Ultimate Tennis Training Manual Footwork & Agility Guide for Optimal Performance Todd Scott ISSA, CPT Training Advisor, Men s Fitness Magazine
Tennis Fitness Tips Ultimate Tennis Training Guide Copyright 2010. TennisFitnessTips.com. All rights reserved. No portion of this manual may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including fax, photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use. This manual may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper and has written approval prior to publishing. For information contact: Email: superbadtennis@gmail.com Website: www.tennisfitnesstips.com WARNING This book (The Ultimate Tennis Training Guide ) is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment. Programs outlined herein should not be adopted without consultation with your health professional. Use of the programs herein is at the sole choice and risk of the reader. The author is neither responsible, nor liable for any harm or injury resulting from this program or the use of the exercises or nutrition strategies described herein. Do NOT Follow This Program With or Without Consent From A Medical Professional. Information Found In This Manual Is For Research and Informational Purposes Only and Is Not Intended to Replace A Safe Nutrition or Exercise Program. 2
Developing footspeed and proper footwork is one of the most critical things a tennis player can do if they re serious about winning. Without good footwork and fast feet, you may find yourself preparing late, off balance, and shanking balls that would otherwise be great shots if we were in proper position. Here are a few tips going forward in using this manual, and in developing your own drills. Keep It Basic Start with the simple drills first. Concentrate on properly moving your feet to the target location of the drill. As the simple drills become easy, increase the difficulty first by increasing the speed at which you perform the drill. Practice At first you may find even the simple drills to be difficult. The only way to master them is to practice, practice, practice. Before you know it, you ll be moving along to more difficult drills at a fast pace. Watch Your Speed When starting out, perform the drills at a comfortable speed this way you can become accustom to the movements. After you become more familiar with the drill, begin increasing the pace. It s better to do it RIGHT and slow at first, than to just go out throwing your feet around and falling all over the place. Remember, these drills are designed to help us move around the courts and set up to hit Killer shots that s the only reason we re doing them. So if you work it, your feet will help you work your opponent. 3
Dot Drills Begin with your feet in dot #1, as quickly as possible, hop with both feet to dot #3, then to #4. Without pausing, jump back to #3, the to #1. That s 1, try to complete as many as possible in a 20 second time period. Begin with your left foot in dot #1, and your right foot in dot #2. As quickly as possible, jump with both feet landing on dot #3, without pausing, return to the starting position. That s 1, try to complete as many as possible in a 20 second time period. 4
Begin with your left foot in dot #1, and your right foot in dot #2. As quickly as possible, jump with both feet landing on dot #3, spread your feet as you hop to dots #4 & #5 as the sequence is shown. Immediately return by reversing the sequence without pausing. Begin with your feet in dot #1, and follow the sequence listed. As quickly as possible, hop with both feet to dot #2, then to #3, #4, & #5. Immediately return to Dot #1 by reversing the sequence. 5
Following the sequence, begin with your left foot in dot #1, hop to dot #2, 3, 4, 5. As quickly as possible, immediately return to Dot #1 by reversing the sequence. Same as the previous drill, except you ll use your right foot. Following the sequence, begin with your right foot in dot #1, hop to dot #2, 3, 4, 5. As quickly as possible, immediately return to Dot #1 by reversing the sequence. 6
Ladder Drills If you don t have a speed ladder, you can simply draw one with chalk on the sidewalk or in your driveway. p0-0\ Single Leg Single leg drill- Follow the sequenced footprints with your left leg, followed immediately by your right leg coming back down the ladder Over & Up Double leg drill Begin with both feet on the outside of the latter, hop to the right straddling the right side of the ladder with your feet, immediately hop forward, to the left back outside the latter. Complete the drill by following the footprints through the ladder. 7
In/Out Begin with your feet on the outside of the ladder where you see the footprints labeled L & R. Begin by stepping with your right foot first to the outside of the ladder, followed by stepping with your left foot to the outside of the latter, each labeled footprint is a step. Follow the footprints until you complete the entire ladder. Single run. Begin at the start of the ladder, and follow the sequence running forward by stepping 1 foot into each rung as you go. 8
Double run. Begin at the start of the ladder, and follow the sequence running forward by stepping both feet (one at a time) into each rung as you go. 9
Low Box Drills Foot Speed Drill For the main purpose of increasing your foot speed. Begin with both feet on one side of the box, and the other foot on top of the box. In a fluid motion, bring the right foot on top of the box, while dropping the right foot to the ground on the other side of the box. Repeat in the opposite direction. Start with both feet on the ground in front of the box. Jump with both feet onto the box, and back down to the floor. Begin with both feet on the ground, in rapid succession alternate raising each leg and lightly tapping the box with your foot. 10
Start with both feet on the box. Jump down while simultaneously spreading your feet. Land on the ground with both feet on opposite sides of the box. Jump back to the top of the box and repeat. Start with both feet on the ground to one side of the box, and follow the sequence shown above by taking one step at a time. Start: both feet on ground Step 1: left foot up Step 2: right foot up Step 3: left foot down (opposite side) Step 4: right foot down (opposite side) Step 5: right foot up Step 6: left foot up Step 7: right foot down (starting side) Step 8: left foot down (starting side) 11
Court Drills Shuffle / Carioca / Back Pedal / Sprint Place cone 5 yards apart. Drill 1: - Carioca from A to B - Backpedal from B to C - Round Cone C and sprint to A Drill 2: - Sprint from A to B - Shuffle to C - Round Cone C and Backpedal to Cone A Drill 3: - Backpedal from A to B - Sprint from B to C - Round Cone C and Sprint to Cone A Drill 4: - Shuffle from A to B - Carioca from B to C - Round Cone C and Sprint to Cone A Drill 5 - Carioca from A to B - Sprint from B to C - Round Cone C and Sprint to Cone A 12
Shuffle / Carioca / Back Pedal / Sprint Place cone 5 yards apart. Drill 1: - Sprint from A to B - Shuffle from B to C - Shuffle from Cone C to D and back to B - Backpedal from B to A Drill 2: - Sprint from A to B - Carioca from B to C - Shuffle from Cone C to D and back to B - Backpedal from B to A Drill 3: - Sprint from A to B - Shuffle from B to C - Carioca from Cone C to D and back to B - Backpedal from B to A Drill 4: - Sprint from A to B - Carioca from B to C - Carioca from Cone C to D and back to B - Backpedal from B to A 13
Set Cones 5 Yards apart as shown in image Drill 1: - Sprint around each cone from A to F Drill 2: - Shuffle around each cone from A to F Drill 3: - Backpedal around each cone from A to F Set Cones 5 Yards apart as shown in image Drill 1: - Sprint around the outside of each cone from A to E Drill 2: - Shuffle around each cone from A to E Drill 3: - Backpedal around each cone from A to E 14
Set Cones 5 Yards apart as shown in image Drill 1: - Sprint to the inside and around each cone from A to E Drill 2: - Shuffle to the inside and around each cone from A to E Drill 3: - Shuffle to the inside and around each cone from A to E 15
How to perform these drills: Ideally I use 3 sessions of footwork and agility drills per week all on separate days. Each session utilizes different types of drills as follows.. Session 1 - Ladders I will perform each ladder drill in the list to complete the session. And for each drill I will perform for 8 lengths of the ladder (up and back 4 times) before moving onto the next drill until I have completed all of the drills on the list (this is 1 complete circuit). I ll then generally rest for 1-2 minutes before repeating for number of circuits in the drill workout (progression sample below). Session 2 - Dots I will perform each dot drill for 25-30 seconds before moving onto the next drill until I have completed all the drills on the list (this is 1 complete circuit). For the dot drills, I ll rest for 1-2 minutes before repeating for number of circuits (progression sample below). Session 3 Low Box I will perform each Low Box drill for 25-30 seconds before moving onto the next drill until I have completed all the box drills on the list (this is 1 complete circuit). For the box drills, I ll rest for 1-2 minutes before repeating for number of circuits (progression sample below). Court Drills For Court drills, I will complete 1 drill (of my choosing) at the end of every agility and footwork session. You need to perform court drill 1 at the end of each session. Each session will feature a totally different court drill from the last. Perform the court drill 8 times at the end of the agility and footwork session. 16
WEEK 1 COMPLETE 2 CIRCUITS + any COURT DRILL Monday Ladder Drills (Each Drill 8 times = 1 Circuit) Tuesday Dot Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Wednesday Low Box Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Any Court Drill After Each Session 8 times WEEK 2 COMPLETE 2 CIRCUITS + any COURT DRILL Monday Ladder Drills (Each Drill 8 times = 1 Circuit) Tuesday Dot Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Wednesday Low Box Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Any Court Drill After Each Session 8 times WEEK 3 COMPLETE 3 CIRCUITS + any COURT DRILL Monday Ladder Drills (Each Drill 8 times = 1 Circuit) Tuesday Dot Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Wednesday Low Box Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Any Court Drill After Each Session 8 times WEEK 4 COMPLETE 3 CIRCUITS + any COURT DRILL Monday Ladder Drills (Each Drill 8 times = 1 Circuit) Tuesday Dot Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Wednesday Low Box Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Any Court Drill After Each Session 8 times WEEK 5 COMPLETE 4 CIRCUITS + any COURT DRILL Monday Ladder Drills (Each Drill 8 times = 1 Circuit) Tuesday Dot Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Wednesday Low Box Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Any Court Drill After Each Session 8 times WEEK 6 COMPLETE 4 CIRCUITS + any COURT DRILL Monday Ladder Drills (Each Drill 8 times = 1 Circuit) Tuesday Dot Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Wednesday Low Box Drills (Each Drill 25 Seconds = 1 Circuit) Any Court Drill After Each Session 8 times 17