Most of us really want to hit the ball hard. I mean, one reason we admire the pros is because they can hit the ball with so much pace and still control it. But when we try to hit the ball like the pros, it seems like it always goes long.
The majority of the tennis players I have seen suffer from two weaknesses when they try to hit the ball with power. Either they are afraid to hit the ball hard at all because they are afraid of missing the shot, or they swing so hard (almost popping the ball) that the ball flies over the fence. Both of these descriptions will negatively affect your tennis game. I have noticed that most players have these problems because they just don't feel comfortable swinging hard.
There is one simple drill you can practice to overcome both of these dilemmas. All you need is yourself, a basket of lots of tennis balls, and a designated thrower. The hitter stands on the baseline, and the thrower tosses tennis ball after tennis ball to the hitter. The hitter concentrates on hitting the ball hard and with good form, not even caring where the ball goes.
This benefits the hitter a lot because they start to feel comfortable with a powerful hit. After the hitter has hit as many shots as they want just swinging for the fences, they then try to control their shots while maintaining perfect form and trying to maintain pace on the ball.
Similarly, in life, we all need safe environments where we can just practice pushing ourselves and making mistakes while trying to figure out how to keep the balls in play. If we don't have these environments, we become like the tennis player--either scared to take risk, or taking unnecessary and random risk.
So grab a friend and a bucket of balls, and start to get in the swing of things.
The majority of the tennis players I have seen suffer from two weaknesses when they try to hit the ball with power. Either they are afraid to hit the ball hard at all because they are afraid of missing the shot, or they swing so hard (almost popping the ball) that the ball flies over the fence. Both of these descriptions will negatively affect your tennis game. I have noticed that most players have these problems because they just don't feel comfortable swinging hard.
There is one simple drill you can practice to overcome both of these dilemmas. All you need is yourself, a basket of lots of tennis balls, and a designated thrower. The hitter stands on the baseline, and the thrower tosses tennis ball after tennis ball to the hitter. The hitter concentrates on hitting the ball hard and with good form, not even caring where the ball goes.
This benefits the hitter a lot because they start to feel comfortable with a powerful hit. After the hitter has hit as many shots as they want just swinging for the fences, they then try to control their shots while maintaining perfect form and trying to maintain pace on the ball.
Similarly, in life, we all need safe environments where we can just practice pushing ourselves and making mistakes while trying to figure out how to keep the balls in play. If we don't have these environments, we become like the tennis player--either scared to take risk, or taking unnecessary and random risk.
So grab a friend and a bucket of balls, and start to get in the swing of things.
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