The return X exercise March 21, 2012
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The return X exercise
Description:
USPTA Master Professional and former ATP player Emilio Sanchez Vicario presents a drill that emphasizes the return of serve and how to take the initiative directly from service.
Tip:
The return of serve is the second most important shot in the game after the serve, yet it is probably the least practiced one. Since it’s the shot that starts out the point when receiving, you must own it.
This week’s tip features USPTA Master Professional Emilio Sanchez Vicario presenting a drill that focuses on the return of serve. The emphasis is on the return placement and being able to take charge of the point. On the deuce side, all forehand returns go down the line and backhand returns go inside out. On the add side, forehand returns go inside out and backhand returns go down the line.
Try this drill with your players in the next practice. By varying the feeds and using the concept of scalability, this drill can be adapted to players of any skill level.
Get more drill ideas for your next practice from TennisResources.com. We offer drill diagrams as well as drill videos featuring some of the world’s most accomplished tennis-teaching professionals. To access these resources enter the word “drill” into the Quick Search field or choose the Advanced Search, which gives you more search options. Keep the drills competitive and fun!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Football March 21, 2012
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Foot
ball
Description:
Check out this fun and competitive game that focuses on holding and breaking the serve as well as scoring under pressure, presented by Mark Bey, USPTA Professional.
Tip:
This week’s tip features USPTA Professional Mark Bey presenting a competitive drill that emphasizes the importance of holding and breaking serve. Two players play a game and if the server wins it, he scores a touchdown. Football terminology is used for scoring to accentuate the importance of holding serve. The server earns a touchdown, a maximum of 9 points if the game is won at love (0), and earns a 6-point touchdown if the game goes to deuce (40-40).
The receiver can score points if he breaks serve: a maximum of 6 points for a love break moving down to 3 points for a break won at deuce.
Go out and try this fun drill with your players!
Check out more drills by visiting TennisResources.com. Simply type in a term of interest into the Quick Search field or browse through our drill collection by choosing the Advanced Search. Click on the Drill/Lesson category which allows you to choose a topic. You will find a variety of videos and drill templates from the world’s top teaching professionals! Enjoy!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Scalability March 7, 2012
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Scalability
Description:
The video defines the concept of scalability – the ability to modify a drill to any skill level considering the speed, spin, height, depth, direction and frequency of your feeds.
Tip:
As a tennis-teaching professional you get to work with many types of players of different ages and playing abilities. Your students might be young children, juniors, adults or senior players. Some of them are advanced, some are complete beginners and some might be on their way to a professional career. For this reason, a successful coach is one who can work with any playing level or age and scale drills and practices accordingly.
The concept of scalability is defined as the ability to present something(a drill for example) in its simplest form and present that same material in a more advanced way, altering a few key variables to make the material more challenging as a student advances. In order to scale a drill up or down to a particular player’s level, there are six feeding variables that can be changed according to a player’s skill level: speed, height, depth, direction, frequency and spin. These six variables can make the same drill work effectively for various playing levels, from beginner to advanced. With beginner players, the speed, height and depth will be the main variables, and as the player’s skills improve, direction, frequency and spin can be introduced to add more difficulty.
To learn more about scalability and find various drills to use in your practices, visit TennisResources.com. There, you will find hundreds of video clips featuring some of the world’s top teaching professionals.
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Player’s environment February 29, 2012
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Player’s environment
Description:
As a player goes through training, his environment influences how his game develops. In this interview, USPTA Master Professional David T. Porter, Ed.D., discusses the kind of impact the environmental component has on a player.
Tip:
The environmental component of tennis is a very interesting and subtle part of a player’s arsenal. It includes everything that affects the player off the court, particularly his or her social, personal and home life. Whether a recreational club player, a competitive junior or a professional player, the outside factors and issues unrelated to the game of tennis play a significant role in how a player performs on court.
It is essential for a coach to do his best to minimize a player’s outside distractions. The moment a player steps on the tennis court he needs to clear his mind of any distracting concerns or thoughts that might affect his performance. As Dave Porter, Ed.D., says, “We don’t have control over people’s choices, we only have control over how we react to them…The tennis court can be a place of refuge from all the challenges that we are facing outside the tennis court.”
Watch more videos on the environmental component at TennisResources.com. Simply type a key word into the Quick Search field or choose the Advanced Search for more specific results. Click on General Performance Components, Environmental and select from the different categories. The search should bring up a variety of resources featuring some of the world’s best tennis-teaching professionals.
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Strengthening the serve – Exercises for loading February 22, 2012
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Strengthening the serve – Exercises for loading
Description:
Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., CSCS and USPTA Professional, demonstrates three exercises that will help improve the loading stage of the serve. Key points are: loading the back hip, back leg strength and stability, exploding, coordination, balance.
Tip:
This week’s tip examines the loading position on the serve. This is the stage where the energy is created by bending the knees and creating maximum explosion up into the ball. The legs are pushing into the ground to generate power and release it through the kinetic chain and throughout the remainder of the serving motion.
Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., presents three exercises that will improve the loading action on the serve. The exercises emphasize core and lower body strength, stability (loading the back leg) and exploding up into the ball.
These exercises should not be done without the supervision of a certified strength and conditioning trainer or a certified tennis-teaching professional, who is knowledgeable about biomechanics and specific tennis training.
Watch more videos on the serve at TennisResources.com. Simply type in a key word into the Quick Search field or choose the Advanced Search where you will click on General Performance Components – Specific Shots – Serve. You will find a variety of resources that will enhance your training ideas. Enjoy!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Chip and chew February 15, 2012
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Chip and chew
Description:
Watch USPTA Master Professional Rick Macci demonstrating one of his all-time favorite drills. He has the player working on hitting slice backhand approach shots down the line and finishing at the net with a forehand volley.
Tip:
This week’s tip features USPTA Professional Rick Macci with a fun drill that demonstrates slice approaches down the line and volleys along with the proper movement and footwork to hit these shots.
The drill begins with the player hitting a slice backhand approach shot down the line and finishing at the net with a forehand volley. As the player moves in after the approach shot, he tries to position himself close to the net strap to finish the point. The same drill can be done on the forehand side.
Try out this drill with your players during their next practice! Make the drill scalable by adjusting the feeds according to the player’s level!
Watch more drills at TennisResources.com. The search allows you to browse through our variety of drills, video clips, audio seminars, drill templates, articles and other asset type of your interest. If you are interested in finding more drills featuring Rick Macci simply type his last name into the Quick Search or choose the Advanced Search, which allows you select pre-existing categories. Have fun!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Sportsmanship February 9, 2012
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Sportsmanship
Description:
Jim Loehr, Ed.D., and USPTA Master Professional, defines the mental subcomponent of sportsmanship, explains why it is important for a player to develop good sportsmanship and describes the kind of effect it has on a player.
Tip:
Good sportsmanship is all about the character and conduct of a player who reacts graciously during competition. It is important to show good sportsmanship in both victory and defeat. This means sincerely congratulating an opponent when he has won the match and not gloating or acting pompously toward an opponent when you have won a match.
Good sportsmanship is a quality that carries over from life to the tennis court. Bad sportsmanship can often be traced back to a high level of pressure to perform well. Jim Loehr, Ed.D., explains that sometimes the reason some young players succumb to cheating and unsportsmanlike conduct is pressure from the parents. It is up to the coaches, he says, to do their best to instill positive values in their players so they can learn to counter such pressures.
Sport is an opportunity to build character, respect for others, for the opponent, and learn how to deal with unfair situations. We, as coaches, have the duty to teach our players to be the best they can be, both in tennis and life. Emphasizing character over and above winning will do an invaluable service to a player and to his game. The behavior on the tennis court will reflect how he will behave in society.
Watch more videos on the mental component or videos featuring Jim Loehr at TennisResources.com. Simply type in a key word or his last name into the Quick Search field and a variety of resources will match your search. You can also choose the Advanced Search and click on General Performance Components, Mental and choose from the nine subcomponents. Enjoy!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Exercise for the contact stage of the serve February 1, 2012
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Exercise for the contact stage of the serve
Description:
Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., CSCS and USPTA Professional, demonstrates an exercise that focuses on the contact point of the serve. The exercise works on serve explosion and full-arm extension while increasing total body explosiveness.
Tip:
In this week’s tip we have Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., CSCS and USPTA Professional, talking about the contact stage on the serve. He presents an exercise that will help improve and strengthen the explosive action prior to and when making contact on the serve.
The exercise utilizes a 3- to 4-pound medicine ball. The player starts into the loading position, which looks similar to a shot-put setup. The purpose is to explosively throw the ball while getting a full extension of the arm. It’s important to consider the position of both hips and shoulders (shoulder over shoulder and hip over hip) while keeping the head and eyes up, and the legs push into the ground for good explosive movement. The nondominant arm tucks in close to the body as the release is made. Kovacs recommends two to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions.
Go out and try this drill with your competitive players!
This exercise should not be done without the supervision of a certified strength and conditioning trainer or a certified teaching professional who is knowledgeable about biomechanics and specific tennis training.
Watch more videos on the serve at TennisResources.com. We provide you with an extensive collection of videoclips, articles, drills and much more. Simply type “serve” into the Quick Search field or use the Advanced Search for more specific results. Select the “Specific shots” category and click on “Serve.” A variety of useful resources from several of the world’s top teaching professionals will match your search. Enjoy!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Tactical components January 25, 2012
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Tactical components
Description:
The video features USPTA Professional Brett Hobden explaining how a coach can train a player to successfully incorporate all of the tactical subcomponents in a match.
Tip:
This week’s tip features USPTA Professional Brett Hobden talking about tactical components and how a coach can train a player to successfully incorporate all of the components during a match.
Hobden recommends making practice sessions closely reflect the situations encountered during match play. Since every opponent is different, players need to be prepared to play against any type of game style, a left-hander versus a right-hander, a one-hander versus a two-hander, and on different court surfaces. They also must understand how to respond and tweak their tactics to each and every situation.
Practice should include scoring and pressure situations, so players are familiar with the competitive atmosphere and are not intimidated when it comes to match play.
Watch more videos on tactics at www.TennisResources.com. Simply type “tactics” into the Quick Search field or choose particular categories under the Advanced Search. You can click on “General performance components,” then click on “Tactical” and browse through all the tactical subcomponents. Various resources featuring some of the world’s best coaches will match your search! Expand your knowledge and have fun!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
Patterns January 18, 2012
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Patterns
Description:
USPTA Master Professional Luis Mediero defines the patterns of play and explains that the most important thing is for the player to understand his pattern of play and have a clear picture of what he needs to do.
Tip:
This week’s focus is on patterns of play and their importance to a player’s success. To define patterns we could say they are combinations of shots and shot sequences utilized during a point that emphasize a player’s strengths and exploit the opponent’s weaknesses. Simply stated, a player’s goal should be to hit his best shot more often and force the opponent to play his worst shot more often. At the same time, a player must be prepared to respond to a variety of different patterns and tactics that the opponent might choose to mix in, even if the shots may not fall within the player’s preferred game style.
Watch USPTA Master Professional Luis Mediero from Spain discuss his views on patterns. He explains why it is important for players to understand their own style of play, their preferred patterns and how these can improve tactics.
To watch more videos featuring Luis Mediero, visit TennisResources.com and type “Mediero” into the Quick Search field. If you would like to search by topic choose the Advanced Search which gives you the option to choose from our different categories. Enjoy!
New content is added to the site every week, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to access this valuable library of tennis education. Members who sign up for a premium subscription have access to all of the exclusive materials found within the search engine. Visit www.tennisresources.com and register today!
