Footwork and good strokes

Hi there coach, I have problems in terms of my movement. When I start to perform a stroke, I tend to put a lot of pressure on it. Then my body moves like very hard, rough and tense. Our coach already told me my problem about this, he said that I need to soften my body movement along with my body. He said that the movement should be smooth and not rough. Is there some exercises that can soften my body movement? thanks in advance

Hi Wayne,

The key is to practice some movement drills.  When you are doing these drills there are two steps to it.  First get the movement right.  When you feel that you are getting the footwork correct then start to ficus on the stroke you are playing once you get there.

You will notice that when you do this your footwork will deteriorate a little so start to focus on that again.  This of course will mean that your stroke starts to deteriorate...

The answer is to keep switching your focus between the two and soon you will find both starting to work well.  It will be a long process but one that everyone goes through.  It is another reason that it is important to practice drills during your training time.