Guidance Systems - Learning and fixing strokes the easy way by Oncourt Offcourt

The Art of Coaching

Guidance Systems Learning and fixing strokes the easy way

By Joe Dinoffer

This series—for coaches, players, and tennis parents—features key concepts that apply leading educational and sports training methods to help tennis players become their best.

ike water directed to flow through a pipe, it’s possible to guide the strokes of new players as well as correct misdirected swing patterns of others. This “guidance systems” method is commonplace in dozens of activities in everyday life, but infrequently invoked for good purpose in the hours on a tennis court. Think of driving in lanes on a highway, walking down a sidewalk or being guided through lines in an airport, and you’ll get the idea. Using this concept, you’ll soon see purpose for ever-present court

accessories such as fences, nets, benches and water removal rollers far beyond their original intended use. To help you and any players in your charge, here are some examples to get you on the road to problemsolving through the use of physical guidance systems. These ideas will not only guide the flow of your strokes to higher levels of play, but can also make the journey more fun at the same time. With a little imagination, you’ll probably come up with other solutions that can help your strokes, too.

FENCE: Stand against a fence to improve your slice backhand

A common problem on slice backhands is when a player swings around in the follow-through without lengthening sufficiently along the path of contact. One indication of this problem is the tendency to hit most slice backhands crosscourt. If this applies to you, stand with your back against a fence to get a feel for how much to lengthen your swing forward toward your target. Just have someone toss balls to you. The fence guides your swing easily through the correct path since you have to lengthen forwards; otherwise you will strike the fence. (Warning: Start off swinging slowly to avoid injuring your hand in case you hit the fence.)

BENCH: Use a bench to help level out your slice groundstrokes

Hitting waist-level and lower slice groundstrokes can be challenging. The most common problem occurs when players chop downward, sometimes to the point where their racquet hits the court. To help guide a correction of this problem, bring a bench onto the court (be careful not to scratch the court surface) and place it perpendicular to the net between the service line and the baseline. Stand alongside the bench so that the racquet face travels along the top of the bench. A partner or ball machine feeds balls at waist height. And, like all guidance-system method exercises, move away from the bench after five to 10 hits and try out your improved slice groundstroke.

CHAIR: Lower your playing height by sitting halfway in a chair

Bending the knees is essential for not only good movement, but also to establish the balance needed for solid topspin groundstrokes. If you want to try and improve your topspin groundies, use a stool or chair without arms and place it sideways to the net about halfway between the service line and the baseline. Start off standing next to the chair to practice either topspin forehands or backhands. Have a partner toss balls right to you and just barely sit in the chair briefly before flexing upwards to hit. Striking an average height ball from this “halfway to sitting position” is a good guide for any player who wants to improve their topspin groundstrokes. Get a feel for hitting from this halfway position and then try to maintain that feel while playing.

©fred mullane

COURT DIVIDER NETTING: Hit sideways over divider netting to practice “high heavies”

“High heavy” is a nickname for high arcing topspin groundstrokes that literally can force an opponent to run into their own back fence. In particular, this is a common tactic among younger junior players as their shorter stature makes them especially susceptible to this annoying tactic. Since the ball is far above the normal comfortable contact zone, players are weaker in that position and consequently the ball feels heavier than normal. Find two open courts with a divider net in between. Find a partner and rally over the netting with topspin, trying to hit from singles sideline to singles sideline on both courts. www.tennislife.com

ÂŠfred mullane

NET: Stand sideways along the net to help high volleys

A slightly surprising but common problem is when players hit high volleys into the net. They chop downward too far. The solution is to finish with the racquet head above the height of the net. Using the net itself as a guide to finish correctly is easy. Stand sideways at the net near the center strap, facing one of the net posts and close enough to the net that if you chop down too far your racquet will hit the top of the net. Have a partner toss balls from around the net post for you to practice high volleys. After getting a feel for finishing with the racquet above the height of the net, move to the normal volley position and practice from there. Using the top of the net as a guide should carry over to real play. If not, simply repeat until the correct racquet motion becomes more natural.

TennisLife magazine

NOVEMBER 2 0 1 0

Special Thanks to Murray State University and the Murray State Varsity Tennis team

WATER ROLLER: Fix any large backswing with a water roller

©fred mullane

Big backswings are great if you want to hit a home run in baseball but can create timing problems in tennis. If the ball comes a little too fast, big backswings make tennis players contact the ball late. Ideally, if someone is taking the racquet back for a forehand, the backswing should go back no further than the back fence. A quick fix to guide players to have a shorter backswing is by using a water roller. Hit some forehands from a fed ball having a partner stand behind you and on the opposite side holding a roller. The idea is that if the backswing is too big the racquet will hit the roller. Practice until you don’t strike the roller with your backswing and then try hitting with a shorter backswing on your own.

UMPIRE CHAIR: Hit high over the net guided by an umpire chair

You don’t have to hit harder to hit deeper—generally, hitting higher over the net results in hitting deeper into your opponent’s court. This can even be more effective since the balls will bounce higher, forcing your opponent to hit out of their comfort zone. They will inevitably be kept pinned behind the baseline in a defensive position. To practice hitting higher over the net, simply roll out an umpire’s chair and rally over it. (Again, be careful not to scratch or damage the court surface.) Not only will your balls land deeper, but you avoid making the worst mistake in tennis—hitting in the net. Joe Dinoffer is a Master Professional in both the PTR and USPTA, a distinction awarded to only a handful in the tennis industry. He has published numerous books and videotapes, and is a frequent speaker at tennis conferences around the world. For more information, visit www.oncourtoffcourt.com.