Exaggerated Learning:
Groundstrokes

Dave Hagler

Traditional tennis teaching is based around the concept of accuracy. We want to describe the strokes as accurately as possible, and we want our students to hit the ball accurately according to these descriptions. The same thing can be said for patterns of play. We want to understand and develop winning geometric combinations by learning to hit accurately to specific target areas on the court, and do this with different speeds and spins on balls with different degrees of difficulty.

This article introduces a supplemental concept that goes in another direction. In 30 years of coaching I've developed as series of drills that aren't "accurate," instead they are intentional exaggerations. They could also be called overcompensations.

I call the process of using these techniques and drills Exaggerated Learning. My experience has shown me that creating the "exaggeration" you suddenly help a player understand a goal in a new way. "Exaggerated Learning" helps players try new things without fear of failure. The exaggerations can produce amazing results for students at all levels. They are especially helpful when a player is struggling with a strictly reality based description. The process may allow a player to become "unstuck" and achieve almost instantaneous success. What follows are some Exaggerated Learning techniques that address common situations that we run into on court.

Hitting Deep Groundstrokes

According to statistics I have seen, 70% of all errors in tennis come from balls hit into the net. For years my students were told that it was o.k. for them to miss long but they still hit way too many shots in the net. I even played games with my students where they were allowed to miss 2 shots long before losing the point. This helped some, but not as much as I would have anticipated.

Trying to address this problem led to an "exaggerated" solution. I placed plastic dots about 4 feet behind the baseline. I told each player, "This is your new baseline. Your goal is to hit as many balls as possible between your old baseline and your new baseline." Immediately I found players kept the ball out of the net and starting to hit consistently with the depth I wanted to see. Interestingly, although they were more consistent and hit with more depth, my players hit very few balls went past the "old" baseline.

To give an example, on her first try, one top 50 national junior hit 15 consecutive shots within 5 feet of the baseline. All of these shots would have been good (or great) shots under normal rules. During this entire period she did not hit a single ball in the net. We then had a discussion about where shots are typically missed during match play. I suggested to her that if she hit two extra shots past the baseline and 5 fewer shots in the net then that is a great trade for her to make. This trick has worked with absolutely everyone who has tried it. It has helped seniors, 3.0 level adults, college players, juniors who range from nationally ranked to starting out in USTA league tennis, and everyone in between. As I said, most players instantly get more balls over and hit deeper but not past the original baseline. But if a player continues to hit into the net, push them to hit the ball past the "old" baseline or move the lines back even further.

You can do a variation of this drill for more advanced players who are having trouble driving balls that are hit at them with heavy topspin, particularly when they are hitting from mid or 3/4 court. Frequently when players first try to drive these balls their shots will tend to fly. The exaggeration is to try to drive the ball into the tape or lower if necessary. You'll find this will bring the ball down fast, but interestingly, not that many balls actually go into the net.

2 Directional Control of Groundstrokes

Many players do not aim their shots. Part of the reason for this is that they do not understand target areas. Sometimes the targets they select are inappropriate (typically too small) for their skill level. If a player feels he or she can not succeed they may not try.

If a player contends they can not control their shot angles, have them attempt to hit groundstrokes that go over the net and then into the side fence (on an individually fenced court). If a player can hit these sharper angles, they can learn to hit smaller angles as well. Have them hit wide first. The ball has to hit the side fence on one bounce. Now narrow the range to more realistic targets. Use cones or readily visible objects to mark out generous target areas so they can have success. Once it becomes possible, you can help players learn proper shot selection and percentage tennis in relation to actual point structure. You can do this in a live ball setting by having players rally from half, ľ or full court hitting alley to alley or even outside the alleys to a target area. You can make a live ball game out of this by awarding different point totals for hitting to different target areas.

Late Contact

It is important that players understand that when they make timing errors, it is more likely they will be "late" as opposed to "early." In baseball terms a right handed batter who is "early" will hit the ball foul to the third base side. The same batter will hit the ball foul down on the first base side if he is late.

Because of this, players who hit cross court and are late will make more shots than a player who aims down the line and is similarly late. If a player aims cross court and is slightly late the ball will travel on a slight diagonal and end up in the middle third of the court. Slightly later and the same shot will go parallel to the side line -- down the line as opposed to the intended cross court target. If a player attempts to hit down the line and is late the ball will tend to go wide because the margin for error is much smaller. For example, a righty forehand that is aimed cross court and lands 15 feet to the right of the intended target will stay in while a down the line forehand that lands 15 feet to the right of an intended target will be out.

Have players hit diagonally, crosscourt. On their down the line side, mark off 1/3 of the court with plastic throw down lines. Players can hit down the line but they have to call "line" prior to hitting their shot. Down the line winners or balls that are not returned are worth 3 points. If they aim down the line and hit wide into the doubles alley they lose 5 points. If they aim down the line and hit too far cross court they lose one point. All other errors/winners are worth 2 points. Play games to 21 points. Over time, the exaggerated consequences will help players make good decisions about when to take the chance of hitting down the line.

4 Determining How Tightly to Hold the Racquet

My guess is that for every student who holds the racquet too loose there are 20 or 30 who are too tight on their grip. Asking a player to loosen their grip does not work as well as having them tighten the grip first and try to hit. After this they will understand what it really means to loosen the grip. You can use a 1 (loose) to 10 (tight) scale and have the player experiment with different tensions. The beauty of this is the student learns to self correct.

Spin Generation on Groundstrokes

It is important that players be able to hit with ranges of spin off the ground. I think it is important to be able to hit groundstrokes with or without spin, and to be able to hit both topspin and slice. I agree with Robert Lansdorp (Click Here) that the most important thing that a player can learn in terms of hitting groundstrokes is to learn to hit through the ball. This should be the initial emphasis. I feel the same way about excessive topspin on groundstrokes that I do about topspin serves. It is painful to watch a junior who has had success in a younger age group struggle as he ages up because of an inability to finish points. Generation and control of spin is desirable but exaggeration should be limited unless you want the consequence of excessive spin for its own sake.

But once a player has learned to hit through the ball, you can use an exaggeration to help them learn how to vary the rotation. Have the player hit slightly more spin, and then slightly less spin, than they would normally utilize in a given situation. If they can extend their range of spins, then they can comfortably hit every thing in between as well.

Groundstroke Trajectory

Teach your players to experiment with a matrix that includes three variables: Spin, Trajectory and Velocity. The idea is to have the student try to keep two of the variables the same, then change the third. For example, the player tries to hit with the same speed and spin, but learns to vary the trajectory. If the player can keep the velocity and amount and type of spin constant, he or she will truly feel how hitting with a higher trajectory causes the ball to go farther and land deeper. Conversely the player will learn how a lower trajectory will result in the ball landing shorter.

In the second case, the player keeps the spin and trajectory constant and increases and decreases the velocity. The third case is keeping the speed and trajectory constant and increasing spin. Hitting with increased topspin while keeping the other two variables constant will result in the ball landing shorter. Reducing the amount of topspin will cause the ball to land deeper. The player should do the same exercise when hitting with underspin. Increasing the amount of slice while keeping the speed and trajectory constant will cause the ball to land deeper. Decreasing the amount of slice will cause it to land shorter.

Once a player understands and has success with these combinations, they can try to keep one variable constant and vary the other two. There are lots of combinations, and a player who masters a broader array of shots will have more weapons to take into an on-court battle. Over time the player will acquire better control and a better understanding of how to determine which shot or shots may be appropriate in a given situation.

Spin and Trajectory Matrix

The Process

Players who are learning new skills need to be encouraged to try new things and allowed to make mistakes. This is especially true when working on the exaggerations. If a professional is too rigid in the approach to the student it is the student who suffers. A good professional will accelerate a player's learning curve while helping that player develop an individualized game which will maximize what that player can do.

Frequently, redefining goals through exaggerations will expand the range of what a player can do, or let them realize that they can already do things they did not know they could do. In either case, the player will have more fun. Your players will be more confident because they will have a better idea of what they can and can not do. They also will tend to be more tolerant of the errors they do make, and better yet -- they will make fewer errors.

Extra Special Thanks to the following students for doing the exaggerated demonstrations so well: Travis Tu, Lestter Yeh, Ashley Dai, Eric Gao and Valerie Thong.