TennisMindCamp » passing shot

When To Turn Up THE HEAT!

Head Coach — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:50:35 +0000

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:

Example #1: If your opponent is at the net, and you’re attempting a passing shot, you definitely want to increase your pace almost 100% of the time. The passing shot is an aggressive (…offensive minded) shot by nature.

You never… I mean *NEVER* want to come in and attempt to execute a backspin (…or defensive) shot when you’re attempting to blow it by him. If you do that, the strategic edge and advantage that you once had, immediately transfers back to your opponent.

And when that happens, you’ve just given your opponent two humongous gifts and it’s not even his birthday:

CONFIDENCE: Now, he feels that he can handle you whenever he decides to come to the net. He doesn’t fear your passing shot or feel that he can be hurt by it which allows him to be more aggressive.

This will show in his play almost immediately. He’s going to come to the net more often, determined to make you pay, which is going to leave you on your heals. And, on the other side of things, you would have allowed doubt (…the mental killer) to slither into your mind. Now you’re going to be more nervous than ever the next time you have a passing opportunity – when that is supposed to be one of your deadliest of weapons.

OPTIONS: You’ve now given him options. He can damage you mentally by easily (…with a smile) picking off your passing shot, and angling the ball away from you and off court for the winner. Or he can decide to give you a more physical threat and blast one back at you into your body, possibly leaving you with a fat bruise on your outer thigh to help act as a more visual reminder not to try that again.

And you don’t want that to happen, do you? Of course not.

The “passer” is classified as a “finishing” or “winning” shot across the board. That means, you want to end the point right then and there, and you need a elevated dose of pace and velocity to get the job done. If you do that, you’ll be the one finishing on top.

Example #2: Another great situation is when you’ve built a commanding lead in a game of 40-15 or greater. You can afford to really put some extra hot sauce or some extra spicy mustard on that first serve (…starting to get hungry? haha), and maybe on your 2nd serve as well.

This will no doubt immediately put your opponent on the defense, allowing you to control tempo, be the dictator in the point and give you the momentum we all crave right off the bat.

The reason “why” this works strategically is because you’ve provided yourself with a cushion. Just in case that first serve (…or even the second serve) on that point don’t go as you planned, you’ve a few more in reserve. This is about playing “smart” not “hard.” You don’t want to attempt the “heater” or ultra fast ball, like you’re pitching for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th, if the score was reversed, 0-40 or 15-40.

That leaves you hanging by a thread and only gives you one ultra-thin life-line to play with, and if you fail or something surprisingly goes wrong, you’re done. The point, game, match, or even championship could be lost. That’s not smart.

—-

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.

How To Defend Against Tennis-Volley Body Shots When You’re At Net!

Head Coach — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:44:08 +0000

Tennis Tip of The Week : Prevent Tennis 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.