Promoting tennis discussion.
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tennis-forum.net Promoting tennis discussion. |
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thanks, Ken "Bill Smith" <tennismith@aol.commerical > wrote in message news:20040511151555.22456.00000380@mb-m29.aol.com... > 1) skip rope like a boxer > > 2) dot drill: Paint five dots in the form of the pattern found on a Las Vegas > pair of dice. Dots should be shoulder width apart, in all directions, > top-to-bottom. Beginning Drill: Start on bottom dots feet split. Then jump with > both to the middle dot. Continue and jump to the top two dots feet apart, then > back, all this should be done facing the same direction. Others: Two to each > dot, One leg, rotation, spins in the air, etc. > > 3) Wanna be faster, don't ignore your core... do situps, star jumps, in other > words, get your trunk and abs fit. > > 4) Technique: Always be moving, don't split-stop, split-step instead. Lead with > your head. First thing to move is your head, the rest follows. > > 5) The bigger the serve, the less need for good feet. ;-) > > Bill Smith > Burlingame, CA |
> OK.. i've played for a long time.. but what is a split step. Do a search at Yahoo for split step tennis and you'll get pages like these: http://www.tennissweetspot.com/TENNIS%20E%20TIPS/tennis%20e%20TIPS%2010.27.03.htm http://www.colorado-tennis.us/html/tennis_tips.htm http://www.thetenniscoach.com.au/tips_splitstep.htm Marius Hancu |
> I am looking for some footwork drills that will give me better movement. > Any suggestions? Well, first of all you must know HOW to move. Some good ideas are at: http://www.revolutionarytennis.com (even if the site looks a bit obsolete) Suggest looking at tapes of Graf and Federer. Check to see if you are doing the split-steps. Otherwise you're nowhere. Check to see if you're exhaling on landing the split steps. At Federer, check the double split-step he's doing in rapid successsion, he's feet are acting as a very nervous springbed:-) - lands the main one, directs himself towards the direction of the ball - if ball is close, executes another split-step angled in such a way as to allow him to be in an ideal position to the ball Thus it's a TAM-tam sequence for the close balls. Also, looking at Fed, check the small step braking action when he has to do a change of direction or just to stabilize himself before hitting the ball which comes 3-4 meters/yards from him: - 3-4 large steps - 2-3 small braking steps, you can hear the soles brushing the court - 1-2 steps to get into the ball Another great mover is Hewitt. Exercises which might be useful: From the baseline: - playing down the line; the 2 players are obliged to come/shuffle back at the center line after each hit - playing the 8: one player plays the diagonal, the other one plays the down the line; each player must do a very energetic split step with exhalation just before the other hits the ball At the net: - the players are between the service line and the net and are volleying the ball to each other, while shuffling laterally, keeping the ball in the air, from one side to the other - without ball, but with racquet: in the service area, move shuffling between one side to another, flex the knees on the side of the service area, touch the court with the raquet like for a very low volley or drop volley; do that 10-15 times back and forth between the right and left line of a service area Sprints (you must exercise the fast twitching muscle fibers): - have a day during the week when you do 6-8 x 100m sprints on the treadmill or outside - on the same day, do stationary bike sprints: 8 x 1min at your max speed, from a comfortable one Do pliometry (carefully!). Find it on the net or in bookstores. Find this book: Power Tennis Training Todd Martin (Foreword), Donald A. Chu Check: http://www.netfit.co.uk/racquets-web.htm Marius Hancu |
> I am looking for some footwork drills that will give me better movement. > Any suggestions? You might want to check out these opinions on breathing in tennis: http://www.viewzone.com/breathing.html Marius Hancu |
It appears that you hop as your opponent prepares to hit the ball and that you should land at the moment of ball impact. Do you land on the balls of your feet or on the whole foot. "Marius Hancu" <NOSPAM@videotron.ca > wrote in message news:40A145B9.5010608@videotron.ca... > ken wrote: > > > I am looking for some footwork drills that will give me better movement. > > Any suggestions? > > You might want to check out these opinions on breathing in tennis: > http://www.viewzone.com/breathing.html > > Marius Hancu > |
"ken" <schw9883@bellsouth.net > wrote in message news:0F0wc.2265$Oc4.220@bignews1.bellsouth.net... > I looked at the various sites and have the following question > > It appears that you hop as your opponent prepares to hit the ball and that > you should land at the moment of ball impact. Do you land on the balls of > your feet or on the whole foot. That's kind of self explanatory. If you land on your whole foot, it's going to take you that much longer to regain your momentum, as your whole foot acts like a brick wall while the balls of your feet act like a spring. There'a a similar concept in badminton. Good coaches will tell you to hop up just SLIGHTLY, not like we see in tennis but literally just high enough to spring-load your feet, rather than just moving to the shot. This takes additional time, but the extra burst it gives you more than makes up for it (especially in a sport as fast as badminton). But yeah, land on your balls :) |
> It appears that you hop as your opponent prepares to hit the ball and that > you should land at the moment of ball impact. Do you land on the balls of > your feet or on the whole foot. If the ball is coming to your right, I'd say put more weight on your left foot on landing: http://www.cwtennis.com/virtual/racketprepdetails.html while the right foot pivots (turns out) to the right start stepping into that direction for the first step to the ball, thus it must be lighter. Also check: http://www.cwtennis.com/virtual/THBdetails.html You might want to read these: http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showexcerpt.cfm?isbn=0736042008&excerpt_id=2912 and buy the book ... http://www.addvantageuspta.com/index.cfm/act/newsletter.cfm/category/ADD%2Daskprof/menuitemid/326/MenuGroup/ADD%2Ddepts/NewsLetterID/309/startrow/8.htm And this one will need your power of concentration:-)) http://www.revolutionarytennis.com/step2.html#gravity the section after: BUT BEFORE YOU TAKE THAT 1ST STEP..... SPLIT-STEP Nice moving, Marius Hancu |
> I am looking for some footwork drills that will give me better movement. > Any suggestions? Play soccer with a tennis ball. Have you tried googling? I'm sure you'll find tons of running/footwork drills. |
> I am looking for some footwork drills that will give me better movement. > Any suggestions? Well, for what it's worth, my coach gave me a bunch of footwork drills to do, mostly involving cones. (Or plastic cups or whatever.) Place the cones in different patterns on the court, practice running to them & swinging, etc. Before you do these drills you are supposed to know the basics of where your feet should be positioned when you are taking a swing. I've heard some say foot position isn't that important, but my coach says it is and I go by him. He teaches semi-open stance on the forehand, start with most weight on the back leg and then transfer weight to the front foot as you stroke through the ball (back foot will come up as you follow through). He is big on being "planted" before you hit the ball -- not totally flat on your feet, but having a solid base from which to execute the shot. Get in the habit of getting that front foot placed forward before you take the swing, it's almost like a "step-hit" rhythm. Then quickly back on the balls of your feet as you recover back to the middle of the court or wherever you think the next shot will be. He teaches a 2-handed backhand with a fairly closed stance, shoulders closed too on the prep, then open the shoulders as you hit through the ball, and your back foot should naturally come up as you follow-through and transfer weight to the front. One drill involved small steps, minor adjustements, etc., with cones laid out along the baseline in a .'.'.'. sort of pattern, moving a little bit into net (be 3 feet) then back to the baseline and zigzagging this way laterally. At each cone you hit a forehand, run to the next cone, hit another, etc. -- all the way to the end, then go back the other way hitting backhands. Repeat 5 times or 10 times or whatever; works well for stamina too. Focus on staying light on your feet, but on being pretty well planted at the moment you take each swing. Knees slightly bent but not *too* bent -- you should just be relaxed, loose, flexible. Another drill along these lines has the cones lined up on the two sidelines, but staggered. So you start, say, in the backhand corner, then run all the way across the court to the opposite sideline and a little bit closer to the net, then run all the way back to the other sideline again but a little closer still, until you zig zag to the net. Hit a stroke at each cone. This will teach you to vary your steps as you cover big distances -- start with longer strides, a full run, as you are crossing the court. Then make tiny steps to adjust & orient yourself around the ball just as you hit. My coach has also had me do "imaginary points," where each cone is positioned at a different position on the court as if it's an actual point unfolding. One starts me in the far right baseline corner where I hit a backhand (I'm a lefty), then I run to the middle court, halfway between service line and baseline, hit a forehand. Then backpedal to left baseline corner, hit another forehand, then move down the line and hit an inside-out backhand, then move in toward net and bh volley, move in closer another bh volley, finally backpedal and hit an overheard. Lather, rinse, repeat 5x or 10x or whatever. Move the cones around, create different sorts of "points" for yourself. |
> I am looking for some footwork drills that will give me better movement. > Any suggestions? You put your right foot in, You put your right foot out; You put your right foot in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your left foot in, You put your left foot out; You put your left foot in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your right hand in, You put your right hand out; You put your right hand in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your left hand in, You put your left hand out; You put your left hand in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your right side in, You put your right side out; You put your right side in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your left side in, You put your left side out; You put your left side in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your nose in, You put your nose out; You put your nose in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your backside in, You put your backside out; You put your backside in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your head in, You put your head out; You put your head in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about! You put your whole self in, You put your whole self out; You put your whole self in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about |