The PracticeHit Tennis Trainer is tennis' answer to the baseball batting-T used in Little League.  It allows the player to practice his swing correctly while hitting a stationary ball.   After several supervised sessions on the PracticeHit Tennis Trainer the player will have grooved the proper low-to-high forehand and backhand swing.  His transition now to a live tennis ball will be easier, and he should progress more rapidly in his tennis development.  

  I am always on the lookout for tennis methods or training devices that will help my students learn the game quicker and progress rapidly to higher skill levels.  Tennis is a difficult game and anything that will facilitate the learning is welcome.  A few years ago, I added a mechanical training device--the PracticeHit Tennis Trainer--to my instruction. The results have been remarkable.

The PracticeHit, which was featured in the February 2005 issue of Tennis Magazine, has a base and a perma-flex shaft with a ball attached at the top. You hit the ball with a tennis racquet to practice your swing. The PracticeHit acts as a ball launcher to return the ball to you. It is tennis's answer to baseball's batting-T. (These are specially priced for VJTTA members at http://racquetgear.com).

The PracticeHit is especially useful for teaching beginners, who need to concentrate initially on good stroke production rather than footwork and getting to the ball. Once the strokes are under control, the transition to live-ball hitting is easier and faster.

In my group teaching, I introduce the "show the logo" concept first. (See my earlier article:  "Show Me The Logo"). I keep it simple: ready position, simultaneous unit turn and "show-the-logo", swing forward low-to-high, finish with a long follow-through (but not wrapped around the neck).

Next, I divide the group into two groups, tossers and hitters. The tossers toss underhand to the hitters, who simply stop the ball with their racquet from the "show-the-logo" position. I have the tossers instruct the hitters to take a good ready position, and then "show-the-logo", before tossing. After several tosses/stops, the hitters can gently block the ball back from the "show-the-logo" position, such that the tosser can catch the ball. You must be diligent here to make sure your students are perfect in the ready position and in transitioning to the "show-the-logo" position via the unit turn. After I am satisfied with their progress, tossers and hitters change roles.

The next step is to introduce the PracticeHit. I demonstrate the proper form, from ready position, to unit turn and "show-the-logo", to low-to-high swing, with a long follow-through. I do this from several places on the court, so everyone gets a good idea of what the stroke looks like, and how I want it done.

Next, I have the students do the pattern themselves using the PracticeHit. For little kids, I actually guide their hitting arm and racquet through the stroke. What I am trying to do is groove their stroke by giving them some basic muscle memory. I often have beginner groups of 15-20 students and use 4 PracticeHits, dividing the group into 4 smaller groups.

The final progression with the PracticHit is for the students to take a ready position several feet away from the PracticeHit. They then unit turn and "show-the-logo" and take several steps to get in position to hit the PracticeHit. I emphasize moving to the PracticeHit while maintaining the "show-the-logo" position, and only taking a small backswing as they near the PracticeHit and prepare to strike the ball. You can see the pros do this in some of the videos in the Video Section on this website.

I've found that you need to be vigilant for this part of the instruction, because some kids will perform well until they get near the PracticeHit and then just walk through the rest of the stoke and hit the PracticeHit in a haphazard way. Make sure they do everything correctly. Don't let them get away with sloppy work at this stage.  To prevent this, you might have them catch their racquet with their free hand after striking the ball.

Once satisfied with their work on the PracticeHit, I move to live ball feeds, usually having the students hit 3-4 hand-fed balls along the serviceline or baseline, forcing them to take a few steps to get to each ball. After several rotations, I will drop-feed balls with my racquet.

If the student messes up a shot during these feeds, I remind her to hit the ball exactly like they did on the PracticeHit. I leave the PracticeHits off-court and have those waiting in line to hit a live ball continue working on their strokes with the PracticeHit. With small groups, you can monitor these students' work while you are feeding to the other students. With large groups, assign "assistants" from within the group to monitor those working on their strokes on the PracticeHit. With small groups, you can include two or three hits on the PracticeHit  after the feed.  The PracticeHit in effect becomes part of the feed rotation.

Once I have gone through the forehand, I do the same progression for the backhand. For kids under 11 or 12, you can get through the forehand easily in an hour. For older kids and adults, you can do both the forehand and the backhand in a little over an hour, depending upon the size of the group and their physical abilities (e.g., coordination, previous athletic experience).

The PracticeHit is an excellent training tool for developing sound tennis groundstrokes. I use the PracticeHit in all my beginner and intermediate classes for helping students learn and groove their strokes. While the PracticeHit can be used in a variety of ways to teach tennis strokes, I believe it works best when combined with the "show-the-logo" concept.

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