L Sanchez MD wrote:We played today and recorded some serves, volleys, and a couple more rallies.
Was trying to remember all the different tips, but didn't always manage to.
My serve is atrocious - I'm well aware of this. One of the main reasons I want some lessons...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgat5-PgNuY
Ahh, already making progress
Notice in your first few forehands where you finish. Your arm and wrist still seem to be very tense. They finish almost as a straight line with the racket. Let it fly, relax, let the racket "wrap" around you after the shot. I know it feels like you have less control hitting in this way, but believe me, it is the complete opposite.
Keep pointing at the ball with your left hand and finding it. Notice how as soon as you "skimp" on this - you are getting pushed and the ball gets too close to your body and you cant swing at it.
Start by holding the racket with your left hand at the throat and with your right hand (completely relaxed and NOT squeezing the racket) on the grip. As soon as you know the ball is going to forehand side, move that racket while still holding the same way to your right hip, so the butt of the racket points just to the side of the hip. Look at the incoming ball, start pointing at the ball and start your slow take back, it should happen almost at the same time. When the ball is in front of your hand - hit it by brushing up and across, relax your arm and allow your racket to follow through and "wrap" around you.
It is important that the only detail you notice about the take back at this point is that it is a rather slow process. Don't be concerned with how far is the take back or how high. If you attempt to hit the ball harder with this mentality, your arm will speed up the take back and will take it further back on its own, without you spending your scarce resource on the court for it - your brain. The more things to remember, the faster the game will seem to you. Free your mind and the game will feel like it is in slow motion.
Look at your Forehand at 1:00. Replicate it. This one looks decent.
Another little tip you should incorporate, but only if you feel you hit a few good forehands in a raw is your elbow, try moving it away from your body, almost picking it up a bit as you find the ball and point your left arm at the ball. This will accomplish a ton down the road for you, but for now it will stop you from "jamming", from hitting the ball too close to your body.
If you thinking about your feet - stop. If you thinking you need to be stationary when hitting the ball - stop. At this point these should not be your concerns. Anything below the waste is none-existent as far as I am concerned. If you have time and desire, I can give you some off-court exercises that will translate into a better movement on court.
Volleys:
Practice catch volleys. Open your racket and think "catch", not "hit". Some volleys maybe short, but this is the best way to get a feel at the net. As you getting a few of them over the net, move from "catch" to block a bit. When catching you let the ball push your racket back a bit, with block you don't, hold it firmer. As you feel comfortable blocking you can move to punch.
There are many different theories on volley technique. Some say volley is all hands, some say the weight should come from the body as you turn. I think this is very individual. Volley is feel first, technique is close second. If you don't have the feel, you can spend years on technique and still look robotic and miss the most simple volleys.
You need to go to the coach for the serve. To many things are wrong with it to be honest. If the coach is good, he will be able to construct the serve around your current and most comfortable motion. They easiest way to see if he is doing the right thing for you is to simply listen to him, do what he says. What you looking for is that instant "WOW, this feels easy". If what he tells you doesn't feel easy and comfortable - he is trying to go outside your comfort zone and reconstruct from scratch. I find that if you do that, your serve will always be shaky.
You do seem to have a decent basics down, you hit the side of the ball, and that is a big thing already, trust me
Good luck!
