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TennisOne Lessons 
Implementing a Proven Training Program Part 3 David W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne There is a great deal of controversy centered around training programs for all ages of tennis students. One argument is that the best way to learn is to let students do “what feels comfortable.” Unfortunately, skilled strokes, grips, and footwork patterns are seldom initially comfortable’ Thus, this argument, while it sounds all touchy-feely good, is the main reason why millions of tennis players stagnate at levels far below their potential. For most, if they simply pick up a tennis racquet and do what ‘comes natural,’ they will almost never become a skilled player. Only those who can watch and identify skilled strokes and grips, then have the ability to emulate them correctly (without falling back to what feels comfortable), with the understanding that in time, these formerly uncomfortable skills will become natural, will be able to ‘self-teach’ themselves correctly. However, in my experience, these people are in the extreme minority. If you don’t believe me, just take a walk around your local club and look closely at the odd collection of methodologies on display.
That is not to say it can’t be done. I myself am a classic example of someone who watched skilled players diligently and emulated well what I saw them do. But even so, I wish I had taken tennis lessons very early on. I might have sidestepped some of the pitfalls I stumbled on as a consequence of doing things completely on my own. While I became a solid collegiate player, could I have become far better? Absolutely! Yet, there are many who can’t afford tennis lessons or insist on teaching themselves. Well, for those people, there is good news. Today, we are blessed with the greatest availability of tennis instructional resources than ever before. Where I had to wait to see replays of tennis matches on television to get a “second look” at what the pros were doing, (in the early 1970’s, we didn’t have personal video cameras, computers, the Internet!, slo-mo replays, or even high-def TV), we now have unlimited views of virtually all top players from a number of sources. So how do we take these resources and implement them in a way that we can assure ourselves of moving in a positive direction and advance to higher levels of play? The answer is in understanding the things that will lead us to our greatest potential and then applying them in a way that gets us there fast and with the least amount of frustration and failures. In my previous articles on this subject, I have outlined the steps and the qualifications that constitute a proven training program. My last article covered grips as they are associated with the volley, serve, overhead, slice and two-handed backhand — in other words, the Continental grip. In this piece, I will be talking about how to insure, not just the best groundstroke skills, but how we can take what we learn, internalize it, and make it “our own.” Granted, no two players hit the ball exactly alike, there are idiosyncrasies even at professional level. Yet, these idiosyncrasies are tempered with foundational skills that are common across the board. Therefore, the first step is to understand what foundations are unequivocally important to the development of skilled play within the diversity of individual personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. While this article won’t delve into the multitude of nuances and technical aspects of hitting a forehand and backhand groundstroke (please read any of the excellent articles on groundstrokes found here at TennisOne.com), there are two ideal concepts that I’ve developed over my 35 years of teaching that I’ve seen help just about every player regardless of level, age, or sex. These two concepts can be integrated with any teaching philosophy, technique, or training regimen. In other words, they will certainly help you regardless of where you currently are in your tennis development. Groundstroke Foundation "Keep the Plane the Same," and "Hit and Hold" — These two simple phrases can lead to the most important goal for any tennis player — creating a repeatable, reliable swing path. I’ve found that while you can teach 100 students exactly the same technique, no two players will end up hitting the ball exactly the same, even at the pro level. The reason for these distinct differences between equally trained students is in a large part based on their personalities. Personality creates a perception of competence, of strengths and weaknesses, of playing propensities (aggressive net attackers, baseline bombers, counter-punchers, or patient players, etc.), and how they perceive will end up winning them the most matches. But, if you develop a foundation that will optimize these personality traits, as they apply to your tennis, you will be more apt to reach your potential.
Keep the Plane the Same Whether you hit a flat ball, use a lot of topspin, or hit a slice shot, your ability to accurately aim while learning to add more pace and spin is dependent upon doing exactly what this simple phrase implies. The idea here is to maintain the integrity of the racquet while it moves through the hitting zone. The number one fault in players who seem to lack the ability to hit groundstrokes with greater consistency is their inability to keep the plane of the racquet (string bed, specifically) the same as it hits the ball. That means whatever grip, the swing path, or the footwork you use, you must be able to replicate your swing consistently while keeping the plane the same — and that means no dishing, rolling, or flipping the racquet as it contacts the ball. Shadow Swinging Shadow swinging is a great way to hone your skills. In nearly every sport, professionals can be seen shadow swinging their sport’s implement over and over in practice? Golfers, tennis players, baseball players all do this. We see this even in sports that do not have a hitting element: basketball players go through their shooting routine without the ball; volleyball players simulate the serve or a spike without the ball; even quarterbacks simulate their drop back and set up for throwing a pass without the ball. And then there's the concept of shadow boxing — you get the picture. If there were any shot in tennis that has the most diversity it would have to be the forehand groundstroke. Because the grip often dictates other swing characteristics, you will see differences in the backswing, the contact point, the follow-through, and the footwork associated with the forehand stroke. The good news is you don’t have to change your grip to improve your groundstroke! What you will need to do is look at the grip you have and make sure you are using the best stroke and footwork associated with that grip. On the backhand side, among most skilled players, with but a few variations on the backswing and footwork, two-handed strokes are almost identical. One-handed backhands, like one-handed forehands, are varied mainly due to the grip. Different grips dictate different contact points, as well as different backswings, follow-throughs, and footwork patterns. With all these differences — even among skilled shot-makers — there has to be a commonality that creates success and consistency; that allows these players to hit with great power even from compromised positions and still bring the ball down inside the court. Again, that commonality is the ability to “Keep the Plane the same.” Drills In addition to “Shadow Swinging,” a player can stand with their front shoulder against a fence and swing forehands and backhands towards the fence. As the racquet meets the fence, the stroke continues up and over the front shoulder maintaining contact with the fence. This action teaches the topspin “wiper” move and forces the player to keep the plane the same. Drop-Feed — Don't dismiss this simple tool. While drop-feed shots are usually associated with beginners, I see pros using drop-feed drills also. The idea behind a drop-feed ball is that the player focuses on the task at hand without worrying about hitting the ball in the contact zone the way they would if a ball was coming at them from across the net.
Once a repeatable swing pattern is established using the drop-feed, a player can advance the exercise by then having a partner or coach drop-feed the ball. Hit and Hold This simple phrase is as much a training tool as it is a way to play some of your best tennis while competing. As a tool, this concept is to finish each shot the same way (from our ‘keep the plane the same’ phrase) and hold the finish for a moment after the shot. By this I mean holding your arm and your body in the finish position after contact. Obviously, if you are hitting on the run, holding your position is impossible to accomplish. However, if you strive to hold each finish, you will be amazed to find how many shots you can get to and how well balanced your hitting platform is on each shot. Watch the pros (think Roger Federer here because nobody has ever done it better), on the backhand specifically, Federer holds nearly every finish. Even upon recovery, he often holds his arm in the finished position while returning towards the middle of the court. An added benefit, holding the finish allows you to create an end point to every shot and that can help you create that repeatable reliable stroke. Even if you hit the ball long or into the net, holding can help you feel what you need to do next time to correct the error. When you hit a good shot, holding allows you to savor the feeling of the stroke, allowing your body to learn how to replicate that same swing again.
Beginners and even intermediate players rarely, if ever, hold their finish. Instead we see players recoiling, falling off balance, and lunging at the ball. Generally, these players never seem to have two shots look the same. When competing, the conscious act of holding your finish takes your mind off the potential outcome of the shot, allowing you to better focus on the present. It helps players move with greater precision, but most importantly, holding the finish forces a player to remain balanced during the stroke. The conscious thought of holding the finish actually prepares the player to hit each shot with more efficient footwork and from a better, more balanced position. Try it, it really works. Set and Hold While not a groundstroke tip, there is an associated phrase with Hit and Hold called “Set and Hold,” and this will help players with their volleys. Set and Hold is the idea that with any volley — angle, drive, drop, or lob volley, the player will want to set the desired racquet angle before the ball arrives. Then it’s simply a matter of the player “finding the ball” and making contact. If the angle is set correctly, the ball should reflect off the racquet to desired location. Too many players take a big backswing on the volley. This changes the orientation of the racquet face (keep the plane the same, remember?) and it then must be changed just before contact. This not only requires perfect timing to execute, but the swinging aspect of the racquet to achieve the desired angle at or near contact often forces the player to hit the ball too hard. Set and Hold allows players to develop the feel for more advanced volley patterns (sharp angle volleys, drop volleys, and put-away volleys), and advance their volley skills quickly.
Conclusion Obviously, there are many more aspects to hitting forehand and backhands than I've outlined here. My goal was to give you two specific tools to help you develop a better strokes while at the same time giving you a proven tool that will help you perform at your best when competing. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Dave Smith's article by emailing us here at TennisOne .
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