Any tips on how to react to the ball better. Ive only been playing for about 8 months but when i play more advanced people with hard strokes....sometimes my body does not even move. I am watching the ball!!
Any tips on how to react to the ball better. Ive only been playing for about 8 months but when i play more advanced people with hard strokes....sometimes my body does not even move. I am watching the ball!!
...Get your mind and feet working together. Use the HIT-BOUNCE-HIT cadence throughout your match. I will warn you though, you will forget to use it so you will have to keep trying until it is second nature.
2) After knowing whether it's the backhand or forehand, I said "PREPARE."
But that's TWO SYLLABLES!!! I don't have enough time to say/think that!!
:shock:
Yup, that's why I altered the hit-bounce-hit cadence, because my "prepare" include the "bounce-hit" parts. "Bounce-hit" = 2 syllables
That cadence is one that works extremely well for me! In fact over the last weekend I applied it and beat my friend who was fairly consistent but a great runner!
Actually I already knew "bounce-hit" but I thought it was too short comparing to "hit-bounce-hit" .
Now I'm gonna work on my form and alter this to "hit-bounce-set-hit" where set is getting into my full form/long swing. I feel I have so much time with "hit-bounce-hit".
With this whole thing it'd rather feel like work than play! lol.
edit: hey I didn't know this would work for service return. Gotta try it.
Keep it simple guys, this isnt rocket science. HIT-BOUNCE-HIT is also good for service returns. The first HIT and the BOUNCE is critcal in moving and getting to where the ball will bounce whether it is a deep ball, a short ball, or any other ball. The point to all of this is the brain is engaged and the feet are in sync with it. Focus, move, focus, move, focus, move...
Quick question for you, BB. Should the HIT-BOUNCE-HIT be as rhythmical as possible? For example, when I hit with a strong player who gives me a consistent ball, I do zero thinking, but I imagine the H-B-H mantra would be very rhythmical and evenly spaced. Against a weak player who has no idea what kind of shot he'll produce, I'll have to make numerous adjustments to varying balls spins, depths, etc., so it would be more like, HIT...BOUNCE...................HIT.
Should my goal be to make it rhythmical? *i.e., after the BOUNCE, I move to the ball to shorten the .................. before my HIT.
I hope that makes sense. If not, I'm crazy.
That is exactly what you should be doing. HIT-BOUNCE-HIT is for the following:
1. Timing
2. Early movement
3. Focus
When you play someone with varying speeds this cadence helps you time the ball better.
Soon however, you will not have to say it to yourself and you will begin using your senses on when to move and time the ball. Sometimes players move on to breathing noises as they hit. I am sure you have heard Guga make those humming noises when he hits the ball.
For aspiring players the main thing is focus on the first hit for movement, focus on the bounce for timing, focus on the last hit for followthrough and recovery.
So Johnson and Bill are on good terms again. Good for you, Johnson.
Bicky R is just bitter because he has small arms.
Anyway BB, tried it out for the first time yesterday. I was ******** enough to try it during a doubles league match. I must say though, it gave me interesting results when I tried it. I can't give detailed feedback yet because I didn't do it often enough and attempted to implement it in too advanced a situation. There was one fellow who was cracking 110-120 mph serves at me so before I could go HIT-BOUNCE-, the ball was already on my racquet. I will try it again tonight when I practice with my doubles partner.
Yeah, on the faster shots it is more of a challenge. You are actually swinging while you are saying it.
Remember the goal is to not have to say this and it becomes engrained in the senses.
You simply want to use it to react to the ball sooner (preferrably before it crosses the net), move to the bounce, and hit on time.
You could watch the ball all day long but if something doesnt trigger your feet to move, what good is it?
BB, I tried the HBH today at practice, and as well as helping with my timing, it calmed me down so much. I'm one of the people who has constant chatter in his head during my shot, usually "don'tmessupdon'tmessupdon'tmessup", but the focusing on those three words completely emptied my head. I actually started thinking about using spin and stuff today, which I've never done before lol. Thank you!