my forehand....

[GeoffWilliams]

"You can teach an old dog new tricks with new treats." The new treat is: perfect tune of your frame, and an attacking mind set to go with your nice strokes.

[don_budge]

Food for thought...with a little help from my friends

One of the things that I was doing when I was resting (ahem...) recently was taking a look at your forehand from the sequence of shots that you posted. I have been giving it rather much thought and decided to try to analyze your forehand a bit. When analyzing tennis strokes these days I am using the classic model as I have come to understand it and at the same time I make allowances for the changes in the equipment. In this way, I attempt to stay grounded in reality without meandering off into the wasteland of the modern game as it is being taught.

Even though Richard Gonzales does not get an over abundance of recognition for his groundstrokes, to me they serve as a sound basis to compare and analyze against. So frame by frame, Phil, here is a little food for thought regarding your forehand. BTW...one of the things that I was doing was watching the youtube video of your forehand as well. At one point...I was watching the first forehand by repeatedly clicking on the mouse to get the action in my brain over and over. The thing that I noticed when I was doing that was the beautiful sound of the ball hitting your strings...doink, doink, doink.....doink. Nice contact!

Frame #1...Nice use of the feet, you look very soft on them approaching the ball, good balance. Your body is in perfect position at this point but I feel that the racquet has lagged behind just a bit. I would like to see the racquet head in the same plane as your shoulders. In this frame, I would like to see your racquet head in front of your right shoulder, that would be perfect. By lagging at this point you are beginning to lose the “cock” in your wrist.

Frame #2....Same comments as in Frame #1. Catlike grace, good balance with the left hand and left side of your body. But, again I feel that you are lagging behind in your racquet preparation and you have lost a bit of the loading in your wrist.

Frame #3...Here I would like to see more shoulder turn with your left shoulder turning to the ball a bit more which would have the effect of turning your hips at the ball also...and once again with respect to the racquet, I would like to see the racquet head more in the position of frame #2, up a bit, and in the same plane as the shoulders and the line at the end of your toes. I think that you should step towards the ball a bit more, both forward and to the side...diagonally. This will help you get your body turned into position to rotate into the shot. This is the critical point where the backswing becomes the forward swing (I refer to it as "get into position")...and if you look at the pictures of Gonzales in his book, “Tennis”, when he is ready to make his forward swing he has created three lines...one at the end of his toes with his feet, one with his shoulders and hips and one with his racquet and the racquet face. He has in effect created a “plane”, geometrically speaking...and he is in beautiful position to make his move on the ball.

From the looks of your plane you have lost considerable potential energy to go forward by not completing your backswing and your body turn. You have also lost a good deal of the “cock” in your wrist.

Frame #4...Here the preparation, or the lack of it, is showing with respect to the construction of your plane as you were getting into position to go forward. You have somehow reconstructed the “cock” in your wrist and to me...it looks as if your shoulders are too far ahead of your racquet at this point...I would like to see them even with the racquet in this frame. If you look at Gonzales at this point his shoulders are still relatively in the same plane as his racquet and racquet face.

Frames #4, #5 and #6...Here you are demonstrating that you are a rather accomplished tennis player as you are making a nice pass at the ball...which accounts for the nice sound the strings are making on the ball in your video. Music to my ears.

Frame #7...I would like to see you more or less conclude things here without the extreme follow through.

Frame #8...To me, this extreme follow through is superfluous and unnecessary.

Then there is the inevitable question about the open stance. My answer to that is that whenever possible construct the plane with the three lines of your feet, body and racquet to get into position to go forward into your shot. When you are unable to get into perfect plane position with the three lines...use the plane of the upper body and racquet to work together to get the racquet head through the path of the ball that is your shot. Even if you cannot get your feet in position..."two out three ain't bad", as Meatloaf wrote in his song from the album "Bat out of Hell".

Just a little food for thought, Phil...as my dear old coach Sherman Collins used to say. To me it is not a matter of swinging harder...usually, it is a matter of swinging better. More efficiently.

[don_budge]

And now for the backhand...

Very nice. Do you have a Rosewalesque underspin to match?

[don_budge]

...and the 'reverse' forehand.

Whenever you feel tempted to use this shot...I suggest a high floating ball deep to your opponents backhand. This looks desperate and the technique spells nothing but trouble, for us mere mortals.

But good stab at it...you really seem to be having a good time down there!

[gzhpcu]

Thanks don! Sure wish you were the teaching pro down here in Lugano!

[don_budge]

Dr. House calling!

Let's start with a house call. Lugano looks beautiful!

[gzhpcu]

Here is Lugano as seen from the balcony of my condo...

[don_budge]

See ya soon...Buddy!

Did you paint the rainbow in? What a view! How far to the club?

[gzhpcu]

I can see them from my balcony...

[tennis_chiro]

Wow!

Phil,
Beats the hell out of the La Brea Towers! Looks more like the Mediterranean than a lake in Switzerland. What is the elevation there?

don

[gzhpcu]

Lugano is 315 meters. I live on Monte Bre overlookin Lugano and we are 450 meters...

[gzhpcu]

Frame #8...To me, this extreme follow through is superfluous and unnecessary.

Just caught this. While I agree with a lot of other points, I don't really agree with this one. The follow through is how it is because I don't break the swing, just keep loose and let go. I hit a lot better when I do this...

[don_budge]

Caught me! and Thanks again!!!

Originally I had that comment with the Frame#7. Then I edited, that is probably why you missed it. Thanks again for posting your strokes and giving me a chance to analyze...like I said watching the youtube video gave me a good impression about what you do with the tennis ball. The subject of the follow through is a long discussion. Probably at least two beers long which for me may take as long as two months. Not much of a drinker...after two beers I really start to talk inspired. Some day I hope we get to do this in person.

In the end, at the end of the day...the thing that I try to teach all of my students is that they think for themselves. I teach them to be their own coach. To make their own decisions. To decide what is right for themselves. I teach them to think and to analyze. I try to teach my students to prove things to themselves and to be skeptical of everything...except me of course. I am pretty critical and given the opportunity I try to leave no stone unturned. After all, in tennis as in life, you are really out there on your own. Some say that no man is an island...but I say that every man is an island. If I can accomplish these things my mission is accomplished.

If you were my student, Phil...we would have a lot of time on the court. Long discussions off the court, too. As much as you wanted as a matter of fact. My biggest payment for my coaching is the interest a student shows in tennis and if they just so happen to development a passion for the game I feel for them like family in a way...because we love the game. And I can tell that you, my friend, love the game.

So in the end...if you were to decide, say for instance, that the follow through that you are hitting now is the way for you to go, that would be it. But rest assured we would work it out on the court, through demonstration and analysis of the infinite possibilities...until it was right. That meaning that you are satisfied.

I teach the fundamentals of tennis in the beginning, nothing fancy...right from the get go, right from the book. And the book is Tilden. If I can get the student down the path far enough, it becomes a science. Then I am an engineer building a machine. A little farther down it becomes philosophy, a way of life. Then I become a Metaphysicist, solving the mysteries of the game of life. The final step...and it is a big one, the game becomes art and the student is an artist. He is free to express himself in any way he chooses. He must have that freedom in the end. Their tennis game is a self portrait of how they see themselves...and how they feel about things.

Along the way the student must understand that they are the only captain of their ship and in the end...it is all up to them, it is their responsibility. He is alone.

And this is why I prefaced my comments...it's only food for thought! As my dear old coach used to say to me. I still call him from time to time. He used to call me "Pancho", you know. Thanks again, Phil. You have no idea what pleasure it gave me to write about your forehand, your serve and the rest. Best of luck to you!

[GeoffWilliams]

Nice. I appreciate the beauty of that shot. Thanks for sharing it.

[gzhpcu]

Don,
Thanks for all the comments...

Yes, I love the game, love its history. I like the old game. I find every decade has its fascination. Like the new game as well.

Every morning, I am excited about going to play, and always have some goal in mind as to what I could do better.

Problem is, that nobody down here shares the passion. The resident pro down here once told me, "what, at your age you want to hit a topspin backhand? At our age we just slice it...". So I went and got myself a topspin backhand (I mostly had a slice previously). I now hit mostly topspin backhands...