponding issue is an issue of following advices from different coaches
who may disgree.The best example for this is Andy Roddick.
You can loose a lot of money big time in HIS case.

Really good coaches will NOT provide an advice for FREE.

I've been nothing but patient and polite throughout this thread. At some point, things went bad when you were trying to get me to find a clip that did not exist (Edberg...who has a relatively high toss and isn't even left-handed, by the way).

Rather than continuing with the negativity, I'll just exit the post. The valuable exchanges ended a long time ago.

It's like a universal law of forum exchanges...if a thread continues long enough, it is bound to degenerate and lose its original purpose.

Strange that you say really good coaches will NOT provide advice for free. Doesn't that discredit every coach who gives advice here and on other forums?

[uspta146749877]

Correction

[QUOTE
Did u see a picture/video of Edberg in
http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...the_serve.html ?


julian mielniczuk

I was corrected.A link above does NOT show Edberg

Do you recall which issue of tennisplayer that article came from? TIA

Kevin[/QUOTE]

[airforce1]

I've been nothing but patient and polite throughout this thread. At some point, things went bad when you were trying to get me to find a clip that did not exist (Edberg...who has a relatively high toss and isn't even left-handed, by the way).

Rather than continuing with the negativity, I'll just exit the post. The valuable exchanges ended a long time ago.

It's like a universal law of forum exchanges...if a thread continues long enough, it is bound to degenerate and lose its original purpose.

Strange that you say really good coaches will NOT provide advice for free. Doesn't that discredit every coach who gives advice here and on other forums?

Hey, hows the game coming along?

[rosheem]

Hey, hows the game coming along?

Game is coming along nicely!

The help I got here with my serve led to an improvement that only briefly mentioned in the thread: elbow extension. Brian Gordon describes it in the section on "Common Upward Swing Problems":

In the second case, the early elbow extension throws off sequence of racket speed development. In effect, the elbow extension is contributing at the wrong time. This creates a plateau in velocity in the later stages. The effect of the elbow extension has been depleted at the time it should be playing it's critical role. This leaves a void in the middle portion of the upward swing.

Since I've made this improvement (among others mentioned in the thread), things have been flowing much better and the motion seems significantly looser.

As far as groundstrokes and volleys go, my main takeaway from analyzing my own clips and from the help I got here was that I needed to improve my footwork. Just being more conscious about it has paid off already, but there is still much work to be done in this area. In the past, when I made a groundstroke error, I immediately blamed something about the micro-mechanics of the stroke (racquet face angle, timing, swing path, etc.).

Now, when I make an error, I first ask myself if I was in good position and balance to hit the shot. Most often, the answer is no. Here's an example from last night:

A guy was hitting me a weak, short, slicing serve to the ad side (slicing away from me). It had some decent height off the bounce, but not nasty kick-bounce...more of a bounce because of the initial arc of his serve. I hit my first two returns about 8 inches too deep. My initial reaction was that I either needed to "flatten out" my return or maybe do the opposite and put more spin on it. I resisted the temptation to go there, though. Instead, I asked myself if I felt like I was balanced and in good position on those returns.

The answer was no. Although I was reacting quickly and getting into position early, I was setting my feet too early. Then, on the bounce, the slice and slight kick action was taking the ball slightly higher and further away from me than what my feet had set me up for. Now, I don't know if this is a common problem, but for me I notice that when this happens, the result is that I often make errors hitting deep.

So instead of obsessing about the little things in my swing, I started to make an effort to not commit so early with my feet, and also to position myself for where the ball would be after the slicing bounce (better anticipation). Suddenly, I was able to hurt them with my returns.

I used this example because its a good illustration of where I am with my footwork right now. The same applies to volleys. If I could sum it up, I would have to say that I need to improve my ability to consistently hit the ball in my strike zone by not committing so early (not planting my feet). This is not as easy as it sounds; the body develops patterns and the swing starts to get grooved with the movement of the feet. I've had to disconnect my feet from my stroke so I can then reassemble them in a different way...if that makes any sense at all.

The frustrating thing about footwork is that unlike the serve or even certain elements of stroking the ball, it's a difficult thing to work on by myself. Therefore, I have to work on it during league, match, and drill play. In my opinion, having a technical focus during match play isn't the best thing. The brain starts to get in the way of itself, and there often aren't enough reps available to break old technical habits or reinforce new ones.

I'm used to it, though. I figure that if I can keep winning matches with only half my brain power (the other half being occupied by technical improvements), then someday when I can shut that half down and use my whole brain for the match, I'll really be dangerous!!

A quick objective look at "how my game is coming along": I played three matches at three different NTRP levels in the last week: I lost to a really good 4.5 serve and volleyer with old-school strokes 6-1, 6-1. I beat an average 4.0 player 6-4, 6-1. I beat a 3.5 player 6-0, 6-0.

[airforce1]

Let me suggest an approach to footwork that might help. If you can keep your strokes and footwork separated, then that can be good. No need to reconnect.
Try to think like an horse rider shooting a bow. Your feet are the horse and your hand eye coordination is the rider. The rider doesn't concern himself with the horses footwork details, but just that he gets the horse in position. He concerns himself with being stable and balanced on the horse in spite of what the horse is doing with his feet.

The horse is focused on being where he is directed and he has developed this ability thru practice and working with this rider in all sorts of situations. This is just like your feet have served you in everyday movement and during your past sports. They know how to get you to the spot you demand, and on balance as well. You just have to be clear on where.

So now as your feet do your bidding nearly automatically, you can focus on managing your hand/eye, upper body to execute the shot. Know that from your chosen location (which can be floating or moving when need be as well, like the horse is), that with your balance secure, you can make that shot every time! And for those times when the action is too demanding, you rise up, find that moment of balance for a brief moment, and execute from there.

None of this is to say you can't do footwork drills, as this would be like out riding the horse and putting him thru his paces. This prep can be very good, even necessary. But in the moment of shot making, no thought goes to directing the feet, except to know where you intend to be; only to finding that balance to execute precisely.

See if you find any of this useful. I look forward to what you see.

[rosheem]

Riding the Horse vs. The Robot on a Jet Platform

I love the horse analogy.

I have my own analogy that is quite similar. I picture myself as a robot, with a very stable base that hovers above the court via jet propulsion. The base remains very stable as it floats all around the court, but the hitting module sits on top of the base and can swivel around and move the racquet independently.

It's pretty much the same thing you've described.

I find it very useful. My problem is that I can't seem to really lock into that mindset and stay there for very long. For some reason, my natural footwork habits are not so much like the horse or the robot. When my mind shifts to other things, like stroke mechanics, tactics, or other things...and when I let my natural movement take over, I tend to end up moving in a different way and lunging at the ball.

So the challenge really becomes...now that I know and understand how my footwork should be working for me, how do I make it more natural so I can stop thinking about it?

My answer would be repetition. Just work on it until it becomes natural. To be honest, it just hasn't been a priority. I don't have unlimited practice time, so when I'm playing league matches there is only so much I can work on. However, now that I am setting the micro-details of my stroke mechanics to autopilot for a while, I finally have freed up some space for this footwork stuff, so I'll be interested to see how this new focus translates to game improvements and match results.

Thanks for the ideas. I have some hitting and some matches coming up this weekend where I will be trying this stuff out.

[airforce1]

For me, it's just focusing on where I intend to be (on balance), and the feet get me there. My focus to improve, is 95% on being clear on where I need to be. The other 5% could be considering some foot placement on a certain situation, but not much on that at all. Doing some drills on footwork is fine, I just don't think of it when playing, but just let instinct take charge in the moment. Then you have what is available to you, with no distractions.