POOOOOOWER… Sorry if I offended anyone ::wink: In tennis, power can be seen as a 4-letter word sometimes.  That’s the way we players sometimes feel our coaches think at least.

Doesn’t it always seem that every time you want to add some fire, your instructor gives you the “tone it down” signal?

Yea, bummer right. They’re always saying “that’s not the right play” or “widen your margin for error,” right?

Well, I’ve got good news for you. You’re both right. Sorry fellas, but your coaches do have a point here. You don’t want to literally tee-off on every single ball that comes your way.

But wait, there’s more!  Guys and Girls, power actually CAN be a great addition to your game. So, point for you .  But the only way it’s going to do you any good is if it’s used properly and in the right situations.

The problem is that too many players are confused as to when to unleash the power and when to keep it in the holster and often unload on it at the most inappropriate time.

The truth is it can get pretty confusing and nerve racking when you never feel quite sure. This leads to becoming a step slow on many points. Why? Because you’re constantly involved in a mental tugg-o-war… should I go for it or play it safe…which one…which one.  And by the time you make a decision, the ball has already blown passed you.

Relax, I’ve got you covered.  Give your brain a chance to breathe while I give you a clear-cut answer on how power will help you prevail in 2 key live-game situations with 100% certainty. See the examples below:

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Now granted, the probability that your shot will go in decreases as the amount of power you use goes up, but I’m giving you total and complete freedom to “up the ante”  and “pick up the pace” on the 2 previous situations we talked about. Give it a try the next time you find yourself in either one of these situations, and you should really see a pretty descent improvement!

All the best,

Brian Hall, Your Tennis Mind Coach
TennisMindCamp
webmaster@tennismindcamp.com

P.S. I got some emails asking about that secret project I’m working on. But unfortunately, I can’t  spill the beans just yet.  All I can say right now is I’ve just been really working hard on something for you that’s going to be pretty amazing once it’s completed! I’ll shed so more light on it in the upcoming weeks.

…I think (…no I know) you’re really going to love it!

REMEMBER: I’m here for you if you have any questions about any of these tennis strategies or anything that you think would help put you over the hump. Simply hit reply in the email program you use or post it down below this post.

Tennis Tip of The Week : Prevent Volley Body Shots!

When you’re at net, that is one of the best places to apply a heap of pressure on your opponent. The problem is, even though this is a known fact to a lot of players, a good percentage of those same players never venture up there.

Does that makes sense to you? Blatantly ignoring something that could give you a huge advantage? Of course not. But they’re not doing it on purpose of because they’re try to be masochistic and hurt themselves. Then what’s the problem?

They’re afraid… afraid of getting hit! They don’t want a Wilson or Penn tattoo on their thigh (…or worse) across their forehead. Now, this is understandable. Though it’s small and light, when it’s traveling at possibly 100mph+, it can really hurt!  And it’s for that reason that they panic.

Sound familiar?

Well, let me tell you, the only reason why you truly fear going to net is because you don’t know what to do if a ball DOES come flying at your midsection. So, you freeze. Then what? Exactly, BAM it hits you. I mean, nobody is usually “gun-ho” or 100% confident in something if you don’t know what you’re doing or you feel lost.

So, if you don’t know the correct strategy to defend against a volley that’s aimed directly into your mid-section, you’re bound to get pegged a few times. And then, your trips to the net will be even more scarce.

So, let’s fix it!

Follow the easy-to-apply strategy below to keep this terrible thing from happening during one of YOUR matches:

Volley Strategy 101:

When you’re at the net, and your opponent sent a real “screamer” into your ribs, you want to defend against it by using your backhand volley.  No ands, ifs, or buts about it. Then, simply block it into the open court. Now, why choose the backhand?

A) You’ll find yourself in a better position. You won’t have to contort your body in a funny position to where you look like a pretzel to in an attempt to make good contact. With the forehand, your elbow hitting arm will tend to dig too far into your chest.

And you’ll be essentially handcuffed, with a slim to none chance of succeeding on the next shot. Yea, in other words, shank city!

B) It’ll be easier to recover for the next not. By you being in better body position will enable to regroup in much better time. You’ll be able to get your feet under you and get your center of gravity low. This will give you a much stronger base and help you extend the point even further.

C. Less pain and wrist damage. When you use your backhand, your wrist is straight and streamlined and has very little friction.

But when you use your forehand, you instantly feel the muscles and the tendons pulling and bending in ways that don’t necessarily feel that comfortable to you. Hey, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t like pain in my game !

Now, after all of that… You still want to try using your forehand because it’s going to give you more offensive authority, just remember this warning.

WARNING: Hitting a forehand volley from this position is 10 times as difficult.

And if you’re extremely lucky enough to get the forehand volley back over the net, your body will be in such an awkward position, you probably won’t be able to finish the point out anyway.

All the best,

Brian Hall, Head Coach

P.S. If you have any suggestions for future tips of the week or have concepts
that you would like covered, simply reply to this post.