The Heavy Ball

Here's my next installment of my blog. Well I've played tennis a long time and I've gotten to a pretty decent level but it doesn't mean your game doesn't need a tune up now and again. Anyhow, I've been working with a coach recently and he's been teaching me how to make my ball heavier. Now that doesn't necessary mean harder or faster but more in terms of creating a forceful rally shot with lots of height and elevation and spin that's effectively neutralizes attacking opportunities for your opponents and hopefuly forces an error or produces an attackable reply.

So here's the 1st installment in a series of 3 about how to produce the HEAVY BALL.

KEEP THE HEAD LVL

- The head, though most people don't know it, may be the most important body part in any stroke. I know it contains your brain yadda yadda yadda but I'm talking about more in a bio-mechanical sense. Your head is one of the heaviest parts of your body. It's like a bowling ball perched on a stick (your neck) and where ever it goes your body tends to follow. Try just getting up and tilting your head to side, automatically because of the weight, your opposite shoulder wants to rise while the other wants to droop, the curvature of your spine starts to bend and your weight shifts to the foot on the side your tilting too. Yes, you've got a heavy one so you definitely see how head movement can effect not only your posture but your balance as well.

Now that we've successfully explored how heavy your head is let's put that knowledge into some pratical use. We've all seen the pictures of Roger Federer perfectly watching the ball just as the ball strikes his racquet. Yes, it's quite incredible how he can watch it so carefully. You may just think that it's to make sure his ball hits the racquet square in the middle of his string bed (this is partially true)but it always serves another purpose, it keeps him grounded to the ball. What I mean by that is, while keeping his head lvl and watching the ball as long as he can, he keeps his head still and aboved his center of gravity. Too many players jerk thier heads up as soon as they strike the ball. Not only does this result in mishits but it causes the shoulders to tilt back, they begin to lose foward momentum and their balance begins to shift in the opposite direction that you hit the ball. All in all you lose alot of power and solid connection with the ball since your force is now moving in direction more vertically then you intended.



Next time your out on the court try to keep your head still and looking your strike zone/ball throughout contact and follow-thru. Exaggerated it at 1st letting your hitting arm shoulder almost hit you in the chin (for the forehand or 2-handed backhand) before you look up (for the 1-handed backand, till your racket reaches the full extension in front of you). Make a conscious effect to prevent your head from moving vertically or side to side. One way to help visualize this is to pretend your body is rotating within a cylinder with your head being the axis. You should find that not only that your shots are more forceful but also more control since your racquet travels farther in a direction you want to place the ball not up into the ether. Moreover, you should feel more balanced throughout the shot and therefore it should be easier to recover and get back in position for that next shot. Naturally in a game you'll have to look up to see where your opponent and the ball is going but remembering to keep your head grounded throughout the stroke will bring your shots to a whole new level. See you next blog.