What is the WORST single piece of advice or coaching you ever received?

mightyrick

mightyrick

Legend
After seeing Nostradamus thread, it made me think of another question. Possibly equally interesting.

What is the worst single piece of advice or coaching that you ever received?
 
M

MeMyselfandI

Guest
"You dont have to hit with a two handed backhand, try out the single hander and see if you like it".
 
Brian11785

Brian11785

Hall of Fame
Never really gotten bad advice that I remember. I've only taken about a couple dozen or so lessons total, mostly from the same guy.

I did have a guy that wasn't too keen on my 2HFH at first. I think I won him over by the end of the lesson. Most pro's I've taken lessons from seem to enjoy the novelty of it.
 
Ash_Smith

Ash_Smith

Legend
Santihaas, whilst that might not have been the best way of phrasing it, what message do the think the coach was trying to convey?
 
M

MeMyselfandI

Guest
"What are you doing hitting a topspin short ball approach shot, hit a slice it has been proven as the best approach shot you can hit"
 
mightyrick

mightyrick

Legend
Early on, a older friend of mine (he hit with a continental forehand) told me that to create topspin... I had to create a low-to-high swing by "flapping my wings".

It broke my forehand for a month as I attempted to create a "flapping" motion with my right arm. Gave me a b!tch of shoulder tweak for weeks, also.

He meant well... but horrible advice.
 
T

TennisCJC

Legend
Drop racket head so it points straight at ground for low volleys and 1/2 volleys. I know that the racket head sometimes goes below the hand on low volleys. But, this coach tried to teach everyone to just drop the racket head down so it pointed just R of your R foot and to then walk into and thru the shot. I had a friend on the team who was a ranked junior and he just looked right at the coach and said "NO".
 
5263

5263

G.O.A.T.
try to hit top spin directly over the top of the ball and hit thru the ball down towards you intended target.
 
Timbo's hopeless slice

Timbo's hopeless slice

Hall of Fame
overheard to a student form another coach (not from our club) :

"I just want you to concentrate on getting your serve in flat for now, we can work on spin later"

arrrgh...
 
winstonlim8

winstonlim8

Professional
Pronate! Pronate! You're not pronating your wrist enough.

The idiot's advice which I was even more idiotic to take gave me a wrist injury that forced me to stop playing for four months and makes it painful for me to work with more than five pounds of clay on the potter's wheel even today.

That's why my invariable reply to free and unsolicited coaching advice nowadays is, "Mind your own business."
 
Last edited:
L

LeeD

Bionic Poster
As was BorisBecker's days.....
Yes, we know, Boris served with a conti grip and a big shift towards eastern forehand, but not fully.
StefanEdberg also served with a conti grip, but with a big shift towrads eastern BACKhand, but not fully.
Both variations of a conti grip.
 
GoudX

GoudX

Professional
Edburger said:
"2hbh backhand is just as good for approach as 1hbh."
Click to expand...

Well you say that's bad advise, but Safin certainly seemed to do okay finishing points off at the net with after hitting his 2hbh.

If you really know how to rifle an aggressive 2hbh you can hit it flatter and more powerfully on the rise than a 1hbh. This means you can prevent your opponent from having any time to set up there passing shot.

The advantage of the 1hbh for approaching is the better disguise, letting you unexpectedly hit a short slice and or whip a shot CC. A decent enough drive doesn't always need surprise to be an effective approach shot though - if you've run the opponent wide off the court and get a sitter a drive to the open court is your best option and if you can take it earlier and hit it flatter on your way in to the net you will probably get an easier volley to put away.
 
PhrygianDominant

PhrygianDominant

Hall of Fame
GoudX said:
Well you say that's bad advise, but Safin certainly seemed to do okay finishing points off at the net with after hitting his 2hbh.

If you really know how to rifle an aggressive 2hbh you can hit it flatter and more powerfully on the rise than a 1hbh. This means you can prevent your opponent from having any time to set up there passing shot.

The advantage of the 1hbh for approaching is the better disguise, letting you unexpectedly hit a short slice and or whip a shot CC. A decent enough drive doesn't always need surprise to be an effective approach shot though - if you've run the opponent wide off the court and get a sitter a drive to the open court is your best option and if you can take it earlier and hit it flatter on your way in to the net you will probably get an easier volley to put away.
Click to expand...

Careful, edburger is about to cal you and safin's technique into question.
 
Fintft

Fintft

G.O.A.T.
a) The head coach at my club (Russian origin) just showing me(and all his other students) his serve motion without pointing out the delta (in enough detail). He's basically giving the same advice to all level of servers...

b) The second coach at the club (the Swiss that played against Roger as a junior), telling me to hit my 1H BH late for years (when the ball was parallel to me) and as a result having me trying to revert to hit it in front of me in between lessons (yoyo BH for years).
 
tennis_hack

tennis_hack

Banned
We get told off everytime we hit a slice backhand. No matter the context. Even when you're attempting a drop-shot or scrambling really far out wide, you still get scolded for trying to slice.
 
L

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Some good stuff above...
My worst.... you are doing blah blah blah, but I want you to do THIS every single time.
 
PhrygianDominant

PhrygianDominant

Hall of Fame
Manus Domini said:
Ouch.

(Please tell me that was meant to be innuendo, and I'm not just a normal twenty-year-old boy?)
Click to expand...

How can swinging the human racquet not be an innuendo?

EDIT
I added a question mark, but I am not sure I agree with adding question marks to rhetorical questions. Maybe it's time for a change in this regard.
 
C

cjs

Professional
To a 16 year old me, a long long time ago...

"You need to bulk up to hit the ball harder".

My coach started me on heavy weights.
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
this one coach tried to teach this boy how to hit a proper forehand. my tennis buddy walked by and told the boy, "kid, don't copy your coach's forehand, copy Federer's" :shock:
 
E

Edburger

Rookie
I feel, spin important to help get serve in. First serve I ever learn, basic topsin serve. Second serve I learn, basic slice serve.

Teaching serve with no spin to beginner - strange. Surely, good basic serve mechanic start with little bit topspin.
 
B

baoshuxiong

New User
Harder vs. Faster

cjs said:
To a 16 year old me, a long long time ago...

"You need to bulk up to hit the ball harder".

My coach started me on heavy weights.
Click to expand...

Just started to appreciate the difference between hitting HARDER vs. swing the racquet FASTER
 
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