"Back to basics" by Coach Kirk Schaaf

Do you ever feel like playing tennis and no one is around to hit?  It happens all the time, that's when it's time to go BACK TO THE BASICS!  In Chersterfield, Missouri I grew up learning from dropping and hitting a million tennis balls with my dad.  He would always say “underneath pressure, bad form won’t hold up”.  We didn’t have a lot of money growing up so we couldn't afford lessons.  My dad was no teaching pro but he knew what looked right and what wasn’t right.  Drop hitting helps you find your rhythm, timing and is easy to see if any part of your swing needs tweaking.  If the majority of your balls are going into the net, maybe your not driving through the hitting zone long enough.  If the majority of your balls are going long try to finish lower by creating more spin to help keep it in the court.  Drop hitting is beneficial to look at the result of your shots and next time adjust it to where the stroke feels natural and smooth.  Some students I teach who could hit pretty well from the baseline, struggled when feeding a ball or drop hitting one.  Drop hitting is one of the most underrated drills in tennis.  People tend to think well I’m better than that and its boring.  After about ten minutes of drop hitting whatever stroke you want to practice forehands, backhands, volleys, overheads, slices, half volleys, taking the ball on the rise, to even swing volleys out of the air, these drills will make your swing more effortless and your shots will improve immensely.  Next time you hit the court just grab your basket, racket and go "Back to the Basics".