Forehand

[tennis1199]

John,

When teaching beginner tennis players on the forehand, do you have them make sure they catch their racquet over the shoulder? Many coaches demand the finish for the perfectly structured swing from low to high!!
I think it teaches a player to lift from low to high and eventually create some spin on the ball.
Finishes change based on what your doing to the ball. Do you agree?
So if I teach someone to catch the racquet over the shoulder am I limiting them later on?
Does someone's forehand evolve over time with many finishes?
Do you think Nadel, federer and others were told to finish over the shoulder? or were they told to just hit the ball?

I was taught to catch the racquet and definitely hit the ball with topsin but not much of a pressing forehand!

Last few years, I have experimented with just leting the racquet fall or finish with out forcing the finish

My forehand is 100% better

Your thoughts

Adam

[johnyandell]

Adam,

I don't use the catch myself, but something similar, having players hold and check the extension and height and racket angle. I think these types of techniques really help develop a basic drive.

I agree that the variations in the game can be read off of the finishes. Depending on the grip and the shot there will also be more or less hand and arm rotation.

These should be introduced but in my view after the basic drive is solid. If you let the finish fall where it may--that's great, so long as it's the right finish...Most players need help for that.

But you don't want to force the wrong finish for the wrong shot! See Brett Hobden's article on the 7 forehands, or look at my Advanced Tennis articles on the variations across the grips, the hand and arm rotation, and the Federer articles.

John Yandell

[tennis1199]

Forehand

Hey John,

I do agree with you about developing the basic drive fore sure.
I read the article about the seven different forehands. good article!!
How much is really taught on how to hit the 7 forehands or is it done through experimentation of the tennis individual themselves?
Did Nadel's coaches in the past show all of the seven swing patterns to him or did his forehand improve and obvoiusly evolve through years and years of hitting balls
Would Nadel even know what he is doing to get the results? Could he teach/explain what he does with his swing pattern to acheive different types of shots
Or is it done just by feel!
So should the shots be taught with technical detail or just do positional shot making drills rather than confusing your students?

Your thoughts

Adam

[johnyandell]

I think the answer is a little bit of both. I have no idea how Nadal was trained. I did personally see Robert Lansdorp training Maria Sharapova on the reverse forehand--what Brett calls the vertical finish.

I think if you observe a player situationally in matches that's the best guage of where they are with a certain stroke--what they may do naturally, and what they might do but don't in certain situations.

In drilling if you put your player in a position thru a feed or a rally to hit a loop or a running forehand (bender or whatever you call it yourself) what do they do??
You are then in a position to suggest a variation in the finish if needed.