Bounce-Hit:
The Greatest Exercise Ever

Sean Brawley

Jack Groppel, who at the time I spoke with him was the Chairman of the USTA Sports Science Committee, told me that Bounce-Hit, the ball tracking exercise from The Inner Game of Tennis, was the single greatest exercise ever created for tennis.

He marveled, then, at how few tennis coaches and tennis players knew about it or, if they did, rarely used it. The same seems to be true 20 years later. In a recent Inner Game of Tennis workshop for 30 high school tennis coaches only 5 had heard of the book and none had heard of the exercise.

In this article we are going to take a closer look at this classic exercise and help you put it into practice in the most effective way possible.

We all know that tracking the ball is the most important skill needed to hit a consistent and accurate shot. But it is much harder than it looks. We can get faked out, because everyone can see the ball, but tracking it—i.e. where it is in space relative to your body and your racket—is a much more complex task.

For example, Mehrdad Jazayeri, professor and member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, says that "studies suggest that the brain performs timing estimates in premotor areas of the cortex, which plays a role in planning movement; speed, which usually requires visual input is calculated in the visual cortex. These inputs are likely combined in parts of the brain responsible for spatial attention and tracking objects in space, which occurs in the parietal cortex." Whew! Did you follow that?

Bounce-hit is effective precisely because it compels the person to be present and aware of the ball in those moments when the bounce and hit are occurring. When a player gets more information about the spin, speed, direction, and height of the ball, they will move to the ball better, have a better chance of achieving proper footwork and balance, all of which enables them to hit a solid shot.

But there is another huge benefit to the exercise that is often overlooked.

Focusing attention on the ball and saying "bounce" right when the ball bounces and "hit" right when the player feels the ball hit their racket also quiets the mind and reduces self-interference. When self-interference is reduced, performance and learning improve dramatically and immediately.

But that's not all. According to Joe Dispenza, M.D., author of Supernatural, studies show that one hour of practice with focused attention can dramatically increase the number of new neuron synapses and pathways in the brain, which improves learning and allows for novel actions.

Best Way to Practice

When I coach the exercise, I have the player say "bounce" and "hit" on their own side of the net to begin with. I have them say the words out loud so that I can hear them and see if their timing is accurate. Many players will start by saying the "bounce" or "hit" either early or late. This tells me their perception is off and that more attention is needed in order for them to become accurate.

I also usually have the players start out by hitting at 20-30% of their usual power. Slowing the ball down helps the player track the ball easier and allows them to be successful, which builds their confidence.

Once a player performs the exercise with at least 80% on-time accuracy, I then have them say "bounce-hit" on the other side of the net as well. If two players are playing that means, of course, that each player should be saying the words at the same time! Rarely the case!

At this slower pace and with 80% accuracy of saying bounce-hit on both sides of the court, it is not uncommon for players to begin having 20-30 ball rallies or more. The funny thing is if you ask them how many balls they have just hit in a row, they will often say they have no idea! They were so absorbed in concentration that they lost track of what was happening. When they achieve this level of consistency, I let the players hit with more pace and see if they can maintain it.

Most players will say that bounce-hit greatly improves their timing. In fact, the exercise is wonderfully helpful when a player changes court surfaces or goes from outdoors to indoors, or vice versa.

It is also great for developing rhythm. Once players feel confident in their accuracy and become absorbed in play, the mind is able to detect and feel the rhythm of the exchange. Players have told me that the 4-count beat (b-h-b-h) put them into a hypnotic trance or felt like dancing a waltz. Dispenza says that when rhythm emerges it means that the brain is in a more ordered state with the right brain and left brain working harmoniously with the body. Perhaps this is why many players say that they feel one with the ball and in a state of flow when this occurs.

Why Players Stop Using Bounce Hit

There are many reasons why players stop using bounce-hit. During a workshop in Frankfurt, Germany, Mary told me and the other participants that she had just played the best tennis of her life during the 20 minute bounce-hit exercise. About an hour after the workshop was over, she was back out on the beautiful red clay court and looked quite frustrated. She missed every 3-4 shots.

I came over and asked her how it was going. She replied, "Terrible! I've lost that great feeling." So I followed up with another question, "Are you using bounce-hit?" And she replied, "No. Should I?" "Only if you think it might help you again," I replied. I could only chuckle. How often do we find something that is quite helpful to us in our lives only to forget about it soon after?

Another reason I've come across is that players and coaches say that it's stopped working. When I first heard this, I was surprised. Stopped working?

But with further inquiry I came to learn that when a player or coach says the exercise has stopped working, they mean that the magic has worn off and the player isn't playing as well as they were before when the exercise was fresh and new.

It is true that after repeated use, bounce-hit can become second nature. This means that the player can say bounce and hit fairly accurately without as much attention needed as when they first performed the exercise. When the mind recognizes a predictable, repeatable pattern it starts to habitualize the action and put it into procedural memory in the Limbic brain.

With less attention required to do the exercise correctly, the mind once again has space to interfere with their performance.

But this is only a problem if players and coaches are looking for a magic pill or a quick fix. In a long-term, development point of view, player and coach would recognize the importance of practicing the all important skill of tracking the ball and creatively problem-solve for it.

There are two simple ways to solve the habituation dilemma. One is to make the exercise more challenging. This was done in the beginning by adding the other side of the net. Later, this can be accomplished by having the player say "bounce-hit" while hitting into target areas or while playing points.

You can also make slight changes to the exercise such as using numbers, or different words. Young kids love it if you use their names or "Happy Birthday." Jerry Hatchett, the longtime Director of Tennis at Knowlwood Tennis Club in Santa Barbara, had his players say "carry" instead of "hit" and found that they followed through much better. Other coaches have come up with their own unique variations that they tell me are quite effective.

Bounce-hit has proven itself over time to be a wonderful exercise to improve the play of the regular, active player. But I believe it is also an important tool in the coaches toolbox to help beginners learn in a fast and fun way, as well as for players who haven't played in a while.

I remember one elderly man who hadn't played in over 15 years came for a lesson. He was certain that he would have a difficult time with it. But we did the bounce-hit exercise and after 30 minutes he was laughing as jovially as Santa Claus. "I didn't play this well when I played regularly," he exclaimed! And tennis welcomed back a life-long player.