Footwork...Swedish Style?

[don_budge]

Fundamental Footwork...The Foundation to Build Upon

Swedish Forehand Footwork...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37H3J1o7rw

In the UK many coaches teach bringing the back leg through in this way with more advanced students. It's not considering a basic, more for advanced players. In many cases coaches don't feel they need to teach it as the move tends to self develop as players progress and become more powerful.

Teaching them? The danger is that you will get artificial forced movements instead of seeing it all in the flow.

The backfoot around on the neutral stance for example is an interesting case. You see it but this is after the player reaches the extension point in the swing. The danger is of overotating too soon in an effort to make this move...

The problem I have had with students that brought their back foot forward is that they lose their segmentation. If you watch in the video his right foot is behind when he makes contact with the ball, so he is segmenting his swing, legs, then hips then shoulders.

Most beginners or intermediates trying to bring the back foot forward have a tendency to rotate all in one piece therefore losing power. This has been my experience anyway.

Roger Federer's Forehand Footwork

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/music_videos/federer_fh_not_gone/index.html

Thanks very much for the response...licensedcoach, johnyandell, vrc10s. I agree with you and then some. I first attended the Swedish Tennis Federations accrediting classes several years ago and when I was introduced to this footwork as the basis for teaching...I was absolutely horrified. This is the problem with accreditation programs...what if the consensus is horribly in the wrong direction. When the herd is headed in one direction I usually head in the other. I don't like the box mentality. Leave things open for the creative juices to flow. Tennis is an art and a very special one well suited for the human body, mind and spirit.

Given enough time, practice, resources a tennis student will figure it out eventually if given the proper instruction in fundamentals. This is the beauty of the sport. It is a defining characteristic of the game. The true tennis player must have his mark on his own game and it must be derived from sound fundamentals if it going to be optimal for the individual. The coach's responsibility is to instill sound fundamentals then he must stand back and watch the thing evolve...watch the thing grow. Steer it back on track if it veers off course...but give as much responsibility to the student. This is my belief. You must have faith in the student if they are deserving of it. You must place the responsibility of discovery on the student without pounding unnecessary information and wrong information into their beings. Leave room for the individual interpretations. Some of them are going to be a bit screwy, especially if you happen to be French...such is the nature of the beast.

So now you have every single accredited tennis coach in Sweden teaching this arguably shaky technique. The footwork is the foundation of the swing. RickMacci in his ATP Forehand video says as much...it is all built upon the footwork. John McEnroe and Roger Federer obviously agree with the principle. If your foundation is shifting then where is the solid basis from which to swing? How can you maintain your balance optimally if your foundation is swinging when you swing? Of course tennis is not a game of perfect and many times one hits from less than optimal foundations in their footwork but to teach such technique and make it the foundation of a program is in the words of licensedcoach...irresponsible.

Once again...I have posted the John Yandell video starring none other than Roger Federer, the living proof of my teaching and coaching model. Here he is my footwork model. In this video everything that one needs to know about the footwork on the forehand swing is there in living color...in living proof. This is a beautiful piece of art which also translates into an engineering classic...how to make best of things with less that perfect balance. How does one use their feet when dancing with the tennis ball for optimal performance? John...this one just so happens to be right up your alley. You made the video to back it up. Thanks guys!

[John Yandell]

vcr,

I am with you on this.

[vrc10s]

back foot up

The problem I have had with students that brought their back foot forward is that they lose their segmentation. If you watch in the video his right foot is behind when he makes contact with the ball, so he is segmenting his swing, legs, then hips then shoulders.

Most beginners or intermediates trying to bring the back foot forward have a tendency to rotate all in one piece therefore losing power. This has been my experience anyway.

[John Yandell]

This gets outside my areas of expertise. More of a David Bailey question. All of those patterns exist, no doubt, in high level tennis. Teaching them? The danger is that you will get artificial forced movements instead of seeing it all in the flow.

The backfoot around on the neutral stance for example is an interesting case. You see it but this is after the player reaches the extension point in the swing. The danger is of overotating too soon in an effort to make this move...

David is starting a new series in April that will recap some of his work and then evolve into some new analysis of longer patterns of court coverage by top players--maybe he can comment at some point as well.

[stotty]

Uk

Hi don_budge,

I wish I could understand what he is saying but the video is clear enough.

In the UK many coaches teach bringing the back leg through in this way with more advanced students. It's not considering a basic, more for advanced players. In many cases coaches don't feel they need to teach it as the move tends to self develop as players progress and become more powerful.

But yes it is taught, and considered fundamental for advanced players over here. I would be interested to know if this is taught in the US...and what other coaches think.

Great thread. Be great to expand on this one

[don_budge]

Here's a serious question guys...what do you think of the footwork advocated in the video here. Specifically...what do you think of the back foot swinging through on the forehand as the fundamental move on the forehand?

I have a real problem teaching this as it is not what I would call sound fundamentals.

Is this the acceptable method of teaching footwork? Does the USPTA endorse this method? This represents a real conundrum for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37H3J1o7rw