Is this why you prepare late & are out of position?

Summary

This video script focuses on improving tennis players' ability to quickly read the flight of the ball, a crucial skill often hindered by inadequate visual systems. The instructor introduces an exercise called 'near far switch' to enhance the ability to rapidly change focal length, using a pen or pencil as a visual aid. The script also suggests progressions involving neck and spine movements, and physical loading to mimic real-game scenarios. The goal is to train the brain and eye muscles for quicker and more accurate ball tracking, potentially improving overall tennis performance.

Takeaways

• 🎾 Quick and accurate ball flight reading is crucial in tennis as it helps in preparing and setting up for shots effectively.
• 👀 Many adult tennis players struggle with visual skills due to their visual systems not functioning at a high enough level.
• 📈 Vision can be trained and improved, which is good news for those looking to enhance their tennis performance.
• 🔍 The video focuses on improving the ability to quickly change focal length, which is essential for tracking the ball's flight.
• 📚 The exercise 'near far switch' is introduced as a method to train the visual skill of quickly focusing on objects at different distances.
• 🖊️ Using a pen or pencil as a focus point is recommended for the 'near far switch' exercise, starting at arm's length and bringing it close to about 6 inches.
• 🔄 The exercise involves switching focus between a close target (like the pen tip) and a far target (like an object across the room).
• ⏱️ It's important to wait until the target comes into full focus before switching to the other, training the brain and eye muscles for quicker reactions.
• 💪 Progressive training is suggested, starting with 20-50 switches in sets, and increasing over time without causing eye strain.
• 🤸‍♂️ Additional progressions include changing neck and spinal positions to mimic movements during a tennis match, adding specificity to the exercise.
• 🏸 The exercise can be adapted to include physical loading, such as leg positioning, to increase the demands on the system and further train visual skills in a tennis-specific context.

Q & A

What is one of the most important skills in tennis according to the video?

One of the most important skills in tennis is the ability to quickly and accurately read the flight of the ball.

Why is it crucial to read the flight of the ball quickly in tennis?

Quickly reading the flight of the ball is crucial because it allows you to prepare in time and set up in optimal positions for your shots.

What is the issue with most adult tennis players' visual systems according to the video?

Most adult tennis players struggle with reading the flight of the ball quickly and accurately because their visual systems do not function at a high enough level.

What is the good news for tennis players who struggle with reading the flight of the ball?

The good news is that players can train and improve their vision through specific exercises.

What is the main focus of the exercise shown in the video?

The main focus of the exercise is to train the ability to quickly change focal length, which is essential for tracking the ball more quickly and accurately.

What is the basic version of the exercise called?

The basic version of the exercise is called the 'near far switch'.

What tool is recommended for the 'near far switch' exercise?

A pen or a pencil is recommended for the 'near far switch' exercise, with the focus on the tip of the pen or pencil.

How should you perform the 'near far switch' exercise?

You should look at a close target (like the tip of a pen held at arm's length), then quickly change your focus to a far target (like something at the far end of a room or court), and then switch back and forth between the two.

What is the purpose of waiting until the target comes into full focus before making the switch in the exercise?

Waiting until the target comes into full focus helps train the brain and the eye muscles to make the switch more quickly and accurately.

What are some progressions or variations of the 'near far switch' exercise mentioned in the video?

Some progressions include changing neck position, adding spinal rotation, and incorporating physical loading by setting up as if preparing for a shot.

How can these exercises be used in a tennis player's training routine?

These exercises can be used for general training to address visual skill deficits, as warm-ups before playing, and for testing and retesting specific shots to improve timing and ball tracking.

Outlines

00:00

🎾 Improving Tennis Vision with the Near Far Switch Exercise

This paragraph introduces the importance of quickly reading the flight of the ball in tennis and the common struggles adult players face with their visual systems. The speaker proposes an exercise called the 'near far switch' to improve the ability to change focal length rapidly, which is crucial for tracking the ball. The basic version of the exercise involves focusing on a pen or pencil tip at a close range and then shifting focus to a distant object. The goal is to reduce the time it takes for the eyes to adjust and regain focus, thereby enhancing overall visual coordination and processing speed. The paragraph also mentions the potential need for corrective exercises if the pen tip appears split at close range, indicating a need for training.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Progressing the Near Far Switch Exercise with Physical Loading

Building upon the initial exercise, this paragraph discusses the progression of the 'near far switch' by incorporating physical movements and positions that simulate actual tennis playing conditions. It suggests starting with basic neck and spine rotations while performing the near far switches, then adding leg loading to mimic the physical demands of the sport. The speaker recommends practicing these variations to improve the ability to regain focus under the physical stress of a game. The paragraph also touches on the potential benefits of using these exercises for general training, warm-ups, and as a means to test and improve specific tennis shots. Lastly, the speaker mentions a class on brain-based training to further enhance tennis skills beyond vision, and invites viewers to check it out through a link in the description.

Keywords

💡Flight of the ball

The 'Flight of the ball' refers to the trajectory and movement of a tennis ball as it travels through the air. In the context of the video, it is crucial for players to quickly and accurately read this flight to prepare for their shots. The script emphasizes that most adult tennis players struggle with this skill due to limitations in their visual systems, which can affect their ability to set up optimal positions for their shots.

💡Visual skills

Visual skills encompass the abilities needed to see and process visual information quickly and accurately. The video focuses on improving one specific visual skill: the ability to quickly change focal length. This skill is essential for tennis players as it helps them track the ball's flight and prepare for their shots effectively. The script suggests that training can enhance these visual skills.

💡Focal length

Focal length in this context refers to the distance at which an object appears clear and in focus to the eyes. The video emphasizes the importance of being able to quickly adjust one's focal length from near to far, as this is a key visual skill in tennis. Players need to look at something close, like the tip of a pen, and then quickly shift their focus to something far away, like the end of a tennis court.

💡Near far switch

The 'Near far switch' is an exercise mentioned in the video designed to train the ability to quickly change focal length. It involves focusing on a close target, such as the tip of a pen, and then shifting focus to a distant target. This exercise is intended to improve the visual coordination necessary for tracking the ball's flight in tennis, as players need to quickly adjust their focus from their own shot to the incoming ball.

💡Eye muscles

Eye muscles are the muscles that control the movement and focus of the eyes. The video script discusses training these muscles to improve the ability to quickly change focal length. This is important in tennis as it helps players adjust their vision from close-up to distant objects rapidly, which is essential for reading the flight of the ball.

💡Leg lens

The 'leg lens' is a term used to describe the lens of the eye that changes shape to focus on objects at different distances. The video script mentions training the coordination of the muscles that change the shape of the leg lens, which is crucial for adjusting focus quickly in tennis. This ability helps players track the ball's flight more effectively.

💡Visual processing

Visual processing refers to the brain's ability to interpret and make sense of visual information. The video script highlights the importance of training the parts of the brain that deal with visual processing, as this can help tennis players read the flight of the ball more quickly and accurately. This skill is essential for preparing for shots and reacting to the opponent's play.

💡Progressive training

Progressive training is a method of gradually increasing the difficulty or intensity of an exercise to improve performance. In the video, the script suggests starting with a set number of 'near far switch' exercises and gradually increasing the number over time. This approach helps build up the necessary skills and muscle coordination without causing strain or injury.

💡Neck and spinal position

The video script discusses the importance of neck and spinal position in the context of visual skills in tennis. It suggests that changing these positions can affect the speed and accuracy with which players can regain focus on the ball. The script provides variations of the 'near far switch' exercise that involve turning the head and rotating the spine to simulate the movements made during a tennis match.

💡Physical loading

Physical loading refers to the additional demands placed on the body during physical activity, such as the strain on muscles and joints. The video script mentions adding physical loading to the 'near far switch' exercise by setting up in a position as if preparing for a shot. This increases the difficulty of the exercise, simulating the conditions of an actual tennis match and helping players improve their focus and coordination under more challenging conditions.

💡Brain-based training

Brain-based training is a method of improving cognitive and motor skills through targeted exercises that engage the brain. The video script mentions a class that teaches more about this type of training, suggesting that it can help improve not just visual skills but also coordination, which is often a limiting factor for adult tennis players. This type of training is aimed at enhancing the underlying skills needed for high-level performance in tennis.

Highlights

Reading the flight of the ball quickly and accurately is crucial in tennis.

Most adult tennis players struggle with this due to limitations in their visual systems.

Improvement in vision for tennis can be achieved through specific training exercises.

The video presents an exercise to train the ability to quickly change focal length.

A delay in reading the ball's flight can be caused by difficulty in quickly shifting focus from near to far.

The 'near far switch' exercise involves switching focus between a close and a distant object.

Using a pen or pencil as a focal point can help in practicing the 'near far switch' exercise.

The exercise helps train the coordination of eye muscles and the brain for visual processing.

Starting with 20 switches and resting is recommended for initial training.

Progressive training involves increasing the number of switches over time.

Adding neck and spinal movements to the exercise can simulate real tennis playing conditions.

Physical loading, like leg positioning, can be incorporated to increase the challenge of the exercise.

The exercise can be used for general training, warm-ups, and to improve specific shot techniques.

Brain-based training can improve not only vision but also coordination for tennis players.

A class on brain-based training for tennis is available for those interested in further improvement.

The video encourages viewers to leave comments for questions or feedback.

A thumbs up is appreciated if viewers enjoyed the video content.

Transcripts

quickly reading the Flight of the ball

off your opponent's strings is one of

the most important things in tennis if

you can't read the Flight of the ball

quickly enough or accurately enough it

causes you to prepair late and it

prevents you from setting up in optimal

positions for your shots and

unfortunately most adult tennis players

struggle with this because their visual

systems simply don't function at a high

enough level the good news though is

that you can actually train and improve

your vision and in this video I want to

show you a really important exercise for

training one of the key visual skills to

help you track the ball more quickly and

more accurately so hopefully you enjoy

the video If you do it' be great if you

give me a thumbs up and if you haven't

subscribed to my channel before it's

much appreciated if you could do that as

well so there's a number of different

visual skills that can be important for

your ability to quickly read the Flight

of the ball but we're going to be

focusing on a specific one which is your

ability to quickly change focal length

so to look at something that's up close

and then quickly look at something

that's in the distance because I find a

lot of players struggle with this they

hit their shot and then when you look

down the other end of the caught there's

a delay and that delay can reduce how

quickly they can read the Flight of the

ball so that's what we're going to be

working on with an exercise called a

near far switch I'm going to show you

the basic version and then we're going

to do a slightly more advanced shot

specific version I'm using this stick

with letters on it but for you I

recommend that you just use a pen or a

pencil and you focus on the tip of the

pen or pencil I'm just using this cuz

it's easier to see on camera but you're

going to bring it in so you're going to

start at arms length you'll be looking

at the tip of the pen I'm looking at one

of these letters you're going to bring

it in hopefully to around 6 in so you're

going to bring it to there depending on

how your system functions depending on

how well coordinated your eyes are and

what the muscles are doing what you

might find is that the tip of the pen

starts to split into if that happens

it's an indication that you need to

train it and you need to work on this as

a corrective exercise but for you at the

moment you're just going to go back a

little bit so if you can bring it to 6

in and still see a single Target that's

awesome bring it to 6 in but if you find

that you need to go back to there or to

there because if you bring it any closer

it splits in two that's okay just work

at the distance that you can at the

moment this is going to be the close

Target or the near Target and then

you're going to choose something that's

in the distance so I'm out on court I

can choose something that's at the far

end of the court so I'm going to have a

good length of switch if you're at home

just stand on one side of your room and

look at something that's on the far side

of the room and then all you'll do is

look at the close Target and then change

your focus to look at the far Target

then back to the close Target then the

far Target and you're going to be

waiting until the Target that you're

looking at comes into full Focus before

you make the switch and what you might

find is that when you look at the close

Target or more likely when you look at

the far Target it takes maybe a second

two three seconds and kind of go before

you can actually see what you're looking

at clearly and that's what we're

training by working on doing this over

and over again you can actually train

your brain to make this switch more

quickly so you're training the

coordination of the muscles that move

the eyes in and out you're training the

coordination of the muscles that change

the shape of the leg lens you're

training the parts of the brain that

coordinate those muscles and then we're

training parts of the brain that deal

with visual processing so very simple

exercise but it can be really powerful

now just like all other types of

training we need it to be Progressive so

at the start I recommend maybe doing 20

switches see how you feel take a rest

for a minute do another 20 switches but

you can definitely increase it but doing

three sets of 20 to 50 switches is going

to be a good starting point for most

people's training just make sure that

you feel okay and you don't cause your

yourself any eye strain or anything like

that depending how your system's

functioning you might need to start

lower and build up but you can be

Progressive just switch from near to far

and work on it over time now that you

understand how to do the basic version

of the near far switch I want to show

you two different progressions the first

one is going to involve changing your

neck position and changing your spinal

position because when we're playing

we're obviously moving our necks we're

moving our spine and underneath that

changes the way that our visual system

creates and coordinates these eye

movements and processes information so

the simple variation that you're going

to do is turning your head to the left

and then doing near far switches in that

position sounds very similar but it's

actually a little bit different and you

might find that it changes how long it

takes for you to gain that Focus so do

that with your head to the left and then

do that with your head to the right then

the next extension that we can do for

that is adding in spinal rotation so I

can rotate my spine to the right and

turn my head to the left left and then

do the near far switch so now we've got

a couple of different spinal movements

but most of the time when you're playing

tennis you're rotating your spine and

your neck in opposition so this is very

specific I'm going to do that with right

spinal rotation and left neck rotation

I'm going to do that with left spinal

rotation and right head rotation same as

before start out with maybe three sets

of 20 reps but you can increase that

over time the next progression that

we're going to work on is going to add a

layer of specificity so we've already

worked on spinal rotation and neck

rotation now we're going to add some

loading to the legs and when we increase

physical loading it increases the

demands on the system so what you might

find is as you're doing this it slows

down the changing or the the regaining

of the focus and that's why we want to

work on it in these physically loaded

positions as well so what we're going to

do here is we're going to set up as if

we're preparing for our shot so I've

rotated my upper body I'm prepared I'm

loading my legs I can do this in a

neutral stance or I can do it in an open

stance so I'm going to go for an open

stance if you've got someone to help you

they can hold the near Target I'm

working on my own so I'm just going to

have my upper body in position I'm going

to hold it with my left hand and then

I'm going to do the near far switches in

this position and again you might find

it changes the way that you regain your

focus and that's why we want to work on

these specific positions we can do the

same thing on the back end we're just

going to be holding the position and

then using our left hand to hold the

target it's a little bit trickier for

the two-hander you can choose to either

go into position hold it with your right

hand or you can hold your left hand in

position the main thing is that you get

your legs loaded whether it's a neutral

stance or whether it's an open

stance and then get your spinal rotation

head in position and then focus on

making the switches as quickly and

accurately as you can you can use these

exercises for General training to

address deficits and improve visual

skills you can also use them for

warm-ups before you play and you can

actually do a bit of a test retest if

you're out there working on your

forehand maybe do a few rallies see how

things feel and then work on the shot

specific position and you might find

that after 20 30 reps you go back and

your for hands feel a little bit more

comfortable a little bit easier and your

timing is smoother and you're reading

the Flight of the ball better so

hopefully you've enjoyed this video if

you have you might be interested in a

class that I've created that's going to

teach you more about brain Based

training because we can use brain Based

training to improve all of the under

Ling skills needed in tennis because in

addition to your visual system having to

work at a high enough level you also

need to have sufficient coordination and

again just like Vision most adult tennis

players coordination holds them back but

we can improve it with brain-based

training and I've made a class to teach

you how to do it so I'll place a link to

that class down in the description so

that you can watch it if you're

interested if you got any questions or

comments about what I've gone through

today leave them down in the comment

section and I'll get back to you as

quick as I can if you did enjoy the

video be much appreciated if you could

give me me a thumbs up otherwise I'll

catch you next time