Lesson #19 with Eldon

6/8/09  Monday 9:00A.M.

Chico Racquet Club

 

In today’s lesson Eldon and I worked on my forehand follow-through, high short balls and moving forward to volley.

 

The Forehand Follow-Through

 

Let the wrist and forearm complete the circular motion that is begun with the take away preparation loop of the forehand drive.  In this image the palm:   1) faces down going back; 2) opens up as it starts forward;  3)begins to close again immediately after initial contact with the ball;  and 4) finishes following through to the end of the stroke completely closed just as it began in the take away.

 

Another description would be the following:  The wrist and forearm should be allowed to naturally pronate as you finish the swing on the left side of your body.  In other words after the racquet has made contact with the ball the wrist and forearm should continue to rotate from an open palm to a closed palm.  This will impart a little more spin to the ball which will help you to control your shot.  This will require some timing and take some time to get used to, but it will allow you to hit a ball with more pace and pop in the long run.

 

I was very happy today that Eldon was giving me permission to let me hit my forehand with a modern follow-through.  When I was a kid I was taught never to let my wrist pronate or roll over on the follow-through.  That was a no-no.  So this will be a challenge to try and master this technique.  I believe this is the last element or link for me in learning to hit a penetrating forehand drive.  I finally have all the parts to the puzzle in the stroke.  Now I just need to work on it.  I’m sure this will take me some time, but it will be worth it.  I want to be that 62 year old man who hits balls that bite, skid and penetrate the court.

 

High Short Balls

 

One of the main things to remember when taking a high short ball is to stay relaxed while hitting it.  This is a ball that one can take advantage of.  It is a ball that if hit correctly and well placed allows one to advance to the net.  Therefore, it is tempting to try to do too much with this type of ball.  Hence the warning:  don’t get overly excited in knowing that you have a real opportunity with this type of ball.  Stay as relaxed as possible!  You should step up to it and try to catch it at its peak.  It is much easier to hit this way.  Catch it before it falls!  The technique to hit the ball squarely is to think that you are sweeping it off of a table.  Remember you don’t have to swing really hard to get pace since you will always be moving forward with this type of ball.  You will have forward momentum with you which will give you some good pace.  You should be thinking placement.  And here, as mentioned in previous writings, your first priority will be to aim for the service line because you will be moving up to the net and wanting to force your opponent to come into the court some and hit up on the ball, thus giving you an easier high volley to put away and win the point outright.

 

Moving Forward to Volley

 

 Eldon and I played a series of game situation points here where I tried to attack and get up to the net after hitting a deep ball.  Basically, once again, the main idea is to relax, keep your form and stroke the ball evenly.  I have trouble doing this at this point in my development although I think I am beginning to see some improvement with each opportunity that I get to move forward to the net.  I did have some success today against Eldon executing my play coming forward.

 

Eldon’s main suggestion with regard to volleying and finishing points is to keep moving forward in my matches in order to get the opportunities to practice these situations.  The more chances I have to play this attacking strategy the better I will become eventually.  Practice in match play is essential.  With multiple opportunities I will eventually learn to relax since I will see that these opportunities are not rare, but common and thus I can relax knowing that I will have many opportunities to execute and finish points.  Just keep coming!