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First Things First – Timing When to Move

Jim McLennan

Tennis, at its base, is a game of movement, a dance with the ball. But just as no two shots are identical, the tempo and types of steps will vary with each and every shot. The good dancers do this easily, they move quickly, or in many instances they hardly move at all. The art is in knowing when to move, when to wait, when to anticipate, when to be quick, and of equal if not more importance when to be slow. Too often players assume footwork is about explosion and effort, but the best dancers make this thing look easy. And when it comes to the building blocks of tennis, the art of the dance may be the cornerstone of the game.

“Timing when to move” continues themes presented in the suite of articles entitled “First Things First.”

The premise of these articles is to consider the absolute building blocks of tennis, the simplest and most common elements, but simple does not in any sense mean easy to learn. As a lifelong coach and player, I often feel that players often focus on symptoms rather than causes, attempt to master the complex before perfecting the basics, and focus on the periphery without reference to the center. For example if one is off balance and wobbling on the turn into the forehand, that wobble will likely pull the swing path off line, and that wobble will cause the head and eyes to move during contact. But corrective actions on these symptoms do little to correct the cause, so in the end, many find changing the swing path or quieting the eyes more difficult than perhaps it should be.

The First Move to Prepare occurs when in the ready position, you see whether the incoming shot will be to your forehand or backhand. This discrimination (forehand or backhand) is the first thing you look for and the first thing you respond to. In its simplest form, it is a turn to the side. Not a backswing, not a commitment for a topspin or backspin shot, simply a turning of the hips and shoulders to the forehand (or backhand) side. Quickly, easily, maintaining posture and vision.

Dead Hands capture the quiet of the hands during the turn. Many players jerk the hands up quickly, or stiffen the arms and throw the hands down below the hips. But truly, as the ball is moving to your forehand side, the best players do not make a commitment at this point with their hands; they appear quiet if not dead. The commitment to high or low, to topspin or backspin occurs much later in the course of the stroke.

The Educated Foot, a term I borrow from Fred Earle, captures the positioning and body weight on the back foot just prior to the beginning of the swing. Moving to the forehand, the player ideally moves a few quick steps but lands or ends balanced on the back foot (in this case the right foot) before initiating the swing. Much like the throwing motion of a pitcher or quarterback, the motion begins from the back, in this case the educated, foot.

Arm, Hand, and Racquet capture the pulling feel of the swing. It is said that one’s body should pull the arm, rather than one’s arm pulling the racquet, and when the swing is synchronized properly this pulling motion can be easily seen (in others) or felt (within oneself).

The Ball, and specifically how the momentum and flight of the ball influence the shot, describes the different scenarios between the serve, the groundstroke, and the volley. In each instance, the ball has varying momentum (hardly any in the service toss) and varying direction (it may ascend or descend into the baseliners contact zone) both of which will influence the resulting hit.

So if you are on balance, if you can turn to the side easily and quickly, quiet your hands, get to the ball on the back foot, swing the arms and hands easily into the ball, and know how the flight of the incoming ball will influence the hit – then what is next? At this point the game becomes all about the dance, about the ebb and flow from hitting to ready. Knowing when to move. Knowing how to move, how to move quickly, yet how to move easily.

Cat and Mouse

Cat and mouse serves as the metaphor for this dance. The cat tracks and then traps the mouse, perhaps in a corner of the garage. The cat then crouches and waits, and continues to wait for the mouse to move. The cat can be quick, but equally the cat can be incredibly patient. Interestingly, the cat never moves first, but rather always in response to the mouse. If the mouse moves slowly the cat will move equally slowly, batting the mouse back into the corner. If the mouse scampers, the cat pounces, moving quickly. The cat does not anticipate, does not lean in one direction or the other, but simply waits. Balanced, crouched, waiting.

This analogy can be extended to the ready position, when the player awaits the next shot (mouse in this instance). The ready position must flexible, alert, but not overly tense. Posture is key, where the back is straight, the knees and ankles both slightly flexed. This ready position, similar to the crouching cat, enables the player to move in any direction, and to move quickly, but only if needed.

Too often, at the recreational level, the quality of this ready pose will influence, if not corrupt, all that is to follow. Once the opponent hits, the player moves from this ready pose to the ball. In time with the ball, rushing only if needed, moving only if needed, but always after the hit and not before. The cat waits for the mouse, and in this model the player waits for the opponent’s hit.

Volley to Volley Rally

The nature of a volley to volley rally captures this feel. It is a cooperative rather than competitive drill. The object is not about the volley, but rather about keeping the rally going at whatever speed both players can manage. To keep the ball in play, both players must pounce when needed, however, they can react slowly and lazily if that's what is needed. Both players must time their ready position to the precise moment when the other is hitting the ball. Further, neither player can move before the other’s hit. For if one anticipates and leans ever so slightly to the forehand it will be next to impossible to pounce to the backhand side. Consider it simply an “on” or “off.” When the opponent hits one must be “on” balance. Leaning to one side or the other, “off” balance, compromises movement.

There is quickness, timing, balance, and a lot of exercise in this drill. Once you can get ten to twelve balls back and forth in the air without a bounce, you will be breathing but equally, if not more importantly, you will be in the dance. Cat and mouse – keep the ball in play at the net. You are the cat and the ball is the mouse.

At the end of the day it may be that the mysterious, undefinable “something” separating one player from another is the mastery of the simple, the grasp of the basic, the ability to make this wonderfully complex game appear effortless.

Balance, simple strokes, moving quickly but without effort, this is the heart and soul of tennis. Unfortunately (for American tennis anyway), it may also be the defining element in the recent match at Wimbledon where Andy Murray outplayed Andy Roddick. Murray was quick without explosive effort, stroked the ball with elegant simplicity, and throughout, played with impeccable balance.

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