Sometimes overlooked is the first step a tennis player takes in order
to move to the ball. This first step taken to attack the ball is like
a small explosion coming out from the balls of your feet. In many
cases, you will be able to notice explosive movements and first steps
in several different shots. A few examples are the serve, running
shots, and unloading into an approach shot. We can even see explosive
movement in the first step in the recovery after a big shot.
You will notice gains in power and velocity not only in your footwork,
but also in your strokes. My college coach once explained to me that
the roots of great strokes needs to start from the ground up. You
will find yourself more alert on the court because of the intensity level needed to create this movement.
Some ways to help improve and develop an explosive first step:
1.) Begin practice with a dynamic warm-up.
2.) Work on a lot on plyometric exercises such as: Power cleans, wall
ball shots, etc... you an find examples of these on www.crossfit.com
3.) Keep your body alert on the court by staying off your heels and
always bouncing around on the court. Not like a kangaroo or a rabbit,
but by constantly shuffling the feet.
Developing an explosive first step will make match play more exciting
because you will get to more balls and maybe put a "W" on your track
record.
Pro to follow: Rafael Nadal
Watch This:
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
the link if you can't click on it)
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