Serving Tip of the Week!!

Serving for Success
When you think Andy Roddick, you think big, explosive serve. The kind of serve that you wouldn’t want to play butts-up for. The kind of serve you don’t want to return at risk of embarrassing yourself by cowering in a corner/running away. The kind of serve... well, you get the point, the man’s got a decent start to the point. Don’t you want to serve like Roddick? You’ll need to practice about 16 years. This is not one of those “In ten minutes or less a day” commercials. But on a more serious note, there are a few great pointers to take away from Roddick’s rocket, first or second for that matter.
Regardless of your serving style (I get it, you want to be unique, embrace your specialness, yada yada), there are common elements to every good serve (unless, of course, you’d rather not get it into the court- but then you’re reading the wrong blog).



First and foremost, let’s check out the ball toss in relation to the body in the loading position. Aka, where you toss the ball when you’re in “trophy stance.” Junior players like to toss the ball exactly everywhere where it shouldn’t be.  Too far over their heads, too far to the left, too far to the right, too far forward, ect. What happens is simple mechanics- the left arm drops too fast, and you are not getting the maximum force going into the court- instead, players wish to go against physics and end up falling backwards or to the left. Not good.
Back to our pal, Roddick. You’ll see in the video that Andy places his toss slightly to the right of the center above his head. Pause the video right at the loading position (aka trophy stance), and you’ll see that the ball is in a straight line with his left arm pointing up the ball.
Turn your brain off for a second- we’re refocusing. Now since I didn’t tell you to un-pause (de-pause? Sorry, amusing myself with semantics) the video, you shouldn’t have moved very far from Andy’s trophy stance, correct? Notice how his hips and trunk are rotated? You can see that he has loaded up to hit his serve with massive trunk rotation in the trophy stance, combined with extensive knee bend (hello squat jumps!). Left arm isn’t dangling to the side. It’s in a straight line with the ball at the apex (perfect placement for a toss to optimize power). Once Andy loads into trophy stance and maxes out his loading, he then explodes upwards and lands on his left leg with his back leg extending backwards to counterbalance his forward movement. Ta-da! The momentum propels him into the court, maximizing his power and at the same time placing him in a good position to recover to play the point. Since, you know, you’ll have to actually play the point after your serve. Oh, by the way, you can play the video now, see what I’m talking about.
So now you can serve like Andy Roddick. Yay! Well, what you should take away from this is that next time you go out to practice your serve, practice placing the ball toss in a straight line with your left arm in the trophy stance. It should be slightly to the right of center in the perfect position. Let it rip. But seriously, you’ll feel that you begin to get more power by propelling your body up and into the court. Make sure you are landing on your left leg for maximum rotation and power. Go on, why are you still in front of the computer? Make Roddick proud!
Stay tuned for more fun and tips!

I wanted to share a couple of really cool videos that I have seen over the past few months for everyone to view. Please enjoy these videos and stay tuned for more on the Seminole High Performance Blog.

This first video is of Cara Black, former #1 player in the world in doubles. Her volleys are amazing and this video demonstrates her amazing talent!!



This second video is of two of friends, Bob and Mike Bryan, current #1 doubles players in the world. Enjoy this video of them doing the "Bryan Brother's Volley Drill". I remember watching them do this drill when they were 14 years old.



Lastly, I really enjoyed seeing this video of the evolution of the forehand from Bjorn Borg, to Ivan Lendl, to the world's best player Roger Federer. It's amazing how they all have their own style and own characteristics but also a lot of similarities in their strokes.



Stay tuned for our next tip of the week coming on Friday! We will be discussing the serve and how to help you gain consistency and power with one easy tip!

Go Noles!

Winter High Performance Camp Overview

This last weekend we hosted our Annual Winter High Performance Camp. However, this was the first year we were able to use our indoor courts during the cold season. It was nice being able to go inside and not have to worry about the temps or any inclement weather. As for the training, on Friday night we focused on a lot of footwork drills and movement. We also skills tested the kids. It was interesting to see how some of our regular kids scored compared to last years results. They all scored significantly higher than last year on all of the strokes. We ended up finishing up Friday night with some match play.

Saturday was a great day as well. We followed up with more and more footwork, but also focused a lot on the serves. After the morning session, we walked the kids over to the Seminole Golf Course which is only about 200 yards away from the courts. The kids ate in the Seminole Grill and enjoyed some relaxation time with the coaches. In the afternoon, we utilized our new ball machine. Each student was able to isolate a stroke that needed work and focused on it for a while. Coach Hultquist focused on technique during this time as well.

On Sunday we concluded the camp with the Seminole Davis Cup Competition. Just like in our camps during the summer, the competition came down to the very last match. When it was all said and done, USA defeated Spain 70-69 in total games won. Each player in the camp played 3 rounds of singles and a round of doubles in the competition.

Overall, we had a great weekend of tennis and looking forward to finishing up the 2011 season this week with our last week of the After School Program before Christmas. Stay tuned for more info and tips of the week! Until next time, keep training like a champion everyday!!

Get Ahead of Your Competition

Going the extra mile!!

What does it take to be the best or just get ahead of your competition? Well, it's the little things that you can do when you are not at the courts or at practice. That means following the 20% rule. What I mean is that you should always try to do 20% more than the next player. If the coach asks you to do 10 push-ups, then maybe next time do 12.

Sometimes those little things you do at home make the biggest difference. Extra push-ups and sit-ups at night, jumping rope in the garage on those rainy days when every one else is watching TV. Do the things that the other players aren't and you will ensure success!

Next time one of the coach asks you to do something, go the extra mile and you will get to the top! Until next time, Go Noles!!

Nick