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Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
How To Perfect Your Continental Grip
Looking for the recent Tom Stow - Andy Roddick post...? Click here
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How To Perfect Your Continental Grip
The fundamental grip for the serve, volleys, overhead, slice backhand & forehand, slice approach shots, some 1/2 volleys, drop shots, drop volleys, certain returns of serve, even most lobs requires the continental grip.
If you're still not totally comfortable with this grip, here's a quick and easy tip for you...
Grips explained by Brent. Click here.
OK, I'll admit that was one incredibly simple tip, but I'm telling you, you'd be amazed at how many players walk around between points with something other than the continental grip.
So for this week, and the very next time you're out there on the court, check to see what grip you naturally go to after the point is over.
If you don't automatically go to a continental grip, then start doing so...
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Monday, July 06, 2009
Andy Roddick & Tom Stow
Former northern California top open level tennis player and #1 at Cal, Kurt Streeter, wrote an outstanding article for the LA Times yesterday Jul 5, 2009 where he related some of Andy Roddick's recent success to Tom Stow.
July 5, 2009
In the well-worn form of Andy Roddick, a good bit of 1930s great Don Budge and his irreverent, long-deceased tennis coach have found their way to the regal grounds of Wimbledon.
Roddick's thrill-ride swing to the men's final, where he meets five-time champion and longtime nemesis Roger Federer today, has been a monumental surprise; not only to seasoned observers who assumed he had long ago played his best tennis, but to Roddick himself.
"To be honest, the last couple of years I didn't know if I would ever get a chance to play for a Grand Slam title," Roddick said after his semifinal dismantling of Britain's great hope, Andy Murray. "Now I get to, and it's a dream."
As has been widely noted, this particular dream has been guided by a new coach: a hyperkinetic San Diegan and former tour journeyman named Larry Stefanki. Since the pair hooked up late last year, Roddick has streamlined his game and his attitude. The results have been steadily encouraging: the semifinals at the Australian Open, a personal-best fourth-round showing at the French Open, two close matches against Federer in lesser events. And now, out of nowhere, his third final at the All England Club.
Maybe, just maybe, it'll be different this time. Under Stefanki, Roddick has slimmed by 10 to 15 pounds. As important has been the change in how he plays: He's lighter and more balanced on his feet, he's more erect and relaxed and he's taking shorter, sharper swings. Instead of lunging, leaning and groping like a rag doll on a string, he has focused on the simple principal of moving aggressively forward.
None of this is a surprise to those who know about the lineage of Tom Stow, a little-known, one-of-a-kind tennis coach from Berkeley who died two decades ago.
Even die-hard tennis fans may be wondering, Tom who? In the 1920s, Stow won a national doubles title at California. Then, for decades, he taught a distinct serve-and-volley style while coaching at Cal and then at the Berkeley Tennis Club and a few other tennis outposts in Northern California. It was Stow's coaching that put a stamp on one of the sport's all-time greats, Oakland-bred Budge, the first man to win all four Grand Slam event singles titles in one year, the Wimbledon champion in 1937 and 1938.
Budge's best shot? Arguably, the backhand drive. It's not a coincidence that one of Roddick's most improved shots at this year's Wimbledon has been his backhand, taut, tight and down the line.
Here's how the lineage spreads. Stefanki played at Cal in the mid-1970s. Along with his brother Steve, who coached the U.S. Olympic team in 1984, Stefanki developed much of his tennis philosophy while working with Stow when Stow was in his 70s and nearing death. (Full disclosure: Steve was my tennis mentor when I was co-captain of the Cal tennis team in the late 1980s.)
To Larry and his brother, Tom Stow wasn't just another tennis coach. He was a maestro: a crafty, chain-smoking, uncompromising sort, a man willing to buck every trend and see the game differently. He studied dance and tried to get them to move like Fred Astaire. He studied boxing, hoping to have them press forward with the steadiness of Joe Louis. Sometimes he'd force his students to spend their afternoons hitting balls while sitting in a chair, to teach the feel of being grounded. He'd focus session after session on two parts of the game often overlooked by other teachers -- returns and serves -- which Roddick has excelled at this Wimbledon. Stow almost never watched his charges play matches, not even Budge. He figured tennis' true essence lies in finely tuned practice. The competition would take care of itself.
"I have learned something from every great player I've ever worked with," Stefanki said in an e-mail the day after Roddick's semifinal win, a reference to his past coaching of players such as John McEnroe, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Fernando Gonzalez. "But the foundation of fundamentals and knowledge of the game is credited to Tom. His principles and understanding of footwork and absorbing speed is second to none. He was a true master in that regard . . . he understood this game played in a rectangular box better than anyone I have ever come across."
And so it goes. The lineage moves one step forward. A player from the roaring 1920s becomes an exacting teacher. Without wide notice he spends decades doling out wisdom. That wisdom travels through an all-time great, then it evolves and adapts while remaining true and honest and relevant. Now we find it at Wimbledon.
"My only regret," Stefanki wrote, "is that Tom is not around to see his techniques are still being passed on."
There are limits. A startling upset can occur. Most likely though, by this afternoon these techniques will have been neutralized by the great magician from Switzerland.
But this much is certain: No matter what happens in the final, America's long-suffering top tennis player has just had a marvelous tournament and a superb half of a season. His once foundering career is moving in the right direction -- forward. For all of this, we now know, Andy Roddick owes a debt to Tom Stow.
If you've been with WebTennis.net for any length of time, you know how much Tom Stow has helped my tennis game, not only as a player, but also as a tennis teaching professional.
There is no question in my mind that if I hadn't spent those 2 years back in the early 80s with Tom once a week (Wednesday mornings from 9-12 to be exact) on two courts at a junior high school in Napa, CA in a group that consisted of then NorCal top 5 players Steve Stefanki, John Hubbel, and Doug King that I would have never achieved the success I have during the past almost 30 years.
That's right, how was I lucky enough to be included in that group since at that time in the early 80s I was a B level hack at best? That's a story for a different blog post.
Kurt has given me permission to reprint his article that links Andy Roddick's recent success to Tom Stow. Enjoy...
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From the Los Angeles Times
KURT STREETER
Andy Roddick can thank Tom Stow for this finals run
There's direct lineage from the 1920s player turned exacting coach to Roddick's recent improvement.
Kurt StreeterJuly 5, 2009
In the well-worn form of Andy Roddick, a good bit of 1930s great Don Budge and his irreverent, long-deceased tennis coach have found their way to the regal grounds of Wimbledon.
Roddick's thrill-ride swing to the men's final, where he meets five-time champion and longtime nemesis Roger Federer today, has been a monumental surprise; not only to seasoned observers who assumed he had long ago played his best tennis, but to Roddick himself.
"To be honest, the last couple of years I didn't know if I would ever get a chance to play for a Grand Slam title," Roddick said after his semifinal dismantling of Britain's great hope, Andy Murray. "Now I get to, and it's a dream."
As has been widely noted, this particular dream has been guided by a new coach: a hyperkinetic San Diegan and former tour journeyman named Larry Stefanki. Since the pair hooked up late last year, Roddick has streamlined his game and his attitude. The results have been steadily encouraging: the semifinals at the Australian Open, a personal-best fourth-round showing at the French Open, two close matches against Federer in lesser events. And now, out of nowhere, his third final at the All England Club.
Maybe, just maybe, it'll be different this time. Under Stefanki, Roddick has slimmed by 10 to 15 pounds. As important has been the change in how he plays: He's lighter and more balanced on his feet, he's more erect and relaxed and he's taking shorter, sharper swings. Instead of lunging, leaning and groping like a rag doll on a string, he has focused on the simple principal of moving aggressively forward.
None of this is a surprise to those who know about the lineage of Tom Stow, a little-known, one-of-a-kind tennis coach from Berkeley who died two decades ago.
Even die-hard tennis fans may be wondering, Tom who? In the 1920s, Stow won a national doubles title at California. Then, for decades, he taught a distinct serve-and-volley style while coaching at Cal and then at the Berkeley Tennis Club and a few other tennis outposts in Northern California. It was Stow's coaching that put a stamp on one of the sport's all-time greats, Oakland-bred Budge, the first man to win all four Grand Slam event singles titles in one year, the Wimbledon champion in 1937 and 1938.
Budge's best shot? Arguably, the backhand drive. It's not a coincidence that one of Roddick's most improved shots at this year's Wimbledon has been his backhand, taut, tight and down the line.
Here's how the lineage spreads. Stefanki played at Cal in the mid-1970s. Along with his brother Steve, who coached the U.S. Olympic team in 1984, Stefanki developed much of his tennis philosophy while working with Stow when Stow was in his 70s and nearing death. (Full disclosure: Steve was my tennis mentor when I was co-captain of the Cal tennis team in the late 1980s.)
To Larry and his brother, Tom Stow wasn't just another tennis coach. He was a maestro: a crafty, chain-smoking, uncompromising sort, a man willing to buck every trend and see the game differently. He studied dance and tried to get them to move like Fred Astaire. He studied boxing, hoping to have them press forward with the steadiness of Joe Louis. Sometimes he'd force his students to spend their afternoons hitting balls while sitting in a chair, to teach the feel of being grounded. He'd focus session after session on two parts of the game often overlooked by other teachers -- returns and serves -- which Roddick has excelled at this Wimbledon. Stow almost never watched his charges play matches, not even Budge. He figured tennis' true essence lies in finely tuned practice. The competition would take care of itself.
"I have learned something from every great player I've ever worked with," Stefanki said in an e-mail the day after Roddick's semifinal win, a reference to his past coaching of players such as John McEnroe, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Fernando Gonzalez. "But the foundation of fundamentals and knowledge of the game is credited to Tom. His principles and understanding of footwork and absorbing speed is second to none. He was a true master in that regard . . . he understood this game played in a rectangular box better than anyone I have ever come across."
And so it goes. The lineage moves one step forward. A player from the roaring 1920s becomes an exacting teacher. Without wide notice he spends decades doling out wisdom. That wisdom travels through an all-time great, then it evolves and adapts while remaining true and honest and relevant. Now we find it at Wimbledon.
"My only regret," Stefanki wrote, "is that Tom is not around to see his techniques are still being passed on."
There are limits. A startling upset can occur. Most likely though, by this afternoon these techniques will have been neutralized by the great magician from Switzerland.
But this much is certain: No matter what happens in the final, America's long-suffering top tennis player has just had a marvelous tournament and a superb half of a season. His once foundering career is moving in the right direction -- forward. For all of this, we now know, Andy Roddick owes a debt to Tom Stow.
by Kurt Streeter
Link to Kurt's article at the Los Angeles Times
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Well, as we all know, Andy lost to Roger 16-14 in the 5th set of what I think was one of the all-time great grass court matches.
(I'm still not convinced that last year's final between Roger and Rafa was the greatest of all time as so many folks out there may think. Don't get me started, but last year's final looked like a clay court match with both players spending 99.9% of the time behind the baseline. Sampras doesn't like this recent baseline stuff at Wimbledon. His quote was something like, "I don't buy it, if it's grass or cow sh_ _, I'm coming in...".)
Anyway, be that as it may, there is no question that Roddick is starting to intellectually accept, believe in, and implement some all-court forcing strategies.
He's not there yet, but close, and I really hope he sticks to it and keeps putting in the time necessary to get some more experience.
Andy missed that high backhand volley at set point in the 2nd set that I'll bet he doesn't miss if he'd had a year's worth of "forcing" experience by spending more time up at net.
He'll also figure out that his full to semi western forehand grip just doesn't work very well on a grass court when he has to deal with that short low ball that Fed hit to the middle of the court (almost right at the service box T) during those last two games of the match.
Even if Andy can get his shot up and over the net with all of that topspin, it just sits there for Fed.
His instinct to handle that low short ball with an extreme forehand grip is simply from years and years of playing from the baseline.
Solution...? Get a lot more comfortable with a Continental grip on a grass court.
Big time congrats go out to Larry Stefanki. Larry and I played in the finals of possibly the smallest tournament of all time in the early 70s up by Bear Valley, CA when Larry was about 14. I was something like 23 at the time, I don't remember, but Larry probably won.
At any rate, just as Kurt mentioned in his article, I couldn't be more pleased that Tom is getting at least a little credit for what he gave to tennis...
OK, hope you enjoyed that artricle from Kurt.
If you haven't already done so, pick up your copy of Tom Stow's Tennis Teaching Methods eBook.
This is a reprint from Tom's 1948 instructinal manual that is the foundation of my game and teaching style.
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