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TennisOne Lessons 
Power First, Part 2 Dr. Ray Brown Since our last article on Power, several very important questions have come up. Today, club tennis pros are divided into two camps (an over simplification for the sake of clarity): Power first and control first. It is important to understand why power first is the fastest track to player development. Key answers lie in the structure of the human motor control system. The Motor Control System Our motor control system can be divided for simplicity into three parts, (1) Aerobic Slow Twitch; Anaerobic Fast Glycolytic; (3) Anaerobic Fast Oxidative. Training for control develops the Aerobic Slow Twitch System. Training for power develops the Anaerobic Fast Twitch Systems. These systems are quite separate.
The neural control of these two system classes is also different. The Aerobic Slow (AS) system is controlled by small imprecise neurons in the brain. The Anaerobic Fast (AF) systems are controlled by large, highly accurate neurons in the brain. It is this fact that allows power to be developed with control in the AF system. On the other hand, if you train for control first, you develop a completely separate AS system. In short, if you start with control, you will, in most cases have to start over and learn power from scratch, so you may as well start there to begin with. As to the argument that you have developed control, you have not developed control at high speeds and you will just have to restart to do this. An analogy is you have learned to drive a car, but have not learned to fly a jet. Tennis today is 80% or more AF, high speed. Hence training AS is in fact a set back except in a specific rare case. The player is born (genes) with an AF system in place. These few can start with control and make the transition to moderate power without retraining because their bodies are set up to do this. However, they will still have to train for high speed. Understanding Power First Training Systems The stumbling block to power first in most power first programs is that coaches do not realize there is a conditioning component that must be implemented along with the power hitting component. Power is unstable and because you have developed the AF system, it does not follow that your body can control it. The answer is not to revert back to the AS system, but to build the body control to support the AF system. This is the point of our last two articles on power training and conditioning. The AF approach requires a highly specialized Anaerobic Fast Conditioning (AFC) program specifically targeted for the AF system. If you train power hitting without the right conditioning, you will only create confusion in the student. Also, if you use a generic conditioning program, you will create confusion. Worse still, if you have a highly aerobic component (such as running a fast mile) in your system you are paddling up stream by undoing your AF program with an AS conditioning (ASC). Motor Control Systems Some players cannot develop an AF system. These can be identified with tests such as found in the Etcheberry program. Some players can transition from AS to AF. These require further study to identify. Some players come with an AF system in place. These are usually easy to identify. However, AF players who are unaware of the need for the AFC program can be very easily confused by their inconsistency. When facing a well conditioned AS opponent (a pusher is the classical AS player), they can easily be beaten until they have been through an AFC program. Strategy and Tactics of the AF System
The AF training program requires an understanding of the AF systems and how they affect strategy and tactics. Specifically, the AF offense must be well understood. Since the AF system has two parts, their proper use is essential. For example, an all out AF attack requires the FG system which can be exhausted in 6 seconds or less depending on conditioning. If the point is not won within that time interval (about three shots), the AF player must withdraw the attack and recover. Usually in these circumstances the AF player's FG system is exhausted and continuing to press the attack usually results in an unforced error due to this exhaustion. The point is that the AF player must not begin an all out attack until they have enough advantage to win the point before their FG system is exhausted. The second part of the strategy is to establish a standard ball rhythm using the FO system. This system is good for up to 90 seconds, a time more than ample to win a tennis point (except between two AS players -- a point of over 600 shots was once played on the WTA tour). This means that the player must develop sufficient body and mind control to establish a rally at 80% effort and maintain this rally until a decisive advantage is obtained. Mind control is a big issue with AF players. They naturally think fast and want to end the point fast. This error-prone condition may be improved if they better understand their motor control systems. The AF player will want to attack the AS player. Here are the strategic facts. The AF player can only attack for a few seconds before exhaustion. The AS player can defend indefinitely. This energy mismatch must be addressed. For example, the AF player cannot be one-dimensional such as having only a big forehand. The AS player will usually prevail unless the AF player's ball speed exceeds the AS players reaction time. As an AF player progresses through the rounds of a tournament, they will eventually meet a player who can defend against their fastest ball. At this point their progress ends with a loss. To counter this situation, the AF player must have an alternative. A good alternative is the heavy topspin. This shot is well suited to the AF system. Do not confuse this with the commonly taught light topspin which is arm dominant (the familiar horseshoe pattern is one example). The heavy topspin is core and leg dominant( Nadal). The heavy topspin has several advantages for the AF player: (1) it allows the AF player to operate with the FO system until they develop an advantage; (2) it is an effective weapon against the pusher; (3) it is an attacking shot that does not require maximum effort.
In place, or in addition to the heavy topspin, the AF player should make the AS player use their AF system. Since the AS player usually cannot develop, or has not developed, and AF system, this will exhaust them quickly. An example tactic is to hit a short ball requiring the AS player to sprint (and AF action), followed by a lob over their heads requiring them to reverse quickly (an AF action) and sprint again, stopping quickly (an AF action) and throwing up a lob. It will not take much of this to wear down the AS player. On the other hand, hitting side-to-side will not phase the AS player, so you must use this tactic to force a short ball. This is a situation for which the light topspin is well designed to handle by producing a sharp angle. Scheduling Power Training Power training is a complex challenge when seeking to produce fast results. About three to four months of 6 to 8 hours a week are needed for high school players. The training is divided into three parts. (1) development of speed; (2) development of precision body movement; (3) development of anaerobic endurance. And of course, safety and moderation are essential. Speed (not foot speed) is developed by such exercises as the dropped ball exercise from our Power First article, the one leg hit exercises where a player stands on one leg and hits ten balls without losing their balance or putting their foot down to assist their balance. Using the rotation bar from the Core Conditioning and Power article is another example exercise. These exercises must be started early in the training process to get the body to develop and condition FG fibers. Precision movements are developed using some of the exercises from the Core article, but also must include dots, ladders, and side-to-side choreography. The choreography examples can be obtained from T1 slow motion videos such as the recent video of Hingis. The specific exercise adapts the Etcheberry speed test to include correct foot work. Other Etcheberry exercises are also useful for developing the choreography.
Anaerobic endurance is developed from timed exercises and from a special set of counting exercises. The Etcheberry speed test can be adapted to endurance training as can many of the other Etcheberry exercises. In addition, are the two-on-one exercises where the player must keep getting the ball back at good speeds for up to 10 minutes using the FO system and creating rest intervals by throwing up high balls to increase the time between shots. The scheduling of this training regime varies from one student to another (differentiated instruction) but a general principle is to combine the various exercises to keep the player from getting bored or accustom to a pattern of exercises. Speed and endurance must start early, while minimizing "hitting drills." Hitting drills are not very useful from the learning perspective until the player has enough motor control to advance his skill and build confidence. Coaching Styles and Motor Systems The motor system of the coach can bias the coach's teaching styles and his expectation for students. This can be great or disastrous. An AF coach will think every student can be AF and do AF drills. This is not likely and can lead to a loss of confidence between the AS student and the coach. It is common for AF coaches to think a student should be able to start with control and evolve to power. But this is another fallacy. A third fallacy is that FS coaches think that they can teach AF players without additional training. Thus each coach must understand themselves first before they can understand their players' needs. A good example is in teaching topspin. There are at least three types: Heavy, Light, Classical. AF players can learn all three, AS players are best taught the classical top spin with basic low to high movement not requiring a ballistic core or leg component. Player Perspectives and Motor Systems
A common occurrence is when an AF player launches an attack too soon and becomes exhausted with the point ending with an unforced error. Many AF players immediately say they choked. Of course, this is so much nonsense. They simply ran out of ATP in their muscles and were unable to execute a clean stroke. Another common situation is when a player has a short ball opportunity. The AS player has little chance of seizing this opportunity, but they believe that they should attack. AS players cannot hit a powerful enough approach shot to avoid being passed by today's AF high school players, or lobbed by another AS player. The problem comes when the '"shoulds" in the player's mind do not match their motor systems and conditioning capabilities. The result is that the player and the coach may misinterpret the problem and spend a lot of time practicing the wrong remedy. The point is that your perspectives must match your capabilities to be successful, and your training regime must match your goals. Summary Power first requires thoughtful organization and implementation. Our motor control systems (muscles, nerves and neurons in the brain) provide the best guide about how to train. There are two basis classes of systems that provide a player classification, AF and AS. These classifications define starting points for player development. Without understanding these systems a power first program is not possible. In addition to player development, strategy and tactics are determined by player types. The most interesting match up is the AF versus the AS. Coaches too are in need of understanding their own player type in order to best train their players. A failure to understand player types can lead both coaches and players to make the wrong decisions about solutions. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Ray Brown's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.
Ray and Becky Brown are the founders of EASI TennisTM. The EASI TennisTM System is a new and revolutionary method of teaching stroke technique that can dramatically reduce the time needed to learn to play master, or any level, of tennis. To learn more about the EASI TennisTM System, click here.
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Ray Brown, Ph.D.