Backhand grip for juniors

[Payton34]

Hello all,

My son is 6 1/2 years old. He has been playing since he was around four.

He uses a semi western grip for his forehand. When he hits his backhand, of course it is a two hander, he does not switch his grip on his dominant hand. He maintains the semi western grip. He is having success with this method. Should I at this age be teaching him to switch to a continental grip on his backhand?

Or would this be to complicated of a transition to learn at his age?

As he progresses can he continue to hit his two handed backhands with out changing grips? In other words, is there even a reason to change grips on his backhand side if he continues to have succsess not changing his grip?


Thanks

[predrag]

Hello all,

My son is 6 1/2 years old. He has been playing since he was around four.

He uses a semi western grip for his forehand. When he hits his backhand, of course it is a two hander, he does not switch his grip on his dominant hand. He maintains the semi western grip. He is having success with this method. Should I at this age be teaching him to switch to a continental grip on his backhand?

Or would this be to complicated of a transition to learn at his age?

As he progresses can he continue to hit his two handed backhands with out changing grips? In other words, is there even a reason to change grips on his backhand side if he continues to have succsess not changing his grip?


Thanks


You should start telling him about the grip change.
At 7 he will be able to switch grips if he does not get it immediately.
It is never too early to start with the correct technique. you will need to
repeat it 10000000 times, so be patient.

Also, I see so many 10 and even 12 year olds serving with forehand grip.
I started my kids with correct motion and it is already paying off.
I started working with another two 8 y.o. and after 2 moths they started to
accept change.
Be patient, but eventually it will bring a big payoff.

Regards, Predrag

[JackD]

Grip changes are not a bad thing and yes a 6 year old can and should learn to use them from the get go. Don't teach him strokes that he is going to struggle to change later. He's going to need other grips anyway unless he is going to volley out of that grip, 1hdbh slice out of that grip??? There are a ton of different grips promoted on this board and I'm not going to get into them all. What you should understand is the strength/comfort of each grip. The more western the grip, the more strain on the right wrist because the wrist is bent and out in front of the raq at contact. A full eastern grip puts the wrist behind the raq head at contact giving you a stronger grip. I personally would'nt recommend keeping the semiwest on the backhand. I teach the eastern to young kids because of the support and my students volley out of the eastern on both sides.(I know the continental is popular if you want to get into why let me know) I grew up playing with a continental and have changed to match my students and like it better.

Whatever you decide make sure you teach your son to change his grips during the turn/takeback by having him hold a loose grip with the right hand so that his left hand controls the raq while he's making the grip change. With a little practice he can change his grips and it won't take anymore time to prepare than leaving it in the same grip.

[Payton34]

Thanks everyone,

JackD,

This leads me to another question. I might be better off posting this as a new thread. I have never been really clear on the exact position of the hand of all the grips. I have noticed that there are 8 bevels on the handle of every racket.

What part of the hand is used for the reference point?

Is there a standard on this reference point in the tennis community? I would think it would be the first knuckle on the palm next to the thumb. Is this right?

Also, based on what reference point on the hand you tell me, what are the names of all the grips, i.e. continental and on what bevel is each reference point of the hand to be placed on for each of the corresponding grips.

I hope this is not asking a lot, but I feel this info would benifit myself and alot of people.

Thanks

[JackD]

Good question and yes the reference points are agreed upon(I'm sure if anyone disagrees they will chime in). If your holding the raq perpindicualr to the ground the top of the raq is bevel 1 and for the right hand number each bevel clockwise around the raq. (note that each bevel change turns the raq 45 degrees) Now that you have the numbers, the reference points on your hand the pad right under the index finger and the other is the pad in the lower left hand corner of your hand as your looking at the palm of the right hand. So that is the upper right and lower left if you think of the palm as a square. This will spread out your hand and give you better feel of the raq. If you flip the grip over the finger should go in this order, pinky-ring-middle-thumb-index. NOT pinky-ring-middle-index-thumb.

So the names that represent each bevel are...
1. eastern backhand
2. continental
3. eastern forehand
4. semi western
5. western
6 Hawiian
8. semi western backhand (1hnded).

Note that many players will talk about strong or weak variations of these grips which just means they are inbetween two bevels thus not making a full 45 degree turn of the raq.

If you read Tennis magazine they go over the grips in the new issue however they use a system of naming the bevels that isn't common to this board so if your looking at that issue note the changes in the numbers. I think everyone on this board uses the 1-8 system and the names are universal.

[Payton34]

Predrag,
Thanks for the advice. It encouraging to know that you have had good results when teaching your kids to switch grips. I will follow your advice and be patient.

JackD,
Thanks for taking the time and explaining in detail the various grips. You have a great way of explaining things in a clear and concise manner. I will definitely be calling on your expertise a lot as my son's game progresses. Hope you don't mind to much. I played competitive tennis in my teens and early twenties, but that was some 18-20 years ago, and alot has changed. While teaching my son I am getting myself back into the sport. I am a good observer of a persons mecanics, so teaching my son comes pretty easy, but I will use this message board as well as our club's instructors to help me along the way.

Thanks again