| PM Comments on: RELISH THE BACKHAND ! |
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It's all in the shoulder turn. A timely turning
of the shoulders will set you up to unleash powerful backdrives
at will. But it's not all about power my friends. I would strongly
urge you practice for a sweet hit and attempt to place the backhand
drives down the line and cross-court - each time knowing that
you are hitting to a good length.
Shoulder turn, shoulder turn, shoulder turn. . . . please don't
forget this. It is the key.
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| PM Comments on: SPRING VOLLEY ! |
Is the volley scary or is it just
me ? You're at the net, the baseliner grins and knocks the ball
softly to your backhand side. Then hops arounds waiting for you
pop the ball up ready for him to pounce. Have you ever wished you
could grin straight back, nod your head and then smartly steer the
volley down the line - or when entertaining the crowds play a sharp
cross-court angle What satisfaction !
And it can be done. It's all in the mind when we talk about volleying.
First be confident that you are playing the volley not defending
a ground stroke. In your mind technique has to be paramount. We
cannot be too flashy with racket work - it's got to be simple, tidy,
and accurate. The basic suggestion here is to crouch when in the
volleying arena. Always try and get some body weight into the hit.
And finally make certain the racket face doesn't twist unintentionally
in your hand at impact. There are quite a few other things you have
to do but for now go with the above and prosper.. |
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| PM Comments on: FOREHAND MAGIC ! |
You may not agree, but I would say
that most folks can hit the forehand hard - and every now and again
manage to get the ball in. But this is not my policy. I would like
to go down the road of blasting forehand winners later.
For now my suggestion is to develop the disguise. If you can get
real feeling when hitting the forehand you will be able to conjure
up magical shots. The dink pass, the off-cut, the subtle lob. the
swerving pass, and of course the monkey shot [the power drive].
Time for the tip on how to get the magic. . . .The obvious element
which you must be very good at is actually hitting the ball while
it is front - ie if you are on the baseline, the point of contact
with the ball must be 6 to 12 inches inside the baseline (as a guide).
The hit must be comfortable and allow the ball to reach the last
quarter of the other side. Practice this, try some with a little
topspin, some without, and some with slice. And don't forget the
placement, some left, some right, and some down the middle. You
should find that how you position your body will affect how easy
the shot is to make. So don't be afraid to change your body position.
REMEMBER meet the ball in front and the magic will come. |
| PM Comments on: A MOVING EXPERIENCE! |
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In my time I have come across a number of players
who's lack of shot variety was massively compensated by their
excellent movement. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the power of movement.
I am particularly refering to what you do after you've played
your shot. Keep your eyes on the how the ball is moving, how your
opponent is moving, how your opponent is preparing their racket.
All these clues will give you a chance to guess where the next
shot will go.
As you watch you should be side-stepping your way back to a central
position ("central" dependent on the stroke options
your opponent has) - generally this would be near the baseline
and in the middle. If you can learn to side step well and can
change direction swiftly, you will have a great chance to make
it to most shots.
Remember to always try and move well, this gives
you your best chance of getting to the ball in good time. Remember
to watch closely whats happening before your opponent plays their
shot - this may allow you to anticipate better. And here's a technique
I use a lot, while your opponent sets him/her self up for their
shot see if their face (their eyes usually) gives away what is
about to follow. Pick up the clues. . .try it!
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| PM Comments on: HELP, NOTHING'S WORKING
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Two main choices, up the power and hope to hit
your way out of trouble. Or go back to some of the basics. I'd
like to talk about getting back to the basics. Ok so not a lot
is going well, what do you do?
I always think you would do well to stick to one or two basic
principles. Of course the ones you choose to concentrate on will
depend on the situation you are in. I'll suggest a couple, then
really it's up to you to come up with a few more.
A favourite of mine is "hit the ball in front", this
can resolve a number of problems. Mis-timing, not getting enough
power, finding yourself defending, etc can all be (to a large
extent) sorted by placing some focus on a good ball strike. A
second goody is "don't watch the opponent, watch the ball",
pay more attention to the ball and make a greater effort to actually
drive through the ball. This should start bringing some confidence
back to your shots.
A there plenty more but for this little section, I'll leave you
with the two. Think positive.
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| PM Comments on: BASH THE SMASH ! |
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Well not quite. My suggestion for the smash is
keep it clean, keep it smooth, and above all keep your cool. You
don't really want to muscle the smash - although if you're strong
enough you may get away with it. Here the tip:- if you can let
the ball bounce - let it. When it rises back up to service hitting
height, thats when you go for it. The trick is to make sure you
hit the ball with a fairly straight arm (as with a serve). The
second trick is not to try and drive the ball downwards (you cannot
be sure you will bounce a smash over the opponents heads - but
will increase the chance of an embarrasing ball in the net). So
while keeping an eye on the ball, you want to position yourself
as if ready for a serve. Be sure to be light on your feet, when
you are ready to swing, you will need to take a slight step forward
(to move your weight forward), make use of a small knee bend -
then swing.
My strong suggestion is try and place the ball into the last third
of the court (last quarter if you feel good). Even if the smash
is not a winner, you will put your opponent on the back foot.
With a little practise you will be able to add power to the smash,
so then with the accuracy your smash will be a certain winner.
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| PM Comments on: LOST GRIP |
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It could all get very technical if we started
to get deeply into various grips, and textually may become confused.
So to keep it simple I would suggest you get some basic guidance
from your local club coach. You may wish to ask the question "how
shall I grip my racket for a; topspin forehand ?; slice backhand
?; kick serve ?; etc.
The advise I can give here is to BE AWARE that the grip does need
to change. Very few players can get away without making the changes.
With the grips (& swing action) correct you can quickly take
control of your strokes. Good luck.
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THE SALES PITCH . . .
.
So you've read the blurb and had a little go. But are
finding it difficult to find someone who can feed consistent balls to
you to practise against. You could find a wall to hit against or you
could do something more progressive. . .arrange to receive some coaching.
If you are local (to Basingstoke) and would like to receive some individual
coaching or coaching in a small group (ie you can come along with a
few like minded tennis players) I can offer the following (if interested,email
for coaching);
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Coaching
(1 hour lesson)
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£
12 (+ visitors fee £3, if not a waverley member)
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| Feed
and Drills (1 hour session) |
£
8 (+ visitors fee £3, if not a waverley member) |