Eye on the ball? Overrated or important?

[MaratSafin_fan]

Everybody says "eye on the ball" when you hitting, but does everybody do that? What will be the consequence by not looking at the ball, ex; like Federer do it.

Will I loose topspin if I dont look at the ball during a forehandshot? Misshits? and so on...

[dozu]

I used to say this is important for beginners - but after teaching my 5 and 8 year olds, I'd say this is over-rated even for those who just picked up a racket....

you can't help not tracking the ball, it's human nature.

look at my other posts about where the focus should be - balanced (physically and mentally) point construction.

There are even threads about looking at the print on the ball - I don't care who (supposedly famous coaches or not) said it, it's just absurd.

[Power Player]

It's one of the most important things in tennis. Federer definitely looks at the ball and keeps his head down through the contact zone. He actually takes the concept to a level of 110%, so I am not sure how you could think it could be overrated.

[JRstriker12]

Originally Posted by MaratSafin_fan

Everybody says "eye on the ball" when you hitting, but does everybody do that? What will be the consequence by not looking at the ball, ex; like Federer do it.

Will I loose topspin if I dont look at the ball during a forehandshot? Misshits? and so on...

HUHUH???? Federer is one of the few players who seem to track the ball all the way to the racket and he keeps his head and focused on the same spot long after the ball has left the racket.

Realisitcally, there's a point where you can no longer track the ball - this topic has been discussed multiple times...

I think more important than "eye on the ball" is keep your head still through contact. Looking away suddenly just before impact can throw your balance totally off and cause framed balls, etc. For example, pulling your head down during a serve to see where it lands can pull you forward and cause your ball to go into the net.

[SystemicAnomaly]

"Eye on the ball" is a misguided mantra. Track the incoming ball until it gets close to you (one meter? several meters?). However, as it gets closer, it should be "head still" and "eyes on the contact point". Most pros will keep the head still but not all focus on the contact point as Federer and Nadal do.

Some, like Agassi & others, keep the head still but fixate their eyes on/near the "vanishing point" -- approx the location where the ball became "invisible" or where the eyes could no longer track the ball with their smooth pursuit system.

[dozu]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

"Eye on the ball" is a misguided mantra. Track the incoming ball until it gets close to you (one meter? several meters?). However, as it gets closer, it should be "head still" and "eyes on the contact point". Most pros will keep the head still but not all focus on the contact point as Federer and Nadal do.

Some, like Agassi & others, keep the head still but fixate their eyes on/near the "vanishing point" -- approx the location where the ball became "invisible" or where the eyes could no longer track the ball with their smooth pursuit system.

yup - keeping the head still is the real purpose (not trying to read the seams or the print on the ball, stupid!).

in the games of swinging a device into an object, it's key to have a steady axis (back of the neck down to the tail bone).

there are 2 style - 1 is the Fed/Nadal style where the eyes are on the contact point after the ball is gone... the other is Roddick style... he is already looking down the target line when the impact is made.

look at Tiger - his head stays down at the ball way after the ball is gone.
look at Annika Sorenstam - her head is looking down the target line before the club meets the ball.

different style - same purpose - to keep the axis of rotation steady.