Sorry its on the backboard but i can never get around to recording during a hitting session. I tend to be a bit inconsistent (especially forehand) and I think its because I have sloppy footwork maybe? I tend to overrun the ball or try to hit it too far away from my body. Maybe I just need to practice more and I know its not much of a vid to review but overall how does it look?
http://s999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/BirdWalk-R/?action=view¤t=ForehandsNew.mp4
btw i was told a while back on one of my older vids i was arming the ball. Am i still arming the ball? i feel like now im using core but i cant tell to be honest
To use your core even more, consider using an open forehand stance:
If you stand facing the ball, you have to rotate the upper body back in your backswing, and then forward in your forward swing.
[Right now you usually line up sideways to the ball, making it difficult to wind your upper body back, and still maintain your eyes on the ball.]
A way of easing into this, and for the way many find most comfortable, is to get ready for the balls with the feet at a 45 degree angle to the baseline [semi-open stance]
Of course on low balls that are difficult to get to, you will still want to hit the ball from the side, as Fed demonstrates in the last sequence of the three below:
The first sequence above is fully open, and a good way to return a first serve where there is little time to move the feet.
The middle sequence above is with a semi-open stance, and the first three pics show a big windup with the shoulders/core before the quick unwind allows him to explode into the shot. This is a good illustration that concentrating getting into this semi-open stance can help set you up to use more core rotation as a routine on your shots.
Getting into the semi-open stance for waist high shots that are relatively easy to get to is just one aspect of footwork to work on.
Watching your video, I essentially never see you recover into a split step, or bounce out of a split step to go after the next ball.
Watch Tommy Haas in a video from a currently running TT thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8wwXxPxzmA&feature=BFa&list=PL99EAAECE95FEF070&lf=results_main
He recovers from each shot into a split step, then often is able to "hop" still in his spit step stance to reach balls close to him. Notice how he hits most of his forehands in a semi-closed stance, but with good shoulder/core rotation.
One of the problems with practicing against a backboard is that you can often feel rushed.
The spacing is often as if you were hitting from inside the baseline against an opponent volleying right at the net. (While this can happen in a match, this usually is the situation in only a small minority of points.)
To give yourself more time to recover into a split step, work on your split step foot work, and hit more from a semi-open stance consider hitting balls on the second bounce for a while until your stance/footwork is better.
(This hitting on a second bounce is actually more realistic for timing in a baseline to baseline rally.)
