Category Archives: Tennis

The Hips Are The Engine

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This post is applies to everyone but it is aimed at those working with young kids especially. The ability to create rotational power is a natural movement pattern for the human body. In the video below I use an 8 Board (developed by fellow tennis coach Jack Broudy) to demonstrate how the hips are the engine for rotational power. Developing good tennis strokes is directly related to being efficient at this movement pattern. I am not even sure if the 8 board is still in production. I have had mine for a while but it has been a fantastic teaching tool because it allows you to feel the movement.

Now for those of you working with little ones this is my son using a full size racket hitting off an air tee in my driveway. If you put relatively heavy things in kids hands and allow them to experiment with swinging it you will be amazed at how quickly they get the rotational power movement. This is why I steer people away from light aluminum rackets and to heavier 25, 26 and sometimes even 27 inch rackets. Small light ones can be easily swung with just the arm but with something heavy the body is forced to use the hips and that is what you want for the foundation of a tennis stroke in the long term.


Serve Types (Flat, Slice, Topspin)

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In the previous blog posts we discussed how you get power from the ground up and how the core plays a critical role in transferring rotational power from the hips to the arm. Today we are going to look specifically at the wrist action and racket paths that allow a player to hit flat, spin and topspin serves.

With beginners I often start by teaching these actions and then work my way backwards down the body into a full service motion. It is important to have power but it is even more important to have accuracy. Mastering the different types of spin on the serve is the same as learning topspin on your groundstrokes. Master spin and the percentages of balls you keep inside the lines goes way up.


Volley Wrist & Shoulder Position

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The volley is an offensive shot because it takes a significant amount of time away from your opponent to reload for another groundstroke. When you volley the court distance is cut nearly in half and that means you also have to deal with less time to prepare and execute. The volley really is about deflecting the oncoming ball and in this video I explain the most advantageous and stable positioning of the wrist and shoulder to do so.

The footwork patterns in the previous post are designed to simply get you to the ball and have solid wrist and shoulder positioning. And truth be told if you understand the wrist and shoulder positioning you are after your body will naturally move in a way to allow you to get into that stable positioning quickly. Volley enough and it becomes more like a reflex.


Volley Movement Patterns

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One of the easiest ways to practice at home right now is to volley off a wall or piece of plywood. The wall never misses and you get a ton of contacts in a very short amount of time. Even Federer is doing it!

Here is a video explaining the basic footwork patterns for volleys and overheads. Another great way to practice is to shadow them exactly like I am doing here in the video. In a future video I’ll explain the upper body technique for volleys but with most of you not being able to get on the court right now shadowing the footwork can really be beneficial and a good workout.

And I have to give credit where credit is due. My fellow coaching friend Ashley Hobson at Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, FL shared it with me long before.


Swing Paths – Horizontal vs. Vertical

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I made a lot of videos about the forehand and backhand last week. Here is an in depth look at the swing path of the racket. There is a time to swing more horizontally which would be when attempting to take away time from your opponent with power and a lower trajectory over the net. There is also a time to swing more vertically which is when you are being pressured and need to create time with a higher trajectory ball with a lot of topspin.


Serve Power Sources

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The serve is the most complex motion in tennis by far.  These two videos are aimed at explaining the 2 main sources of power.  First, we start with the lower body and look at how to load the legs properly.  Second, we look at what I think it the most important power generator in the serve, internal rotation of the arm.  Everything that occurs with the legs is designed to maximize the speed of internal rotation.  It all the comes together at the point of contact and we look at how important the angle of the racket and arm are to transferring power into the ball.  These are elements all great servers have in common.

One Handed Backhand – Power, Spin, Pros/Cons

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In the video below I discuss the main aspects of how power and spin are created and released on the one-handed backhand. Explain how the setup and recovery footwork are unique to this particular stroke. Finally, I go over the advantages and disadvantages of having a one handed backhand.


Two Hand Backhand – Power & Swing Path

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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).

Forehand Lateral Footwork Patterns

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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.