How To HIT HARD In Tennis! (without missing)

Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players

2 Mar 202409:27

Summary

TLDRA tennis coach analyzes a student's game and realizes she's playing tentatively during matches compared to practice. He takes her through drills to hit with more confidence and intensity around a 6-7 out of 10 effort. After establishing her full swing capabilities, he has her dial back power while focusing on tempo and consistency to a target zone. Armed with adjustments to keep shots in play, she then plays points with far better consistency and offense, going from passive shots to confidently pressuring her opponent.

Takeaways

😀 The student had good technique but struggled to maintain intensity during points
👩‍🏫 Three main reasons players slow down: fear of errors, lack of adjustment skills, poor swing awareness
🚀 Had student hit out at 100% effort to establish intensity baseline
⚖️ Backed off to 60-70% effort without missing wide
🎯 Added target area challenge while maintaining tempo
📝 Gave adjustment tips to control shots without slowing down
👍 Made 5 shots in court at target pace before missing
🎾 Better quality points after focusing on consistent tempo
💡 Simple concept but hard to maintain tempo without adjustments
✉️ Email coach Ian for personalized help

Q & A

Why do many tennis players struggle to maintain intensity during matches?
-There are three main reasons - fear of losing by beating themselves, lack of understanding how to keep shots in play without slowing down, and poor awareness of their swing speed and intensity.
What was the first drill used to help the student hit harder shots?
-The coach had the student hit a series of forehand shots as hard as she possibly could at full intensity to establish her baseline capability.
What feedback did the coach give when the student started missing shots at full intensity?
-The coach encouraged her to not slow down and detach the misses from being the primary focus. Instead he focused feedback on tempo and using that as the optimization target.
How did adding a target zone help the student's progress?
-Having a defined target area between the service line and baseline crosscourt helped introduce an additional challenge of directing shots accurately while still prioritizing tempo.
What are the two technical dials the coach refers to for keeping shots in play?
-The coach doesn't reveal what those two dials are in this video. He says to stay tuned for a separate video explaining those adjustments.
What was the step-by-step progression used in training?
-1) Hit at 10/10 effort to establish baseline 2) Back off to 6/10 intensity 3) Maintain 6/10 with target zone 4) Play points focusing only on tempo intensity.
How did the quality of points played at the end compare to the beginning?
-After the training, the student was able to sustain a higher quality of play by keeping a consistent 6/10 tempo. She put more pressure on the coach with confident shots.
Why is being disciplined about tempo training challenging?
-It's difficult to resist the urge to slow down and be more careful without knowing the technical adjustments to keep confident shots in play.
What were the tangible results the student experienced from this tempo training?
-The video shows the student hitting much more confident and aggressive forehand shots during play after working on maintaining her tempo.
Where can you find the next video explaining shot adjustments to control tempo?
-The coach says to check for his next upload revealing those swing adjustments. Or you can email him at [email protected] for instruction.