From The Heart

[TennisCoachIN]

gatennis.... Thanks for the link to HW website. I read and watched many of the videos. Very informative. My 8 year old daughter was invited to a weekend USTA RTC camp back in October and one of the coaches there was encouraging players especially girls to adopt the millenium style forehand.

 

[ga tennis]

gatennis.... Thanks for the link to HW website. I read and watched many of the videos. Very informative. My 8 year old daughter was invited to a weekend USTA RTC camp back in October and one of the coaches there was encouraging players especially girls to adopt the millenium style forehand.

Just watch the best woman that ever played(HENIN) and you will see the MILLENIUM forehand. Henin was 5 foot nothing and hit the biggest forehand in womens tennis.Watch Federer watch Stosur,Nadal,and many other top pros all leverage based. If i was you i would have her hit the leverage based forehand.

 

[TennisCoachIN]

Just watch the best woman that ever played(HENIN) and you will see the MILLENIUM forehand. Henin was 5 foot nothing and hit the biggest forehand in womens tennis.Watch Federer watch Stosur,Nadal,and many other top pros all leverage based. If i was you i would have her hit the leverage based forehand.

I will definitely study this leverage based forehand. She doesn't break the plane very much at all now, so this looks like hopefully she can learn. I just see so many huge backswings on the junior girls and some of them are decent size were you would think strength should not be an issue. We will begin shadow swinging today. Too cold up here in Indiana in get outside today

 

[ga tennis]

I will definitely study this leverage based forehand. She doesn't break the plane very much at all now, so this looks like hopefully she can learn. I just see so many huge backswings on the junior girls and some of them are decent size were you would think strength should not be an issue. We will begin shadow swinging today. Too cold up here in Indiana in get outside today

Do hundreds of shadows.Video her doing shadows.Compare her shadows to Henin. Memorize Heath breakdown of the Millenium forehand.

 

[Postpre]

IMHO, too much emphasis is placed on the straight arm forehand (as opposed to the double bend) in HW's description of the Millennial forehand. The straight arm is not the end all be all; many have succeeded wothout it.

 

[MarTennis]

Curious...

I know i did the same thing. Im still doing it today. I know my daughter isnt ready to compete but im still letting her play tournaments as long as shes doing it right.She doesnt have any technical flaws its just she just doesnt know how to compete yet. Im not worried about wins or losses now even though it drives me crazy to watch her lose to some of these girls she loses to. I SEE THE BIG PICTURE AND WHAT IVE SEEN AND WHAT I KNOW IS THAT WHEN SHES 14 SHE WONT BE LOSING TO ANY OF THESE GIRLS THAT I HAVE SEEN PLAY.The ONLY reason she loses now is that it really doesnt matter to her right now. When it starts or IF it starts to matter GAME OVER!!!!

...does she define her emotions to you after a loss, either immediately or after taking some time for herself?

My kid takes losses hard immediately afterward and as long as I keep my mouth shut. After he takes some time to himself, he tends to define his emotions to me. Mostly, he says he hates to lose, even if he is the underdog (half of his matches in the 12s, he's 10). I dropped him a level, still 12s but not Open. He wins the tourney. No real elation, subdued reaction. I was pleased on both counts. He recognized his level and did not celebrate the mere victory and he was eager to go back up even if it meant more struggle.

Bottomline, emotions are tricky. If she continues to improve with a subdued outlook that could be fantastic. If you detect a disconnect or maybe a connect between her emotional caring and her improvement and performance or lack thereof, then it could be a factor to monitor to avoid burnout. Here is to hoping she finds the love to carry her through the journey.

 

[TCF]

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[ga tennis]

IMHO, too much emphasis is placed on the straight arm forehand (as opposed to the double bend) in HW's description of the Millennial forehand. The straight arm is not the end all be all; many have succeeded wothout it.[/. Of course it's not the end all be all.

 

[ga tennis]

Scientifically the racquet and arm together act as a third class lever.When one makes contact with a straight arm they are merely increasing the length of the lever arm.And simply following the principles of science when one increases the length of a lever arm they are more able to generate more force with less energy. Heath Waters

 

[ga tennis]

The other benefit to a leverage based forehand technique is that the technique mandates that contact be made further out in front of which means a practitioner of the leverage based techniques ball will always get to their target sooner then the one who utilizes a more flexed arm contact assuming both players are hitting the same spin,velocity and taking the ball off the ground at a similar contact height. Heath Waters

 

[ga tennis]

IMHO, too much emphasis is placed on the straight arm forehand (as opposed to the double bend) in HW's description of the Millennial forehand. The straight arm is not the end all be all; many have succeeded wothout it.

Of course not. If it were a must Djokovic would not be the best player in the world but he is real real close to a leverage based forehand..It merely is more efficient bio mechanically and based on the principles of science takes less energy to generate force with a leverage based forehand technique.

 

[ga tennis]

...does she define her emotions to you after a loss, either immediately or after taking some time for herself?

My kid takes losses hard immediately afterward and as long as I keep my mouth shut. After he takes some time to himself, he tends to define his emotions to me. Mostly, he says he hates to lose, even if he is the underdog (half of his matches in the 12s, he's 10). I dropped him a level, still 12s but not Open. He wins the tourney. No real elation, subdued reaction. I was pleased on both counts. He recognized his level and did not celebrate the mere victory and he was eager to go back up even if it meant more struggle.

Bottomline, emotions are tricky. If she continues to improve with a subdued outlook that could be fantastic. If you detect a disconnect or maybe a connect between her emotional caring and her improvement and performance or lack thereof, then it could be a factor to monitor to avoid burnout. Here is to hoping she finds the love to carry her through the journey.

Thanks.. You got me thinking!!

 

[TCF]

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[TCF]

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[Postpre]

TCF, would you start a young boy off on a straight arm? From what I've read, the straight arm can be more difficult to time and requires more strength (advantages would be more power, spin, etc). For a man, is there really much difference between straight arm vs double bend if leverage is emphasized and utilized? Does it simply end up as a preference thing (after years of finding out what works for you)?

 

[TCF]

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[ga tennis]

TCF you have got to be more open. Just thinking one way or your way is always right will limit you as a coach. A good coach is always learning. What I'm trying to explain to you is science based. Wouldn't u wanna give your child the best technique to compete on all surfaces?

 

[ga tennis]

Im really not being ugly TCF. I think you are very knowledgeable. I just think you need to somewhat change your fixed mindset.Great teachers are always learning. Dont knock Heaths system maybe think about incorporporating some of Heaths ideas into your own teaching methodology.Ask Pro Tour what he thinks about Heath after this weekend.

 

[Postpre]

ga tennis, I think Heath is great. I'm watching his PROanalysis videos and am taking thorough notes. He's got good tips on the forehand--I think some of it is a little bit of hype though. Finishing at your waist for a heavy topspin ball? I don't see many pro's finishing at their waist very often. There is a video on his site (taped about four years ago) where a 15 year old is fed random balls from a high tech ball machine. There was something about his forehand that seemed fabricated to me (ton of of spin and net clearance).

Overall, though, I agree that Heath is great.

 

[ga tennis]

ga tennis, I think Heath is great. I'm watching his PROanalysis videos and am taking thorough notes. He's got good tips on the forehand--I think some of it is a little bit of hype though. Finishing at your waist for a heavy topspin ball? I don't see many pro's finishing at their waist very often. There is a video on his site where a 15 year old (taped about 4 years ago) is fed random balls from a high tech ball machine. There was something about his forehand that seemed fabricated to me (ton of of spin and net clearance).

Overall, though, I agree that Heath is great.

when you get to three finishing that low you are hitting a ball short with heavy spin. You will be surprised at how often the pros finish there.

 

[Postpre]

when you get to three finishing that low you are hitting a ball short with heavy spin. You will be surprised at how often the pros finish there.

I'd love to see a YouTube video as an example. Are you aware of any, or of any players who do finish that low?

 

[ga tennis]

It's a situational finish.Of course your not gonna see guys finish ther from behind the baseline.Think about moving forward on a low short ball.

 

[jigglypuff]

when you get to three finishing that low you are hitting a ball short with heavy spin. You will be surprised at how often the pros finish there.

Hmm... if you've been around the 3.0,3.5,4.0 level players, they pretty much all finish low most of the time. Now 5.0+ players, you don't see it that often. What gives?

 

[TCF]

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[ga tennis]

Ga....with all due respect, you kind of flipped this the wrong way. I am the one who just said that the forehand should be based on fundamentals and then let the player develop their style.

I said that the HW/Henin style wins, but the larger windup or more bend with proper timing also wins. Players have different timing talents, arm lengths, footwork, all which can decide what forehand works best for them.

So it sounds like when you and HW tell every kid they must switch to his style forehand if they want to be more successful, that you guys are the ones being closed minded and I am the one saying there is more than one way to hit a successful forehand!

But HW is obviously a great coach, best of luck.

I might have flipped it. Sorry I retread your post and agree that there are many different styles of forehands that work. Heath teaches the leverage based forehand because that's what he feels gives the kid the best chance to succeed on all surfaces.But you are right there are many successful styles.