The rec player and their total lack of footwork

[looseleftie]

Hello all, played tonight just social rotating doubles, and really focused on consistancy and movement.. The standard is lowish, nice people, and one of the few days of the week that I can play with life,family and work commitments..Just trying to paint the picture here...

What really staggered me, was if I was was judging their standard from 2.5-4.0 was their total disregard for footwork... I couldn't believe it!! Time and time again they were late in moving to the ball, often off balance and always looked under pressure.. There was 1 or 2 guys that moved ok, and played ok, but it was so glaringly obvious that their shots crumbled on a few extended rallies we had.. Their consistancy just wasn't there. They knew where they wanted to hit the ball, even anticipated the oncoming ball, and after the point when we may have a bit of a chat and giggle at a few funny or decent points, however they seemed somewhat surprised by what had happened.. I know it's a social fun night, but they were so bewildered as to why their shot hit the net, or went sailing long or framed the ball..

If I were a coach, I think I would focus every student solely on shadow drills moving around on the court, introduce a split step, basically get them into thinking and being proactive... Not big noting, or running others down to boost an ego here, it was kinda like a "moment" when I realised what the difference is between the 4.5-5.0 player and the lower USTR ratings are...so much of it comes to getting into the right position to actually hit the damn ball!! If your not, then it's like Russian roulette, u can only hit and hope..Even with a reasonable technique, it can only get u so far, if your feet aren't where they should be!!

Love others thoughts here..

 

[Turbo-87]

The rec player who plays sparingly is thinking a lot about the swingpath and trying to get that right. It's hard for them to bring it all together when you don't play a lot. I don't think these types of players would work on much outside of a regular play night. There are plenty of people like that in my club league that only play that night and I see the same things. Heck, I am one of them.

 

[Power Player]

Footwork is everything. And it is really hard to maintain. If you are balanced for almost every shot, you will win the match most times.

 

[tennis tom]

It's the mediocre players that make the good players look good, like Walt Stack founder and the original imbiber of the DSE Runner's in frisco used to say, as he handed out the ribbons to the winners: "It's us slow guys at the back of the pack that make you fast guys look good!"

Most rec players don't watch the ball until it is crossing over the net towards them, good players watch it as it comes off their opponent's racket. A lot of rec player's missing is not being sideways to the ball using an open stance. I was trying to get the rust off a friend the other day and telling him to close his stance from the other side of the net: "Turn you feet sideways perpendicular to the net!", he just wasn't getting it verbally, even when I demonstrated from my side, I had to go over and physically turn him sideways.

It's difficult to teach footwork, their are so many things about the game that seem more important technically, some times I try to watch Fed's feet only.

There's some thoughts from someone who can't move anymore.

 

[TimothyO]

I agree with the OP.

Tennis should be played in this order:

1. Shot Selection: where should you hit the ball?

2. Anticipation: based on your shot where will the ball probably come back?

3. Movement: think and MOVE while your ball is on its way across the net

4. Focus and Preparation: focus on the ball, setup your stance, and prepare your stroke

5. Stroke

Unfortunately, most teaching pros for rec teams only cover step 5. Sure, they'll have some drills where you run around the court and they yell, "move your feet!"

But they almost never teach players how to think which drives shot selection, movement, and court positioning. Do those things right and strokes are a lot easier.

So rec players simply whack the ball SOMEWHERE to the other side of the court and then stand there, glued to their spot, waiting to see where the ball comes back. THEN then scramble to that spot and whack the ball on the run without thinking where they should aim. Thus UEs determine the score line for low-mid level tennis.

 

[tennixpl]

as one plagued with the issue i completely agree with OP. i can hit almost every shot....when in place. getting the mind to move the feet is a vastly overlooked piece of training.

Also open stance popularity i think makes most players think they can do that too, when they are far more likely to hit a good shot with proper shoulder/hip turn and foot placement. At our lower levels we have the time, we just DON'T. no reason to hit a bad footwork shot other than effort and training. but how many guys will show up to clinic to work on foot work?????

 

[burosky]

I agree with the OP.

Tennis should be played in this order:

1. Shot Selection: where should you hit the ball?

2. Anticipation: based on your shot where will the ball probably come back?

3. Movement: think and MOVE while your ball is on its way across the net

4. Focus and Preparation: focus on the ball, setup your stance, and prepare your stroke

5. Stroke

Unfortunately, most teaching pros for rec teams only cover step 5. Sure, they'll have some drills where you run around the court and they yell, "move your feet!"

But they almost never teach players how to think which drives shot selection, movement, and court positioning. Do those things right and strokes are a lot easier.

So rec players simply whack the ball SOMEWHERE to the other side of the court and then stand there, glued to their spot, waiting to see where the ball comes back. THEN then scramble to that spot and whack the ball on the run without thinking where they should aim. Thus UEs determine the score line for low-mid level tennis.

Please don't take this the wrong way. As a teaching pro, my sessions are usually specific to things my student wants to focus on. I believe having something to focus on is more productive than teaching several things at once. For example, if my student wants to focus on forehand, I even go as specific as whether the student is interested in topspin, underspin or flat. Before I start though I try to ask what kind of result they want to see with their forehand then figure out what tweaks they can do to get the result they want based on the way they hit the ball. I don't know about other teaching pros but I'm not one who dictates what to teach the student.

As for your observations about rec players, I know a lot of rec players who don't fit that description. Unless you are making a living from playing tennis, you are a rec player also and you probably don't fit the description as well.

 

[beernutz]

Watch the ball and move your feet. It's the first thing you learn, it's the last thing you learn. - Andre Aggasi

 

[OrangePower]

Hello all, played tonight just social rotating doubles, and really focused on consistancy and movement.. The standard is lowish, nice people, and one of the few days of the week that I can play with life,family and work commitments..Just trying to paint the picture here...

What really staggered me, was if I was was judging their standard from 2.5-4.0 was their total disregard for footwork... I couldn't believe it!! Time and time again they were late in moving to the ball, often off balance and always looked under pressure.. There was 1 or 2 guys that moved ok, and played ok, but it was so glaringly obvious that their shots crumbled on a few extended rallies we had.. Their consistancy just wasn't there. They knew where they wanted to hit the ball, even anticipated the oncoming ball, and after the point when we may have a bit of a chat and giggle at a few funny or decent points, however they seemed somewhat surprised by what had happened.. I know it's a social fun night, but they were so bewildered as to why their shot hit the net, or went sailing long or framed the ball..

If I were a coach, I think I would focus every student solely on shadow drills moving around on the court, introduce a split step, basically get them into thinking and being proactive... Not big noting, or running others down to boost an ego here, it was kinda like a "moment" when I realised what the difference is between the 4.5-5.0 player and the lower USTR ratings are...so much of it comes to getting into the right position to actually hit the damn ball!! If your not, then it's like Russian roulette, u can only hit and hope..Even with a reasonable technique, it can only get u so far, if your feet aren't where they should be!!

Love others thoughts here..

I pretty much agree with you - lots of lousy footwork at rec level. And bad / lazy footwork leads to off-balance shots, arming the ball, errors, etc.

But the thing is, we're rec players. Many of us are older and not that agile. Or fit, or in shape. Or interested in spending hours on non-hitting drills. We're playing tennis for fun... sure, we want to improve, but we want to have fun while doing it. And agility / footwork drills are not in any way fun for the rec player.

 

[newpball]

The rec player and their total lack of footwork

You are not a recreational player?

 

[LeeD]

While some footwork is needed to get my fat butt to the ball, what's more important than "proper" footwork is a early full shoulder turn.
With the shoulder turn, I can hit topspin backhands openstanced, volley wrong footed, return most any serve with topspin without moving my feet (when the ball is hit near enough for me to reach), and crush overheads wrong footed.
Without the early full shoulder turn, I can't do any of the above.
Watch warmup vids of Federer. He don't move his feet much.
Since none of us are within 2 pts. of Fed's skills, we need our feet movement even less.

 

[Power Player]

Yes but if you just turn your shoulders and are still off balance because you didn't move well, the results will be bad.

Federer is never off balance when he warms up. He has a great hitting partner as well, and that helps.

 

[LeeD]

Can't a person turn their shoulders, not move their feet at all, and still be IN balance?
Just because a player chooses not to take tiny adjustment steps doesn't mean they are off balanced. It means they're lazy, or they are IN position to hit the ball.
I hit most of my topspin backhand return of serves fully openstanced, obviously on balls I can reach. When I have time, like against a second serve, I always close my stance and step forwards. But neither is much more effective, more consistent, or more forcing than the other. I just don't get back on my heels.
I often hit rallyball topspin backhands with a wide open stance, like I"m right handed, but I'm lefty. That has more to do with injury to the left ankle, but I hit it well, I hit it consistently, and the coil/uncoil gives me lots of swingspeed with very little effort. But of course, I'm in balance.
Footwork has nothing to do with balance. Balance is keeping the torso upright and stable. We can be IN balance one footed, in the air, wrong footed, closed stanced, openstanced, or legs tied together.

 

[Power Player]

You misunderstand what I am saying. If you are a lower level player you will not get balls hit right back to you over and over, so you HAVE to move your feet or you WILL be off balance lunging for balls that are hit wide.

I can hit with a coach and just make small steps because the ball is coming right back to me.

Footwork has plenty to do with balance when you have to actually move to get to the ball.

 

[escii_35]

duh?

Good movers own 3.5 singles. aka pushers with wheels.

Me, if my feet are in a good place on the volley good things happen. Good things usually don't happen. Not a 4.5 nor will I every be. It's ok with it now that I'm old and broken down.

 

[michael_1265]

duh?

Good movers own 3.5 singles. aka pushers with wheels.

Having "wheels" is about speed, and I don't think it is what the OP is talking about.

 

[LeeD]

To me, feet have little to do with volleys. More important, early shoulder turn, even when wrong footed, stay balanced and slightly forwards, and the volley take care of themselves.

 

[michael_1265]

Hello all, played tonight just social rotating doubles, and really focused on consistancy and movement.. The standard is lowish, nice people, and one of the few days of the week that I can play with life,family and work commitments..Just trying to paint the picture here...

What really staggered me, was if I was was judging their standard from 2.5-4.0 was their total disregard for footwork... I couldn't believe it!! Time and time again they were late in moving to the ball, often off balance and always looked under pressure.. There was 1 or 2 guys that moved ok, and played ok, but it was so glaringly obvious that their shots crumbled on a few extended rallies we had.. Their consistancy just wasn't there. They knew where they wanted to hit the ball, even anticipated the oncoming ball, and after the point when we may have a bit of a chat and giggle at a few funny or decent points, however they seemed somewhat surprised by what had happened.. I know it's a social fun night, but they were so bewildered as to why their shot hit the net, or went sailing long or framed the ball..

If I were a coach, I think I would focus every student solely on shadow drills moving around on the court, introduce a split step, basically get them into thinking and being proactive... Not big noting, or running others down to boost an ego here, it was kinda like a "moment" when I realised what the difference is between the 4.5-5.0 player and the lower USTR ratings are...so much of it comes to getting into the right position to actually hit the damn ball!! If your not, then it's like Russian roulette, u can only hit and hope..Even with a reasonable technique, it can only get u so far, if your feet aren't where they should be!!

Love others thoughts here..

100% agree. I'm a 3.5, and when I have energy and I'm bouncing on the balls of my feet, everything else just takes care of itself. At 48, it's a lot harder to keep that energy. Last year, I was listening to the Essential Tennis Podcast, and the guest was a lifelong instructor named Brent Abel. He stressed that the top priority you should focus on is creating the proper distance between you and the ball. Yes! Personally, when I get "tight", I tend to get closer to the ball, and since I have a wingspan on par with many NBA players, that is the kiss of death for me. Keeping the proper distance is ALL about movement.
Good Topic, OP!

 

[looseleftie]

Cheers Michael..

Yes go to Youtube and check out the Brent Abel teaching, esp the relation between racquet arm/body and the distance between the two.. Seems so obvious, but a great way to get consistancy, and also making u move your feet to get to the ball...

You are right Michael, it is harder to get your movement spot on, when u are that wee bit older in the tooth, especially maintain it from game to game, set to set..People get tired, thats all.

 

[TomT]

Footwork is everything. And it is really hard to maintain. If you are balanced for almost every shot, you will win the match most times.

Agree. It's the basis of good solid stroking, point in and point out (assuming that one has fairly good stroke mechanics). Fundamental to good footwork is fitness and focus. So, I would guess that improvements in the three Fs (fitness, focus, and footwork) are the basis of improvements in one's game in general, and that having an edge in the 3 Fs is the foundation of a winning game at any level.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Last year, I was listening to the Essential Tennis Podcast, and the guest was a lifelong instructor named Brent Abel. He stressed that the top priority you should focus on is creating the proper distance between you and the ball. Yes! Personally, when I get "tight", I tend to get closer to the ball, and since I have a wingspan on par with many NBA players, that is the kiss of death for me. Keeping the proper distance is ALL about movement.
Good Topic, OP!

My opponents don't have to jam me. I will jam myself.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I agree with the OP.

Tennis should be played in this order:

1. Shot Selection: where should you hit the ball?

2. Anticipation: based on your shot where will the ball probably come back?

3. Movement: think and MOVE while your ball is on its way across the net

4. Focus and Preparation: focus on the ball, setup your stance, and prepare your stroke

5. Stroke

I don't agree that No. 1 should be No. 1. In fact, I would probably trade No. 1 for No. 5.

The reason is that shot selection without decent stroke mechanics is called "pushing." What is the point of knowing the best shot selection but being unable to execute it due to poor mechanics?

You can win a lot of matches pushing, but I think it is better in the long run to learn to control the ball with a correct stroke. Once you learn to do that, shot selection really isn't that hard -- because stroke mechanics give you control, and it's all about control.

I guess this was sort of an epiphany for me. When I first started taking lessons, I found it frustrating that my pro wasn't telling me where I should hit the ball. He wasn't putting out targets. He wasn't telling me to hit Xcourt or DTL or much of anything about strategy. His approach was you have to learn how to control the ball, the whole point of technique is consistency and control, and it is a waste to use bad technique to hit to targets. I didn't think much of that, as it wasn't helping me win matches.

I have changed my mind. He was right, IMHO.

 

[2ndServe]

yeah the common thing I've noticed about top players 6.0 is their footwork. Relentlessly on their toes.

 

[Gut4Tennis]

Hello all, played tonight just social rotating doubles, and really focused on consistancy and movement.. The standard is lowish, nice people, and one of the few days of the week that I can play with life,family and work commitments..Just trying to paint the picture here...

What really staggered me, was if I was was judging their standard from 2.5-4.0 was their total disregard for footwork... I couldn't believe it!! Time and time again they were late in moving to the ball, often off balance and always looked under pressure.. There was 1 or 2 guys that moved ok, and played ok, but it was so glaringly obvious that their shots crumbled on a few extended rallies we had.. Their consistancy just wasn't there. They knew where they wanted to hit the ball, even anticipated the oncoming ball, and after the point when we may have a bit of a chat and giggle at a few funny or decent points, however they seemed somewhat surprised by what had happened.. I know it's a social fun night, but they were so bewildered as to why their shot hit the net, or went sailing long or framed the ball..

If I were a coach, I think I would focus every student solely on shadow drills moving around on the court, introduce a split step, basically get them into thinking and being proactive... Not big noting, or running others down to boost an ego here, it was kinda like a "moment" when I realised what the difference is between the 4.5-5.0 player and the lower USTR ratings are...so much of it comes to getting into the right position to actually hit the damn ball!! If your not, then it's like Russian roulette, u can only hit and hope..Even with a reasonable technique, it can only get u so far, if your feet aren't where they should be!!

Love others thoughts here..

I learned some great footwork drills for balance from the free video lessons in my signature. One of my favorite was balancing on one foot and slowly touching my toe. Love doing this when walking my dog, when she stops to sniff something

 

[LeeD]

While performing an intermediate yoga pose is nice for doing yoga, I think it's more important to maintain upright posture at all times when about to hit the tennis ball. Bend knees for low balls, straighten and get up for high balls, but torso level and upright at all times.

 

[Gut4Tennis]

While performing an intermediate yoga pose is nice for doing yoga, I think it's more important to maintain upright posture at all times when about to hit the tennis ball. Bend knees for low balls, straighten and get up for high balls, but torso level and upright at all times.

yes the technique is bending with the knees not the back, so you stay upright

its very hard, but very valuable.

most of tennis is one leg hitting, so practicing one leg movement balancing is very rewarding and helpful

 

[LeeD]

I may be only a 4.0 level player, but most of my hitting is with both legs on the ground, or both feet OFF the court, in the air.
From groundies to volleys, serves, overheads, and returns of serves.

 

[bt johnson]

I agree with the OP.

Tennis should be played in this order:

1. Shot Selection: where should you hit the ball?

2. Anticipation: based on your shot where will the ball probably come back?

3. Movement: think and MOVE while your ball is on its way across the net

4. Focus and Preparation: focus on the ball, setup your stance, and prepare your stroke

5. Stroke

Unfortunately, most teaching pros for rec teams only cover step 5. Sure, they'll have some drills where you run around the court and they yell, "move your feet!"

But they almost never teach players how to think which drives shot selection, movement, and court positioning. Do those things right and strokes are a lot easier.

So rec players simply whack the ball SOMEWHERE to the other side of the court and then stand there, glued to their spot, waiting to see where the ball comes back. THEN then scramble to that spot and whack the ball on the run without thinking where they should aim. Thus UEs determine the score line for low-mid level tennis.

Y'all should find new teaching pro's. I run classes solely related to footwork. It's damn sure in every lesson I teach

 

[LeeD]

Footwork is work.
I play tennis for FUN.
You might say, if I had good footwork, I'd have more fun because I'd win more often.
I say, if I wanted to win more often, I'd find a lower level of opponents...

 

[newpball]

Yes, tell me about it, the recreational player and footwork...

Basically the recreational player sucks and not only with their footwork. :twisted:

 

[Bartelby]

I've seen coaches give a reasonable amount of time to footwork and a lesser amount to shot selection once students move on from beginner classes. This doesn't necessarily get translated into match play.

 

[MF878]

As a performance junior squash player when I started, movement was far from a problem during my transition to tennis, but hit the ball back to me more than three times and the error was practically guaranteed. Once my shots were "squash-free" enough, I soared. The arm and upper body strength I already had meant I was into 11oz.+ frames straight up too. Thankfully, my tennis technique has come a long way from the slicing and continental forehands...

 

[roman40]

Tennis is hard, if you do it right, both physically and technically. Footwork is the hardest aspect of tennis, from physical perspective, because it requires extensive training, and it's also one of the least "fun" aspects of tennis training. I don't think I've met any recreational players at 4.0 and below who are serious about improving their footwork. Personally, I understand that's it's very important, but I have a very hard time forcing myself to do the required drills. I attribute majority of the errors I make during matches to footwork issues. In recreational tennis, poor footwork is the norm, and I don't think that will change.

 

[looseleftie]

I remember reading about the average number of feet movements of pro v rec players few years ago, it was something like the average for a pro was 12, the rec to strong club player between 4-8 at most...

All those fine last second adjustments prior to contact, makes u think about footwork that bit more.. Well it does me!

 

[Tennisguy3000]

I found this video helpful, what do you think? (Starts off a little slow, hitting at 5 min plus).

http://youtu.be/R5CWAwtijVI

 

[Tennisguy3000]

Make that 6:50 for hitting to start; http://youtu.be/R5CWAwtijVI

 

[Off The Wall]

Hello all, played tonight just social rotating doubles, and really focused on consistancy and movement.. The standard is lowish, nice people, and one of the few days of the week that I can play with life,family and work commitments..Just trying to paint the picture here...

What really staggered me, was if I was was judging their standard from 2.5-4.0 was their total disregard for footwork... I couldn't believe it!! Time and time again they were late in moving to the ball, often off balance and always looked under pressure.. There was 1 or 2 guys that moved ok, and played ok, but it was so glaringly obvious that their shots crumbled on a few extended rallies we had.. Their consistancy just wasn't there. They knew where they wanted to hit the ball, even anticipated the oncoming ball, and after the point when we may have a bit of a chat and giggle at a few funny or decent points, however they seemed somewhat surprised by what had happened.. I know it's a social fun night, but they were so bewildered as to why their shot hit the net, or went sailing long or framed the ball..

If I were a coach, I think I would focus every student solely on shadow drills moving around on the court, introduce a split step, basically get them into thinking and being proactive... Not big noting, or running others down to boost an ego here, it was kinda like a "moment" when I realised what the difference is between the 4.5-5.0 player and the lower USTR ratings are...so much of it comes to getting into the right position to actually hit the damn ball!! If your not, then it's like Russian roulette, u can only hit and hope..Even with a reasonable technique, it can only get u so far, if your feet aren't where they should be!!

Love others thoughts here..

I believe it was that unheralded USTA founder father, Benjamin Ranklin who observed that: A stroke in time saves 9.

 

[user92626]

OP,

When I was green, I was also surprised by this fact. Now that I have a little more experience, it all makes sense.

You haven't realized that footwork is the hardest part of this sport, physically and mentally. To move early you need to focus mentally, and to move fast you need to be active physically, and you do both all the time for footwork to work. That's too much for social rec players who just want to go out, see the ball comfortably and hit comfortably. There's no stake if they lose.

 

[floridatennisdude]

An opponent of mine complimented me on my low slice forehand that I cut to his backhand a few times in a row when he hit me a short ball.

He asked me how long I worked on that shot. I said, well the key is to have really lazy footwork. Then you figure out how to make the best of your bad footwork. I've been fortunate enough to have had lazy feet for many years.

 

[storypeddler]

Well, in my opinion, one thing hinders rec players from getting better more than any other. Foolishly, they watch the pros play and try to emulate them.

They don't get to see the pros spending hundreds of hours fine-tuning strokes, improving footwork, in the weight-room, on the treadmill, doing drills till they drop, etc, day after day after day after day...so they think it must not be hard to do what they do.

A huge percentage of rec players in all sports are like this. Good results almost always come when preparation meets opportunity. People don't prepare for play by training because it isn't sexy and actually, isn't really much fun. Playing is fun, but training isn't. Problem is, without the training. when they get on the court to play, they don't have the tools they need because they haven't prepared them.

In basketball, it's very easy to stop playing defense on your man when he doesn't have the ball. Then one quick pass, he has the ball preparing to shoot, and you are too far away from him to guard him because you weren't prepared. Same thing with footwork in tennis. It requires a conscious effort to do consistently until you start doing it automatically without thinking about it. Even then, unless you are training regularly, you are likely to lapse into laziness and stop moving on the court.

Making shots is about developing the ability to do all the right things together at the right time---anticipate the return, move to the spot, position your feet, have the racquet up and ready for the stroke, keep your eyes on the ball, fully execute the stroke, follow through, start anticipating the next return, etc. BUT you only develop that ability through hours of practice where you are correcting what you do wrong. Most rec players never do that. They see Rafa and Fed and Nole play and try to play like them. LOL.

 

[Turbo-87]

Tennis is hard, if you do it right, both physically and technically. Footwork is the hardest aspect of tennis, from physical perspective, because it requires extensive training, and it's also one of the least "fun" aspects of tennis training. I don't think I've met any recreational players at 4.0 and below who are serious about improving their footwork. Personally, I understand that's it's very important, but I have a very hard time forcing myself to do the required drills. I attribute majority of the errors I make during matches to footwork issues. In recreational tennis, poor footwork is the norm, and I don't think that will change.

Tennis seems to be a little like hockey, at least in my experience. You have to master what your feet do and what you can do for shot making. It is a lot to bring together for sure. The difference is, in tennis you can sort of make up for bad footwork and make decent shots. In hockey, if you don't have good footwork you won't even be able to put yourself in a position to handle the puck well enough to attempt a decent shot. Every tennis player can walk and run.

 

[TennisCJC]

Remembering to make a split step on every return of serve and every stroke your opponent hits can improve your game enormously in my opinion.

I try to do this but still need to consciously work on it. If I can stay focused enough to split step on each ball, then I get a better 1st step to the ball which helps a lot.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Tennis seems to be a little like hockey, at least in my experience. You have to master what your feet do and what you can do for shot making. It is a lot to bring together for sure. The difference is, in tennis you can sort of make up for bad footwork and make decent shots. In hockey, if you don't have good footwork you won't even be able to put yourself in a position to handle the puck well enough to attempt a decent shot. Every tennis player can walk and run.

How any human can strap blades on their feet, ambulate on ice, and then also control a puck while there are other people around who don't want you to control it is nothing short of miraculous.