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Footwork or Foot Joy: Andre Agassi changed his serving stance in the deuce court -- he stood so wide to serve that he was nearly halfway between the middle of the deuce court and the singles sideline.
©SUSAN Mullane
I
n recent years, high-speed video analysis of pro tennis has helped leading coaches to identify commonly used footwork patterns. The funny thing is that various international coaching organizations have even given some of the same patterns different names as if they are naming their own children. Here is one small example of how confusing terminology can be: Players hitting a short high groundstroke often lean in to hit the ball and push off to land on the same foot. Some call this the “kick step” and others call it the “follow through step.” While it is undoubtedly helpful to identify each pattern, it can also be 42
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confusing when different organizations call the same thing by a different name. Here is just a partial list of some of the new terminology:
1. Step-outs 2. Drop steps 3. Kick steps 4. Follow-through steps 5. Double rhythm patterns 6. X-patterns 7. Transfer steps 8. Single and double pivot steps
You’ll see and hear about many of these patterns on The Tennis Channel and will be reading about them in various tennis magazines, probably including Tennis Life. But, rather than defining, digesting, and analyzing each of the various footwork and positioning movement patterns, this article will mainly focus on whether or not to teach new players these patterns. The option is to let the position of the ball stimulate a natural footwork response (which was, by the way, how each of the various patterns evolved in the first place). I remember Dennis van der Meer, a very prominent coach, telling me years ago that he would specifically travel to the Orange Bowl in Florida (one of
Movement Patterns – Part Two By Joe Dinoffer
nis movement will evolve just as the quality of competitive tennis continues to improve. In tennis, just as in nature, only the most fit and most efficient survive.
What can the tennis public expect to hear from the gurus of coaching?
the premier junior tournaments in the world) just to learn by observation what footwork and swing patterns were naturally evolving among the best juniors in tennis. After all, he correctly theorized, whatever the top juniors are doing today will be what the touring pros are doing tomorrow. The opposite would be the coach who independently creates his own teaching system by only examining his own students. Then, in addition to individual footwork patterns on specific shots, other movement discussions are now focusing on returning serve, recovery positions (forwards and backwards as well as lateral), and positions and movement at the net. We’re even seeing more and more creative starting positions for the servers in singles. Just one example happened at Wimbledon last year when Andre Agassi changed his serving stance in the deuce court -- he stood so wide to serve that he was nearly halfway between the middle of the deuce court and the singles sideline. The primary question that comes from all this discussion is whether to teach footwork patterns or observe them as they naturally evolve. From watching tennis video footage from more than 50 years ago, we can safely conclude that there are certain basic footwork fundamentals that have not changed over decades and probably never will. At the same time, certain aspects of ten-
They can expect to hear about a variety of footwork approaches. Some tennis coaches will teach footwork patterns to young children from the very start. Others will only address footwork issues when a competitive junior or adult have a clear and identifiable movement problem. Which approach
is correct? This is a tough one to answer and it’s doubtful the jury will decide in a hurry. In the meantime, use your best judgment, realizing that each player has individual learning styles and physical attributes. Sometimes the best system is to be flexible and adapt to each person’s needs. For the time being, this decision is yours to make. 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.
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