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Stroke Master My Tennis Life
STROKE MASTER
It is one of the most stylish shots hit with flair on the big stage. Whether it's a cross court passing shot or a lob over your opponent’s head, Stroke Master explains how to execute the ‘tweener’ with perfection every time.
What do you see?
Ball trajectory To execute the tweener effectively the ball needs to be moving away from the baseline and coming over the opposite shoulder to your hitting hand. Movement Timing of the ball trajectory and your movement is imperative in making this shot a success. If you are too slow, the ball will end up too far in front of your body. If you are too fast, you will have to stop and re-adjust your position.
Grip The continental grip is the most effective grip to execute the tweener. This will allow the racquet face to be square at impact so the ball does not deviate to the left or right. Swing Unlike the forehand, which is a ‘C’ shape swing, the tweener is a ‘J’ shape swing. Steep downward swing followed by a forward and slightly upward motion. In combination with the continental grip the swing pattern must have a forward and upward swing trajectory through your legs.
Contact This is critical. The ball must be directly under your body or slightly behind you. This will allow you to continue to accelerate the racquet head in a forward and upward motion.
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www.tennis.com.au/coaches November 2013 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE
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MY TENNIS LIFE
The turning point in Tom Petery’s career came after being a teacher for 12 years. These days, he loves the freedom tennis coaching provides.
Tom PeteryONS: Tennis Australiaa oMf Teastaechr ing, m ATI QUALIFIC ional coach, Diplo ucation ss Ed Club Profe iploma in Physical D Graduate d ucester an NSW (Glo i council courts g in p Ep : S -ring-ga V E NUE courts), Ku Ray Road upper north shore ’s ey n in Syd
Tennis coaching
freedom A group of kids in my street marked out the lines with blackboard chalk on quite a cul-desac road initially. This progressed to getting a lawn mower and cutting out a grass court in the local reserve, until one neighbour bought a large block down the street and built a court and things continued from there. Interestingly I started tennis at around the age of 12, which is quite late. My first taste of playing competition was in year eight when I played in the Saturday Morning for Oakhill College in the Hills District. The teams were organised by a wonderful lady called Maree Parker (canteen lady) who had a real passion for tennis. Finishing high school and having the time and opportunity to practise and play everyday and travel to metropolitan and country tournaments with like-minded people couldn’t come soon enough. It was a time when we all got our P plates and there was this freedom and independence to get out and play. I loved the game so much that I wanted to be part of it whichever way I could. There is unique freedom in doing something that you enjoy and making a career out of it. It’s also a great feeling that you can inspire others as a coach and help them to develop a life long love for tennis and 56
AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2013
develop a sense of community within the area you teach. Furthermore, when you are running your own business you can become a master of your own destiny and I think this is a good way to operate. For the first 12 years or so I combined coaching with PE and primary teaching. This provided me with a good economical and educational base to break out on my own as a tennis operator. At times I’ve also worked in the real estate industry and as a car broker. After working as a teacher for 12 years it was quite a step to go from a salary earner to an independent business owner, but I now love the freedom and autonomy of what I do and wouldn’t have it any other way. Many of my clients have been coming for over 10 years. As I have basically done all the coaching on my own I coach the full lifespan of players from grassroots, Hot Shots through
to competition and tournament players. I normally see about 100 students a week coaching close to 37 hours per week.
of Australian life that has positive outcomes with local communities in regard to health, social and recreational benefits.
This structure has allowed me to have a level of freedom in tennis coaching that I enjoy. In the last 29 years I have been conducting tennis business at single private courts, council courts as well as people’s tennis courts at their homes.
I am an avid follower of all sports and certainly pay attention to the trends. Currently I’m looking at what makes a great pitcher in baseball and how facets of good pitching techniques can benefit a tennis player’s serve. I’m also looking at how various sports use periodisation in athlete management.
From a technique point of view I would like my students to value that there are many ways to learn tennis and that the game is constantly evolving. I believe that technical development needs to be eclectic in nature to cater for different learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, body types, personality traits and cultural differences. My vision is to promote tennis as a ‘sport for life’. A life that encompasses all that is great about playing sport in Australia. I see tennis as a cultural part
Different learning styles are best provided with eclectic technical development.
Students can definitely learn various traits, skills and values from the professionals. Depending on what I am trying to achieve with a player I will highlight certain characteristics that players have. These include Lleyton Hewitt’s effort and determination when I want to instil a positive work ethic and never say die attitude, Sam Stosur’s attention to detail in physical preparation and diet to develop a competitive advantage to win a Grand Slam and Roger Federer’s professionalism and humility in achieving great success yet conducting himself impeccably at all times. I love the freedom of running a tennis business. Being outdoors, hitting tennis balls, maintaining youthfulness, health and vitality is all very rewarding, but developing and mentoring players is really the icing on the cake. DANIELA TOLESKI