Kyle Edmund Vs Jonny O’Mara

Alongside Andy Murray the wonderful opportunity of watching the future of British tennis in the junior boys singles presented itself at Wimbledon yesterday (Wednesday).   Truth be told I was making a beeline for court 14 where Kyle Edmund and Jonny O’Mara were 3 all first set.

Maybe at this point your expecting some kind of sledging as to why these lads are never going to make it and that they will just end up on the scrap heap.  Maybe the media might do that but not here.

U.S. Open Juniors Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The tennis, in my opinion was entertaining and of a high standard.  Kyle strong, very strong off the forehand wing with an incredible amount of racket head speed available.  Coupled with a strong first serve his tactics will be simple and effective. Jonny not as powerful but when in rallies looking like he had the potential to compete and he made a go of it at least.  More that could be said of 3rd seed Zerev who pulled out with a so called shoulder problem at 4-0 down in the third.

The tennis engineer is interested in the human body and the bio-mechanics of tennis and here in lies the reason for this post.   I have been alluring to the idea that the there is some relationship between where joints sit and muscle tensions in the human body which results in imbalances and hence sub optimal output.  Where there is an imbalance the joints and muscles cannot and I really mean cannot, move through an action efficiently and effectively and there is a knock on throughout the whole system.  This may or may not be a cause of future injury but if not an injury risk there is still more possibility in producing better strokes, coping with tougher situations and executing tactics.

So I turned my attention to Jonny as it was clear in his gait there were some quirks.   Not bad at this point until he turned to face his coach who was sat in front of me.  Here is where I saw the tennis players stereotypical shoulder drop on the hitting side.  Not only that as I followed this through the system it was clear that Jonny’s left hip was also hiked higher than his right and often this is coupled with a rotation to the right (right handed).  His gait when he walked away had an obvious flexion to the hitting side also which is characteristic with the previous observations. Not at the expense of Jonny but I was delighted but the question arose in my mind of what can I do about it?

Well, nothing, at the moment.  Immediately after the match I was thinking about talking to the coach but chose against it probably for the best as a few seconds later I was surrounded by Greg Ruesedski, Martin Weston and some other guy who I recognized.  While many asked Greg for photos I called my colleague to tell him the good/bad news about the match I just seen.

So, now hypothetically want can be/needs to be done with Jonny?  Well, in my opinion and according to alot of research Jonny’s posture and joint alignment is only causing him to under perform regardless of the other traits of tennis.  His body is simply not optimal therefore his fantastic ground strokes could be BETTER! not only that he could deal with higher pace and higher levels, he could grow in confidence and he could execute his tactics effectively and more repeatedly.

So step 1 is to re educate, re engineer his body to accept the range of motion and the intended functions of the joints.  Remember, the body wasn’t designed with tennis in mind and therefore we should respect the actual function of the body and restore these defaults.  That is not to say that the tennis posture is the way it  is because it should be because it shouldn’t!

Step 2 then is then to educate the body to function properly within tennis stroke production movements.  Coupling all joint actions to the end result.  This relies on heavy input on the technical model used by the coach/coaches.

Step 3 maintain and improve.

The Tennis Engineer is not a fitness trainer or S&C coach but a tennis coach specialising inhuman  movement and the aim of the approach is to give the best chance to the player to perform at maximum!

Coming soon: The Tennis Players posture article

Please feel free to message me with questions or share this with any parties that may have interest.

I hope this asks some questions and prokes thought.

Best

The Tennis Engineer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating a System – Physical Model

This post aims to give a simple overview of the considerations in a tennis related physical model.  This is not S&C or “fitness” based but links in with the previous parts of the tennis system.  S&C is a field in its own right that is out of the scope of this series but works on the premise that whatever is achieved in the gym MUST translate to the court otherwise it is all in vain.

so with that said lets consider our previous models of Tactics and Technique.  these areas are linked, of course, and one cannot happen effectively without the other.  Where I come in, is a step further, to ask the question of the functionality of the body in chasing success in the Tech/Tact model.

The logic, thus far, states that the Tactical outcome and it’s effectiveness relies on technical competency but what does technique rely on?  Good racket skills?  Footwork?  ball tracking, decision making, anticipation?  yes all of these but also we are asking the body, the complete musculo-skeletal system, to perform the action that is required.

Many coaches consider the term “bio-mechanics” and also consider developing strokes from the ground up but how many consider the actual “bio-mechanics” in terms of how forces are transmitted through the body and how the joints interact?  It is this that is missing from many sporting arenas and make life difficult for both player, coach and support staff (S&C).

The first question really is to consider whose responsibility it is for working with this area and in my opinion it is the responsibility of the coach to understand the bodies functionality, how it likes to work (optimally) and what is being asked of the body in the differing tech/tact relationship.

Now, in order to define the model one must consider each of the major joints in the body and how they interact through stroke production whilst being aware of what situation (tactically) you are dealing with.  A defensive forehand has a different bio-mechanical requirement than the “controlling” forehand and is further differing depending on the opponent  and ball characteristics.   This could get very detailed (unnecessarily) and un-practical.

Therefore, in considering the bodies functionality it makes sense to understand the general capabilities of the key joints (feet, hips/pelvis, spine) and how they link into your key tactical/technical situations.

I will be posting some analysis articles considering the complete system in the next few days (maybe today for the first one) so be sure to check those out if this has sparked interest.  Previous posts in this series can be accessed from the links below.

Please contact me with any questions and I am in the process of creating workshops for any level of coach who is interested in the bio-mechanics of tennis.   Continue to develop yours and your players tennis story!

Regards,

The Tennis Engineer,

 

Previous parts of the “Creating a System” series

Creating a System 1 – Tactical Intentions.

Creating a System 2 – Technical Model.

Creating a System 3 – Training Load.

Thought of the Day: Tennis Bio-mech

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.