Do you have any idea what your strokes LOOK like? For years, a critical component to ALL pro
Camera on QM-1 Pole
I have used video occasionally to check on what a certain stoke looks like. But have also used it to help me and my doubles partner improve our court movement. It is really eye-opening to see on video how we were out of position on critical points, without really knowing it.
Using video as a team can help you better understand what each partner should be doing during the point to gain the offense.
Recently, I was having trouble with my forehand and videod a practice session. What I saw was that my left arm was useless and just dangling at my side as I hit my stroke. It looked awkward and inefficient. Just by seeing this, I knew that it was wrong.
That afternoon, Maria Sharapova was on TV and they showed her forehand in slow motion. She did what many pros do:
• she held the throat of her racquet in her left hand as she coiled for the forehand,
• didn’t release it until she was fully turned,
• then used her left arm to pull open her shoulders
• and gained more power.
The next time on the court, I tried doing this … and it really worked.
To help the video process – especially to get a full court view of doubles or singles movement – I use a neat tool called the QM-1 Video Pole. It comes from Mike Lammens in Colorado, who is a friend of tournament player Rich Boddicker (is that a recommendation or a caution?!).
To quote from Mike’s website (www.MyTennisTools.com) …
The QM-1 is light and compact, with a three-piece telescoping pole and a unique two-piece “clamping hook” that allows you to quickly and securely mount your camera on fences as high as 15 feet (most court fences are 10ft tall and a few are 12 ft. tall). The QM-1 camera bracket is fully adjustable to work on any court. The settings for a standard tennis court are also clearly marked on the unit, eliminating the necessity of trial and error.
Both video training and Mike’s pole work!
Yes, congratulation! Without video it is not possible to analyse Your own strokes. But it demands a lot of knowledge and theory about all these things. For example, the opposite-arm-action: I detect that element some years ago in videos from Cilic. Then it took more than a year to found the description from Bollettieri. Nobody in Germany – even leaders of Trainer-Association – could understand me, when I asked for opposite-arm-action as a component from the forehand stroke. Today the opposite-arm-action is the standard of all young players on the Tour. http://www.tennisfragen.de/tennisfragen/Wissen/cont%20opposite%20Arm.html The same is with the whip in recreational-tennis and so on…
Thanks – have been looking for something like this. Would work really well with a remote control camera — otherwise I guess you just leave the camera running until the battery wears down or get a long extension cord.
bob – my camera battery has no problem running for a couple of hours. geo
George: Hey, thanks for mentioning the QM-1 on your blog! It is my hope that by using word of mouth advertising, I can keep the cost down. Unfortunately, marketing is going to become a real cost sometime soon and I will have to raise the price to account for “commissions”.
As far as how much knowledge is required to analyze your own strokes, I don’t necessarily agree with Holger (no offense, Holger!). I mean, I was watching myself not turn my shoulders on an overhead yesterday – doesn’t take a genius to see that! In other words, there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit out there for a lot of us!
I love teaching pros, and am a USPTA-certified and practicing teacher myself, but again, seeing yourself on video opens up a whole new world of ways to improve your game and your strokes.
Thanks again for the mention!