Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Volley

When you hit your volleys in general the ball should have backspin coming off your racquet. This is important as it imparts more control when you are placing your volley. The ball should drop faster once it loses speed.
Remember volleys are often used to set up an easier volley or to force your opponent into making a weak reply or just to simply force an error.
So, make sure you have a proper grip and that the racquet face is angled open and you also have a firm wrist and you should see that nappy backspin automatically. goy

Friday, December 24, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Movement/Balance

If you are having trouble sliding on a Clay court, one tip to remember is to point the toe of your shoe in the direction of your slide. So, for example if you are sliding out to hit an open stance forehand and you are right handed then you would try to point your right foot toe in the direction of your slide. kd

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Volley

One of the first and most important aspects of learning to volley is how to hold the racquet in your hand. You must let the grip of the racquet lay in the palm of your hand. Your grip should be close to a continental. It does not need to be a strict continental grip, but make sure it is not closer to an eastern grip. So when you hold the racquet with the proper grip it is laying in the palm of your hand. And when you do squeeze the grip to volley, you do not want to have a 'death grip' where you squeeze too hard.
You want to be able to feel the top or tip of the racquet when you grip it. kd

Monday, November 22, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Two handed Backhand

When preparing for the two handed backhand, reach straight back with both hands to the back fence. Do not reach back HIGH with your hands and arms. Keep the reach back about waist level with your hands. Keep the racquet tip above your hands. Your dominant arm should be almost straight with your non dominant arm bent and relaxed when you reach back.
And I emphasize that you must turn your shoulders, especially your front shoulder where a majority of your back is facing your opponent or net when you take the racquet back. ay

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Two Handed Backhand

When learning the two handed backhand, make sure you first learn the proper grips with both hands. The dominant hand should be a strict continental grip at a minimum. The non dominant hand should be a semi western grip.
Next, you should practice hitting a lot of non dominant hand forehands from the short court. Also, practice hitting some one handed backhands with the dominant hand's continental (or greater) grip.
Then when you use both hands on the grip it should be easier to learn.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Serve Tech

if you want to learn how to properly hit an effective topspin serve, you must be able to push your hips out and or bow your back as you are descending(bending) into the loaded position. goy

Monday, October 18, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Forehand

When you start your turn in preparation for the forehand, let your racket hand go up into a loop to start a circle motion. Your hand may go as high as your SHOULDER at the top of the loop.
Another tip to remember and it quite important is that you must keep the hand/arm equidistant from your body when doing the loop motion. ay

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Strength/Conditioning

If you only had time to do one strength exercise or could choose one exercise for helping your tennis, I would strongly recommend the back squat or deadlift. You could use dumbbells for the deadlift or of course the bar. This exercise strengthens your entire body especially your core, back, and shoulders. I would recommend starting with a rep count of 12 or over. Always, remember to warm up properly and stretch prior to lifting. And keep in mind the technique for the squat must be learned correctly or you can hurt yourself. I also mentioned the deadlift as an option as it is an exercise that may be easier on some body types. goy

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Serve

Did you know that 40% of the power in the Serve is produced from the internal rotation of the shoulder? Yes, that is correct.
The remaining 60% comes from the leg drive, trunk/hip rotation and vertical force the body produces from the loaded position to contact point. ay

Monday, September 6, 2010

DOC'S TIP OF THE EVENING -- SERVE

Did you know that the hard first serves the pros are hitting on TV at the US Open are really slice serves? Yep, they sure are. Almost 100% of the serves are contacted on the right side of the ball with a continental or in some instances an eastern grip. (Left side of ball if you are left handed).
So, if you want to learn how to hit an impressive hard serve, first learn how to hit a proper slice serve. goy.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

DOC'S TIP OF THE NIGHT -- HEAD/EYES

WHEN WATCHING THE BALL COMING TO YOUR SIDE OF THE COURT, TRACK IT WITH YOUR EYES.
AND WHEN YOU CONTACT THE BALL KEEP YOUR HEAD STILL AS A STATUE AND YOUR EYES GLUED TO THE BALL AND CONTACT POINT. EVEN AFTER CONTACTING THE BALL KEEP YOUR EYES GLUED TO THE CONTACT POINT WHICH SHOULD HELP IN KEEPING YOUR HEAD STILL.
SO IF YOU MISHIT A LOT OF BALLS, YOU MAY BE MOVING YOUR HEAD TOO MUCH OR YOU MIGHT NEED GLASSES.
goy

Sunday, August 15, 2010

DOC'S TIP OF THE EVENING -- BH (one handed)

If you want a great deep ball and have a one handed backhand, concentrate on extending your shoulder and dominant arm after you hit the ball and follow through.
Also, you can extend your non dominant arm straight back behind you as well after contact.
When following through extend your dominant arm straight out behind the contact point of the ball, keep your head still and eyes focused on the contact point AND extend your shoulder where you can feel the inside of your shoulder stretched. GDM

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Footwook/Movement to Ball

Tennis is a game of movement which of course means you must move your feet. First and foremost you must make sure you are split stepping when your opponent strikes the ball so when you land you will be on your toes and on balance and will be able to react quickly to the area the ball is going to.
The two absolute facts in movement are running or sprinting to get to the ball then adjusting your feet once you have arrived into the vicinity of the ball. Sometimes, you may need to ONLY adjust your feet to the ball and other times you will need to sprint to the ball then adjust.
And sometimes you will just run to the ball and hit it back with NO adjustment steps because there is no time.
First, when you run to any ball, you would sprint just like you would in a race (very short race) and when you adjust, you stop running, but you are still bouncing on your toes either around, up to, or back to establish balance for effective body loading to hit the shot. goy

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

DOC'S TIP OF THE EVENING -- BACKHAND VOLLEY

I believe there is a misconception that one must always step into the volley. So, let's take the backhand volley as an example. The first movement you want to make once you have moved to the ball and are on balance from the split step, is to turn your dominant arm's SHOULDER before doing any forward step to hit the volley. You must maintain your upper body balance and initiate a sufficient turn of the shoulder as you reach across your body in preparation. Then you can step into the ball to hit it. But remember, balance and shoulder turn are key. AY

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Strategy

Always try to hit a forehand after hitting your serve into play. This is important as your forehand should be one of your weapons. You must do these two things effectively to be successful with this strategy. 1). have very good footwook and 2) have smart serve patterns and anticipate where a majority of returns will land due to probabilities. goy

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Shot Selection

Use your slice backhand when you are pulled WIDE outside the singles sideline. The Slice backhand will be a much more prudent shot than a drive or topspin backhand from that position. Also, when you are forced wide across the singles sideline it can often be associated with an offensive shot from your opponent, which then requires you to play a DEFENSIVE reply and the slice is the best option. ay

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Volley

In preparation for the Volley, remember to keep your elbows close to your body and your arms/forearms in front of you. Also, it is a good idea to try to keep the tip or top of racket above your hands and to have your non dominant hand on the throat of the racket. ay

Monday, June 28, 2010

Doc's Tennis Tip of the Night -- Forehand

To effect the proper follow through and finish on the Forehand try to 'hug' yourself or wrap your dominant arm around your body. If you do this sufficiently, then you should get plenty of power and spin on your shot. If you are specifically focusing on the 'hug' of the forehand and not so much the full rotation of the body and legs, then your elbow should be very close to the center of the your body pointing at your opponent or net. goy

Friday, June 25, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night -- Fitness

Remember to skip rope constantly. Prior to warming up or practicing, skipping rope should be part of your warmup regimen. This needs to be no more that a minute or two after your dynamic warmup.
After you practice or compete, skipping rope is a great cool down exercise that helps alleviate lactic acid build up and maintains physical and mental discipline. After the match or practice, try skipping rope two to three minutes.
On days you are not competing use the skip rope as a fitness workout. This would entail skipping up to 10 to 15 minutes or more depending on where you are with your periodization. ay

Doc's Tip of the Night -- Serve Stance

Remember, if you have a foot back stance (this means if you don't bring your back foot up to the front foot as you toss) and you want excellent balance then try to hold your weight back on your back leg PRIOR to releasing your ball toss. goy

Doc's Tip of the Night -- Serve Stance

If you have a foot up style serve (this means if you bring your back foot up to the front foot as you toss) then it is a good idea if the width between your feet is greater than shoulder width for more momentum from your load to push up and into the court. hdky

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night -- Grip

When gripping the racket to hit a two handed backhand, you want your dominant hand in the continental grip at a minimum to ensure that you will be able to create sufficient topspin. Your non dominant hand grip should be close to a semi western. ay

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night - Slice BH

When learning the Slice Backhand try to turn your shoulders in a sufficient manner so that a majority of your back is facing the net, coach, or opponent. And when contacting the ball your elbow should be fully extended. This should allow sufficient space away from your body to allow for the proper follow through of the shot. The most common mistake I see with player's learning this shot is that it is usually contacted too close to the body which then affects the control, power, and placement of the shot. So remember, a full shoulder/back turn when preparing for this shot is of utmost importance.ay

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night - Serve

If you have a foot up stance on your serve, it will help you if your stance is wider than shoulder width apart. This will give you more momentum when you bring the back foot up so you can push with more force from the load up into the court to hit the Serve.
The foot up style is when you bring your back foot up either by stepping or pulling it up to the front foot, prior to bending or loading the legs. ay

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Morning - Practice

A great idea in practice that should make hitting into the net more difficult when you play tournaments, is to raise the height of the net or add a extra net across the top of the existing one. I prefer to just raise the net itself as it is usually more practical. Start by unhooking the hook at the bottom of the net strap that connects to the court. If you can get or carry two net sticks with you then just put them outside the singles sidelines and you should be able to increase the height of the net at least 6 inches or more at the net strap.
This practice tip should help your depth of shot and I also guarantee it will help your mind when you play a match. You must use the heightened net a number of times per week when drilling. goy

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night - Overhead

When preparing for an overhead, your first reaction should be a shoulder turn to prepare and a cross step BACK. You do not want to let the lob get behind you at any cost. When preparing for the overhead try to get your racquet hand up to the level of your ear and get your racquet forearm completely vertical. If you have time to position and wait for the ball then follow these tips: Once you position your feet underneath the lob maintain your balance with the back foot and keep your body completely still with the non racquet arm straight up. Position your feet with the front foot slightly in front of the back foot. Your feet should create an 80 - 85 degree angle from toe to toe (right-hander) when balanced and waiting for ball.
goy

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night

If you want more power when you hit your forehand from an offensive court position then try pushing down into the court with your loaded leg when swinging to contact. This will be most effective when you have an semi open stance. In a closed stance, you would not try to do this. cd

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day

When learning how to slice the backhand, practice it with one arm behind your back.
Start on or just behind the service line and block the ball back with the goal of hitting the ball back into the service box. Then as you get better at slicing you can hit the ball deeper towards the baseline standing just behind the service line. goy

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Doc's Doubleheader Tip of the Night

When hitting the swing volley, try to contact the ball around waist level like you would a groundstroke. Most of the time the shot is contacted too high by players that I see miss the shot. Of course, there are always exceptions to this advice however, if you are on balance and between the service line and baseline this is a good rule to follow. AY

Doc's Tip of the Night

If you want to improve your touch around the net, try playing a dink game with someone inside the service boxes and not the alleys. The rules are, no volleying and only slicing or blocking the ball. This will also help improve your sliding if played on a clay court. It is also a very good warm up game. goy.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day

When swinging to contact the ball on the backhand and especially the one handed bh, you want to keep the arm and elbow close to your stomach on the downward motion of the swing prior to contacting the ball. goy.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night

In regards to footwork and recovery, push off the court with the outside leg after hitting your shot to gain speed and momentum on the cross step before your shuffle steps to get back into your recovery position. Ah yeah.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Evening

A very simple way to turn your shoulders effectively when positioning for a backhand is to get your feet into a 45 degree angle to the baseline prior to hitting the shot. GOY

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Morning

If you want a great forehand, you must learn how to keep your wrist extended in the preparation/turning phase and in the downward motion of the swing phase. The wrist will start some flexion just prior to contact. GOY

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night

If you want a more powerful and overall more effective Serve, you must strengthen your core and back muscles. Often, core weakness is a big liability that prevents the full use of power in the Serve. This is a common denominator in females and their struggles with the shot. GOY

Friday, March 19, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Night:

If you have trouble getting enough spin on your serve and your placement is inconsistent, make sure you learn how wrist flexion and shoulder rotation are directly related to this very critical shot. Of course, you must still hit many practice serves, but if you are not technically proficient then your serve will probably NOT be improving. GOY

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Doc's Tip of the Day:
Always try to have a majority of your body weight follow your racquet. For example, when you take the racquet back or turn on a ground stroke that is where a majority of your weight should be.
When you start your swing and contact the ball you let the body weight follow as you hit the ball and the stroke finishes.