Have a Question for Me?

[dpremsagar]

Economical camera stand for high speed shooting

John, I got the Casio EXILIM High Speed EX-ZR850 on Amazon so I can film my strokes in high speed. I hope it works well.

What would be a good camera stand that would hold steady, support the camera properly and does not cause blurry vision and allows to change angle of shooting if needed?

[johnyandell]

Great questions! I don't have a ready answer but it is a great topic for investigation. It's officially on the list.

[privas]

One-handed backhand; half-volley drive

Mr Yandell, your recent series on the one handed backhand would be enhanced by a short segment on the half-volley. Federer hit so many of these during his Wimbledon final. It seems to be a really easy shot for the two-hander, but a greater challenge for the one-hander. The high ones you can always just hit a slice, but this one shot has made my switching to the one-hander very difficult. Even when Fed makes contact, the drive tends to be weak if not well placed.
Is there a change in grip? (I usually switch to a more extreme grip to stabilize the racquet face). Is this the one backhand that really requires that your head remain still, eyes fixed at the point of contact, like Federer does so well? Is the take-back the same? Always appreciate your work. -- Pedro

[johnyandell]

Ok it's related to other things as the article will discuss. Yes the Eagle's forehand is going to be in Your Strokes...

[eaglesburg]

OK I will look at that also. Just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same clips.

The guy on tw was referencing a previous video I posted, but the newer video I sent to you has it too.

[johnyandell]

OK I will look at that also. Just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same clips.

[eaglesburg]

Fundamentals is hitting just the first 2 or 3 key points. I am working on an extended series of articles for later this year similar to the one on the serve.

Thanks for the great words on TW btw. The guy that was mentioning "leaning back"? What was that about. Was it on the same forehand clip I have?

Ok got it. Thanks!

Your welcome! You earned it! The lean is on the clip I sent you. When I finish on my forehand many times my right leg swings around but my weight stays on my left leg so it appears that my upper body is tilted backwards.

[johnyandell]

Fundamentals is hitting just the first 2 or 3 key points. I am working on an extended series of articles for later this year similar to the one on the serve.

Thanks for the great words on TW btw. The guy that was mentioning "leaning back"? What was that about. Was it on the same forehand clip I have?

[eaglesburg]

John,

What is the difference supposed to be between the ultimate fundamentals series and the teaching systems series? Will there be a forehand teaching system series?

Thanks,
Eaglesburg

[johnyandell]

Sean,
Can you post a link to a clip in the archives?

[seano]

Serve - "scarecrow finish"

John -

What are your thoughts on the elbow rolling back (scarecrow finish) after internal shoulder rotation, elbow extension, allowing the racquet head to accelerate in front of the hand? The best models would I guess be Pete Sampras, Taylor Dent, Andy Roddick & Pancho Gonzales.

Sean

[johnyandell]

pv,
Nice pictures. I think you are over thinking it. Even though there are pro models they are not models in the sense you can clone them.
I am not sure that windup Nalbandian uses helps him or would help anyone else.
He does have a higher elbow position but from that view you posted anyway he appears to have a deeper drop than Fed.
What I would do is experiment with the more circular windup and the wind mill drill as explained in the serve series. the key is the racket drop. How high and how far forward does your elbow need to be to get the racket to fall along your right side?
Model that position and now experiment with the windup to see how to get there or as close as your shoulder allows. I was working with an 81 year old guy the other day--he went from no drop to about half way to the drop and got a huge gain. It's a question of approximation. Remember many player like Roddick and Pete have somewhatdeeper drops than Roger.
Here is the link to the article:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/teaching_systems/john_yandell/serve2/

If you want to look at another guy with more of a ciruclar wind up check out Mark Philippoussis.

[pvchen]

Nalbandian vs Fed

Sorry, pics didn't upload, and there is a limit of 5. Here's the pics for my post.

[pvchen]

Serve model for the average shoulder?

Hi John,

Have a few more questions about the serve. I really like your analysis and agree that Fed has a model serve. The problem I have is that, much as I would like to visualize myself in or shadow his positions, I’m not going to come close without dislocating my shoulder. So, I tried to find a model with less flexibility, and came up with Nalbandian.

Comparing him to Fed, which differences are flaws in his technique, which are adaptations for his flexibility, and what can we learn from him?

In 1-Windup, Nalbandian seems to have a more abbreviated windup, with his forearm pointing more in front of his body. Is this because he needs to get his elbow higher and in front for his racquet drop?

In 2-Backswing past Trophy, Nalbandian’s elbow is higher than Fed’s-is this the position at trophy pose for a less flexible person? After trophy pose, Fed can continue to externally rotate his shoulder, so the forearm and racquet move as a unit, but Nalbandian’s forearm appears to stop, so the racquet independently moves downward and his wrist starts to lay back.

In 3-Lowest Racquet Position, Nalbandian’s back is arched (ouch), and he appears to have pushed his legs early-is this a flaw or an adaptation to compensate for a less externally rotated shoulder? Here is where I get confused about the forearm position, because Nalbandian’s actually appears more angled, but I think this might be because his elbow is higher and his torso is arched and angled.

In 4-Racquet Drop, Nalbandian’s elbow seems higher and more forward, which you have indicated would be the position for a less flexible person. The racquet also is not as perpendicular to the torso, but I wonder if this is all that Nalbandian can achieve.

In 5-Upward Swing, Nalbandian seems more open/facing the net, especially in the hips, with his back leg swung around more.

In 6-Completion of Upward Swing, Fed has that nice complete internal shoulder rotation. Nalbandian does seem to be able to rotate as much (or maybe tried to hit this 1st serve flatter) and his wrist is breaking forward more. His torso also looks more tilted to the left, and his hips and shoulders seem more open/facing the net.

So what do you think? Which aspects of Nalbandian's serve should one emulate? Obviously, I’d rather have Fed’s serve than Nalbandian’s, but perhaps Nalbandian’s might be all that can be achieved without a Plastic-man shoulder? Or is there a better model for the inflexible (who amongst the pros has the most inflexible shoulder—or perhaps it’s survival of the fittest and only those with very flexible shoulders can make it on the tour)?

[johnyandell]

So you not ready to record an entire Federer match for us yet...