Forehand Action Plan

Key Principles to Improvement

Intention and Purpose​ - The whole point of this Action Plan is to give you a specific ​purpose
and ​focus​ behind each and every swing you make in practice. The purpose behind this Action
Plan is to practice or build the foundation of a better backswing so that you can activate the
kinetic chain for easier control and power. Intention leads to improvement. No more rallying for
10 minutes before moving to set play. No more random hitting against the ball machine without
targets, goals, or technique elements to work on. Just having a plan alone will propel your
improvement forward much faster than what it was before. My hope is that after executing this
plan just a few times you’ll see all other random “hitting” as a waste of time. Just because you’re
hitting balls does NOT mean you’re actually “practicing” anything.

Learning Zones​ - As you get familiar with the drills in your Action Plan and they start to become
easier for you to execute (that means improvement!) please feel free to adjust them accordingly.
Our goal is to keep you in the “learning zone” as much as possible during your practice
sessions. We all have three different “execution zones”: 1) the comfort zone, 2) the learning
zone, and 3) the panic zone. The comfort zone is doing what you’ve always done, staying within
your current habits and not really challenging yourself at all. The learning zone is just outside of
the comfort zone, and the panic zone is way outside of your comfort zone where you no longer
have any ability to control of what you’re doing. Too little challenge means no improvement, too
much challenge means the same because there isn’t any ability to be mindful and aware of what
you’re doing. Feel free to consistently adjust your Action Plan to keep yourself firmly in the
“learning zone”.

At the end of the day the plan down below is just a guideline, just a starting point. Constant
improvement is all about continually taking inventory on your ability to execute and then
adjusting your practice focus and difficulty accordingly.

ONE Focus​ - Never try to focus actively on more than two new things at once for any given
stroke. Even two things is pushing it. We cannot actively focus on more than ONE brand new
thing at the same time. Everything else we do must be part of our subconscious, aka a habit.
Most players make the mistake of cycling through half a dozen different “tips” or technique
adjustments on any given shot. As a result they don’t actually master ANY of them, and they get
stuck at the same level of play for decades. Please don’t make that mistake. Focus exclusively
on one or two elements per shot (max!) master them, make them a new habit, and then you can
move on to new and different things.
 On - Court Drills and Progressions

***Ball Machine vs Partner​ - We’ve designed this Action Plan so that it can be completed
either with a focused practice partner or a ball machine. Honestly, either one can be highly
valuable, they both have their own pros and cons. Finding another player at your level who is
game for doing this kind of hitting may be tough. We understand that. However, please know
that time invested in finding such a player will bring a huge return to your game. Even if you
can’t find a practice partner, a ball machine can still be used to do all of the same drills.

Time and Drill Directions and Focus

5 min.
Short Court Warm Up Alternate between forehands and backhands while standing just behind
the service line. All balls should bounce within the service boxes. While
hitting these shots your focus should be on only two things exclusively: 1)
Stay loose, relaxed, and calm on all swings. Everything should be smooth
and slow with no panic or anxiety. 2) Execute a split step each and every
time a ball is hit by your partner or by the ball machine.

5 Min.
Shadow Swings Start by practicing your shadow swing at a slow pace. You will start off at
10% of how fast you could potentially swing. We start this way because
the slower you swing, the more awareness you have of your shot. Begin
Focus: Backswing
by segmenting this shadow swing into 1) unit turn (shoulders turn and
racquet automatically goes back with it), 2) racquet drop, 3) forward
swing, and 4) follow through. At this 10% shadow swing, you are
cognizant of the feeling at each stage of the swing. The overall swing
shape should be like you are tracing a “C”, where the racquet head points
up, then down, then up again.

As it starts to feel more comfortable, smooth out the shadow swing -

making it one continual motion. When you feel that you’ve achieved this
fluid, circular path, then increase the speed incrementally to 25%, 50%,
and finally 75%.

Even as you increase the acceleration, the tension in your swing should
be minimal. If you catch yourself tensing up, focus on relaxing as much as
possible with each progressive swing.
 At the service line, either use a partner, pro, or a ball machine to feed to
5 Min. you. Start off at 25% acceleration as you practice maintaining the same
Feeds smooth rhythm on your continual backswing. Remember to stay loose and
try to have a more relaxed swing with each forehand you hit.

Focus: Backswing As you begin to feel more comfortable, move back to No Man’s Land.
Again, start at 25% acceleration and start increasing the acceleration as
you feel comfortable.

Finally, move to the baseline and repeat. Begin at 50% (or slower!) before
moving to a rally ball speed (75%.)

**If at any point the motion is not working, then make 2 shadow swings
before each hit.

5 min.
Crosscourt Rallies Positioned on your forehand side (deuce side for righties, ad side for
lefties), have either the ball machine or your partner hit you shots only to
that side. While you hit these forehands your focus should be on only two
Focus: Backswing
elements: 1) Maintaining the same smooth backswing for each and every
swing, and 2) Aiming for cross court and past the service line. After each
swing, recover back toward the middle of the baseline at least a little bit to
somewhat simulate a groundstroke point, keep the intensity level low for
these shots so you can focus narrowly on your two elements. Please keep
in mind that these are rally shots. Net clearance should be 3-5 feet ideally.

5 min. Now that we’ve worked on the backswing, we are able to progress to
Shadow Swings focusing on the kinetic chain.

Start by practicing your shadow swing at a slow pace. You will start off at
Focus: Kinetic Chain
10% of how fast you could potentially swing. We start this way because
the slower you swing, the more awareness you have of your shot. Begin
by segmenting this shadow swing into 1) unit turn, 2) racquet drop, 3)
chest open, 4) forward swing, and 5) follow through. At this 10% shadow
swing, you are cognizant of the feeling at each stage of the swing.

Your biggest focus here is opening the chest to parallel. You should feel a
slight pull in your upper chest where you might not have before. You can
think of it as leading the rotation with the chest before your racquet swings
 forward. This movement will allow your body to move more efficiently and
better activate the kinetic chain.

As it starts to feel more comfortable, smooth out the shadow swing -

making it one continual motion where you’ve now added opening the
chest parallel to the court before you would hit. When you feel that you’ve
achieved this, then increase the speed incrementally to 25%, 50%, and
finally 75%.

Even as you increase the acceleration, the tension in your swing should
be minimal. If you catch yourself tensing up, focus on relaxing as much as
possible with each progressive swing.

5 min. Standing at the service line, either use a partner, pro, or a ball machine to
Feeds feed to you. Start off at 25% acceleration as you practice opening the
chest to parallel before you hit. Remember to stay loose and try to have a
more relaxed swing with each forehand you hit.
Focus: Kinetic Chain
As you begin to feel more comfortable, move back to No Man’s Land.
Again, start at 25% acceleration and start increasing the acceleration as
you feel comfortable.

Finally, move to the baseline and repeat. Begin at 50% (or slower!) before
moving to a rally ball speed (75%.)

**If at any point the motion is not working, drop down to 2 shadow swings
before each hit.

5 min.
Crosscourt Rallies Positioned on your forehand side (deuce side for righties, ad side for
lefties), have either the ball machine or your partner hit you shots only to
that side. While you hit these forehands your focus should be on only two
Focus: Kinetic Chain
elements: 1) Activating the kinetic chain by letting the chest lead the
rotation as the racquet swings forward, and 2) Aiming for cross court and
past the service line. After each swing recover back toward the middle of
the baseline at least a little bit to somewhat simulate a groundstroke point,
keep the intensity level low for these shots so you can focus narrowly on
your two elements. Please keep in mind that these are rally shots. Net
clearance should be 3-5 feet ideally.