THIS IS A TIP FROM MY COACH DAVID BAILEY FROM AUTSTRALIA.I WILL SHARE IT WITH YOU MEMBERS OF. I have been in the tennis industry for 20 years and always believed
footwork has never really been given the respect that it deserves.
Why? Because people think it happens 'naturally', that to think
about your feet only confuses your rhythm and complicates things.
I remember speaking to Mary Pierce a Grand Slam champion at
Bolletteries' back in 1999 and she said 'For 1 hr everyday when
training on court hitting tennis balls I like to think only about
my moving my feet. When I do this I mightn't hit as well but by
doing this it gets me fit and fast and gets me in good habits of
taking those adjusting steps'.
This year Roger Federer said, "My Game Has A Lot To Do With
Footwork, When I'm Moving Well I Play Well". What you have to
realise about footwork is that practice doesn't make perfect but
perfect practice makes perfect. That is why we have to practice
the art of moving our feet the "right" way.
This is where knowing how the professional players move their feet
is essential. Because all we really have to do is copy them i.e. do
it the right way. They have already choreographed the steps for us.
This is made easy by the introduction of video slow motion, as now,
the proof is in the vision. That is all I have done with The Bailey
Method...watch thousands of videos....studied professional players'
hit perfect winners. Then, observe what he or she did with his/her
feet, stance , posture, steps to the ball. See the athletic move
that they made on contact with the ball and finally examine the
steps they took when they recover and to what part of the court do
they recover to?
Having "learnt the look", the next step is to give all these
skills, steps, stances and stops a name. Then it is easy to
identify them, explain them and categorize them. Suddenly, we have
given tennis footwork the respect that it deserves as we have named
and choreographed some really important parts of the game. We
respect a newborn child by giving them a name at birth....lets start
with the footwork in this beautiful game called tennis.
It is interesting when we call it foot work because it does take a
lot of work to get your feet right. If you work your feet to the
ball (the right way) and not walk to the ball then you will get to
the ball early, get balanced, set the feet up into a aggressive
stance and thus give yourself more options, power and
effectiveness. As Roger Federer said above, you will 'play well'.
I love this quote about working the feet on the court. 'Movement is
self imposed' this means that the only person that can make
yourself move well is you! Remember Mary Pierce? She spends 1 hr
everyday refining her feet!
"Attack the ball with your feet" is a great tip. Wendy Turnbull an
ex Australian Champion player whose nickname was "Rabbit" was asked
one day. 'What makes you move so well on the court?' Her response
was 'I just love to run!' Enough said!
If you haven't yet ordered your copy of the Bailey Method Pro Pack,
you can by clicking here
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?sONpbfurmljUhLiN8KEAhw You'll
quickly learn how to dominate the court with footwork moves that
take you to the perfect position to hit the ball well and then
recover your position to be ready for any return.
Next week I'll share with you what makes cowards of many - yet it's
the same thing that allows you to be confident waiting and ready
for action!
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