Cambridge Tennis Club Vlog (video blog)

Fluid Serves

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:37:02 GMT

Fluid serves add effortless power

Today, a more refined footwork accompanied two breakthroughs. The first was bending my knees while hitting. This technique produced harder shots and fewer balls into the net. I bent my knees on both forehands and backhands, with massive success, to the point where I could feel stress in my legs.

The second breakthrough on the day was in the serving department. Right from the start I adopted, for the first time, my coach’s advice to use a fluid motion while serving. I had done numerous shadow swings for a fluid serve motion, but never in a game. Today, for the first time, I used a fluid serve motion and it worked massively well. I served numerous, effortless power aces as well as several blazing fast serves that challenged Luke, shown in the following video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moFqfmols50

At last, I had discovered the secret of serving. Or so it seemed. Upon reviewing the videos, I noticed that my racquet was in the awkward, waiter’s tray position when swinging up to contact. Yet the serves went in with good pace. It made me wonder about how fast the serve would be with a proper racquet drop. (With a proper racquet drop, the racquet swings up by the edge, adding more racquet head speed.)

To view a serve tutorial from a professional, click here:

LEG LOAD WOW

Tue, 16 May 2023 23:31:12 GMT

Open Stance Forehand Leg Loading Delivers Power and Accuracy

The second objective of this morning was loading the right leg in an open stance forehand. A few days earlier, I had done a Marisa Johnson at-home footwork routine (see button below for her video) where she clearly demonstrated how to prepare for shots by loading the legs. I compared this to other online instruction on the subject, and all of a sudden it became clear for the forehand open stance: by loading the leg, (see link below) and taking the racquet back in the unit turn, the hip becomes coiled. Balance is achieved by the toe on the opposite leg dragging on the ground. (This is why shoe manufacturers reinforce the toes on tennis shoes).

The leg loading technique means that releasing from the hip coil causes the hip to rotate towards the net. This results in a spiral motion upwards and forwards, resulting in extra power and, as I found out, more accuracy.

For the leg loading, I exaggerated the motion, as today was my first use of the technique. It would not be the last. I felt increased power and spin, shown when the ball lands in the service box. The action is demonstrated in the following 2 minute video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVKyjyk7Qg8

To view a tutorial from a professional, click the following 6-minute video by footwork guru Marisa Johnson.

Note : Open stance leg loading appears at the 6 minute 30 second mark.

Free Hitting Bonanza

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 21:47:47 GMT

Free Hitting Drills to Spice Up Your Game

For the first hour of our session, we did nothing but lace the ball at each other. We hit hard forehands and backhands that produced great satisfaction. We both realized that playing matches, which is the final goal in tennis, is an ineffective method of learning new techniques. When you play for points, there is no time to focus on improving technique. All efforts are aimed at winning points.

I had already learned from my online coach, Tomaz Mencinger, that what we were doing – Free Hitting – is the most underrated method for improving your strokes. It will not teach tactics or the mental game – for that you need matches - but free hitting will allow you to hit many balls and assess your strokes’ strengths and weaknesses. The following video shows numerous 20+ rallies in a relaxed setting with no pressure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BRDWXel8f8

Free hitting improves every element of a stroke, such as watching the ball , hitting out front , using the non-hitting arm, shoulder rotation, balance, footwork , and more. So the next time you are out on court, spice up the session with one of these free hitting drills:

Count the number of shots in your rallies and try to build on that number.
Play a match without serving, agreeing with your partner to try to keep up rallies. You win a point when your partner accidentally hits long, wide, or into the net.
Play games without serves of maintaining cross-court rallies. When your partner accidentally hits long, wide, or into the net, you win the point. First to 11 wins the set.

Chin to Shoulder Consistency

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:01:56 GMT

Touching Chin to Shoulder Gives Consistency

The "double-touch" chin to shoulder technique played a pivotal role in Thursday’s smorgasbord of hitting. By touching the shoulder of the extended, parallel-to-the baseline, non-hitting arm with my chin, I kept my head still at the contact point, ensuring good shoulder rotation, steady head throughout, and good preparation for hitting the ball out front. After contact with the ball, the racquet continued to follow-through, where the shoulder of the hitting arm touched the chin, completing the "double-touch" of the chin. As in the 2 previous sessions, this technique worked like a charm.

The chin to shoulder technique felt delightfully mechanical while still feeling like a natural motion, and produced massive results. For one thing, this technique improved consistency: we had many extended rallies, including a 75-shot rally of punishing hits, shown in the video below. It also contributed to good balance, keeping the head still, and it encouraged good racquet swing preparation, as shown in the image above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJDGeK3Jj8I

To my delight, I discovered that many coaches, including favourite 2-Minute Tennis, raved about this technique.

Hit in the Sweet Spot

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 21:21:54 GMT

Keep your head still at contact

Watching the ball at contact was on the top of my list of areas for improvement today. During our mini tennis warmup, I focused on watching the ball closely, and for the entire session it paid off. We had long rallies where my usual dumping the ball in the net was not a factor.

02-27-23 head still - YouTube

The intent of watching the ball at contact is to ensure hits occur in the sweet spot of the racquet. Coach Tomaz (Mencinger), my virtual coach, explained the forces working against holding the head still. These include:

A desire to watch your opponent. Sometimes you will look up to see the location of your opponent.
A desire to look at your target. Sometimes you will look up while focusing on your target.
The tendency to naturally move your head along with the shoulder rotation of the forehand or 2-handed backhand.

The latter is perhaps the most challenging, as it is an acquired skill of learning to keep your head still while the body is rotating. This can be accomplished through a series of shadow swings or by using the Eye Coach. Tomaz concluded his video (button below) by explaining that keeping your head still at contact is a skill acquired only over a long time, such as a summer, and not in one or two hitting sessions. I realized that my performance today was only the eye-opener and that mastery of watching the ball at contact was one more skill to hone.

Mis-hit Studies

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 18:45:00 GMT

Nine Mishits, Nine Different Causes

The following Sunday, the last in January 2023, was the usual high energy and satisfying hitting session. After mini tennis, in which I did not like my performance, we did free hitting and had some long rallies. When I checked the video, I did not look as good as I felt while playing. I used the arm separation technique in swinging, to good effect, and many times I prepared correctly by following the ball as it left my opponent’s racquet. The early preparation resulted in good solid hits. However, because many rallies ended with ugly balls into the net or mis-hits, mostly from me, it became obvious that my old error problems were far from resolved. So I dedicated a video to analyzing 9 mis-hits in an attempt to pin-point the root cause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDcB6E5Uvzc

At the same time, I watched a new favourite in online tennis instruction, named Meike Babel. I loved her analysis of fundamentals and her drills for correcting hitting mis-hits.

Early Preparation

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 18:09:52 GMT

Early Racquet Take-back Quickly Improves Hitting

Days before our Thursday session, I received an email from Tomaz at Feel Tennis on early racquet preparation. Before I left the house, at precisely 6.45am , (we play Thursdays from 7.30 to 9.30 am) I reviewed the video and picked up something I had missed the first time, namely that you should start taking the racquet back in parallel to the ball leaving the other player’s racquet. The penny dropped! I had been starting the racquet takeback when the ball was just over the net, which is too late.

Throughout today's hitting session, I prepared earlier and received amazing results. I found myself having more time to swing. Accuracy and consistency improved immediately. I hit out in front more, and it made me feel like Andy Murray. From our mini-tennis warmup to our 11-point game without serving, I employed the new technique, with blazing results. i.e. as soon as the ball left the racquet of hitting partner Luke, I started my backswing. A new world of hitting opened up.

Highlights of the 11-point no-serve game using the new technique, are shown in the following 4 minute video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qppC_7PW_o

For details from a professional on how to prepare your strokes early, click the button below.

Monster Squat Hits

183:940717310 (Gordon Miller) — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 17:49:39 GMT

Squat Hitting Produces Monster Hits

I learned a great new technique on the following Sunday (October 2022) at GSM Tennis Club. At the junior fitness session on court 3, the young students practiced deep squats, which I copied and implemented immediately in free hitting. As shown in the following 5-minute video, it produced unbelievable results. I hit the ball as hard as I had ever hit it. In many cases, shots were unreturnable or presented a challenge in returning. It felt amazing, even liberating to use this new technique.

Try a squat forehand in your next hitting session:

1. Bend your knees low to receive shots from your partner.

2. Perform the unit turn early to ensure you hit the ball well out in front.

3. At point of contact, straighten your legs as if to spring up and forward while swinging forward.

Hip Rotation

183:940717310 (Gordon Miller) — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 17:17:10 GMT

How Hip Rotation Helps Balance

At the Thursday session, we did free hitting for the entire 2 hours and I frequently experienced the sensation of the hip impulse on the forehand. Everything came together. At times I hit very smoothly with good control. It felt extremely satisfying.

Good racquet preparation i.e. the unit turn with racquet held out to the right, allowed a good racquet drop and good swing to contact. Many times, I sensed the toe of my right foot scraping along the court, indicating good balance, shown frequently in the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb70pKj64h0

To view professional coaching on hip rotation and balance in hitting, click the button below.

Tennis Royalty

183:940717310 (Gordon Miller) — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 15:44:00 GMT

Tennis Pro and her Coach Inspire Tennis Awe

Sunday, October 25, 2022, was a landmark session of heavy hitting and the visit of tennis royalty. My hitting partner Luke and I performed our usual 10 minute mini tennis warmup followed by an hour of free hitting. At the same time, we had an audience. Coach Tom (Dynka) coached a young student, whose parents remained to watch the lesson. We did not disappoint the youngster’s parents, who often watched us, as we hit hard balls at each other, captured in the following rally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV589tdLL5A

At 9 a.m. tennis royalty appeared for coach Tom, in the form of Lulia Bucea. Since early 2019, we frequently witnessed Lulia and former coach Eddie (Miron) and noted how she was such an amazing player. We always were amazed at her hard hitting for such a small person, with her signature crack off the racquet strings. Today with coach Tom, we witnessed tennis poetry. She and Tom started off in mini-tennis, whacking controlled groundstrokes at each other that landed somehow inside the service line. This was mini-tennis unlike anything I had ever seen.

They gradually moved to the baseline and started an infinite rally of massive topspin backhands and forehands, which showed that Lulia’s form had morphed to professional level. We were spell-bound and often stopped our own hitting just to gape at the power and control of their strokes.

As always since 2019, Lulia’s father collected stray balls and at one point I briefly spoke with him. He was understandably proud of his daughter and told how she was entering her first professional tournament in October of 2022 in the US. I felt a flush of admiration for Lulia. Today, her awe inspiring performance was testimony to all her hard work with coach Eddie paying off. In the years ahead, we hoped to replicate her path.

To watch Lulia (in black) play in as a qualifier in a Fredericton tournament (March, 2023) click the button:

Split-step Magic

183:940717310 (Gordon Miller) — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 18:56:18 GMT

Split-steps improve timing and consistency

As with the previous Sunday, December 11, 2022, I used the split-step every time the ball made contact with the racquet of my hitting partner Luke. And like the previous week, my timing improved massively for both forehand and backhand shots. The split-step creates a rhythm that starts better preparation and more timely swings. We had several record-breaking long rallies thanks to this new (for me) technique. Here is one of them (3 minute video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-bbd7U88ug