The SECRET to PERFECT TIMING - Why do coaches lie?

[@TennisHacker]

TENNIS VISION STARTER PROGRAM tennishacker.krtra.com/t/hAE7qDapyUoQ

[@Johnstage]

Tennis is a dance. You need to understand its rhythm to synchronize your entire body & racquet into the shot. You can’t place your feet in the right spot at the right time when you’re dancing without hearing the rhythm of the music in your mind. Same in tennis. You need to understand your rhythm, what works best for you with your anatomy and technique. Count through the incoming ball, once it has left the opponent’s racquet, once it’s over the net, once it has bounced, once it enters your strike zone. Where should your racquet be once the ball has bounced? To start I’d recommend that your racquet is down ready to be pulled forward when the ball bounces. Subtle tweaks can be made as you improve. It’s rhythm, timing, tempo. In that order. Count through your stroke to get a rhythm. Once you stabilize your rhythm with different incoming balls then timing becomes much easier. When rhythm and timing are better your tempo will increase naturally. People try to increase tempo without timing and ignore rhythm completely.

[@laforguedenis]

❤😊👏👍

[@laforguedenis]

Thank you , it is the Best advice I ever heard

[@Johnstage]

@@laforguedenis You’re welcome. Try to keep a similar rhythm on each ground stroke. It will naturally make you move your feet and body to keep that rhythm of your stroke without thinking about 10 things at the same time.

[@Chris_Sheridan]

.. yes, professor - where did you get your amazing common sense and insight from that apparently no-one else has?

[@Chris_Sheridan]

@@laforguedenis .. you must be new to the Internet! Welcome! 😁

[@Nightrangersb]

Wow that last part about not trying to imitate the pros exactly is priceless. Really good understanding of what an average amateur deals with. Well done!

[@TennisHacker]

Thanks. Glad you found it helpful.

[@NazriBuang-w9v]

Lies again? Apa itu?

[@Chris_Sheridan]

'the racquet travels with kinetic energy' (technically correct, if you're answering questions in a physics exam) however, the important aspect is that once you have released the swing and the racquet is on its way to meet the ball, it will have momentum and you cannot make any last split-second adjustments with your body - there is no time left - the result has already been determined when you prepared for the stroke and 'muscle-memory' repeats what you have practised.

[@ShinMezame]

Very insightful vid. I connected more dots in my head about how tennis works. Much thanks.

[@TennisHacker]

You are welcome.

[@gooru4speed]

You're awesome! thank you! The last part about the ideal swing path has changed my perspective.

[@TennisHacker]

You're so welcome!

[@oliveradami199]

Brilliant. Timing is my real problem and it comes from inconsistent coiling movement in the back swing motion. I keep being so engulfed in thoughts about the backswing that I totally neglect reading the balls flight. I shall now start sequencing my practise into coiling motion and balls flight / timing. I found a viable mental method listening to Bob Rotella in connection with my Golf game, where he said that in Tennis, one can improve the mental preparation / timing by counting the events HIT (opponent) BOUNCE, HIT (own), out loud for starters, then internally, until it becomes second nature. Thoughts?

[@watcher687]

Well, I realised a while ago that hitting a ball to a spot on the court is like a miracle! You should be surprised when it goes well, not when you screw up a shot!😄 Considering all the variables and prerequisites to make it happen as intended.

[@TennisHacker]

Yep. It's amazing that players can do what they do sometimes.

[@spinpulse]

I totally agree. Timing is the hardest thing in tennis and there is not shortcut except for hitting thousands of balls (and consciously paying attention to what you're doing wrong each time.) Today I came up with a new exercise to help with timing. Basically, I try to visualize in advance the exact contact point as soon as I can based on the incoming ball. At the beginning I was wrong most of the time I'm off by as much as 1 or 2 feet from my initial guess. But with practice, my predictions were becoming more accurate which guides my foot work and helps a lot swing timing. Of course, all has to happens very fast because the average time it takes from the ball to leave your opponent's racket to you it's between 1.2 to 1.8 seconds!

[@TennisHacker]

I think that's a great strategy. I do something similar myself.

[@citizenamir]

WOW. Next to Rick Macci, yours is one of the best video I've seen on the importance of experimentation and mindful repetition practice. Definitely going to follow you mate. Thank you for your passion.

[@TennisHacker]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hamitolcay5978]

I used to be a player at the national level... I (age 63) still hit shots that amaze my younger counterparts... The best approach is to listen to the opponents racquet connect to the ball and follow visual cues..

[@zonapi]

Thank you for this explanation Richard! Makes sense. Excellent!

[@santhiyag1650]

thank you. I have been struggling with timing. Thank u for showing the fundamentals. If u have more videos on timing I will be happy to watch.

[@TennisHacker]

Glad you found the video helpful. I have a number of videos about timing on my channel. To fix timing it’s often necessary work on physical limitations as well.

[@ZeeKay80]

Your wrist pain video was right on point. You got yourself a subscriber!

[@jimpoole6037]

Good discussion and showing what you do. Love comments re not one way of doing it, key is to get racket on ball. With today’s rackets a short swing is plenty…if my brain will just understand that!!

[@TennisHacker]

Thanks Jim. There’s definitely more than one way. Just showing people what’s worked for me in the hope that it helps. When you grow up playing a sport (like me and most coaches), you take so many things for granted that players struggle with.

[@keith6032]

My timing has gotten slowly better just by playing many matches against hard hitters with deft touch, junk ballers, moonballers, slice and dicers, etc.

[@gioeorgio]

very helpful, excellent tip that I have not seen discussed before, thank you

[@Shaunsweeney-Kubach71]

Congratulations on your accomplishments my friend. Thank you for posting this very informative video my friend. This is a great video and letting people know it’s not easy to have perfect timing.

[@TennisHacker]

You are welcome.

[@stevegordonson720]

Good video - I completely agree that putting the paractice time in to hit different incoming balls and getting prepared for the shot early is the only way to improve . I like your systematic approach with the ball machine. when I practice with someone i will always work on some combination of shots I want to make, for example make all forehand shots crosscourt, High then mid, then low , no matter what I get from my partner. while he does the same . Then up the line , backhand , at net , etc...

[@TennisHacker]

Glad you enjoyed the video. Sounds like you have a solid practice structure.

[@spooky1304]

Very true. I think the incremental nature of improving should be really drilled into people's minds.

[@TennisHacker]

Me too. That's why I sound like a stuck record on my videos 🤣

[@Nightrangersb]

Still amazes me that you learned to play so well with non dominant hand

[@TennisHacker]

Thanks, it's getting their slowly.

[@gregoryphillips3969]

Do you find that being late has alot to do with a lack of racquet acceleration right at the beginning of the stroke?

[@TennisHacker]

I think there are a number of potential reasons. But i would normally think about starting the swing late rather than not accelerating quickly enough.

[@bbrrwwnn]

Hey, I subscribed in large part *because* you’re a lefty! Stay with us.

[@TennisHacker]

Ha, I am now… thanks 😀

[@fabz1509]

My criticism is at 7:32 look how far back you're going instead of moving forward which is more effective as you're not giving wide open areas for your opponent. Thanks for your insights.

[@TennisHacker]

What shot to hit in a situation completely depends on what you are capable of executing (and who you are playing and what type of shots they don’t like. I’m practicing a specific footwork pattern and learning to deal with a specific type of shot WITH MY LEFT HAND! With my left hand i don’t have the ability yet to step in and take it on the rise. Thats probably true for most players watching this video. If players had the sort of timing where they can consistently take balls on the rise, it’s unlikely they would click on a video about timing.

[@fabz1509]

@@TennisHacker don't agree but ok whatever! 👍😂

[@transklutz]

Excuse me, but I notice your elbow is rather close to your body on your forehand, it looks constricted. Am I off-base with this evaluation?

[@andybetancourt]

Great video!

[@TennisHacker]

Thanks!

[@adsaviation]

This made a lot of sense to me. Different shots do have a different timing. The 'Swing when it bounces' is a nice trick for the coaches, but almost never work out when in a game. Using a ball machine and recognize the 'type' is a good trick, as this 'type' can be stored into your memory. I like it a lot!!😀

[@manitsony6703]

What machine is that. Thanks

[@TennisHacker]

Spinfire

[@madmitten5]

But I want a quick fix!

[@TennisHacker]

Ha, I sell a magic pill that fixes everything. It's very expensive though. So expensive I can't afford to take it myself... hence my less than perfect game 😊

[@carlosm9364]

wich book, uncles tony? or Jhon Carlin byo

[@TennisHacker]

Nadal's book - rafa

[@zm453]

beginner here, how do I get those massive calves??

[@TennisHacker]

Be born to the right parents 🤣 But my massive calves don't carry me around the court as quickly as djokovic's lesser sized calves.

[@damon123jones]

great backhand

[@TennisHacker]

Thanks.

[@peterknowles2344]

Thanks for posting.Lots of great advice and emphasis on good practice.Might get that Nadal book you recommended.

[@pjakobsen]

What’s the dialect , Wales?

[@TennisHacker]

Ha

[@pjakobsen]

@@TennisHacker ok give us a hint

[@sharkme3561]

I agree that coaches lie or maybe they just don't know and believe they should know so they make up some cockamamie story as to why they can't teach it. From a top high level player I can tell you that I struggled on this for about a year when I was a kid but figured out how a few players did it perfect and copied them. It is complicated to explain but in can be done. It is rare to find as I have only seen a handful that do it correctly out of top pros. There is a way I slip into perfect timing in about 10 strokes and it is crucial that I shadow this swing before using it but it makes all the difference in the world and allows extraordinary tennis play out of the gate.

[@franciscomanrique4979]

Gracias Richard 🇪🇦🇪🇸

[@TennisHacker]

Welcome.

[@marcodeluca4068]

Serving same dish on a different plate

[@TennisHacker]

A good dish tastes delicious regardless of the plate it’s served on 😂

[@alexandermayer2026]

Several thoughts: (1) you cannot possibly delve into this topic in generalized KZbin piece. Tennis (and golf) can only be taught effectively one-on-one. (2) the concept of timing is for the most part irrelevant to the vast majority of players. The reason is that the technique underlying the shot is horribly taught. If you cannot control your racket face, you will mishit balls even if they are tossed to you. Keeping the racket in the impact position prior to and after contact eliminates the vast number of “timing” issues. The larger the hitting zone, the larger the margin of error. The complications in Nadal’s forehand make it superhuman for him to make good contact, and he is Nadal. Cocos forehand is a symphony of head control errors; so she misses routine forehands by 15’. How often does Nadal mistime backhands? Perfectly controlled racket head. Next time you see a pro shadow swing after a missed forehand, does he snap his wrist over the imaginary ball? The miss wasn’t timing; it was crappy technique. (3) the backhand grip you use with the thumb on the grip parallel to shaft is a guarantee of bad timing. In order to get around the outside of the ball, you have to execute an hellacious, lightning fast wrist snap. No way you can hit a controlled, crosscourt angles passing shot with that grip regardless of the ground force you use to initiate the kinetic chain. So the correct approach is learn technique that requires as little timing as possible. (4) you don’t learn timing by reps on the machine. In fact this is a timing killer. You learn timing by getting your technique down and then having the machine feed you randomized balls (probably at slow speed to start) so that your unconscious brain can develop the variability needed to handle real tennis. You are trying to provide rationality to a feel thing. All this speaks to the most effective strategy: vary your own shots to throw off the timing of your opponent. The best drill is to not allow yourself to your own shots the same way two times in a row.

[@TennisHacker]

I appreciate your comment. With that said, the method I described here has been very effective for me developing timing with my left hand. And I'm confident based on my understand of many aspects of human performance that it is an effective way for most people to approach this difficult aspect of the game. as explained in the video, in the end timing is going to come down to eye to hand coordination. But people still need strategies to try and work on things. Variable feeds are the progression as mentioned in the video.

[@adamh7947]

Timing is not hard. It is just an element of the game. If you go about it thinking that it is hard, then that’s how you’re going to think about it when you swing. That is not what you want to be doing. It’s not a good mindset. Let your eyes and body calculate the timing automatically, let your feet calculate the timing, not your intellect. Then it will come naturally to you as you progress.

[@TennisHacker]

Have you watched people play tennis? 99% of tennis players on the planet find it very hard.

[@syncs1853]

I think that is only true for the extremely naturally gifted.

[@adamh7947]

My main point here is not to tell people that timing is difficult. Don’t even give them the idea. If you start telling people that timing is difficult, it gets into their head. Let them just figure it out and decide what timing is for them.

[@thelastrellikx9503]

Yeah, you are wild for that take

[@transklutz]

When you're in the zone.. hah! The trick is to get there.

[@hamitolcay5978]

Of course my generation was the 'serve and volley' generation... but if a high flying ball lands halfway into your court, you should act quickly to hit a half-volley and advance to the net to steal time away from your opponent!

[@TennisHacker]

Tactical options greatly change based on the ability to execute. If you have the skill level to take your opponents time away like that, it’s a great tactic.

[@nokieng6502]

Sorry, but way too much dialogue. Waited and waited for you to start talking about timing and how to hit and time things properly….you might consider getting to your point(s) in a timely manner. In this video I stopped watching it @ 6:32 (to post this comment) cuz u still didn’t talk about the “how” at this point😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫. Maybe if u or someone here post a time stamp when you actually start to discuss your points I might watch it on my next go-around👍

[@TennisHacker]

If you didn't get anything from the start of the video, then it might mean your weren't listening carefully.

[@marktace1]

95%ish of ATP forehands begin the racquet drop as the ball bounces.

[@TennisHacker]

They are dealing with a very different type of shot to most players watching tennis videos on youtube. They also have very different abilities to make the adjustments.

[@transklutz]

But where does it bounce, far from you or close to you? I try not to think of the bounce at all, just of trying to catch the ball on the racquet as if it were a fly ball.

[@Chris90.]

video starts at 5:40

[@TennisHacker]

Video starts at the start!

[@taner3142]

Tennis is complex and

[@TennisHacker]

Yep.

[@wingchunmann]

And what is the secret of timing now? 🤔 So there is lots of talking in general terms about his own process.. Feeding single Balls and then using kinetic chain.. ..

[@TennisHacker]

There isn't a secret to timing. That's the whole point of the video.

[@colintwigger529]

Another talk with no action/demostration

[@TennisHacker]

I explained the point and showed videos of the process.

[@TheDrakulie]

This is too hard... just teach what Mortogorue teaches.... Start your swing as soon as the ball bounces. EASY

[@Cooper407]

I want to talk to you about tennis. Can I text you in Instagram or Twitter etc?

[@TennisHacker]

@thedrakulie that doesn’t work though, so it wouldn’t make much sense for me to teach it

[@TheDrakulie]

@@TennisHacker are you saying, the god of all tennis coaches, Mortogorue method doesn't work ?? are you serious ?

[@transklutz]

What if the ball bounces almost at your feet? You'll be so late

[@Flstudiog-d]

cant focus on the video. too focused on your calfs

[@TennisHacker]

Hahaha if was a calf building insta model, I'd have been able to retire by now. Curse my love of tennis 😂

[@jeffjeffersons4640]

Dont think tenis is hard its easy just practise and play we play under worst conditions than the pros they hsve the smoothest court surface ans raquets and equipments pros will not pkay undwr our conditions so qe have better timeing and power and we are stronger than the pros because they are all skinny and not weight lifters

[@TennisHacker]

Interested comment 😀

[@transklutz]

What kind of surface do you play on? It would be interesting to play on a random surface...

[@yuetchuen]

i can teach you how to hit the ball perfectly

[@TennisHacker]

Perfect 🤩

[@somebody5186]

Too much words.

[@TennisHacker]

Thanks 😊

[@PaulBernstein-dy3di]

A long vid to say he had to practice.

[@TennisHacker]

Actually, it was laying out a process that people can use within their practice to improve timing. Timing is one of the hardest things for just about every player.

[@sanz8607]

You have good content, BUT you tend to run it too long

[@davidhale8034]

😂😂😂

[@TennisHacker]

Thinks take time to explain.

[@carlosruben199]

I wish this videos are made with 50% less saliva and 50% more examples

[@TennisHacker]

As you wish....

[@Chris_Sheridan]

This is not how you present yourself as a coach! Firstly, - you have given way too much information all in one go - the subject you initially stated was 'timing' so make it relevant to one aspect of the stroke. Why use click-bait titles? It's not necessary and looks bad on you for being libelous to all coaches - even those who aren't particularly good or skilled at teaching. Did you even answer the question 'why do coaches lie?' .. as if this is common place and widespread among teaching professionals and they're doing it deliberately. So you're the only one who is teaching the truth? You're implying that you have exclusive knowledge that no other coach has? I can list numerous tennis channels on KZbin that give far better coaching advice than you without having to resort to cheap tactics such as click-bait titles that are libelous to the vast majority of well-informed player/coaches that have professional playing and teaching experience.

[@TennisHacker]

That' the exact opposite of the idea of this video. It's intended to raise people's awareness about clickbait titles and point out that there no "secrets". To your point, I answered the question of "why do coaches lie" in the first 30 seconds of the video. My answer was so that people will click on their videos. I then present an approach the players can use on court to try to improve their timing. As well as give people a free vision program to help players address one of the biggest limitations for most players. But thank you for taking the time to watch and comment.

[@transklutz]

Wow, sorry to have to receive so many negative responses :-(

[@Chris_Sheridan]

@@TennisHacker .. if you consider yourself to be a professional, why have you not mentioned the prime cause of 'bad timing' and corrected the numerous comments that are similarly guessing as to why it happens - it's not just a matter of repeating strokes and preparing 'early' or at the right time and expecting results to improve - I've read the comments section and wonder how many have even understood what your video is teaching. In any case you have not mentioned a specific aspect that professional players have learned to do, especially one top player (former world no. 1) that is key to precision timing - it's not a matter of just having good reactions or good stroke technique. There's a common well known cliche that has been repeated since the '70s by coaches and players alike, however, it has received little explanation or examination as to what is involved - you have also missed it. There is a fundamental root cause that addresses the problem of timing in tennis - I'll be impressed if you know what it is.

[@haratua1]

Tennis is difficult😂

[@TennisHacker]

Yep 😀

[@Jerrysisland]

Stop putting other coaches down .

[@TennisHacker]

I don't make my videos to put other coaches down. I make them to try and help players. Timing is one of the hardest things in tennis and a lot of players get really down on themselves, when they can't do something which they are being led to believe is really easy.