VISIONS -- Issue #4, January 2006

Guest Column

Improve your Strokes
by Steve Tourdo

Tennis players attempting to improve their strokes have a plethora of information available. But, as any investment prospectus will warn, results will vary. Part of the reason results can vary so much is the lack of clear goals, which makes it easy to focus on areas that will not yield results.

The results to be coveted are accuracy, consistency and power. While there are many components to a stroke, not all components are of equal value for producing accuracy, consistency and power. Some components are 'wants' rather than 'needs'.

Take your car, for example. If driving accurately down the road is your goal, you want to place your focus on the steering wheel rather than the passenger seat. Of course you wouldn't purchase a car without a passenger seat, but in terms of controlling the car, the passenger seat is a 'want' and the steering wheel is a 'need.' Only 20 percent of your car is needed, the rest is only wanted.

Let's break through the mystery of sound stroke mechanics by starting at the beginning and focusing on the 20 percent of your actions that produce 80 percent of your results. In other words, let's look at the 'needs' of the stroke.

A quality stroke needs three key phases:
* Preparation
* Point of contact
* Follow-through
Once you understand what's important in each of these three phases, your strokes will improve instantly. Let's begin by understanding preparation and it's relationship to the target.

Preparation

There are many components to a sound preparation phase. However, understanding which ones to focus on will make all the difference to your success. An efficient hitting mechanism sends energy in the direction of the target. The straighter this line of energy is, the easier it is to be accurate and powerful.

Imagine that you're leaving the tennis club and want to have lunch before you go home. The most efficient place to have lunch is on the way to your home. This way, the tennis club, your restaurant and your home are all in a straight line. Your energy flows smoothly and efficiently as it connects the dots.

To do this, you'll use some footwork and a bit of a turn to take your racket back. However, your primary focus should not be in these areas because you could do all these things and still not be prepared. Instead, focus on the 'needs' of preparation (racket, ball, target in a straight line) and let the 'wants' (footwork, knee bend and turn) take care of themselves.

Proper preparation occurs when the racket, the ball and your target are all in a straight line.

Point of contact

Once prepared, your racket is free to advance forward toward the ball. This contact point is the primary source of accuracy and the nucleus of your shot. If your stroke has accuracy challenges, you're either not choosing a target or your point of contact is not what it needs to be. If the ball is your target I suggest that you set your standards a bit higher and assume you'll hit the ball. The key to long-term success and improvement is to become target-oriented as soon as possible. The ultimate goal is not to hit the ball (although the ball will be hit). The ultimate goal is to drive the ball to your intended target with accuracy, consistency and power.

By the way, don't waste time on consistency. Consistency is nothing more than accuracy . . . repeated. You will never hit exactly the same shot twice. Something will always be a bit different. Instead of focusing on consistency, focus on what it takes to be accurate.

What you need for accuracy is a high level of racket face control at the moment of impact — period. The proper grip is a big help, but will not ensure the appropriate racket face at moment of impact. Use a grip that's comfortable and practice contacting the ball with precisely the angel you want.

The point of contact is the most important part of the stroke because it's the only time you have any influence over the ball. A very small error will result in a substantial miss. Learn to control your racket face at the moment of impact and accuracy will improve.

Follow-through

The last component of the stroke is the follow through. In the preparation phase, you lined up the racket face, the ball and your target in a straight line. Now it's time to connect the three. Accelerate the racket face through your point of contact and on toward your target.

When preparation is early and complete, the stroke naturally builds speed through the point of contact and into the follow through. Don't worry about where the racket ends up. With topspin, the racket will naturally end high. If you're hitting backspin the racket will end lower. The key is to place your focus on accelerating through the point of contact and on to your target. You want the follow through to be the fastest part of your swing.

When you watch the pros play you see every kind of shot imaginable. The pros hit one-handed, two-handed, between the legs, perfectly balanced and they even hit while on a full run or falling down. However, all these high-level strokes have three things in common: sound preparation, a precise point of contact and a healthy follow through to a specific target. Do the same and you're on your way to accurate, powerful strokes.

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