Todays thought comes in 2 parts as is related to posture. Tennis players adopt a unique posture due to the demands of the game. This brings about questions
1. is this posture correct for tennis or is there are more optimal posture (like the natural position of joint)
2. can it changed to bring about better function, performance and injury prevention?
the tennis engineer
Good Morning,
this will be brief and hopefully thought provoking to those that are interested in how the body actually works and how we use it to play tennis.
I have been looking at a lot of videos with a fellow geek and have this thought for all to consider..
Do tennis players, including the very top ones use the body to its full potential as it was intended?
My feeling is that the answer is a big fat, resounding NOOO!
More to come on this,
The Tennis Engineer!
This thought of the day is to do with time, the past, the present and the future. It occurred to me (and a friend), that in the time it took Nadal, Federer, Murray etc to become the players they are today it involved a substantial journey in time. During which the game evolved dramatically and continues to do so.
Now, considering your young players, maybe mini tennis maybe 13/14 years old and ask the question where will the game be when they reach the mid twenties?
Should we necessarily be modelling our tennis teaching and learning on the current game or hypothesizing, and analysing what the game will be, might be like in 10 years time.
The UK have always been critised for being 10 years behind the other countries and I know that the culture of the UK in sport is not so forward thinking and relies on what we have always done.
Will the game advance? yes of course!
Should we be looking at what Nadal, Djokovic etc do poorly and work with our young players on these facets?
Does the key lie in thinking beyond what is currently possible?
Well, we have some ideas of where the game may go and what will be required of next generation tennis players but I would also like to hear your predictions?
best,
The Tennis Engineer,
we hear the expression ” I should of won” all the time particularly following a loss against lower rated/ranked player or percieved weaker opposition.
the problem here is the unbalance of respect to your opponenet and the game and therefore sets you up to under perform.
its the word “should” as if you have the right to win wothout earning it.
you “should” never win a match you are only presented with the opportunity/possibility of winning.
those that lose to players who “hack” or hit at a slower rythum/tempo have just as much right to play as you and you will perform better as soon as you respect their approach and work a solution.
if only I had thought of this when I was younger
the tennis engineer.
effective tactics lies in effective technique which is arguably only effective if appropriate movment has taken place and the player is balanced.
regardless of everything else does the key lie in balance both for performance and development?
the tennis engineer.
the foot needs to be mobile and flexible to absorb impacts and transmit forces efficiently. this also allows for joints further up the change to function better.
in tennis the wrist is a useful tool as it has the ability to control the balls characteristics. A mobile and functioning wrist could make all the difference to stroke output???
the tennis engineer,
If you follow this or indeed read this blog then I apologize for not being that active recently. I have been working on an motion tracking app which is now into a testing phase.
Anyhow, today’s thought extends that of the bodies freedom and how it interacts with the mental, emotional side of tennis. For example, if the player is nervous or apprehensive what affect does this have on the body? Players get “tight” when the pressure or nerves are heightened and this causes the player to play cautiously and with out freedom. This then points to the emotional state being the main factor as to the execution of the game of tennis. It dosn’t matter how free you are, or how good your technique is if you cannot control the emotions.
The Tennis Engineer,
I was coaching a young female player of mine and we were working on moving up the court, getting after the ball and exploiting space by playing down the line. The drill was simple, defend cross and attack line, repeating this on both forehand and backhand side for approximately 20 balls per set.
Another coach and friend of mine observed that when the girl went for the down the line ball her front foot was parallel to the net effectively blocking movement at the hip/pelvis and subsequently making balance after the upper body had rotated through very difficult.
the problem here is that the reason for this is to do with posture and foot function. She has over pronated feet that are turn into to absorb the force of landing or stepping and hence when putting her front foot down it moves to be a parallel in order to absorb the knee flexion and of course transmit force up through the body from the ground.
The thing for me is that no amount of “coaching” will allow this change to stick but there is a way of bypassing the conscious and fix it with out her even knowing. This is to give the foot the freedom of movement that it requires and also to educate the body to use it. Exercises such as the balancing on the offending foot and reaching out with the other leg around a “clock” face gives the foot a 3D experience, in addition some “lunge” type movements encouraging the hip to rotate in a similar manner to the intended stroke forces the foot to take up a new position.
Naturally, the intervention needs repetition and work as with any skill acquisition but there was a instant alteration. In addition we altered the movement to the ball from a “side step” to more of a “gallop” where the front foot is pointing at the ball and we created a situation where mechanically the position was more desirable.
Homework exercises prescribed and we shall see the effects this coming week!
well, this is in regards to our two wonderful feet and the server lack of attention to them!
how many coaches referred to “loading up from the legs” or something similar and wondered why it is difficult for some? Now, of course there are many reasons but consider the foot for a second. When, you flex the knee what happens to the foot? when you hop on one foot and flex the knee what happens to the foot?
The foot flattens (or pronates) which is a way of allowing the knee to flex and subsequently load the rest of the body. Also it loads (or stretches) the muscles required to move the foot out of this position through to full extension at the hip (the foot here has fully supinated). Isn’t this what we as coaches want for our players when hitting ground-strokes? (or in fact any shot that requires some knee flexing).
For the thought of the day bit consider what would be the output of a players shots if they had difficulty in flattening the foot in the first place or if they had “flat” feet and therefore could not use the supination muscles effectively?
Here in lies the real key to maximum output on stokes!
Enjoy,
Questions just pop me and email!
Recently I read a post that mentioned bio-mechanics as the “unit turn,” “grips” and “ball tracking.” This is NOT bio-mechanics. The definition (Wikipedia) is;
Bio-mechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems such as humans, animals, plants, organs and cells by means of the methods of mechanics.
The word bio-mechanics developed during the early 1970s, describing the application of engineering mechanics to biological and medical systems.
I consider it the methods in which we, as tennis players, maximize the functions of the bodies joints in a fluid and seamless sequence in order to produce efficient force. It relies on functional joint actions, in effective range of motion that are sequential in what we consider the tennis strokes. Each joint has its role to play and should be capable within the integrated system.
The movements required are a function of the tactical intention and the required technical model. Therefore the “bio-mechanics” of tennis have a tactical, technical, physical and mental component.
The Tennis Engineer.
The Tennis Engineer 