C4L9: 8BoardTraining

This isn't so much a lesson as it is training. Your player giving their body a lesson. Everything from balance to muscle memory when it comes to using your opposite hand, the 8 board if you've got one just nukes your practice time. For every 10 balls you hit on the 8 board thats worth about 25 good balls hit off the 8 board. Because it really intensify's your focus on balance and you become meticulous. Your player becomes meticulous about their balance. In order to stay balanced try balls you know groundies, volleys, serves and even overheads off of your training devices. Wether its an incline board, 8 board or both together and really focus on how the left hand keeps the body in balance. Keeps the head still in the middle. Watch Steven doing these drills, even if the ball is wide he keeps very still throughout his center. Even with the ball very wide you don't see him loosing his balance. He understands his center how his hips relate to the periphery. The racket far out on the 45. Same with Warren so on the backhand two hander they learn to tuck the racket in by bringing the butt of the racket first and leaving the head forward. On an 8 board you really have to sort of do it right. That's the beauty of using these training aids, it really doesn't let you do it wrong. See the tucking in there and the heads tilted forward and he comes back around and he goes convex. He starts coiled and concave and then it unfolds into the stroke as you see here. Coiled along the white arrow as always our wave form. The left hand is used along all the groundies, and use it on the slice as well. Practice your slices, and then watch how the left here helps you on one handers, one handed slices you see how that left hand helps you stay on line with the 45 degree angle. Once again using the training devices like the 8 board and the incline really intensifies your focus and your practice time. Make sure to hit some serves, left arm comes up focus on the left arm and then it crunches into the body as he makes contact. Use the devices you have. If you don't have them you might want to think about them to really drive home this idea of the left hand keeping you in line. Keeping you balanced on the 45 degree angle. One more thing, as always if everything feels good with your student on the board put the racket in his or hers opposite hand and let them practice hitting left handed if they are a righty.