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TennisOne Lessons 
Movement: The Key to Lifting your Game David W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne In the past we have talked about the number of steps pros take between shots compared to recreational, club, tournament, and college players. Pros take more steps, a lot more…it's that simple.
But, is it really that simple? While consciously employing more steps to position yourself for each shot is literally a ‘step in the right direction,’ (pardon the pun!) there is much more to movement players who want to lift their game must understand. Touring pros are in constant motion on the court, taking as many as 11 steps or more between each hit of the ball, and they can keep up this movement in matches that last up to four hours or longer. Club players running around like this would quickly exhaust themselves in a relatively few games. Try it yourself and see how long you last before exhaustion sets in. Which leads me to the concept of conditioning. Conditioning, Weight, and Movement It has been beaten to death, the concept of health and optimal weight for individuals. If you are overweight, dropping a few pounds combined with physical conditioning is the best way to go. Eating less can help you lose weight, but increasing your cardio conditioning goes a long way toward maximizing your weight-loss as it applies to playing better tennis. If you improve your cardio efficiency you will generally see two important footwork components improve: First Step: It is amazing to see the reaction time and the quickness among the pros. Sure, they are prime conditioned athletes who train constantly to gain that often tiny edge over their fellow pros. But even a small increase in conditioning combine with some weight loss for recreational, club, and tournament players can produce a distinct improvement in reaction time and a quicker, more effective first step. We hesitate less and we get to difficult shots easier with an improved first step. Overall quickness: Along with the first step, overall ability to accelerate and run down shots with improved conditioning is vastly improved. It isn’t just taking more steps that will automatically improve your game, but the speed in which we can take those steps and remain balanced and in control creates far better shots on balls we indeed must run down. It is amazing how you can do more with a difficult shot by improving your conditioning.
Strokes and Conditioning I am a firm believer that anyone looking to improve their game should take a close look at their technique. Obviously, if you have flawed strokes, you can be the fastest, best conditioned athlete on the planet; however, if you get to a ball with plenty of time, your ability to do something with the ball is very dependent on your ability to replicate a reliable and dependable stroke with the right kind of spin and velocity relative to the shot being attempted.
However, every player regardless of their level of play can become better through improved conditioning. Baseball Analogy Ted Williams, who many considered the greatest hitter who ever lived, talk about the strike zone in his book "The Science of Hitting." In it, he lays out a graphic of the strike zone and where the best pitches for him to hit crossed the plate. Ted couldn't move his feet to get into better position to hit the ball, he could only adjust his swing, however, Ted had the option to lay off the pitches he was likely to make poor contact with and zone in on the ones he could drive. We all know how that worked out for Mr. Williams, in 1941, he hit 406 which was the last time anyone has reached the 400 plateau. Unfortunately, in tennis we do not have the luxury of laying off the balls we are likely to miss. We have to hit every ball. And if we want to hit "400" like Ted, we have to make sure every ball is in our optimal strike zone. Which brings us back to movement and the idea behind those small adjusting steps most of us don't take enough of. Small Steps So back to the idea of the number of steps a player takes between shots. There is another concept that can be parlayed with conditioning — small steps. If we look back to the radio dials of old AM or FM transistors, if you wanted to find a station you had to turn the knob to move the station indicator line in big turns until you got close to the station. Then, you would “dial in the station” (hence where the phrase ‘dial it in’ may have originated!) by turning the knob back and forth in tiny turns until the station came in as clear as possible. (I know those of you younger than 25 are probably thinking, “What is he talking about?” But ask someone older about old radios!) In tennis, we can use this analogy of the old radio dial in our discussion of how we should move for each shot. Large steps to get near the ball, then smaller adjust steps so we are in the optimal position relative to spacing for the shot being hit.
When we watch the pros play, it seems that each shot they hit is an identical replication of any stroke of the same shot. This is because not only have they mastered the idea of creating a “repeatable, reliable stroke” on command, they position themselves by taking those small adjustment steps so that the ball is in almost the same ideal position for each hit. Most of us in the recreational world with moderate skills can hit a waist high forehand repeatedly. But there in lies the problem. The fact is, most shots are not missed because of poor technique, but rather because of poor positioning to the ball. Next time you are watching a match at your local club between recreational, junior, and even tournament players, see how often they hit that repeatable waist high forehand: Rather it seems that every shot is different — high shots, low shots, shots they are reaching out for, shots they are at the last moment trying to get out of the way of, etc. These players then shadow swing a forehand or backhand as if the reason for the missed shot had something to do with technique, when in fact they failed to get themselves into position to use their repeatable swing. On many shots we see players reacting almost in a panic during a rally! It has been said that tennis “Is a game of emergencies.” And for the vast majority of players who play the game, this is a very true statement. However, we have all seen the so-called elite players, those who have pretty strokes coupled with an almost effortless style of movement. You can really maximize your game by combining the conditioning aspect with working on positioning by taking those small ‘fine-tuning’ steps. Yet, this takes dedicated and conscious training to make it happen naturally. Mostly because, as I said before, this kind of movement without proper conditioning can quickly exhaust a club player. No one said improving your game was easy! (Well, some have said this, but it is seldom true!) Put in the Work There are many drills found on TennisOne that focus on footwork. Study these drills and do as many of these as you can! Combine these drills with effective physical training. Start with a qualified physical trainer or look online for programs you can use to improve your cardio and physical condition. At the very least, add a running regiment to your weekly schedule, visit your gym regularly, and work with a partner on the court to with various tennis drills that incorporate footwork, quickness, first-step movements, and endurance! You will see the results of these applications in a short period of time…and you will be amazed at the things you can now do on the court
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