Shadow Swings
For those into boxing or martial arts, practicing shadow swings or ‘form’ is a very useful exercise. There is no reason why tennis cannot also enjoy the benefits of shadow swinging.
Sometimes when there is always a ball to track down then basic movement patterns may not be done correctly. Tennis does have a few variables in footwork patterns and stroke mechanics but practicing a wide ball and a shorter ball along with volleys is something that is easily practiced as a warm up or as extra training done at home to help the muscle memory.
Below is one of my students Fiip, he is 12 years old and while his form isn’t perfect yet it does get him warmed up and building his muscle memory for movement and strokes.
Through this sequence we picked up that his left arm drops a lot on his forehand along with some split step issues after recovery. As he is very conscious of the correct sequence he has lost some rhythm and flow but that will come with practice.
Importantly you need to learn to run to the ball when you know where its going and then side step when your unsure of where its going (in recovery).
If your interested in getting yourself a free assessment lesson at Scarborough Tennis Academy then contact us on [email protected]
Regards
Rick Willsmore
Director
Scarborough Tennis Academy
