One of the big mistakes we make after we’ve just played an eastern or semi-western grip forehand groundstroke from the baseline is we get stuck with that grip after our shot and now have to use it for whatever comes back from our opponent on the next shot.

And most likely, our opponent is not giving us another shot opportunity or challenge that requires that grip.

If you’re getting a challenge situation from your opponent where you have to receive either difficult pace, exceptionally or high low shot trajectory, a shot that takes you out wide, or short, or wherever, you get the picture, that full eastern or semi-western forehand grip that you’re locked into just may be what you;d ideally like yo use.

On the other hand, your opponent may have just given you a major opportunity for an approach shot, drop shot, etc., and if you’re still locked into that eastern or semi-western forehand grip, guess what, opportunity lost.

So, I want you to take a few minutes this week, find some space inside at home where you’ve got enough room to swing the racket for a forehand groundstroke, and…

• practice going from a neutral position with a continental grip as if  you don’t know if your opponent is hitting you a forehand or a backhand,
• and then as you’re turning as you normally would for a forehand, switch to a full eastern, go through your forehand swing all the way to the finish position,
• and then as you come back to your ready position for the next shot, make sure you’ve switched back to that continental grip.

A lot of players hold their extreme forehand grip as their neutral grip in their ready position because that’s what they’re hoping their opponent is going to give them.

If that’s your case, and you and I are warming up for a tournament or league match, and I see you holding that grip as your neutral grip, guess what, you’ll be getting a steady diet of low slices to your forehand, especially if you don’t like to switch to a continental grip.

Check out this video…

Brent’s Recommended Lessons For This Tip:

• Grips – What Are They and When & Where On The Court Are They Used? – Click here
• Topspin Forehand Groundstroke Drive – Click here
• Customize Your Own 3 Lesson Bundle And Get a 30% Discount - Click Here
• 40% Discount On Brent’s “All Lessons Package” which includes all future lessons at no cost -
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Man o man, how crazy is this short forehand?

You play all the right shots from your baseline and eventually produce a short ball from your opponent that lands right around the “T” and just sits up there begging you to crunch it off for a glorious winner.

That’s right, you’re about to be the man (gals, you know what I mean)…

And you’re right, you hustle on up, your salivating at this put-away chance, and you completely bury your shot into the middle of the net.

Or way deep, or wide, or somewhere other than your intended target.

Big time unforced error and you feel like an idiot.

And that feeling carries over to future points and it’s a big time downward spiral.

And after an opponent misses that short forehand, I love it when I hear them say, “Oh man, I had you…”.

Uh huh, you sure did, but that’s game thank you very much.

Look, this short forehand is NOT an easy shot.  There’s a lot that can go wrong.

You’ve got no pace (ball speed coming into your racket) that you can work with, and so if you want to add any pace to your shot you have to perform two functions that take a lot of racket skill.

That’s providing racket head speed that produces shot direction and depth control.

What’s the #1 mistake we make on this short forehand?

It’s mostly with our feet as we play this shot.  We tend to stop and stay stopped as we swing through the ball, and it’s really tough to control that shot from a stationary position.

Most of us need incoming pace to be able to hit with pace and maintain control.

So, what’s the cure for those short no nothing forehands where we think we should be able to end the point?

It’s first of all a mindset, this is never a one shot opportunity.  It may end up that way, but you’ve always got to think that this is going to be at least a two shot sequence.

As set up to play an approach shot and then see what happens.

What do we do on approach shots with our feet?  That’s right, we get set up prior to contact to be able to move through our approach shot in order to have a good court position for our opponent’s next shot.

Even if you play a good shot without moving your feet, if your opponent anticipates where your shot is going and can then get there and make a decent play on your shot, because you haven’t moved through your shot, you’re still stuck slightly behind the “T”, and that’s not a great spot to be when your opponent is now receiving your so-called big time put-away.

Check out this short video clip and see if you can relate to some or all of it.

So, obviously we need to be thinking two shots to be able to have better stroke mechanics but to also be able to be in the right place at the right time just in case our opponent guesses where we’re going to play our shot off of that short forehand.

Speaking of forehands, if you haven’t done so already, pick up your copy of my detailed DVD & instantly downloadable lesson on the forehand groundstroke you can make sure you’ve got the perfect stroke mechanics to handle not only this short ball but also those forehands when you’re back on the baseline.

You can easily add this lesson’s instructional videos to your computer, video iPod, iPhone, and other portable video player.  That’s right, you can take this lesson to the practice and match court with you.

Grab your Forehand Lesson copy now – click here, or better yet, do what Mark S. from Milwaukee did today.  Here’s what Mark wrote to me…

“Brent,  I want to get the complete lesson portfolio.  I have been talking with many people here in Milw.  Giving out your webtennis.net information.  Hopefully some will sign up.

How could I pay and have the initial lesson fee go toward the complete lesson plan fee.  Any other discounts, possible would work for me, up to you, though.

The people I am playing with, see a dramatic difference in my play with just the serve & volley and 1/2 volley lesson work I have done.

Thanks,   Mark.”

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So, I’m happy to make the same offer to you that I did to Mark today.  If you’ve recently bought one of my lessons, I’ll be happy to refund that lesson if you want to pick up an All Lessons Package at a 4o% discount.

Once you purchase your All Lessons Package at the 40% discount, just send me an email to remind me to refund your recently purchased single lesson.

We all strive to become better tennis players, but most of us don’t have a formula of how to effectively make changes to our game.

The easy part is to identify a problem and go get a lesson to hopefully make changes and improve.

There are lots of great teaching pros out there, but they aren’t miracle workers.

The most common missing component of making long lasting real improvement for tennis players is committing to on and off court rehearsing.

I spoke with tennis writer Joel Drucker this morning and we discussed step #4 of my soon to be released 7 step lesson on the specific sequential process for creating long lasting improvement to either a specific stroke or strategy.

Listen in…

I want some feedback from you if you’ve got 1 minute.  Please answer a few simple questions about your perceptions of what’s needed to make significant changes to your game.  Your answers can be anonymous…

Click on this link here
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Tennis Injuries? – I’ve had all of them and here’s what I did to quickly self-treat and prevent another injury…
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