A coaching mentor and friend of mine, Coach Chuck Kriese, often says to his players, “The legs are the engine and the hands are the steering wheel.” This simple phrase is packed with wisdom. Here is a video explaining how power on the backhand is generated from the ground up and the arms play a role more focused on directing the swing path (more vertical for spin and more horizontal for power).
In tennis you can have perfect strokes but it you cannot get to the ball that technique is useless. Efficient movement patterns are becoming more an more important as the game continues to speed up and I wrote about why movement is paramount way back in 2014.
Here is a video I put together explaining the lateral (sideways) footwork patterns for the forehand.
I realize that there are variations and there must be. Each ball that comes to your side of the court and where you are positioned to receive it at that moment are unique. Sometimes you have more time and will make small adjustment steps, sometimes you are pressured on time and simply have to do something athletic to get the ball back. These are the basics and when basic concepts are understood and practiced it aids players in moving better.
In teaching footwork I find that the best way is to really let the human body figure it out. After all we are pre-programmed to move. No one teaches a baby with slow motion footage and words how to roll, walk, and run. If you put a child into a game of tag they immediately find angles to push off the ground and accelerate, create angles to decelerate and stop, and then reaccelerate to avoid getting tagged. And the more they are in that tag environment the better they become at it. The same thing happens on a tennis court, once a student understands the stroke techniques/concepts the best thing to do is get out there and move while hitting the ball.
In tennis you can have perfect strokes but it you cannot get to the ball that technique is useless. Efficient movement patterns are becoming more an more important as the game continues to speed up and I wrote about why movement is paramount way back in 2014.
Here is a video I put together explaining the lateral (sideways) footwork patterns for a two handed backhand.
I realize that there are variations and there must be. Each ball that comes to your side of the court and where you are positioned to receive it at that moment are unique. Sometimes you have more time and will make small adjustment steps, sometimes you are pressured on time and simply have to do something athletic to get the ball back. These are the basics and when basic concepts are understood and practiced it aids players in moving better.
In teaching footwork I find that that best way is to really let the human body figure it out. After all we are pre-programmed to move. No one teaches a baby with slow motion footage and words how to roll, walk, and run. If you put a child into a game of tag they immediately find angles to push off the ground and accelerate, create angles to decelerate and stop, and then reaccelerate to avoid getting tagged. And the more they are in that tag environment the better they become at it. The same thing happens on a tennis court, once a student understands the stroke techniques/concepts the best thing to do is get out there and move while hitting the ball.
In tennis you can have perfect strokes but it you cannot get to the ball that technique is useless. Efficient movement patterns are becoming more an more important as the game continues to speed up and I wrote about why movement is paramount way back in 2014.
Here is a video I put together explaining the lateral (sideways) footwork patterns for a one hand backhand.
I realize that there are variations and there must be. Each ball that comes to your side of the court and where you are positioned to receive it at that moment are unique. Sometimes you have more time and will make small adjustment steps, sometimes you are pressured on time and simply have to do something athletic to get the ball back. These are the basics and when basic concepts are understood and practiced it aids players in moving better.
In teaching footwork I find that the best way is to really let the human body figure it out. After all we are pre-programmed to move. No one teaches a baby with slow motion footage and words how to roll, walk, and run. If you put a child into a game of tag they immediately find angles to push off the ground and accelerate, create angles to decelerate and stop, and then reaccelerate to avoid getting tagged. And the more they are in that tag environment the better they become at it. The same thing happens on a tennis court, once a student understands the stroke techniques/concepts the best thing to do is get out there and move while hitting the ball.
Here is a video post explaining the more advanced technical aspects of a forehand. Levers and lag in particular are the fancy things that get a lot of attention and they are essential to having a high level forehand. But as I discuss in the video the foundation of developing coordinated power from the ground up and just basic athletic skills in general, like hand-eye coordination, are what the more advanced technical aspects of the forehand are built upon. You have to think long-term and not skip any steps along the way.
I was listening to a podcast with Lee Taft while riding the spin bike the other day. I was introduced to the Lee Taft’s work over a decade ago and he changed my coaching life showing me what really happens in multi-directional movement. Footwork in tennis is essential because you have to both get to and recover quickly from every shot you make. The podcast inspired me to make a video on the importance of the split step. It it critical to understand the use of elastic energy (stretch-shortening cycle), the angles of force that are applied into the ground, and the directional step. One of the best ways you can improve your split step at home right now is simply jumping rope.