Players Edge Tennis

At many times during the day we subconsciously use our imagination to dream of a future we desire, why not use this same act of "daydreaming" to help improve your tennis game. Rather then getting in trouble at school for day dreaming all the time, here are four ways you can try using your imagination for on court improvement;

THE RUNWAY

Imagine an airport runway at night, and how the sides of it are all lite up. The bright lights scream into the night sky to help guide massive jumbo jets safely back down to the earth. Now take that same image and place it on the court over the net in the area you want your ball to go. Whether it is a serve, ground stroke or volley see the runway where you want the ball to go and throw your racquet along that path. This will help you have a much more stable impact at contact, a longer hitting zone (for greater power) but also much better control over direction in your game.

STRINGS

A great deal of top players use this trick, including one Aussie who is famous for being fiesty and a fighter. In between points, look down at your strings, find a block of 8 strings and imagine a tennis court. While walking to prepare for the next point, use your fingers and show yourself where you want the next ball to go, whether it be your serve or return. Some players are known to imagine favorite cartoon characters playing out the point on the strings in between points and have noted that this use of imagination has helped them relax in the midst of high pressure matches.

THE LITTLE HOUSE

To help maintain a good athletic height (which will help you stay balanced through having a wide base) try imagining you are in a little house. The ceiling is so short that you must bend your knees to stay inside. While playing the point you are hustling inside this little house, and it is not until you strike the ball that you can stand up to get out of the house. No slouching though, you must keep your head and shoulders and hips in line. After a couple points doing this you will feel the burn in your legs and this will confirm that you are lower to the ground and therefor using the ground to hit the ball harder all the while staying very balanced and not to mention looking like an athlete.

FREE TIME

Have you ever found yourself unable to train, whether it be because you are too busy with other things, or you can't afford the court hire, and you are getting frustrated because you just want to hit balls. Don't get angry, don't blame others or your situation, use that time on the bus, or in the car, or at home alone to become better, imagine yourself playing matches, win! win! win! See yourself getting healthier through good eating, fitter through conditioning, steadier through ball quality, mentally tougher through winning nationals. Imagine your leg muscles getting stronger while you walk to the bus stop. You can train 24 hours a day if you have the desire to improve. Imagine that everything you do is for one benefit. To be #1, to be the best you can be. Washing the dishes is now being done to make you more disciplined, walking the dog is now being done to improve your cardio fitness. Doing math homework is now being done to make you a better problem solver and therefor calmer and better under pressure on the tennis court. Relate everything you do using your imagination toward becoming a better tennis player. It may sound a bit obsessive, but after all obsessiveness is what it takes to be the best.

These are just a few examples. Try them the next time you play, but more importantly use your imagination to come up with some tricks of your own. Imagine the future you desire, imagine it everyday, how much you improve is only limited by your imagination itself, so let it free, dream big and dream without limits.

"And the next time someone askes you what you are doing while it seems you are off on another planet, just tell them you are training."

...Johnny Glanville

Dean's Tips (February 2005)

3 STEPS TO HELP DEVELOP "ROCK SOLID GROUNDIES"

In the previous two installments of Dean's Tips we discussed important components in developing two specific shots. The return of second serve and the attacking forehand. In this segment we will discuss ways to improve something more general, yet arguably the most important skill in the game, our rallying skills.

This past December, I spent most of the month in Miami coaching Under 12 Canadian players in a couple of International events. During my time down there, I was able to watch numerous top players compete in these tournaments. For the most part, all of the top players had one thing in common. Excellent rallying skills. As you can imagine, players Under 12 have not yet really matured physically (especially on the boys side) so there were not many kids dominating play by hitting "huge" serves. However, off the ground or when rallying, the best players in the world at that age looked like "little pros".

Following are 3 things the best players do well when rallying and 3 things that you can improve to rally like the pros:

1. CONSISTENCY

- The ability to pressure opponent by being very steady or by not missing....no free points!

2. PRECISION

- The ability to pressure opponent by hitting outside of the middle of the court....placing the ball close to the sidelines.

3. TEMPO

- The ability to pressure opponent by hitting the ball with pace....hitting the ball hard to give opponent less time to get to the ball.

I believe developing these areas in the above order is the best way to improve your rallying skills i.e. first developing consistency, then precision, then tempo. Following are some ways you can improve the above areas:

A) CONSISTENCY

- Simply work on exchanging balls with a partner back and forth. I find counting really helps improve consistency because it also improves concentration. You could try counting "how many in a row" you and your partner can rally, then try to improve your score the next time you rally. You can also try to exchange a certain number of balls in a row, a certain number of times i.e. "lets try to rally 10 balls in a row, 10 times". These are co-operative drills so players should simply hit down the middle (with little movement) or if four on a court, rally down the line, splitting the court in two.

B) PRECISION

- Start with doing something similar to the above but now hitting cross-court, this will help you to start hitting out of the middle. Next try exchanging balls to specific target areas closer to the side lines i.e. place targets 3-4 feet from singles sideline and see who can achieve 10 targets first...for example. You could also play points where the middle of the court (after you set up an agreed target area) is out!

C) TEMPO

- You can increase ball tempo two ways. First of all you need to hit the ball harder, this can be achieved by simply increasing the racquet head speed, making sure you accelerate the racquet at all times. The other way to increase your ball tempo is to hit your opponents shot at its peak. Doing this will allow you to use his/her pace to help send back the ball with good pace. Ensure you take the ball at it�s peak or on the rise.

As mentioned above, progress by first getting your consistency level up, then ball placement, and then lastly try hitting with a little more power.

"Try developing these areas when rallying an I am sure you will start hitting rock solid groundies just like the top juniors."

Good Luck!

...Dean Coburn

Dean's Tips (December 2004)

Key Elements and Steps in Devoloping a "BIG ATTACK FOREHAND"

I recently helped a player in the academy further develop his forehand attack groundstroke. After about one hour, he significantly improved this shot. Following are some of the steps we used to help develop this shot as well as key elements which are important in developing a "big" attack forehand:

There are 4 key elements which are important to understand with regards to this shot (in specific order):

1. Decision

Before the actual shot is even struck, you must become able to understand whether or not to "go for it". More specifically meaning "should I maintain a rally off that ball or take it early, shuffle in and attack?"

2. Consistency

No matter how big you can hit, it doesn't matter if it doesn't go in the boundaries!

3. Effectiveness

Is it good enough, big enough to hurt my opponent?

4. Follow-up

If the attacking shot is placed well enough, is powerful enough, you should move forward to knock off an easy volley or hit another attack shot (assuming opponent gets a racquet on it)...Hopefully not!

In the session spent with this particular player, we worked on these elements in reverse order starting with effectiveness. Most of our time spent was on the effectiveness of the shot and I'll explain why.

Developing the proper "go for it" attitude and related mechanics towards a "big forehand" are the most important things to be addressed in my opinion. "Let it go! Smack it! Attack!" were some of the key words used when we worked on this shot. When struck well, the attack forehand should have a distinct sound i.e. a loud crack! Breathing out or exhaling when hitting is also very important (this helps in developing the feel of letting go). Throwing the whole body into the shot is also key as it develops both power and consistency.

Following are some of the steps we used to develop the effectiveness of his attack forehand:

We would start with throwing a medicine ball back and forth making sure that he would show his back to me when preparing to throw, then show his back to me after the ball had been tossed. This ensured complete upper body rotation. It was also encouraged to throw the ball almost violently! This helps develop a real "let it go" feeling and attitude.
Player would then practice this feel of letting go and body rotation with racquet by "shadowing" i.e. swinging away with the racquet but not yet practicing the movement while hitting the ball. The path of racquet encouraged was a level swing at shoulder height.
Player would position himself at the service line and was basket fed soft, easy shots giving him confidence to really go after the forehand, maintaining a nice level swing and ensuring his impact point with the ball was at shoulder level.
After gaining confidence, player then positioned himself to 3/4 court (further back) and continued recieving high, soft, easy basket fed balls,maintaining the feeling of letting go and rotating fully.
The next step used, player would stay positioned 3/4 court, and he continued to recieve high, soft shots but the feeds were now moving a little left and a little right (ensuring that he was still hitting the attack with good quality). When technique broke down, balls were once again fed easy down the middle. Once hit with proper mechanics, the feeds would be moved a little right and a little left again.

Both attitude and technique of his attack improved so we then wanted to improve the consistency of his attack. Following are the next steps we used to develop his consistency:

Once again, the player was basket fed easy balls a little left and a little right. This time counting how many out of 10 he would achieve into the ad side half of the court (maintaining proper mechanics). At first he made 5, next set 6 and we continued untill he achieved 8. We chose to use the ad side half of the court because, for the most part, most right handed juniors weaker side is their backhand.
The next step we used was to exchange defence vs. attack. I would stand approx.12 feet behind the baseline on the ad side half of the court, basically "popping" up easy balls counting how many balls in a row he could attack to the corner. (Still maintaining effectiveness). We found counting helped improve consistency because the player had a clear measure of where he was at. It also motivated the player to better his score each time. Improving consistency.

After developing the consistency and effectiveness of his forehand attack, we wanted to develop the proper decision making skills of the attack. Following was our last step used to develop proper decision making skills:

Play points! After about an hour of working on the above areas, player joined the group to play sets and would simply be provided feedback while he was playing i.e."you could have moved in and attacked that one" ,"good job in anticipating that short ball".....etc....This feedback helped the player better understand when and when not to go for the attack forehand. Improving his decision making.

"Try applying these steps whether working with a friend or your coach, and if at any time you find yourself struggling, simply go back one step until you feel comfortable with it, then move on.

Devolping a "big" forehand at any level will give you an advantage. You will have the ability to finish the point sooner, and at the same time make your opponent feel like he/she cannot afford to hit the ball short.

Hopefully you can use what was shared in this addition of Dean's Tips to help you develop a bigger forehand attack!"

Good Luck!

...Dean Coburn

Dean's Tips (October 2003)

Return of 2nd Serve

The two most important shots in this sport are widely considered to be the serve and the return of serve. The reasoning behind this belief is that they are the only two shots that occur every point. Depending on your opponents 1st serve percentage (60-70% is considered excellent , any higher percentage means your opponent is not trying to create offensive opportunities) chances are you will be returning 2nd serves half (or more than half) as often as 1st serves. Knowing this, it is important that players become skillfull with this shot as it occurs very frequently. At every level of play, especially junior tennis, it is almost a guarantee that you will receive an easier ball on the 2nd serve versus a first serve.

Following are 6 aspects to consider to improve your 2nd serve return:

Rituals
Attitude
Game-style Considerations
Initial Positioning
Technical Considerations
Recovery

1. Rituals

Ritual means routine or preparation before the shot. A good ritual will help keep a player mentally focussed, help keep a player relaxed, yet still intense, help a player to become ready to want that return (want the ball), also may put some fear in a players opponent (wow !!., he/she looks really confident).
There is no right or wrong ritual (as long as it doesn't look ridiculous!) Find one that you are comfortable with and if you don't already have one, watch the pros. Examples are Hewitt's wide athletic stance, Agassi's focused look etc...

2. Attitude

Active-yes, passive-no.

Have an active attitude, i.e. "I have a real chance here, I will look to create an attacking oppportunity." Behave in a manner that shows you have a chance to take control of the point, because you do!! Both attitude and rituals go hand in hand.

3. Game-Style Considerations

Having a clear understanding of your own gamestyle will determine your choices when returning 2nd serves. Are you a net-rusher? Are you an aggresive baseliner? Do you play all positions of the court? etc....

4. Initial Positioning

Your initial position is often dependent on your gamestyle. Net-rushers will usually position themselves close to the baseline in order to get themselves as close to their intended target as possible.

Most players in the game today however, are positioning themselves 4-6 feet behind the baseline when returning 2nd serves. Even aggresive baseline players like Andy Roddick are often seen returning well beyond the baseline. This has shown to be very effective because it gives a player more time to hit a good quality, deep penertrating forcing type ball which can in-turn create an attacking opportunity.

5. Technical Considerations

The best returners in this sport are very efficient with regards to technique. Watch Agassi prepare his body/racquet through the use of a quick upper body turn. (short backswing, hip rotation). Also watch the lower body movement of the Williams sisters i.e. open stance. This also allows the lower body to set-up quickly and efficiently.

6. Recovery

There are 5 basic recovery positions after returning a 2nd serve:

Drive and Charge - follow the direction of your shot and position yourself 2-3 feet from the service line.
Chip and charge - follow the direction of your shot and position yourself very close to the sevice line.
Forcing Return - position yourself slightly inside baseline, possibly to the left of the middle if you favour your forehand (right-handers).
Neutral Return - position yourself slightly behind or close to baseline close to the center of the court.
Defensive Return - position yourself 3-5 feet behind the baseline close to the center of the court.

Note: Your intension should be to hit a deep, penetrating type ball, the neutral and defensive return positions occur because you did not succeed in your intension i.e. allowed your opponent to rally or attack.

"Try putting these suggestions to use during your next match. Hopefully you will be able to have more service break opportunities, and ultimately win more matches!"

...Dean Coburn