This month's tip deals with tennis and its sport-specific applications of speed. Tennis involves lateral, diagonal, forward and backward movement. A player must not only generate enough speed to reach the ball, but he or she must put himself in proper position to execute the appropriate stroke.
Speed alone is not the answer. Tennis involves sudden, explosive movements and involves play of a stop-start nature. Coordination, agility and the ability to quickly act and react are all essential for peak performance.
As such, starting/reactive speed and acceleration are just as important as the ability to decelerate. Abrubt deceleration, change of direction and reacceleration is crucial to the rallying aspect of the game.
Deceleration also allows a player to reset his position on the court. A player must move quickly to the ball, set or ground himself to utilize the strength of the lower extremities and core musculature (abs, low back and hips) to transmit power through the trunk and upper extemities to the racquet.
Effective transfer of force must occur between the segments of the body if maximum power is to be delivered to the ball.
To develop speed and movement skills, you need to tailor your training program to match the specific energy systems and movements used during tennis competition.
Conditioning of the ATP-PC and Lactic Acid Energy systems should take precedence. Drills and exercises involving short and medium length sprints should be incorporated with plyometric type activities to help develop explosive starting power and the eccentric strength needed for cutting and landing activities.
In addition, medicine ball training can be a terrific adjuct to your on-court training. Use of the med ball with various tennis-specific cone drill patterns can have a dramatic impact on your ability to get to those hard-to-return shots and return them with as much force and speed as possible. For more information on tennis specific conditioning, please consult our listing of on-site clinics and workshops. To view this listing, CLICK HERE.
TRAINING TIP OF THE MONTH ARCHIVE
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