Hey Kevin, thanks for the video! I really appreciate your analogy and your wholistic way of thinking on all different tennis strokes! I do agree with you that the wheel should come first, then to me is the footwork, because if I can’t get there and setup properly forget about power!
Right now, my biggest challenge is still timing. I video tape all my lessons, and I realize a lot of times I don’t split or I don’t split and do the unit turn soon enough – consequently I hit the ball behind me and my racket face goes wacky and hard to generate any power. If you have any tips on racket prep and timing in general that could be very helpful for me!
Thanks, the thing that comes to mind when I hear what you’re saying is unit turn like you mentioned and making sure the timing of the unit turn is done early enough. I see this pattern a lot meaning that players do a unit turn but they don’t do it quick enough. Watch this video of Federer and most other Pro’s take their racquet back early and far enough where they only have to swing down and forward by the time the ball is bouncing. Most players are still are taking their racquets back during the bounce.
Hearing the steering, wheels, engine analogy again really helped it cement more in my mind. I can definitely do more to focus on my racket face and see where that takes my strokes. Lately, it feels harder to control the racket face on my ground strokes vs. my serve. I’ve been serving big, producing short balls and overheads and just failing to capitalize.. which is hard for my psychological game. Need to get the ball machine out and work on those with special attention to these concepts.
Glad to hear that the analogies are helping! Maybe one tip that’s really helped me when I have trouble controlling the racquet is to give all my attention just to the racquet face at contact. Sometimes I find myself thinking about my swing or some other part of my game. That little fraction of a second causes me to not fully engage with what’s going on with my racquet face.
Now it’s become a trigger to me when I start losing control to focus on the face.
Thanks! Yes, it’s a very general framework that can really help improve anyone’s tennis game. I agree that there are still details that could make the process of learning easier and that’s why I continue to make videos that dive into different areas of strokes. And I love the feedback that helps me develop it more. Thanks again for your comment!
Great video Kevin. My biggest challenge now is trying to incorporate controlled power into my groundstrokes (now that I’ve been able to be consistent with depth and placement), especially as I am increasingly playing against players who are hitting faster or heavier balls.
I’m trying to remind myself of the fundamentals, especially having the contact point in front (steering) and torso rotation/leg drive (engine). I’ve had to resort to catching the racquet again as part of my follow through so that my shoulder rotation is fulsome.
Hey Kevin, thanks for the video! I really appreciate your analogy and your wholistic way of thinking on all different tennis strokes! I do agree with you that the wheel should come first, then to me is the footwork, because if I can’t get there and setup properly forget about power!
Right now, my biggest challenge is still timing. I video tape all my lessons, and I realize a lot of times I don’t split or I don’t split and do the unit turn soon enough – consequently I hit the ball behind me and my racket face goes wacky and hard to generate any power. If you have any tips on racket prep and timing in general that could be very helpful for me!
Thanks!
Hey Nickie, I think you meant steering first then footwork (wheels) – yes?
Thanks, the thing that comes to mind when I hear what you’re saying is unit turn like you mentioned and making sure the timing of the unit turn is done early enough. I see this pattern a lot meaning that players do a unit turn but they don’t do it quick enough. Watch this video of Federer and most other Pro’s take their racquet back early and far enough where they only have to swing down and forward by the time the ball is bouncing. Most players are still are taking their racquets back during the bounce.
https://youtu.be/MJHTQncT-AA?t=6
I think this is a big part of Pro’s timing the ball so well.
Thanks for your comment and keep me updated.
Hearing the steering, wheels, engine analogy again really helped it cement more in my mind. I can definitely do more to focus on my racket face and see where that takes my strokes. Lately, it feels harder to control the racket face on my ground strokes vs. my serve. I’ve been serving big, producing short balls and overheads and just failing to capitalize.. which is hard for my psychological game. Need to get the ball machine out and work on those with special attention to these concepts.
Glad to hear that the analogies are helping! Maybe one tip that’s really helped me when I have trouble controlling the racquet is to give all my attention just to the racquet face at contact. Sometimes I find myself thinking about my swing or some other part of my game. That little fraction of a second causes me to not fully engage with what’s going on with my racquet face.
Now it’s become a trigger to me when I start losing control to focus on the face.
Thanks
Thx for the video. I’m struggling with getting consistent depth on my groundies. Would enjoy your doing a deep dive on technical issues. Thx.
For what stroke are you talking about? Another question that I have is, what do you consider deep enough?
Thanks
Excellent for teaching, even or, perhaps, especially for teaching kids, although the teacher has to understand it in depth, first.
Thanks! Yes, it’s a very general framework that can really help improve anyone’s tennis game. I agree that there are still details that could make the process of learning easier and that’s why I continue to make videos that dive into different areas of strokes. And I love the feedback that helps me develop it more. Thanks again for your comment!
Great video Kevin. My biggest challenge now is trying to incorporate controlled power into my groundstrokes (now that I’ve been able to be consistent with depth and placement), especially as I am increasingly playing against players who are hitting faster or heavier balls.
I’m trying to remind myself of the fundamentals, especially having the contact point in front (steering) and torso rotation/leg drive (engine). I’ve had to resort to catching the racquet again as part of my follow through so that my shoulder rotation is fulsome.