April 22, 2007
|
Timing – Learning to Wait Jim Mclennan Players must master a myriad of skills when learning the game. Tracking the ball, judging the bounce, moving to the ball, positioning for the hit, stroking the ball, following through, recovering for the opponent’s reply – and that is just the short list. When asked what is the key, what aspect do they focus most keenly upon, most reply, “Getting ready early.” And indeed, most players are very keen to prepare the racquet so as not to hit the ball late. But somehow there is a world of difference between preparing early and preparing the racquet. To my eye, most players emphasize the latter, and are early with the racquet and early with the step and swing; whereas the better players turn to the side very quickly, but wait to initiate the racquet and wait to begin their step and turn. Further, with the constant improvement in racquet technology, and the emphasis from tennis coaches on the nature of the swing, the simple aspects of turning early and keeping the weight back as long as possible are often overlooked. Said another way, when you play, does it feel like your arm is swinging the racquet, or does it feel like your body is swinging your arm? What follows concerns Plan B – getting the body thoroughly involved in the hit, and the secret is in the waiting. Tom Stow prescribed the following drill: Arms folded in front of you, initiate a dance to the forehand and to the backhand, with total emphasis on the turns and the feet. Turn to the forehand, over to the ball, waiting on the back foot, then step and turn into the hit. Turn to the backhand, over to the ball, waiting on the back foot, then step and turn into the hit. With repeated practice, the opening turn is done more quickly, but equally with total simplicity. The steps over to the ball are small and rhythmic, and the final step and turn are again small and rhythmic. The common short court warm-up provides an excellent opportunity to practice the turns, the waiting, and the step and turn back into the hit. I have watched Martina Navratilova in short court practice, where Billie Jean and Craig Kardon were totally on Martina to move her feet, to stay in balance, and to execute each and every stroke perfectly. Similarly, I have seen Martina Hingis work very hard to execute the short court warm-up with total attention to her turns, her footwork, and her timing. But unfortunately most players treat the short court warm-up as an exercise for the hands and racquet. In this instance, it appears the racquet goes back and forth without reference to the body, that is, the arm swings the racquet. If practice makes perfect only when practicing perfectly, then I suggest that this short court warm-up is the ideal opportunity to perfect one’s game.
The bounce hit drill provides another reference to the turn and the waiting. Players silently whisper “bounce” when the ball bounces on their side of the court, and they whisper “hit” at the moment of contact. Initially the task involves saying “bounce” and “hit” at the precise moments of the bounce and hit. But once mastered, the timing is as follows. Turn to the side well before the bounce, but wait until after the bounce to initiate the step and turn into the hit. In most recreational instances the racquet is back and the step has occurred before the bounce – all in the service of not being late. But with this method, the swing will only be about the arm and racquet rather than the body. The slo-mo sequence of Martina Hingis shows just the same – turn well before the bounce, but the step and turn occur after the bounce. And though this article, as well as most everything I do for TennisOne dates me, the same look occurred with Chris Evert way back in the 1970’s. I can see in my mind's eye, as well as hear the commentators observing that Chris would be in the forehand or backhand corner, “Waiting on the ball.” Not much different than waiting on the pitch in baseball. And at that moment Chrissie’s weight was back with her arms and racquet still at her side. (Click link to purchase Jim's McLennan's Secrets of World Class Footwork Video.) As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
If you wish to be removed from our newsletter list, please send an email to newsletter-unsubscribe@tennisonenews.com and leave the subject line blank. A confirmation email will be sent to you, and you will be removed from our newsletter list once you reply to that confirmation.
|
