The Spanish Forehand: Building Racket Speed: Part 3

Racket head speed should be an obsession in junior development. As I explained in the first article in this series, racket speed is an obsession in Spain, and I don't see why it isn't an obsession in every player development system and for every coach around the world. (Click Here.) I believe that young players need to start working on whip and power early on - definitely under 12 years old--to lay the foundation for future world-class weapons. I believe that you develop technique first, and then make the forehand into a huge shot for the long term success of the player. I also believe that players at all levels can benefit tremendously from these articles to develop racket head speed. The lack of consistent weapons at the club level is a far more obvious problem than in junior tennis, and club players who take the time to really work on their racket speed may find they can progress several levels in NTRP play. So these drills are pretty much universal and not limited to the development of high performance juniors. A common developmental mistake, in my opinion, is to focus on the shape of the swing alone without an...