The other day I was studying Sampras serves again and I was certain that I would be capable of copying a few aspects of his technique.
During the last year I have been really keen to mimic Sampras great serve, but no matter how much I tried I always found the shoulder turn to be to extreme for me. So I dropped and followed a more "Federer" action with a few good results. But a few weeks ago I was on court and all of a sudden I found a way to turn my shoulders with my back to the net with no strain just by tilting my head back away from the net as soon as I tossed the ball. And one day magic happened I delivered a few serves maybe 5 or 6 with a greater speed and I felt I was getting more spin as well. But it come as fast as it went. One day after with the camera rolling I wasn't able to do it. Was it camera pressure? Probably, and I felt I was rushing the whole process and didn't let the magic happen. However her they are my two serves that look a bit towards Sampras style:
What to do now? well here is the list:
Open the stance a bit more.
Change the grip to more towards continental.
Toss with the palm of the hand towards the sky.
Toss much more towards the net (forward arc).
Bringing the racket up for the trophy position without aid of the wrist.
Have the left hip more towards the net for the trophy position.
Have the right elbow bend just after contact.
It will probably take me at least 6 months to incorporate some or maybe all of these changes into my serve. I'll try to enjoy it every bit and I'll keep you updated...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
James Serves at 1000 fps
001 1000fps 780rpm 2h DC 24-03-11
003 1000fps 1500rpm 16h30' DC 24-03-11
004 500fps AC 17-03-11
003 1000fps 1500rpm 16h30' DC 24-03-11
004 500fps AC 17-03-11
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
