Video of forehands - casual rallying

[JackB1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pct3rycBtk

Please be kind! I am not claiming to be some hotshot 5.0
Just a 50 year old guy trying to make it from 3.5-4.0
This is my first attempt at video and I was kind of dragging after playing two sets. It's a little chopped up, because I tried to cut out all the time chasing balls down, etc. I will try and make a better video soon and also include some backhands and serves.

Thanks in advance for any critique or suggestions

[AllLeague]

Um, not to be rude but your hitting partner is bringing you down quiet a bit.
Besides that, it seems like you are just tired after playing your two sets because shoulder rotation is very slow and you are pushing your body forward to compensate for the lack of shoulder rotation. And your footwork seems to be slightly lazy because you don't seem to be in the perfect position when you actually hit the ball.

[arche3]

Decent playing other than the tiredness. You play like most of the guys at my tennis club. IMO 4.0 is all about being consistent. You don't even need a weapon. And the singles guys from the 4.0 team around me would most likely double bagel you simply because they are consistent against your type of ground strokes. medium paced rally shots. You would miss before they did. Up the shot threshold and you will be good to go.

[tennis_balla]

Notice how your left hand drops, sometimes all the way to your waist on your forehand? Keep that left hand higher and out in front of you while going through your stroke, use it for balance. Right now its not helping you at all. It is in the beginning, but once you start to swing forward it moves out of the way but to the wrong place.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by AllLeague

Um, not to be rude but your hitting partner is bringing you down quiet a bit.
Besides that, it seems like you are just tired after playing your two sets because shoulder rotation is very slow and you are pushing your body forward to compensate for the lack of shoulder rotation. And your footwork seems to be slightly lazy because you don't seem to be in the perfect position when you actually hit the ball.

Good observation. I will do another video soon and work on that.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by tennis_balla

Notice how your left hand drops, sometimes all the way to your waist on your forehand? Keep that left hand higher and out in front of you while going through your stroke, use it for balance. Right now its not helping you at all. It is in the beginning, but once you start to swing forward it moves out of the way but to the wrong place.

Another good observation.

So far I got:
-keep left arm higher and do let it drop
-turn shoulders more
-more active footwork

p.s. my teacher says 90% of my mishits are due to footwork and not getting to optimum hitting position. I'm sure she is right.

[dozu]

nothing wrong with the tips above... but instead of focusing on body parts.

watch this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ImeQaAyFPc

how is his FH different from yours?

here is a hint - what is he trying to swing? that Wilson in his hand? or the entire unit that's made up of the upper arm, forearm, and the wilson? (what I call the 'human racket', as opposed to the Wilson -the 'graphite racket')

now envision the same picture when you practice.

[dozu]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Another good observation.

So far I got:
-keep left arm higher and do let it drop
-turn shoulders more
-more active footwork

p.s. my teacher says 90% of my mishits are due to footwork and not getting to optimum hitting position. I'm sure she is right.

here is an arrogant one - your teacher doesn't know what she's talking about.

90% of your problem is due to that you are swinging the wrong object.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by dozu

here is an arrogant one - your teacher doesn't know what she's talking about.

90% of your problem is due to that you are swinging the wrong object.

I agree, but if your feet aren't in proper position and you don't have the ball in your "strike zone" then it doesn't matter how you swing. Am I wrong?

[dozu]

yes and no.

footwork is important.

However, when you swing the wrong racket, you are limited to hitting balls in the 'strike zone' when you are in 'perfect position'.

let me explain.

If you try to hit a ball higher than your chest, when you swing the graphite racket, your arm collides with your chest, wrist flips over, ball into the net, all that funny stuff happens.... when you are in a running/reaching situation, you have no leverage to push the graphite racket into the ball, therefore producing weak shots.

You look at pros game, going at lightening fast pace, ball comes at different heights, from shoelace low, to over-head high, but the pros can always produce a strong reply, even if they are running/reaching.... why?

because they swing the human racket, which has 15-20 times more power potential than the graphite racket. (Hint - Human arm weighs 15-20 lbs).

[dozu]

when you swing the 'human racket', you will have a strike zone (FH) that is seamless with the overhead smash.. which is what the pros have.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by dozu

yes and no.

footwork is important.

However, when you swing the wrong racket, you are limited to hitting balls in the 'strike zone' when you are in 'perfect position'.

let me explain.

If you try to hit a ball higher than your chest, when you swing the graphite racket, your arm collides with your chest, wrist flips over, ball into the net, all that funny stuff happens.... when you are in a running/reaching situation, you have no leverage to push the graphite racket into the ball, therefore producing weak shots.

You look at pros game, going at lightening fast pace, ball comes at different heights, from shoelace low, to over-head high, but the pros can always produce a strong reply, even if they are running/reaching.... why?

because they swing the human racket, which has 15-20 times more power potential than the graphite racket. (Hint - Human arm weighs 15-20 lbs).

That all sounds great, but there has to be more to it than just saying "swing the human racquet". There has to be a way to translate that into something practical that people can use. It just doesn't come by magic if you think to yourself "swing the human racquet" like Federer does in that video. I know you are saying to use your whole body instead of mostly the arm, but it's not as easy as you are making it sound or everyone on this board would be 5.0.

[dozu]

^^^

yes and no

5.0 requires not only techniques, but also physical abilities. But to answer your question, yes, with the correct coaching/practicing, no reason why anybody healthy enough can't play tennis correctly (oops, can of worm opened lol).

what you can do, is to practice relaxation, by turning your body left and right, feel your arms fly up due to centrifugal force, feel the blood rushing into your finger tips, feel the arms tugging on the shoulder socket.

that's what it feels like to swing the human racket... then the next thing is that you have to teach the hand how to behave to control the racket face.... just go to FYB or youtube and train the hand to do the 'tracing of a C' type of motion followed by windshield wipe type swing patter (doesn't really matter if you go classical swing path finishing over the shoulder).

put the 2 things together, you can swing this human racket into the ball no matter how high/low it is, no matter if you are standing still or running wide...

And you will be surprised by how effortless it is, because gravity and centrifugal force will be doing most of the work, and all the arm/hands do is holding on to the racket and providing the correct path for the racket face to travel.

Believe me - the brain knows how to swing correctly, if it sees the right picture ... my 9 year old... complete beginner... still has a tendency to push the racket into the ball, but once I remind her 'swing the unit', her FH looks quite Federer-ish.

[Power Player]

Jack, cool vid. Being a FL boy i have never played indoor tennis.

Your partner is not that good. What you should do when you play that person is practice punishing those moon balls by taking them earlier. I also think your follow through looks a little awkward and tentative, but i am not a tennis coach.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Jack, cool vid. Being a FL boy i have never played indoor tennis.

Your partner is not that good. What you should do when you play that person is practice punishing those moon balls by taking them earlier. I also think your follow through looks a little awkward and tentative, but i am not a tennis coach.

I only play indoors during the Winter. It's a little different indoors. The ball seems to really fly, as compared to outdoors.
It's been quite cold in Atlanta lately. I played a doubles match a couple weeks ago outside and the windchill was below 20. It wasn't fun.

My partner was having some trouble just returning balls directly to me. He is actually pretty good when we just play. I think he was letting up, instead of just swinging away like normal. I will work on a longer and looser follow through. My teacher also has been trying to get me to get the racquet moving earlier and swing more smoothly, instead of jerking it at impact. I think my technique is usually better than what that video showed, but I am sure it does look like that at times, especially when tired. I will try and do another one soon to prove it!

[Mansewerz]

Whoa, is that teh same court that tennis_balla played on in his video?

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Mansewerz

Whoa, is that teh same court that tennis_balla played on in his video?

I don't think he is in Atlanta

Try and get your right leg behind the line of the ball more consistently.(more like when you play the open stance shots) This is your load leg, and what should establish your alignment to the ball. Can you see how you lunge right on many of these shots?

[Sreeram]

Originally Posted by AllLeague

Um, not to be rude but your hitting partner is bringing you down quiet a bit.
.

Guys, dont judge the hitting partner based on this video. It is an edited one and Jack has put the clips that has a good few of his FH. But accidently the hitting partners reply to these shots are not great for those clips. Understand the motive of this thread before posting your expert advice.

[LeeD]

Spend more effort getting into position, lengthen your stroke if needed, shorten them if needed ( closer and farther away from your body). You are off balance on EVERY shot, taking a hop step as you hit to compensate for poor positioning.
As you stroke thru, you shouldn't need to move sideways, backwards, or forwards. Forwards is OK, but not part of a modern forehand against an equal opponent.
Float back towards middle after you hit the ball.