Tag Archives: spacing

Spacing Drill

Posted on April 22, 2017 by in Championship Tennis, Primary and Secondary Strokes

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Bestselling Book Championship Tennis available through most on-line retailers!

 Championship Tennis by Frank GiampaoloSpacing

In the early 1990s, I did high-speed video analysis of players’ strokes and discovered that a large a majority of mis-hits occurred because of the player being too close to the ball at impact. Mis- hits also resulted from the player being too far away from the ball, but being jammed was clearly more prevalent. This is why proper spacing plays such a large role in clean stroke production.

Hitting effectively on the move is a requirement for high-level play, and it’s something that must be practiced repeatedly. This is a great drill for developing the footwork required for proper spacing.  An experienced feeder is mandatory for this quick-paced drill. The feeder customizes the ball’s speed, spin, and trajectory to suit the player’s ability level.

Begin with the coach standing with a basket of balls, positioned behind the ad-side doubles alley. The coach will deliver a rapid-fire two-ball sequence to the player’s forehand wing at three different stations on the court.

 

  1. The player begins by standing behind the baseline on the opposing ad-side corner. The coach feeds a high deep ball directly at the player. The player has to run around to the side of the ball and space herself to hit an aggressive inside-out forehand. As the ball is struck, the coach feeds another ball, this time short and inside the service box. The player has to move into the court, properly space herself away from the ball, and once again hit an inside-out forehand.
  1. The player quickly slides back to the base-line, this time at the center hash mark, and the coach repeats the sequence—deep ball followed by short ball. The player continues to direct her shots toward the coach’s corner.
  1. The player quickly slides back to the base-line, this time to the deuce-side corner. The coach again repeats the sequence of deep ball followed by short ball. The player’s target remains the coach’s corner of the court.

 

After the player hits from all stations, repeat the stations with the coach drilling to the back- hand wing. Next, repeat the drill for both the forehand and backhand with the coach standing behind the deuce-side doubles alley. This corner of the court now becomes the player’s target area.

Nurturing the Complete Tennis Player

Posted on March 4, 2015 by in Customized Organizational Plan, Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS PDF FILE

 The Complete Tennis Player

The evolution of your child’s progress is a direct link to their training methods. Progress is not made while staying in one’s comfort zone. I suggest asking your youngster to step outside of their comfort zone as they enter into the learning zone. This is where advances actually take place. The following are essential components to accelerating your child’s performance. (For more information: The Tennis Parent’s Bible)

Nurture All Four Sides of a Complete Player:

Primary and Secondary Stroke Skills

The four different forehands, four different backhands, three different serves and four different volleys need to be developed. Players possessing keen primary strokes and non-existent secondary strokes are usually come in second in a field of two. Your child’s game needs depth to go deep into the draw.

Shot and Pattern Selection Skills

Independently place your child in an offense, neutral or defensive position. Drill the movement and typical shot selections of that position. Secondly, assist your youngster in designing their proactive patterns. That is their serve patterns, return patterns, rally patterns and net rushing patterns.

Movement and Fitness Skills

Anticipatory speed is just as important as foot speed. A typical movement drill requires the coach to explain the sequence. The coach says, “Ok, forehand approach shot, forehand volley, backhand volley, overhead, let’s do it!”

I recommend training brain speed as well. So, I would say “Get to the net, I’ll give you 4-6 shots”. I would randomly mix in approach shots, swing volley approach shots, traditional volleys, half volleys and overheads.

Now, multitasking begins. In essence, practicing in the manner in which their expected to perform.

Focus and Emotional Skills

Emotions come into play during live ball, not drills. We call it dress rehearsal/stress rehearsal. In the session, start sets half way through and asks your child to close it out with role playing.

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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