001 1000fps 780rpm 2h DC 24-03-11
003 1000fps 1500rpm 16h30' DC 24-03-11
004 500fps AC 17-03-11
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The myth of the upward trajectory of the ball on the serve
While analyzing a few of my high speed videos and hundreds of videos from the pros, I begun to question the truth about the serve's upward trajectory of the ball right after contact.
From a long time ago I've heard this coaching "holy truth" about the arc of the trajectory after contact. It was said that you needed to be extremely tall (2,20 m?) to be able to hit the ball directly down.
In fact all the pros seem to hit the ball directly down on first serves. For the second serves, the great majority of players still hit the ball straight down with some exceptions where the ball stays leveled for a few frames before starting to drop.
It is very difficult to be sure about the trajectory of the ball after contact in the pro game because you need a high speed footage and the angle of the recording has to be the right one. Maybe there are a few pros who produce an upward trajectory on their second serves, but I believe that is far from being an advantage. They probably hit it with more spin but with much less speed.
Research has been made by John Yandell about the amount and type of spins that some of the pros generate for their serve, volleys and groundstrokes. For instance Sampras was found to be serving with an average spin of 2500 rpm. According to Yandell, it seems to be impossible to generate perfect topspin since there is always a side spin component on every serve.
From a long time ago I've heard this coaching "holy truth" about the arc of the trajectory after contact. It was said that you needed to be extremely tall (2,20 m?) to be able to hit the ball directly down.
In fact all the pros seem to hit the ball directly down on first serves. For the second serves, the great majority of players still hit the ball straight down with some exceptions where the ball stays leveled for a few frames before starting to drop.
It is very difficult to be sure about the trajectory of the ball after contact in the pro game because you need a high speed footage and the angle of the recording has to be the right one. Maybe there are a few pros who produce an upward trajectory on their second serves, but I believe that is far from being an advantage. They probably hit it with more spin but with much less speed.
Research has been made by John Yandell about the amount and type of spins that some of the pros generate for their serve, volleys and groundstrokes. For instance Sampras was found to be serving with an average spin of 2500 rpm. According to Yandell, it seems to be impossible to generate perfect topspin since there is always a side spin component on every serve.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Ian Foo's Forehands at 500 fps
As soon as I recorded Ian's shots I was extremely surprised to see how much Ian has changed his forehands since last time I've recorded back in September 2010.
Some of the changes that Ian's has done in the past 5 months, seem to be more similar to how the pros hit their forehands. I'll analyze them with no rush. I' need some time to "digest" these videos and to try to understand the following improvements to be made.
The first video is a forehand return where Ian was returning James De Clerk's first serve (maybe at 130 km/h).
The second video is the following shot of the rally.
17/03/11 - Forehand Return (1st serve)
The interesting aspect to compare between these two videos is that when returning, Ian has much less time available for the preparation of his forehand.
The return of serve is the shot that Ian struggles the most. He tends to hit the ball too far back (late). He needs to improve his footwork and leg drive through the shot, shorten his swing, or even maybe standing further back when returning serves (although standing back wont improve his footwork, just his timing).
17/03/11 - Forehand Inside in
This second video is a masterpiece. Independently of how much Ian has to improve his technique, when you climb so high in relation to where you've started you gotta look down and ENJOY THE VIEW!
It is too early still for me to analyze Ian's forehand. There are a few points here and there on Ian's technique, but before I start "shooting in the dark" I rather wait for the magic to sink in.
Some of the changes that Ian's has done in the past 5 months, seem to be more similar to how the pros hit their forehands. I'll analyze them with no rush. I' need some time to "digest" these videos and to try to understand the following improvements to be made.
The first video is a forehand return where Ian was returning James De Clerk's first serve (maybe at 130 km/h).
The second video is the following shot of the rally.
17/03/11 - Forehand Return (1st serve)
The interesting aspect to compare between these two videos is that when returning, Ian has much less time available for the preparation of his forehand.
The return of serve is the shot that Ian struggles the most. He tends to hit the ball too far back (late). He needs to improve his footwork and leg drive through the shot, shorten his swing, or even maybe standing further back when returning serves (although standing back wont improve his footwork, just his timing).
17/03/11 - Forehand Inside in
This second video is a masterpiece. Independently of how much Ian has to improve his technique, when you climb so high in relation to where you've started you gotta look down and ENJOY THE VIEW!
It is too early still for me to analyze Ian's forehand. There are a few points here and there on Ian's technique, but before I start "shooting in the dark" I rather wait for the magic to sink in.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Daniel's Backhands
Thanks Daniel for sharing your videos with us. You've done the first major step into understanding your own unique way of hitting the ball. That understanding will allow you to improve your backhands at a greater speed.
These are Daniel's backhands. Daniel has improved already his backhand on some aspects since this first lesson I had with him in February.
02/02/11
Unit turn and preparation:
Daniel starts his preparation with a unit turn. His shoulders turn at the same speed of his arms and racket just like any pro. However as soon as the shoulders reach a perpendicular position to the net, Daniel stops the shoulder rotation and drops his racket to the side. When the ball is bouncing on court a pro has his racket perpendicular or more to the court, Daniel has his racket positioned parallel to the net which means that he is still not ready for the power position. By the time his racket goes back the ball is already very close and Daniel is forced to rush his forward swing hitting the ball late (too far back) I believe that this is the most important aspect for Daniel to improve on his backhand.
02/02/11
It is very difficult if not impossible to analyze someone's technique without considering footwork and how it affects our ability to strike the ball. But the same is true in reverse, the way we hit the ball affects the way we move to it.
What can we say about Daniel's footwork?
Although it is hard to know about someone's footwork by watching 4 or five videos, we can still see that Daniel has a tendency to do his split step a bit late, and we can see that on most of his shots he is missing an adjustment step with his right foot before his last step. When Daniel does his last step it seems to be very big and he is not in a "best" position to hit the ball.
02/02/11
On the contact point we can see that his contact seems to be a bit too far back considering he has both his arms stretched (or almost). The reason may be due to his footwork or to his late preparation or both. As a consequence on contact his right wrist it is not laid back and that is responsible for lack of power.
02/02/11
On the last two shots Daniel tried to change a bit his followthrough with his racket finishing over his shoulder. It is something that Daniel will continue to improve. His racket can continue to go through the line of the shot and then finishing up with his right shoulder just under his chin.
02/02/11
There you go Daniel, this was my interpretation of your backhands. There was so much more to be said, but who need more words anyway? The important part is that you study your swing, and know it pretty well. Then you can watch other players and see the way they do it. By the way here is Brenton Bacon's backhands a state league player from Sorrento.
Compare their backhands and tell me if you can see any difference:
07/05/10
07/05/10
These are Daniel's backhands. Daniel has improved already his backhand on some aspects since this first lesson I had with him in February.
02/02/11
Unit turn and preparation:
Daniel starts his preparation with a unit turn. His shoulders turn at the same speed of his arms and racket just like any pro. However as soon as the shoulders reach a perpendicular position to the net, Daniel stops the shoulder rotation and drops his racket to the side. When the ball is bouncing on court a pro has his racket perpendicular or more to the court, Daniel has his racket positioned parallel to the net which means that he is still not ready for the power position. By the time his racket goes back the ball is already very close and Daniel is forced to rush his forward swing hitting the ball late (too far back) I believe that this is the most important aspect for Daniel to improve on his backhand.
02/02/11
It is very difficult if not impossible to analyze someone's technique without considering footwork and how it affects our ability to strike the ball. But the same is true in reverse, the way we hit the ball affects the way we move to it.
What can we say about Daniel's footwork?
Although it is hard to know about someone's footwork by watching 4 or five videos, we can still see that Daniel has a tendency to do his split step a bit late, and we can see that on most of his shots he is missing an adjustment step with his right foot before his last step. When Daniel does his last step it seems to be very big and he is not in a "best" position to hit the ball.
02/02/11
On the contact point we can see that his contact seems to be a bit too far back considering he has both his arms stretched (or almost). The reason may be due to his footwork or to his late preparation or both. As a consequence on contact his right wrist it is not laid back and that is responsible for lack of power.
02/02/11
On the last two shots Daniel tried to change a bit his followthrough with his racket finishing over his shoulder. It is something that Daniel will continue to improve. His racket can continue to go through the line of the shot and then finishing up with his right shoulder just under his chin.
02/02/11
There you go Daniel, this was my interpretation of your backhands. There was so much more to be said, but who need more words anyway? The important part is that you study your swing, and know it pretty well. Then you can watch other players and see the way they do it. By the way here is Brenton Bacon's backhands a state league player from Sorrento.
Compare their backhands and tell me if you can see any difference:
07/05/10
07/05/10
My golf swing
03/12/2009
03/12/09
Why did I post my golf swing?
Well first of all because by watching it enough times I will be improving it. Second because I know a lot of tennis players who are ashamed of their swings and they would never be keen to watch their swing on video. They missing out on the most important tool for anybody to improve any skill: Video awareness.
Because I've posted my swing I have improved the awareness of what I really do. I am ready to watch other golfers and compare their swing with mine. I am ready to learn.
I am not worried if you label my swing as a bad swing. I am not interested if you say it is a good swing. I don't need any judgment because judgments shrink our ability to see what is really happening. I just want to know exactly what is that I need to improve and for that I need to see other golfers.
After 10 minutes of watching some you tube golf videos I have noticed that all of them have less knee bend on the starting position. I've noticed as well that I laid back my wrist straight away in the beginning of my swing and no other pro that I have seen seemed to be doing that. I've noticed that at the end of the backswing the club is more vertical than all the players I observed.
I'm sure that there is much more to improve on my swing, maybe you can add up a few more...
03/12/09
Why did I post my golf swing?
Well first of all because by watching it enough times I will be improving it. Second because I know a lot of tennis players who are ashamed of their swings and they would never be keen to watch their swing on video. They missing out on the most important tool for anybody to improve any skill: Video awareness.
Because I've posted my swing I have improved the awareness of what I really do. I am ready to watch other golfers and compare their swing with mine. I am ready to learn.
I am not worried if you label my swing as a bad swing. I am not interested if you say it is a good swing. I don't need any judgment because judgments shrink our ability to see what is really happening. I just want to know exactly what is that I need to improve and for that I need to see other golfers.
After 10 minutes of watching some you tube golf videos I have noticed that all of them have less knee bend on the starting position. I've noticed as well that I laid back my wrist straight away in the beginning of my swing and no other pro that I have seen seemed to be doing that. I've noticed that at the end of the backswing the club is more vertical than all the players I observed.
I'm sure that there is much more to improve on my swing, maybe you can add up a few more...
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