This pulls them off balance. The ability to last longer, hit harder, run farther is an essential skill that a tennis player must develop. Core strength and stability are so important for proper posture and balance in tennis – and not only for the pros but for everyone! I imagine that my legs are wheels and carry my upper body in balance. It takes some bravery to accept what you see.…, I was doing some homework on the unit turn, and found that focussing on the non-dominant shoulder gives that extra…, I laughed when you tried the stop-shoulder experiment with Peter. It is important to train agility in the same manner that any other skill would be trained. Pay attention to the little feels of being off balance and work on eliminating them so that, as you move and set up for your strokes, you feel very stable and comfortable without any tension in your legs. However, it is important not to over balance during the serve as the serve is not the only aspect of the tennis game that needs to be focussed on. Tennis Tip: The I-Formation Doubles Strategy. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Campers can choose between overnight and day camp (8:30am-4:30pm) options. I agree with finding the strike zone with your feet. Second, it starts to affect your upper body and arms, and you cannot swing smoothly anymore; therefore, you accelerate with a jerky movement and lose control of the ball. Intensity start with the feet. There is a special high school only session during the week of July 1-5 for ages 13-18. "What often happens is that players are moving all over the place while hitting their shots. Dynamic Balance is the ability to maintain your center of gravity while moving your legs and arms in many different directions. I also like to think of trying to “glide” on the court, like those folks whose long robes hide the moving legs. Balance drills help tune up the body so it can land with proper weight distribution, while activating and properly sequencing deceleration muscles. The camps provide first-rate instruction, match play, diversified social activities, exposure to life in a university setting – and the chance to build lasting friendships. Thanks for another great tip! The slaves and Queen Cleopatra image is very useful. June 12, 2012: Nike Tennis Camps sits down with Jay Lapidus, former head men's tennis coach at Duke University to discuss the importance of balance while hitting the ball. That means being on the ball of my feet and trying to move around smoothly. If you really want to play better, you’ll need to stop feeling sorry for your legs and do whatever it takes to get into a good position before the hit. The phrase "core stability" is commonly quoted and talked about, and recognised as an important aspect of physical performance and injury prevention. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If we’re not used to that, it will feel at first that the legs do really hard work. Free Tennis Coaching Drills 646 subscribers Players, coaches, parents and others interested in Nike Tennis Camps and US Sports Camps can visit the company’s website at http://www.USSportsCamps.com. Thank you Tomaz for another great tip. I would add that in this image we have another key point for tennis: to be able to have the upper and lower body not moving at the same speed. Home > Sports > List > Tennis > Fitness. "Balance is a key element for any good tennis shot," he explains. June 12, 2012: Nike Tennis Camps sits down with Jay Lapidus, former head men's tennis coach at Duke University to discuss the importance of balance while hitting the ball. Great speed and agility categorize the champion tennis players of today. Last year I decided that I needed some professional input to my gym routine. Fitness for Tennis . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The Spanish believe if your feet are always in the right position, you can play almost any shot. You gain a perspective that can help you to make better decisions, you gain a sense of calm, and you have the ability to see the big picture again. Reset the balance clock with a variety of exercises. In summary… 1. Age appropriate balance and coordination allows the child to be involved in the sports participation with a reasonable degree of success as it aids fluid body movement for physical skill performance (e.g. This tension causes a lot of problems when you play: First, it prevents smooth movement and soft deceleration when you’re setting up for the shot. Most players that I see are being way too upright and are therefore unable to accelerate quickly when the ball is short for example, nor can they control their balance when they run to the side and need to slow down for the shot. I wonder if the opposite holds true too? Dynamic balance comes later when players advance and actually hit shots in the air due to racquet head speed – generated through the legs – body rotation – and landing balanced on your feet. © Copyright © 2021. Prior to coaching at Duke, Lapidus was a three-time All-America selection and team captain at Princeton University, earned a berth on the United States Davis Cup Team in 1980 as well as the U.S. According to Caroline DeGroot, a physical therapist and the vestibular program manager at Athletico Physical Therapy, balance is an important aspect in carrying out both simple and complex movements. ... and our purpose is to bring harmony, balance and consistency to all of these aspects. I know. Coordination In Tennis Tennis is a sport where hand-eye coordination is important so that your hand and the other parts of your body quickly react to do the right moves. 29 in the world in singles in 1983. This can be done on court doing drill only on 1 leg or also on unstable surfaces as BOSUs or balance discs. The login page will open in a new tab. We would like the ball to go in a way that we want, whether that’s into a target area on a tennis court, into a basketball hoop, into a golf hole, or past the block into the court in a volleyball spike. Special thanks to PJ Simmons for letting me use the Federer clip! That means we must not lean and adjust with the upper body but instead do all the adjusting with our legs. walking a balance beam or playing football). Tomaz Mencinger is a professional tennis coach currently living in Slovenia and offering private lessons to passionate players of all levels. Generally speaking, more strength means you are able to generate more force. Polls on this site have also confirmed that speed and agility are considered the most important for success in tennis. Your body needs to contract these muscles in order to maintain the same position. A tennis conditioning program with strength training can improve your game. You … It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. With 18 years of head coaching experience at Duke University and a former All-American and US Davis Cup player himself, Lapidus has had time to observe players and notice where common mistakes occur. When we lean, that angle in the hand doesn’t change, but the actual racquet angle in relation to the ground does. Even if I don’t go to practice, I’m thinking about it all day. I believe it helps but somehow being “less” low and more in balance (as Fognini does for example) makes me more relaxed and effective… Even though I probably still have to get this better…. Whe I saw my video with my dead…. Here are the steps required to measure a racquet’s balance point using a balance board scale. I do know that with better body awareness, we’ll perform technique better and balance better. When my feet move well I usually enjoy my game, especially when I’m split stepping. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. The player that can do this in the most efficient manner will be the player that has the overall athletic advantage in the match. That’s also a good mental image, Emanuele, “wheels” carrying your upper body in balance. I have heard about it, Aggie, but never went deep into it. Try hitting your shot and afterwards standing still on balance for about a second. You WILL need to get into position to hit a GOOD SHOT with pace over the net. 5) Long term health- Incorporating balance training into your exercise routine helps to maintain or improve your balance, which is needed to prevent falls and fractures. The videos were most helpful in reinforcing what you explained. This article works very much for me. I’ve used a clip of Roger Federer in the video above but I guarantee you that every pro maintains this posture as they play. Inside Tennis. They didn’t really feel that the racquet was closed, so they hit in the net. Add strength training to your arsenal. Tomas I’m sold on Feel Tennis. She did a complete assessment of my movements and concluded, inter alia, that my core needed strengthening and she developed a programme for me. Editors Thoughts. Then they usually blame the stroke technique and look for solutions far away from the actual cause of the mistake. Thus, including strength training in your off-court workout is a smart move. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Then come back and let us know how that worked for you! This year we are offering four weeks of camp for kids ages 9-18 of all skill levels. Incidentally I have seen a video of a young Roger Federer standing on a Bosu ball hitting volleys. Keep experimenting. Thanks for sharing, Graham. First, a tennis racquet is placed on the center of the balance board so that it rests on the balance bar with the … Makes so much sense. The wrist is still in the same position relative to the racquet, and this is our main “sensor” telling us whether the racquet is open or closed. If we lean and adjust to the ball with the upper body and arms, we will lose balance slightly. The racquet also leans with us â BUT we don’t feel that! Balance is another very important tennis skill. Thank YOU Tomaz, looking forward to this. To better understand the importance of balance/stability, we need to go one level deeper and ask ourselves: what is the actual primary problem of playing tennis (or any sport that involves balls)? Power is all about balance. But often, players are not really well-balanced as they lean a lot and try to adjust to the ball with the upper body and their arms. I consulted a biokineticist. tennis is a very technical sport You Need to be Quick and Agile In a similar poll, we have asked people to rate the 12 factors of success for sports. In order to hit consistent and accurate shots, we need to be balanced. My problem in the past was the âdead non dominant-armâ. Nike Tennis Camps offer junior and adult overnight and day camps at 73 locations nationwide. Using the proper progression is a necessity. If it does, know you were not balanced. We need to become aware of this habit first and work to change it so that we learn to adjust with legs on the court, stay on balance, and keep our arms very comfortable. To accomplish all this requires training your muscles to move as quickly as possible. That’s why I like to explain this as imagining Queen Cleopatra in Egypt being carried on a litter by four slaves. You will feel tension arise in your legs. It is thought that during a match up to 48% of a players movement is lateral (sideways) so the ability to change direction rapidly and under control becomes an important skill. Now lean forward slightly (bend at your waist) but keep your feet where they were. It’s basically saving you a lot of work using a ‘recovery step’. Your legs are like slaves doing all the hard work while your arms are like the queen, being very comfortable. Read on to learn more about why strength is important in tennis. Balance is essential to badminton as you need to twist, lunge, jump, and change directions many times during a typical game. Hand eye coordination and balance is very important in the game of tennis. Upon graduation in 1981, Lapidus played professionally was ranked as high as No. – Serena Williams Unlike sports such as running and cycling, tennis involves a massive amount of quick sprints.