How to Slide on Clay
 
 
This is the third installment of our three-video series on how to slide on clay. As the world's leading supplier of clay court surfaces, the question we get asked more than any other, from teaching pros and players alike, is about how to slide on clay. Sliding not only makes you more efficient and more consistent on clay, it makes the game more fun, so we have put together a three-part video series on how to slide on clay. Check out part 3 on our website. We hope you like it and find it instructional. Give us your feedback. Play the Clay, Learn to Win and Play for Life!!
"What's New" Product Video - from Tennis Warehouse - adida Barricade 6.0 shoe review
Throwing – Serving – Swinging Up
Jim McLennan
Similarities abound between the sequencing, mechanics, and rhythm of the tennis serve and the throwing motion. Weight shift, unwinding, pulling rather than pushing, and through it all, the ball, as well as the racquet head, is absolutely the last thing released.
Pitchers throw in a continuous motion; good servers achieve a similar continuous rhythm. Pitchers appear loose, if not whippy, and the same can be said for servers. And interestingly, pitchers with “live arms” are generally tennis players who can bomb the serve. Vic Braden is supposed to have gotten LA Dodger pitching great, Don Drysdale, up to 130 mph on the tennis court in one afternoon session.
The Mechanics of Pitching Checklist, by Joe Bramhall, offers an excellent template for anyone wanting to build or improve their throwing motion. Bramhall digitized 40 major league pitchers, found commonalities among them, and then created a template for others to study and copy. I have used this checklist with excellent success, and will say unequivocally, it works. Totally!
A thumbnail of the checklist includes the following:
- Balance at the top of the leg kick – meaning the pitcher starts on the back foot
- Splitting of the hands at or after the knee drop – non-dominant arm moves to initiate the motion, and in synch with the shift of left leg
- Semi-cocked arm position at foot contact – arm back and still somewhat bent
Elbow flexion normal – arm bent but not excessive
- Shoulder external rotation – the elbow leads the motion
- Shoulder abduction 90 degrees – the arm in line with the shoulders at release
But within this template, the emphasis must be on rhythm; on the sequencing of these events, and an orchestration (if you will) so that no one element overpowers all the others. I have a daughter, so am uncomfortable with the unfortunate analogy sometimes used about players who “throw like a..., well, you know, a girl” But I find in junior tennis classes that many boys and girls both somehow push the ball, where the release occurs in a shot putting type of style. Powerful throws, on the other hand, appear more like a sling or fling – a whirling motion where all elements pull succeeding elements and the ball is pulled and released absolutely last.
  Randy Johnson (left) flings the ball. Note his jersey, and straight line from the ball thru his left arm, all the way to his right shoulder. Note the pitcher on the right – the leading elbow and the external shoulder rotation |
Serving is truly just like throwing, and the pitching checklist has equal applicability to the serve.
- Balance at the top of the leg kick – meaning the serve starts with weight on the back foot
- Splitting of the hands at or after the knee drop – the tossing arm moves back with the toss and away from the hitting arm as the weight shifts forward
- Semi-cocked arm position at foot contact – arm back and still somewhat bent
- Elbow flexion normal – arm bent but not excessive
- Shoulder external rotation – the elbow leads the motion
- Shoulder abduction 90 degrees – means the hitting arm is in-line with the shoulders at impact
There is, however, one important proviso. If the server, using the checklist mechanics, throws the racquet forward and into the ball (as is often done when the toss is well in front), the motion will have snap and speed, but less whip like action (Sharapova). If, on the other hand, the server uses an upward throwing motion, much more whip like action occurs with the racquet head. Much more!
 
Maria throws forward,
Roger throws upward. |
Take some time with your throwing motion. Experiment with varying tosses, some more forward, some less forward and more above you, and see if throwing upward will help with your serve. It does for Roger.
As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
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April 22, 2010
