Federer Practice Drill

Here’s a couple of great drills I picked up in Dubai a couple of years ago whilst watching Roger Federer practice.

It’s dead simple yet so effective…..but isn’t that the trick??

Leave a comment below to tell me what you think.

To see the FREE Tennis Turnaround Toolkit videos and/or to get notice of when it’s available just go HERE

Free Tennis Training Videos

I recently stumbled across these videos for the Tennis Turnaround Toolkit.

There is some cool info on them that simplifies the whole “playing winning tennis” process.
I think you should check them out.

Click tennis training videos now!

Tennis Skills – How Understanding How We Learn Can Help You Get Better Quicker

Tennis Skills – We all want to better them don’t we?

Yes, even if your name is Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams or Rafa Nadal and you are used to playing at Wimbledon or the US Open, getting more tennis skills under your belt or just improving what you already have is high on every tennis players agenda.

But, how do you go about it?

Well sometimes it’s not about your forehand or backhand and what practise methods you choose that counts.

Sometimes it’s just about understanding the process of learning and improving that will prove most successful.

Not sure what I mean?

Well here is a story that should I am sure will help you.

I was talking to a group of tennis players a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned something I thought would help them through the individual troughs they were experiencing.

All I did was to explain the 4 stages of learning a tennis skill – so here they are.

The four stages of motor skill acquisition are as follows:

Stage 1. Unskilled, Unconscious

Stage 2. Unskilled, Conscious

Stage 3. Skilled, Conscious

Stage 4. Skilled, Unconscious

How does this work?

Well, as a beginner you find you struggle with skill execution as well as with understanding why your mistakes exist – Stage 1.

After a while, you understand/learn the proper execution, but cannot consistently repeat it – Stage 2.

Eventually, you can execute the skill with correct technique and with reasonable consistency, however it is consciously controlled which means a sacrifice in flow & fluidity – Stage 3.

Stage 4 is when you forget & don’t think i.e. you master the skill and forget/don’t use any technical instructions – you Just Do It (thanks to NIKE!)

I think it’s really important to identify just where you are in the scheme of things, so you will have real expectations about how you should be expecting to play on a day by day basis.

The problem I find is that generally most players don’t understand the 4 stage progression and therefore have unrealistic expectations about their level of play and that only leads to FRUSTRATION & in many cases…..ANGER!

The reason I was quick to talk to the group about it was purely down to the fact that someone sat me down to tell me about it many years ago.

The story is a very interesting and somewhat strange one, so I think I will save it for another day.

But for now, sit down and try to work out where your tennis skills level is and see if your newly found understanding helps you in the way you approach your tennis game.

P.S. One last thing, don’t forget, you will have different parts of your game at different stages so you will need to adjust each of them accordingly.

P.S.2 by the way there is a really good limited time deal going on for my super popular Beat All The Tennis Players You Want that includes extra bonuses and material…..you should probably check it out to see if it can help you!!

Great Tennis Footwork Is The Key To Great Tennis

Let me repeat that!

Great tennis footwork is the key to great tennis.

This for many people is something that is overlooked.

Too many people concentrate too much time and energy on a particular shot or shots, but the fact remains – it doesn’t matter how good the shot is if you are never in a good position to hit it!!

Just stop for a minute and think about what I just said.

Untill that makes sense you  can never move on.

Every tennis shot starts from the ground up and so your feet are engaged long before the racket gets anyway near the ball to play a forehand or backhand etc.

If you improve this aspect of your game you improve your  – SIMPLE!!

Try this simple to set up drill (it’s great for leg strength too)

I will be posting more drills so keep watching!

P.S. click HERE for more free tennis footwork videos

Moving Well For Clay Court Tennis

I have found that the number one thing about playing well on a clay court has nothing directly to do with shots.

It is in fact about your movement, more specifically – SLIDING.

Sliding into the ball on a clay court is vital and is the one thing that the players who don’t grow up on the surface find the hardest to add into their game.

In fact most people think that you have to learn to hit the ball and then slide.

No!!

You have to learn how to slide into your shots and then begin your recovery for the next ball – and that requires timing.

So how do you learn to do this?

Well, one of the best ways I have seen is to just get out there and slide around.

Getting a partner to throw a tennis ball onto the court in different directions while you run to and slide around to get the balls before getting the ball back to them is one of the best ways to work out how to move and recover on a clay court.

Just progress/transfer this game to when you have a racket and are hitting forehands and backhands and you are well on the way to feeling comfortable and moving better on “the dust”.

If you want more detailed tennis footwork info and advice – Click HERE

Can You Improve Your Tennis Technique By Improving Your Tennis Mental Skills Or Do You Need Lessons

Wow, what a question!!

Tennis technique is the major focus for most tennis players.

Do I try to play my tennis forehand like Nadal?

Do I try to have a single handed backhand like Federer?

Should I try to have a tennis serve like Roddick?

What about a double handed backhand & return of serve like Andy Murray?

Has Djokovic got the kind of tennis volley technique I should be using?

Here is the question again -

Can You Improve Your Tennis Technique By Improving Your Tennis Mental Skills Or Do You Need Tennis Lessons?

Well one thing is for sure and that is you need your mental skills to be in place before you can play your best tennis and one of the most asked questions is “how can I take my practise form onto the match court??”

The answer could well be………HERE

Is This One Of The Best Tennis Technique Tips Ever?

Did you know that you can improve your tennis technique by simply watching TV and observing your favorite players in action?

“Through imitation, we’re able to learn tasks–such as swinging a bat–much better than was previously thought,” explains Yigal Agam, a neuroscience expert at Brandeis University.

Agam discovered that it only takes a single viewing of a movement for people to replicate it effectively. He adds: “The more people viewed it, the more exact their imitation became. Moreover, intermittently pausing an action will make it easier to learn.”

I have to admit I did this a lot when forming my game (watching lots of Pete Sampras) and have had great results when coaching by getting them to “model” stuff on tape or even my demos.

We often just have baskets of me performing an action (e.g. tennis serve) followed by my pupil just attempting to copy me!!

Better get the recording equipment ready to go then!!

A word of caution though, a study published in the Journal of Sports Sciences reveals that “you can subconsciously pick up bad habits by watching mediocre athletes.”

So, don’t spend too much time studying your average club player!

So, if you have to learn, you have to learn from the best.

Makes sense, right?

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