Forehand clinic: Video

[Ryoma]

Hi, all,

Here is the link to my forehand video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPWIvfV9rg

My coach keep telling me not to rotate the right foot foreward while I am hitting my forehand with open stance. I have checked a lot of different clips from the pros, their right foot (righties) always rotate foreward after the shoot. My coach thinks my groundstroke won't go long if I had put my right foot behind the left throughout the shot. It sounds like a close stance to me and the open stance is a lot more natural to me.

So, I need some advice on how not to hit with pace without going long. I usually hit with quite a bit of topspin. Now all I can think of is to get all the lead tape off my racket or tightening the tension.

 

[JCo872]

Hi, all,

Here is the link to my forehand video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPWIvfV9rg

My coach keep telling me not to rotate the right foot foreward while I am hitting my forehand with open stance. I have checked a lot of different clips from the pros, their right foot (righties) always rotate foreward after the shoot. My coach thinks my groundstroke won't go long if I had put my right foot behind the left throughout the shot. It sounds like a close stance to me and the open stance is a lot more natural to me.

So, I need some advice on how not to hit with pace without going long. I usually hit with quite a bit of topspin. Now all I can think of is to get all the lead tape off my racket or tightening the tension.

Hey. Can you post in Quicktime? Hard to go frame by frame through it.

To answer your question, you would be crazy to keep your foot planted on the ground after contact. I mean the force of rotation and lift and extension through the ball will bring you around to your opposite side. I don't get what he is saying. If I forced my back foot to stay planted after I hit my forehand I think my knee would snap. Ouch.

On the open stance forehand I have seen the back foot firmly planted through contact and then lift and come around afterward. I have seen, perhaps more common, the backfoot slightly in the air because the uncoiling of the shoulers and body will lift you in the air and then around to your right..

I'm not sure what your back foot has to do with the ball going long. It's the contact point and the path of the racket that determines how much spin is being generated. I'm confused with this one. BB?

Also the open stance isn't the only way to hit the ball. You can also hit in the "neutral stance" Where the left foot is in front
of the right foot.

 

[darknight08]

Hmm ALL i saw was arm action

Wheres your shoulder and torso?

 

[JCo872]

Hmm ALL i saw was arm action

Wheres your shoulder and torso?

Exactly darknight08. So I wouldn't worry about the feet. I would worry about getting more upper body coil. Keeping your opposite arm across your body for longer. Sinking down more and then lifting up with your body.

Get more coiling, uncoiling, and lifting with your body rather than relying too much on just arm action.

Also you could be a lot more explosive with your body on contact, rather than just arming the ball.

I think you have a very good forehand there. It's just time to add more elements to it. The back foot isn't what I would be focusing on. Just my 2 cents.

 

[BeachTennis]

Yikes

crazy thing is this is what people are coaching!

Thats that educated wrist at work!

Wow that some wild stuff!

You have to work on the helicopter finish!

 

[tnig469]

are there bagpipes in the background or am i goin crazy?

 

[Ryoma]

thanks for all the input guys.
For the torso and shoulder rotation. I agree that I should take a more full unit turn. Let me give you guys more background, my coach is feeding the ball at the T to my forehand side and I am suppose to hit the ball down the line deep into the box. The balls are usually feed to me and bounce lower than the net. The fact that I am arming the ball is that I am trying to keep the ball in. I can definitely bull the racket butt and do a full trunk rotation and knee down to generate more power. Another thing I notice is my elbow didn't cross in front of my body during the follow through. Any comment on that?

My coach recommended me to knee down and hit the ball. He said if I explodes with my right leg while hitting will generate 2 motions, 1 is upward, 2 is rotational. He recommended to keep the knee bend and hit the ball and don't use the leg and hit the ball at the same time. But my understanding is that using the inside leg to generate power is the basis of the morden forehand?

 

[Mountainman]

I don't want to tell you to change more than one thing. Since everyone is focusing on the torso, I guess I would tell you to coil your body more. What I do to gain the maximum follow-through is use my shoulders to point, starting left then right. What I mean is that my shoulder would be parallel to the net. During backswing, I would turn my shoulders clockwise(right handers) 90 degrees which makes shoulders perpendicular to the net. At the end of my swing, my shoulders would face the opposite direction which makes shoulders perpendicular to the net having right shoulder pointing at the net. Well the arms are connected to shoulders, what happens when I do not have the time to react for a fast ball by using full shoulder rotations? The racquet can still be at the front of the chest and be ready to hit the ball with a short swing plus a follow through. Hope this helps. I got the tip from tennis magazine. Good luck!

 

[shindemac]

All arm. Even then, it looks like your arm is getting tired and you swing with less speed. Flatten your stroke, and learn to drive through the ball like you are hitting 3-6 balls.

It looks like you haven't played that long. Practice more until you get a more consistent swing and your timing down. You need to move your feet and get in position every time 'cause it looks like you had to reach for some shots. You need to work on a solid foundation first before you work on adding more power.

 

[andyroddick's mojo]

yes, exactly what sindemac said. Instead of doing that windshield wiper thing with your arm, try and push your arm more foreward when hitting the ball, instead of upward. You can still come over the ball, and trust me, you will generate more topspin, because of the velocity of the ball, then you can finish up somewhere around your shoulder, instead of by your torso like you are now. May also want to bend your knees a bit more, because I don't see enough, and to get more rotation, you could try putting your non-racket hand, on the throat of your racket, while you take back in an open stance, because it forces you to rotate your body.

1. fix that arm motion
2. bend your knees
3. more rotation

 

[Ryoma]

Thanks for all the valuable advices. I tried hitting against the wall today. Hittnig more out in front => rotating the shoulder around. Hitting 2-3 balls into the ball. Using my right leg to drive the rotation. It still didn't feel right. Something is still missing. How do I get the support behind the racket that can generate the "pop".
So leg initiate rotation => arm=> hit
Rotate and hit at the same time?

What I am trying to ask is, the sequence of generating the racket head speed and how to add support behind the racket?

 

[JCo872]

Thanks for all the valuable advices. I tried hitting against the wall today. Hittnig more out in front => rotating the shoulder around. Hitting 2-3 balls into the ball. Using my right leg to drive the rotation. It still didn't feel right. Something is still missing. How do I get the support behind the racket that can generate the "pop".
So leg initiate rotation => arm=> hit
Rotate and hit at the same time?

What I am trying to ask is, the sequence of generating the racket head speed and how to add support behind the racket?

email me: jco872@gmail.com. I have some ideas.

 

[JCo872]

crazy thing is this is what people are coaching!

Thats that educated wrist at work!

Wow that some wild stuff!

You have to work on the helicopter finish!

Beach,

What is the helicopter finish? I'm curious.

Jeff

 

[metsjets]

the foot rotates, not the leg.

 

[looseswing]

I think he means that the kid just swipes the ball too much. The racquet just kind of goes in a circle during his follow through making it look like a helicopter blade. After he hits the ball he kind of just side swipes. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[metsjets]

use this rule. finish most shots over your shoulder (NOT all of them). you can get away with hitting the way you are with just wrist and arm. once you finish over your shoulder (and don't bring the wrist down), your whole body will gradually adjust to find more power. not everything will improve right away, but this is a good starting point.