Your Strokes: Anthony Forehand

[jeffreycounts]

I would prescribe lots of basketball, soccer, skating and skiing. Balance. Nimble movement. Footwork. Then get your ass in position.

Well if I paid a coach to help my son's forehand, I think I'd want my money back with that advice. Not exactly helping Anthony in the sport he has chosen to pursue. But I'm assuming your post was mostly humorous.

[jeffreycounts]

Sorry to sound like a broken record here. But what is missing are videos of children getting older and then looking at how their forehands progress from young to old. I know that most academies and pros have a good idea of what the progression is.

I am a little worried that trying to hit an adult shot as a child has its pitfalls. What would be great would be to see any pro with an ATP forehand hitting forehands as a 10 year old. Would it look like Anthony's or not? Is there only one route to a nice "modern" adult forehand? Or are there multiple routes?

Based on this video, Rafa at 12 looks pretty much like the Rafa of today. Minus the biceps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP5hzYkbU0s

[stroke]

Based on this video, Rafa at 12 looks pretty much like the Rafa of today. Minus the biceps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP5hzYkbU0s

Jeff, could not agree more. "There's that".

[stotty]

Based on this video, Rafa at 12 looks pretty much like the Rafa of today. Minus the biceps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP5hzYkbU0s

This is invariably the case when viewing clips of greats playing as kids. Their shots generally have the same shape but are just less refined and rough around the edges. I find it very insightful to watch players like Novak and Rafa as kids. Makes you realise what a process becoming a great player is and how impossible it is to pick a kid out as a potential champion from a young age.

[don_budge]

Well if I paid a coach to help my son's forehand, I think I'd want my money back with that advice. Not exactly helping Anthony in the sport he has chosen to pursue. But I'm assuming your post was mostly humorous.

You'd be wrong. Ask the father what he thinks. Herb Krickstein and I had many excellent discussions about his son Aaron at ten years old. I talked to the mother as well. They had me on board for a reason and it wasn't to pay me the big bucks so you can take that money and stick it where the "son" don't shine. Whether it is yours or the father's. I stand by what I wrote based on the video.

Coaches and anyone associated with the game or sport of tennis are so afraid to "bite the hand that feeds you" they will tiptoe around the real issue only to insure another umpteen hours of "lessons" in lieu of real athletic training. This is a boy who will someday hopefully grow up to be a man. Teach him to be a man. Enrol him in martial arts as well. A tennis match is a dog fight. So is life. He may want to show up with sun glasses and a baseball cap on backwards but if he is my boy it would be otherwise. This business of "the sport he has chosen to pursue" sounds like the PC drivel of modern times. He's not old enough. He's still wet behind the ears. I hope he chooses to be a man someday. That will depend on the parenting, I suppose.

I am a performance analyst. I describe what I see and project the way going forwards. I don't agree or disagree and I think your comment was very, very amusing. Objectively speaking, of course.

It's funny video. With the shades and the backwards baseball cap one could relegate it to "America's Funniest Home Videos". It is interesting at the same time. One might just take it a bit too seriously. Just because he is hitting some of the points often associated with the "modern forehand". At this point, it most certainly must be considered "all hat and no cattle", as tennis_chiro once said. The first keys are as John points out in the athleticism or rather the lack of it. It looks rote...rehearsed.

Put him through the hockeyscout curriculum of training the athlete for the future. Give him a year of seasoning in that respect. Lots of running and jumping and playing with balls. Develop the athlete...parallel to the tennis player. Anything said about Anthony at this point is inconclusive. What will matter is the path going forwards. I really don't approve of the footwork at all. He must be taught to step to the ball before all of the modern mumbo jumbo. Open stance...semi-open. The transfer of weight is the single most important facet of anything in sports. He must step to the ball before all of the twisting...and shouting.

I would prescribe lots of basketball, soccer, skating and skiing. Balance. Nimble movement. Footwork. Then get your ass in position. He is standing straight up instead of being down in a nice athletic position. Don't tell him I said so. He's a little kid. Guide him and teach him to play. It will make a man of him. It is a great submission. An interesting video...possibly to take more seriously in the future. Maybe when he is fourteen and as mean as a cat.

[johnyandell]

Guys,
I appreciate the passion in this thread. Always surprised at what stimulates discussion in the Forum. But this is a 10 year old kid who loves tennis. He's not shooting for Wimbledon so far as I know. No need to put him on the future pro training program at this point. He likes hitting tennis balls and having fun doing it. If I started him it might have been a different model but the point is this is what he developed on his own and who is to say that whatever happens for him in tennis it won't work out or that it won't be a happy life.

[doctorhl]

Guys,
I appreciate the passion in this thread. Always surprised at what stimulates discussion in the Forum. But this is a 10 year old kid who loves tennis. He's not shooting for Wimbledon so far as I know. No need to put him on the future pro training program at this point. He likes hitting tennis balls and having fun doing it. If I started him it might have been a different model but the point is this is what he developed on his own and who is to say that whatever happens for him in tennis it won't work out or that it won't be a happy life.

Agree. Much of coaching is the art of knowing how long of a leash to put on a kid and guide, but not kill the enthusiasm and love of the sport. The individual sport coach must tailor the leash length and adjust it constantly while making it look like the reins are not held too tight. One of the difficulties in coaching team sports is having the ability to coach players individually while at the same time making it look like you are treating all players the same......a tough task for the coach. And my experience has been that the more elite the athlete, the longer the leash. Why? Probably because the elite usually have more time and ego invested. But.......Harry Hopman, as I understand it , treated his tennis players more like a team sport and kept a short leas. But was the leas on things other than playing style? Perhaps the Davis Cup was just not suited for the individualistic players of today. What say you guys who coach every day?

[arturohernandez]

I agree with both views. Kids should have fun and they should enjoy tennis. It's not about becoming a pro. However, I see some kids out there playing tennis that thought they saw one thing but in fact it was another. The idea that the ground is really important for hitting a ball does not go against the idea of having fun.

There seems to be this idea out there that we should speed everything up. That children should start being like adults as kids. Rafa's forehand is similar but to me it looks a lot simpler. If we start really simple, then kids have the chance to grow into their strokes. It's a similar idea in school. Give them the basics and then let them go from there.

I suppose we are arguing the same thing. Let kids be kids. You guys seem to be focusing on the have fun part and I am focusing on the keep it simple part.

The purpose of tennis for the majority is not about being a pro player. Otherwise, none of us would play.

Thanks John for starting such a long conversation!

[jeffreycounts]

Isn't that the argument for using softer balls with kids? It is better for them to hit the soft at waste height to develop good technique at a young age. As they get older they will then adapt the technique and still hit at waist level.

Clay courts are also thought to slow the ball and give kids more time to hit the ball. Rather than trying to ping-pong it like they do on hard courts. Or just moon ball and then move back all the time to hit it.

Really good points I hadn't thought of. I can certainly see how clay would be better for kids development - not only for slowing the ball, but also for lowering the height of the ball on contact. I really like the softer balls for kids, and definitely it has to do with lowering the height of the ball.

[topspinster22]

Maybe others have commented, but what about the right elbow going up and the tip of the racket pointing forward on the backswing> Would rather see both arms go out straight parallel to the baseline with the racket head vertical. That would make for a more efficient backswing and help the racket drop earlier, which he is going to need to do when the balls start coming at him faster. It would also help him be able to handle high bouncing balls around his chest. His contact point is very good - out in front and he keeps the arm loose and lets the racket fly across on the follow through which I like.

[macbeth]

BTA

So impressed with the work he put into learn his own stroke. That should encouraged. Orange or green dot ball a good thought. This was a very enjoyable discussion Thank you

[antony]

As Anthony's father, I have read all the insightful comments here and reviewed them with Anthony. My heartfelt thanks to everyone of you. I am so grateful for what John has done for us. The article John masterfully crafted was so insightful and helpful for me as a parent and also a huge deal for Anthony as a 10 year old. I just cannot thank John enough. I feel so lucky to get connected to this great tennis community. I have learned so much from all of you. Thank you all again.

[johnyandell]

Glad it has been positive! Keep us posted. Let me know if you guys end up seeing Kerry.

[antony]

Glad it has been positive! Keep us posted. Let me know if you guys end up seeing Kerry.

Will do. Thank you John.

[don_budge]

It's funny video. With the shades and the backwards baseball cap one could relegate it to "America's Funniest Home Videos". It is interesting at the same time. One might just take it a bit too seriously. Just because he is hitting some of the points often associated with the "modern forehand". At this point, it most certainly must be considered "all hat and no cattle", as tennis_chiro once said. The first keys are as John points out in the athleticism or rather the lack of it. It looks rote...rehearsed.

Put him through the hockeyscout curriculum of training the athlete for the future. Give him a year of seasoning in that respect. Lots of running and jumping and playing with balls. Develop the athlete...parallel to the tennis player. Anything said about Anthony at this point is inconclusive. What will matter is the path going forwards. I really don't approve of the footwork at all. He must be taught to step to the ball before all of the modern mumbo jumbo. Open stance...semi-open. The transfer of weight is the single most important facet of anything in sports. He must step to the ball before all of the twisting...and shouting.

I would prescribe lots of basketball, soccer, skating and skiing. Balance. Nimble movement. Footwork. Then get your ass in position. He is standing straight up instead of being down in a nice athletic position. Don't tell him I said so. He's a little kid. Guide him and teach him to play. It will make a man of him. It is a great submission. An interesting video...possibly to take more seriously in the future. Maybe when he is fourteen and as mean as a cat.

I would like to thank you for posting the video of your son. I just want to clarify my comments a bit. First of all, I think it is wonderful that a boy of his age has taken an interest in tennis. Unfortunately, I think it is too early to take tennis too seriously at his age. There are exceptions and I mentioned my experience with one of the most prodigious tennis juniors of all time. He was THE exception. There hasn't been another like him to my knowledge. Pancho Segura was saying that Aaron could be the next Björn Borg and that was back in 1980 when Borg was at the height of the game. Aaron had this unbelievable knack for anything athletic and what made it more incredible is he didn't really look like a great athlete.

The rest of us mortals acquire our skill sets from different activities. I played several sports with various degrees of seriousness and it was tennis that I chose to play competitively in the end. I never touched a racquet until I was fourteen but I had loads of game experience from other sports. So to put your son on a faster track in the arena of athletics I stand by what I wrote with regard to looking at a bigger picture in his development. "Develop the athlete...parallel to the tennis player." We have on the forum a man who is a professional hockey scout and he has a daughter who he started training to be a tennis player at a young age. He has done this by a somewhat "unconventional" route which I am a believer in. He has focused more on creating the athlete than the tennis player in her younger years, knowing he can install the "software" of tennis when the time comes appropriately.

If you take a child and train them to be a professional tennis player at an early age they are going to be stuck in the same thing that tennis is stuck in now. The "junior syndrome". When taught to play at such a young age with limited athletic skills, many times it creates a situation where there is limited potential for growth because of the learning curve of the game. It is a very complex game and it is much more complicated than the junior game. The professional game looks like the junior game. Aaron Krickstein actually never did progress much beyond the junior game himself. In my opinion, he did not reach the full potential of his tennis. He achieved tremendous success as a junior and he took a route that many of the players in his day. He actually enjoyed tremendous success as a professional but I will always wonder what he might have done. What if?

Basketball is a game that has great complimentary skill sets with tennis. The concepts of offence and defence for one thing. The movement is forwards and backwards as well as side to side. You learn to be a tough nosed competitor for another thing. Baseball is another game that has some transitional elements with the sport of tennis. Why not play sports on a seasonal basis for a couple, few years?

Thanks again for posting and I wish both you and your son the best of luck in the future.