C8L1: Big Heavy Ground Strokes

As you know by now in month 8 here that speed is coming for us, racket head speed is coming for us in a moment out at the contact. In order to perform it correctly it really get this whip like action out at the hit you really have to move slowly. The best players the guys we like to watch Federer, Tomic, Warren the players we want out players to hit like they think in very slow terms they actually under react rather than over react. I realize we are watching Warren here in slow motion but this is what I want you to challenge your players to do is I want them to think in slow motion. You can see how Warrens hips really carry the racket he is not swinging his arm its just being swung by his body. He is sort of holding on tight for the ride and the speed doesn't really happen its an optical illusion, it doesn't really happen until out at the tip of the stroke. The rest of the stroke is very controlled and believe me right here he is cracking the ball. The way to get your big pop at the end of the stroke is to try and think and move as slowly as you can. Right, hold your coil, feel the tension in both directions, keep your eye on the 45, don't let your head move too much and make sure you start by lining up your body right away and then expanding out. The slower you do it you can actually pick up more speed in the stroke by thinking slowly because A. it keeps you in control. Moving slower is a lot easier than moving quickly and B the slower you move the more time the arm has to stay connected to the body. You are not ripping your body out of it. You are moving in a very controlled and continuous way with the hips, very slowly. Your arm can actually drag with it and you can have a lot of control with a lot of weight and a lot of speed out on the periphery out at the contact point. Because that is where you are going to get this quick snap of the stroke and quick pop. I can't emphasize this the whole month enough have your students practice by moving very, tell them to think in slow motion. Move slowly with their hips in and out of the stroke, try not to play with their ego. Really use their center as their center and don't center on your personality. Tell them I want you to learn how to crush the ball moving and thinking very slowly. Don't try to get your arm through the shot just let it get carried into the hit. It is great to have a like minded partner as your swordsman to practice with. My challenge to you both is how big can you hit swinging very very slowly. That is a drill you should do with everyone of your students. Have them really focus on slow controlled movements and see how big they can hit. In the long run this is what is going to pay off under pressure. All the hot dogs in the world on cracking balls in practice they are completely different when the pressure is on. Learn to swing slowly.