Today’s modern forehand and sound biomechanics are crucial for to reach high performance tennis. Thus too many young players develop too extreme grips. Here is how you can avoid it….
PRACTICE CLEVER
Use the practice court clever and efficiently.Watch the video to practice clever….
METHODICAL SERIES ON HOW TO WORK ON A BETTER CONTACT POINT ON FOREHAND RETURN IN KIDS TENNIS
The return is an extremely difficult shot for young children as it challenges the player enormously. The ball has to be hit under time pressure with a very compact unit turn in front of the body in order to use the power of the opponent and to bring him also under time pressure and pressure of space.
Especially the unit turn in open stance position followed by a weight-transfer-jump from right to left foot, hitting the ball in front of the body is a great challenge. Here you can see a methodical series with which this complicated sequence of movements can be learned step by step.
The first exercise is the „Two tennis ball magnet exercise“.
Here the player is holding two tennis balls with both hands , touching each other. The kid is told that both balls are magnetic and stick together. Then the player has to do the split step with directly afterwards going into the unit turn without separating the balls. Like that the unit turn is kept compact and with no early separation of the hands. When having finished the pivot on both feet the player has to transfer the weight and jump diagonal forward from the right leg onto the left while bringing the arm forward and stopping the ball right before the stick. Like that the kids get a feeling for the right distance , when to separate the hands and the nearly stretched arm on contact point.
The second exercise is called „one and one“.
Here the player has to do the same as in the first exercise, but is alternating with stopping at contact point with the first move and letting the ball off the hand on the second move. Like that the player gets a feeling for the fast arm action through the contact phase.
The video above shows the first exercise without the stick (for orientation) with the front view.
The third exercise is called „ball tracking and catch“.
This exercise is very demanding because the player has to do the return sequence while tracking the ball, coming from the other side of the net (played as a very slow serve by the coach). The player has to catch the ball with a stretched arm diagonal in front of the body, stopping the move at contact point. This exercise is great for anticipation and ball tracking.
The next step is to let the player hit the return with racket and a live ball. Now the benefits of the methodical series support the development of the timing of the return (first return from short distance) and the player is able to contact the ball properly.
Watch the video above and have a look onto the key points of a successful forehand return in open stance. Split step —> Unit turn and pivot of the feet—> racket drop—> weight transfer and jump from right to left foot—>while contacting the ball in front.
The last video shows a progression of the return training with practicing already a return + 1 pattern, without ball (shadowing a forehand return + an inside-out forehand).
Change the practice court with more serve and return training. Work from young age on patterns and challenge your kids. They are capable of doing great things if you let them and guide them.
So much for today, stay strong and healthy. We live in exiting times. All the best COACH DIMI
HOW TO MAKE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS VISIBLE FOR MENTAL TRAINING IN KIDS TENNIS
Training the mental part in tennis is one of the toughest parts. Thoughts and feelings are not visible. We as coaches must communicate with our players to be able to understand how they feel and what they think. Knowing how they deal with difficulties and stress gives us useful information how to approach a mental training session. But how can we make their thoughts and feelings visible?
Thoughts and feelings made visible
Let‘s assume that a glass full of marbles would be our brain with black, white and golden marbles inside.
The black marbles would stand for:
negative thought (e.g. „my forehand is bad today“
negative feeling (e.g. „my arms and legs feel so heavy“)
The white marbles would stand for:
positive thought (e.g. „I hit that forehand so well timed“)
positive feeling (e.g. „Everything feels so easy and light“)
The golden marbles would stand for:
transforming a negative into a positive thought (e.g. „ This tie breaker is so much stress for me BUT I will take every point as a challenge!“)
transforming a negative feeling into a positive one (e.g. „I feel my arms becoming heavier BUT I have to keep moving and breathing deep…..oh it feels already better again!“)
Use these three different colours to make your thoughts and feelings visible for a practice session or a practice match. You can do it as following:
If you play a set or training match try to track your thoughts and feelings throughout the time it takes. Detect your thoughts and feelings and try to be honest to yourself. Put the glass with marbles in front of the net or back at the fence. Every time you think of feel something try to consider what kind of thought or feeling it was and take one marble to put into one of the three bowls.
when you practice something you can track your thoughts and feelings through a series of hit balls or a pattern you were practicing. Detect your thoughts and feelings after every row of shots or played pattern and take the marble which fits best to describe your inner self talk. Put it into the right bowl.
The most challenging but best result is, if you manage to transform negative thoughts or feelings into positive ones. Positive thoughts are great and you should minimise the negative ones which result in negativity and block your performance.
Positive thoughts and feelings
Negative thoughts and feelings limitating your mind and body
Golden marbles for resilience and staying positive
This mental training exercise can give you an important insight into the amount of your thoughts and feelings during one practice session or practice match. When seeing the result at the end, it gives you the impression of your mind becoming physical and you have an idea of how big or small your positive or negative thoughts influence your performance.
After every session the coach and player should talk about the decisions of the player and how he/she has come to that decisions. It gives the coach great insight into how the player thinks and feels under pressure. The golden way is always to be able to turn negative impulses into solution orientated positive thinking to play successful.
Try it out with your kids, they love marbles. It is also a great exercise for developing youth players.
All the best COACH DIMI
BASIC FOOTWORK IN KIDS TENNIS
Footwork is the best way to prepare for a shot. It depends tremendously on the right tracking of the ball. Young kids should learn from the start to track the ball with a high focus to be able to move their body balanced from shot to shot. Here the forefoot plays the main role. The kids must learn from the beginning to stand on their left and right forefoot. Balanced split stepping and pivot stepping is crucial for sound changes of direction with a center of gravity situated between the feet.
The best way to start is with exercises using a tennis ball. Through different tasks and the tempo of the ball feeding the kids are challenged in their ability to move agile and balanced. Here are some basic exercises to start with.
One classic exercise is “tunneling”. Here the young kid has to move as fast as possible from one rolling ball to the other, managing to let it pass between the feet. The kids learn to break, to keep the balance and to change the direction. It is a lot of fun for them and they are forced to move fast.
A great progression is the exercise “tunneling and split step”. Here the young player has to split every time the ball passes between the feet. This challenges the proper use of the ground reaction forces to be able to change fast direction.
A sound footwork requires a good eye-hand and eye-foot coordination. Here are two basic exercises to develop them.The first exercise is called “stop and throw” and is shown in the video above. The young kids has to stop the ball with the forefoot, get it up and finally throw it over the net. It develops the one leg balance. The other exercise is called “catch and throw” and addresses the ball tracking after the bounce of the ball.
The last exercise is about challenging the young player in the different skills in one exercise. Here the tasks are mixed and the coach has to call the action when rolling the ball. The kid must tunnel the ball between the feet on “tunnel”, has to stop the ball and throw it on “stop”, has to split when the ball passes between the feet on “split” and to catch and throw the ball on “catch”.
Do these exercises for 10-15 min before you work on shot improvement.
All the best COACH DIMI
RADIATE YOUR “MOMENTUM-ENERGY” ON THE COURT
Playing a match is a tough energy-robbing process. Not only physically wise but also mentally wise. The mental preparation for a match starts a long time before the match. To be able to have a challenging and positive mindset one has to secure that positive energy sources are available and that negative vibes are as best as possible avoided. Here is what you have to be aware of in the pre-match phase:
Make sure that you have done the best to recover from the last match or practice session (Physiotherapy, good sleep, restoring important nutrients, water balance etc.).
Shield yourself from too much information over social media channels to avoid distractions or doubts.
Surrounding yourself with people who support you and are fully committed to your development as an athlete and human being.
Being aware of these important points and fulfilling them will make you able to restore the necessary energy you need to radiate a powerful aura for the upcoming match.
POSITIVE ENERGY AURA
Shortly before the match make sure that you:
Did your warm-up procedure (general and specific)
Talked to your team or coach about the game plan and possible challenges your opponent might confront you with.
Prepared your bag with all the necessary items you need for the match.
Put your match clothes on with the imagination that it is an armor to protect you and to radiate power and strength.
Do the routines that make you feel secure and ready to fight
All these pre-match preparations will nourish the energy you need to go through a whole match without losing radius of your radiating „momentum energy“.
Doubt, negative emotion and mental challenges will appear. You must be aware that you have both inside you, the positive as the negative habits. The challenge will be to accept that negative habits that will be tempting you. When you start focusing on them, this energy can turn your „momentum radius“ down.
NEGATIVE THINKING SNEAKS IN
NEGATIVITY GOT YOUR AURA LOW
When your momentum radius is turned down, your opponent is able to get into your head, bad calls from referee or line judges will get into your head and the crowds can turn against you.
THE CROWD CAN BE A TWO SIDED GAME
REFEREE AND LINE JUDGES CAN MAKE MISTAKES
Let me show you more precise what I mean. Imagine your „momentum energy“ as a big bubble surrounding you. Your negative energy is a small bubble inside of you getting influenced by your thoughts and how you deal with problems during the match.
IT IS A PERMANENT FIGHT FOR ENERGY
Your energy management is always connected to all present energies in the stadium. Whether it is your box, your opponent, the referee and line judges or even the crowds. Is your energy bubble positive „vibed“ you have a tremendous shield around you and the other parties energies can not reach you? Be good to yourself in your inner self-talk, especially when things turn or do not go your way. The negative bubble inside of you (red) can become bigger anytime if you let it. Your shield can get low on energy and the opponent can get into your head.
On the court you must stick to these important points:
Stay positive in your self-talk
If negativity appears you can channel it through ONE outrage but then get back to positive
Keep contact to your box
Do your between points rituals
Move more when getting kind of lethargic and breath deeper when being too pumped up
Block negative thoughts away
One last tip is to see the changeovers as some kind of a „healing tank“. Every time you sit on the bench it is your „home“ in this match to give you strength, clearness, and confidence. Close the door until the referee says „time“, then open it again and go out and take what is yours.
I hope to have shown to you a different approach to mental strength in a match.
Enjoy using this info and good luck with the transfer into the match.
All the best COACH DIMI
THE WARRIOR WARM UP
Warming up is as important as good sleep. It is of highest priority in order to prepare the body and the mind for the upcoming stress. The physical and mental demands of a practice-session, practice-match-session or an official match are enormous. The body must be put into a “low risk of injury” state and the mind into a “ready to go” state. The warm up procedure should be at least 15 min (general warm up), the specific warm up (20 min) and the high specific tennis warm up about an hour.
The main target of the warm-up is to increase the blood circulation, so the muscles and organs are provided with enough nutrients and oxygen. The temperature of the muscles is raised, so they can function smoothly. Warming up releases also four important hormones:
TESTOSTERONE (it stimulates muscle growth and is important for fast recovery).
HGH HUMAN GROWTH HORMON (especially released when doing HIIT-Training or PLYOMETRICS. It is responsible for strong bones and muscles and raises the fat metabolism)
IRISIN (it supports the building of new bone cells and protects the brain).
CORTISOL (helps the body and mind to be alert for every upcoming challenging situation).
The focus here in that article is on the GENERAL- and SPECIFIC-WARM UP.
In the first video the exercises are raising the body temperature. The muscles temperature rises so the movements can become smoother.
The second video shows exercises to raise the grade of joint mobilization. These exercises help later on to be able to have a maximum range of movement.
The third video shows exercises of a dynamic warm up. They are series of movements performed dynamically with the purpose of restoring active flexibility. They prepare the joints, muscles and connective tissues for dynamic movement and to promote muscular force.
The last video shows exercise with different resistance bands. In that exercises the load onto the muscles and joints is getting harder. These exercises prepare the muscles for high specific exercises like throws with a med ball (groundstroke imitations or serve imitations). Also, the shoulder calf rotators are strengthened, which is crucial for a tennis player.
After the general- and specific warm-up the athlete should do an about one hour lasting high specific tennis warm-up. Here the player is warming up all the strokes and is executing important patterns of play to be ready for the match. After that WARRIOR WARM-UP, the player is not only body wise but also mentally wise ready for battle. Try to implement those exercises into your daily routine and become stronger, less injured and mentally ready for practice and match play.
All the best COACH DIMI
KINETIC CHAIN WORK-OUT WITH A PLASTIC POLE
There are great exercises to work on a more efficient kinetic chain energy transfer. Only thing you need is a plastic pole (like the ones are used in soccer trainings which have a base).
Slalom plastic pole
The first exercise is great to get a better feeling for the rotation of the shoulder axis when uncoiling from a semi-open or open stance. Withholding the pole on the shoulders the upper body rotation is isolated from the movement of the arms and hands. Like that the player is developing a better feeling for the position and angle of the shoulder axis when executing the energy transfer from legs over hips and core, up to the rotation of the shoulders. The shoulders should not turn too early into parallel to net position when contacting the ball.
The second exercise is great to keep both arms in shoulder wide distance working as a unit together. Now the arms are integrated into the upper body unit turn and uncoiling of the upper body. Here the player must bring the right arm in full stretch when uncoiling from semi-open or open stance on forehand and the same when doing so with the left arm on backhand. Lower and upper body start to work in harmony with core of body after a couple of swings.
The third exercise allows the player to improve the nearly stretched arm on contact with the ball and is also perfect for practicing a high racket head acceleration. When the swing is perfectly supported by a sound uncoiling of upper body using the transferred energy of the kinetic chain, the pole makes a loud sound (“Woooosh”).
Implement these exercises when working on the ground strokes on court. They help for a better timing, the use of kinetic chain energy and are fun as well!
Hope to see you using the excercises wisely…
All the best COACH DIMI
The GAME CHANGING MINDSET IN SERVE AND RETURN
The Serve and Return, in my opinion, are the most important strokes in tennis. Its the deciding factor in winning the point. The first server and the return of the second serve can bring you additionally many “free points” which boost your confidence and do not rob your precious energy. YOUR MINDSET when walking to the baseline to serve or to return is of the highest importance. How can you make sure to start the point with the right attitude?
1) MAINTAIN YOUR RITUALS (Breathing, moving, fixing strings, plucking the shirt, etc.)
2) HAVE A PLAN FOR THE 3RD SHOT
3) FOCUS THE BALL, TRACK THE MOVEMENT OF YOUR OPPONENT, TRACK THE BALL TRAJECTORY
4) ACCEPT FEAR ON IMPORTANT SCORES
Number four is for me the most important when it comes to tight score or big points. It is normal that you can feel fear when having to serve or to return on the important scoreboard. It shows you that it matters tremendously for you. Fear keeps you alert and can help you to think and act sharp. Don’t let fear control your thoughts and body. It is important to accept it. Treat it like a car on the street passing by. You see it coming towards you, you can see everything clearly when it is face to face with you and you see it moving along and away when having passed you. Imagine fear the same. Let it go through you. You can make it disappear with proper breathing, relaxation exercises like moving and focusing on your tactics. Positive self-talk with affirmations is doing the rest. “I will do exactly what I have to at the right time!”
Try to compare your situation on the court with extreme situations that can occur in life. Imagine how a soldier in war must handle fear. Is your situation similar to his? Our bodies can trick our brains. That is why when watching movies we can totally get affected by the emotions despite knowing that it is just a scene, taken by cameras on a set. Pictures have a huge impact on us.
In that special case, you can use the image of a SOLDIER IN A TRENCH (WAR). When the order comes to attack you must get out of the trench and onto the battlefield. The soldier has to be ready to face death. The better he is mentally prepared for that step, the better are his chances to survive. When he gets out the trench he must be aware of a possible impact, he must control his heart rate not to panic and to keep a clear vision of what is happening in front and around him. He must take decisions in fractions of time.
When standing at the baseline to serve, think about a soldier in a war trench. Be ready to attack. Gather your energy and maintain your control and breathing. Feel your heart rate and be ready for every possible move of your opponent. When you decide to toss you have chosen the battleground. Jumping, hitting, landing, and passing the baseline brings you right onto the battlefield.
The same concept is for the return of the serve. For returning the 2nd serve, you have the possibilities to act aggressively. You do this because on the first serve you react faster. From that mentality, the battlefield you consistently train and practice to be able to transfer that attitude into official matches.
It might be an extreme example to compare the tennis court with a war battle field, but at the end….
„“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.” ...“
Implement serve and return training into your daily practice routine!
YOUR COACH DIMI
LATERAL POWER IN TENNIS
Fluid explosiveness is the key to powerful movements on the tennis court. To change fast directions and to get in time to far placed balls it is crucial that the muscle groups necessary for lateral power support work fluently and effectively together. When talking about fluent explosiveness we always get back to the “coordination chain”, also known as the “kinetic chain”. Only a sound working energy transfer from the lower body to the upper body can realize great first-step quickness and help the body to overcome the laws of gravity.
Kinetic chain upwards (chain to chain) energy transfer.
The chain is only as strong as the weakest part of it. It is crucial to work on core stability. The core is the linking part of the lower and upper body. Only a strong core can ensure a full energy transfer. You can compare that energy transfer with a snowball rolling down the hill. As it rolls down it becomes bigger and more powerful. The same happens with the kinetic chain on the way down into the ground and reverse from the ground upwards.
Kinetic chain downwards and upwards.
We will focus on the two recovery steps today. The two main lateral movement steps on the tennis court to recover are the “lateral cross-over step” and the “lateral shuffle step”. The player uses both steps immediately after having completed the stroke and attempts to get to a position, where an efficient movement towards the next stroke is possible. The muscles that have to be trained with lateral focused agility training to improve the spinal reflex are the following: lateral medial due to anterior tibialis translation and vastus medialis. For a better cortical response the gastrocnemius hamstring. You can see the muscles that need to be trained in the following pics and video.
pic from wikipedia
pic from wikipedia
In the first video, the junior player is warming up with a resistance band. The first sequence shows the loading movement on forehand and backhand with a fluent transition from side to side. The second sequence shows a fast loading and fasts turning back into ready position on forehand and backhand also in an open stance. Here the pivot step is also trained.
In the video above the junior player is working on the kinetic chain energy with a Dynamax ball. He is loading on forehand and backhand in a semi-open stance, accelerates with fluent explosiveness the groundstroke with additionally executing a high jump with raised arms but not letting the ball off his hands. This exercise is working the kinetic chain in both ways.
After warming up the body properly the player is now ready for the agility work out on the lateral recovery movement. He is working on the lateral over cross step with different tasks. 1) over cross step with resistance band (hip bound) 2) over cross step with resistance band (hip bound) and additional hand weights 3) over cross step with resistance band (hip bound) and additional resistance with a tube band (core stability) 4) over cross step with resistance band and additional weight (Dynamax ball hug).
The same exercises should be done on the other direction.
The last video shows a progression of the lateral over cross step with elevation. Here the junior player has to reach a higher level with the over cross step (stepping onto the stool). You can see that he is struggling with explosive force. After a couple of tries, the player will feel more comfortable and will do the exercises with the needed intensity, explosiveness and balance. After a session like that, it is important to let the player make the moves with a racket in hand and without any resistance or additional weight. You will see an instant change to better performance on the lateral movement. I hope you can implement these exercises into your training and work that lateral power.
All the best COACH DIMI
TRAINING INSIGHT-COMPLEX AND INTEGRATED TRAINING ON FOREHAND GROUNDSTROKE
Athletic capacity is of high importance. Not only to overcome the demands of practice and matches but also to have shorter recovery times and less injury risk. You also need to have a clear understanding of the different movement patterns and how to train them for speeding up your improvement on the court. At last, you want to be more efficient. Our athletic demands for tennis are flexibility, strength and power, speed and agility, endurance, dynamic balance, an optimal composition of the body and aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
Today I want to give you an insight into integrated and complex training during a forehand groundstroke session. A well functioning kinematic chain with optimum use of ground reaction forces is crucial to be able to transfer the energy into a high outcome with the least amount for wasted energy. The core stability is of high value here, because the core transfers the energy from the lower body to the upper body. If the core is weak, the whole system collapses and the outcome is weak.
All exercises should focus on eccentric muscle groups as well as on concentric muscle groups. The work of the eccentric muscle groups not only brings more joint stability, but it reduces also the risk of injuries. In the first video, you can see that both groups are worked out with a higher demand on the concentric muscle groups important for a high-quality forehand stroke.
The next two videos above show two great warm-up exercises for the core and to prepare the body for loading and exploding action on the forehand stroke.
After warming up the core the up shown exercise is perfect to work the lower body isolated from the upper body for executing a good level of explosiveness on the acceleration of the legs when pushing off the ground. Have in mind that the shoulder axis should stay horizontal on the same level to have a better balance while moving (here it still goes up and down too much).
Starting with a resistance band before working with heavier tools is perfect to work on a smooth movement of the muscle groups for eccentric and concentric power.
Alternate the exercises with working on the stroke with feeding balls, playing rallies, etc. Here the player must also adapt to the placement of the ball and has to move up the court (position 2), parallel to baseline (position 1) or not more than a step back (position 3) depending on the length and spin of it. Two yellow poles give him extra visual support with what minimum net clearance the ball must pass between them.
The next step is to use a Dynamax ball for eccentric force training and a basketball (progression with the med ball up to heavy Dynamax ball) for concentric acceleration force training.
Now let the player execute a series of forehands again. Let him recover from the backhand corner and feed the ball to the different court placement (1-3). The player has to track the ball and has to call the area of bounce before hitting it.
At the end of the first progression of exercises, the player is playing a cross-court game. Every ball inside the court crosscourt (between t-line and baseline) counts for the player (e.g. 15:00). Missing counts for the coach. Here the player executes four good shots in a row and wins the game to love. You can make it harder with having the player to play two or three in a row cross-court for winning a point. Like that you work also the mental aspect during a forehand groundstroke session.
That`s it for this time!
All the best
COACH DIMI