April 1, 2004
Spring Training Volume 3

So now more aware of your attitude and emotions on court (from the previous newsletter), lets visit another spring training theme - vision - watching the ball, watching the ball "all the way in."

Roger Federer has totally captured my imagination, not unlike McEnroe did many years ago. I am bored by and critical of the professional tennis that lacks imagination and tactical flair (Chang, Haas, Phillipousis and so on). I am captivated by the all court game, by an array of shots and angles, and by players using all of the court. So I have been spending a lot of time within our Pro Strokes Gallery studying Federer's moves.


Photo by Bill Putnam

Balletic, powerful, quick, confident - these and more are apt descriptions. But I have noticed something else, and I have not seen this as clearly with other players over the years, perhaps they did this as well but I had not previously noticed. Roger keeps his head impeccably still during the hit, absolutely still, his eyes hesitate in the contact zone a moment after the ball has left the racquet. You can notice this in stills or video replay. He absolutely watches the ball, all the way in, I even found one instance in the gallery on a backhand underspin where he begins a recovery step while his head is still down at the contact zone - yes recovering without initially looking up.

My foray into exploration and guided discovery suggests, "Watch the ball" is a command; the student once commanded has lost awareness and responsibility for the task. On the other hand, a teacher might question a pupil, "How is the ball spinning as it approaches you?" I have read that Bobby Bonds would pitch to his young son Barry, using balls slightly smaller than baseballs, and with two different but distinctive marks, and Barry was only allowed to swing at one of the two types of balls. An extreme visual acuity was born, the rest is history. Barry not "watching the ball" but rather trying to see something specific that would differentiate one ball from another.

Tom Stow had once asked me to note how the service toss was spinning as I hit it. And though this probably had something to do with my tossing mechanics, equally it enabled me to heighten my awareness of the movement of the ball as I swung up to serve it.

Experiment with your awareness of the quality of your vision. Do you feel your head move during the swing? Are there moments during the incoming flight of the ball when you see it less clearly? Can you observe Fred Earle's 5 rules as you monitor and hopefully improve how well you track the ball? On this, take a moment in the Pro Strokes gallery, find nearly any sequence of Roger Federer, and be amazed (as I am) at how still, poised, motionless without appearing rigid or locked, is Rogers head and eyes during the swing.

For those of you wanting more on vision, I have a few leads. Slow the Ball Down.com. Bill Harrison, sports vision trainer, has worked with George Brett, Jason Giambi, and years ago Tom Stow. Bill has an extensive line of products that can be used off court, to heighten ones visual acuity on court. In the 1970's I used his book Vision Dynamics, and his vision cards, to work on my visual skills. The exercises are fascinating, helpful, and overall this approach inspired me to totally reexamine what I knew (as a player and teacher) about following the ball. I know Bill personally, he is engaging, he is an expert, and he is moving much of his material into the tennis domain. And as an aside, generally when players recount their best wins, they invariably describe a phenomenon where the ball mysteriously appeared larger than normal and moved slower than normal, so that one can actually "slow the ball down"

Additionally, the following two links are fascinating reading on visual tracking skills. First, PBS "Scientific Frontiers" has a segment entitled "A Quiet Eye" at (click here). There is also a question-and-answer web page (click here) with Joan Vickers So between now and our next visit, on court I will be patient, positive, and willing to make mistakes, 100% fully engaged, and taking full responsibility - as I monitor my eyes.

As always, we would love to hear your views on the subjects raised in this newsletter. Please click here to send your email directly to me.

Jim McLennan Editor, TennisOne

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Current Features

First Things First: The Ball

In this segment of his instructional suite Jim Mclennan examines the flight of the ball. In each and every instance the ball has a certain amount of momentum, and moves in a specific way. Soft balls, fast balls, skidding balls, ascending balls, descending balls - in every instance there is a way to use what the ball gives us, always with an eye to minimizing effort and improving shot selection.

The Essentials of Shot Making

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First Things First: The Ball - Jim McLennan

The Essentials of Shot Making - Feisal Hassan

What's An Athlete? - Joel Drucker

Plan for Strengthening the Rotator Cuff in Tennis Players - Dr. Donald Chu

ProStrokes Gallery: James Blake's Serves / Returns

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