During three days in December of 2009 I had the privilege of learning from one of the best of the game. The USPTA Player Development Convention was held at the Sanchez – Casal Academy in Naples, FL. Emilio Sanchez first started this Academy in Barcelona, Spain, in 1999 together with doubles partner Sergio Casal. In 2006 they opened up their Academy in the US. At this time, about 30 juniors are enrolled in the Academy in Naples and about 150 are enrolled in Barcelona. The players board on site of the Naples Tennis Club. They study from 8 AM to 1 PM and practice from 2 to 6:30 PM Monday through Friday. Every day, the last 90 minutes of practice is dedicated to fitness. On weekends the players play tournaments.

As a player, Emilio Sanchez mastered both singles and doubles, which are two completely different games. Ranked as high as number 7 in the world in singles, and number 1 in doubles, he certainly knows what it takes to reach such success. As a coach, Emilio lead the Spanish Davis Cup team to its first Cup in 2008.

As a common thread in all his presentations Emilio emphasized the importance of players working hard in practice and to practice movement patterns. According to Emilio, a player needs to move well to reach success on the tennis court. The theme of the movement drills conducted at the Sanchez – Casal Academy is the “V” shape. A Coach feeds a deep ball to the player who has to move diagonally back for a FH and then recover to the starting position. The Coach then feeds a deep ball to the BH, and the player moves diagonally back for the backhand. Feed as many repetitions of 8 balls as is appropriate depending on the players age and level of endurance.

Flip the V upside down. The Coach now feeds short balls to forehand and backhand. The player moves diagonally forwards and back.

Put the V sideways as a “>”. Now the player moves diagonally backwards and diagonally forwards, hitting only forehands. Flip the V over to a “<” and the player moves diagonally backwards and forwards hitting only backhands. This video shows Emilio doing just that. See how the player is moving around the cone hitting only backhands, moving diagonally forwards and backwards instead of straight back and forwards.

Backhand movement drill. Emilio Sanchez toss feeding.

One of drills I particularly like is to have my player move in the V shape diagonally backwards hitting only forehands. I feed first to the forehand side, and the player moves back diagonally to hit a cross court forehand. Then I feed to the backhand side, but my player has to move around the ball and hit an inside out forehand. This drill works also when you flip the V upside down. Tell your player to hit only forehands when you feed the short balls. These drills are great for developing quick feet movement, balanced stroke production, endurance, and placement.

Be creative and mix up the V shape as you please. Feed two deep balls and one short, two short balls and one deep. Turn the V shape in an X shape and have the player move diagonally backwards for a forehand, diagonally backwards for a backhand, diagonally forwards for a forehand, and diagonally forwards for a backhand. The value for the player is to move in any possible direction that at different times will happen on the tennis court during a match. Just the movement makes the player better at moving and hitting the ball staying on balance.

The girl on the video below is 11 years old and practices at the Sanchez Casal Academy in Naples. Look at the intensity in her footwork, how well she moves, and how focused she is. This girl was on the court for 20 minutes, giving it all she had, which was quite impressive. If you are a junior player, you will become quite good if you can practice like her.

This girl is moving in the X shape. Emilio Sanchez is explaining how it works.

Below are two videos showing how Emilio’s mid court volley drills. Look at how the girl moves her feet. Very aggressive footwork during the whole drill that consists of 11 swinging volleys. In this drill she is moving more laterally than in the typical V shape. When you watch her play, keep in mind that she is only 11 years old. If you read this and you are 10, 11, or 12 years old, you should practice with the same intensity as this girl. She works hard for 11 balls, then gets a break, and then she works hard again for a short period of time.

Mid court swinging volley practice.

More mid court volley drills in the video below. The girl is moving in the classic Sanchez V shape. Look at her quick feet! The guy starts with swinging volleys and then switches to regular volleys. The difference is that the feeds for the swinging volleys are higher. On high balls when you are positioned on this part of the court, you should swing at the ball. But when the ball from your opponent is low, then you need to close in to volley a regular volley.

Volley practice moving in the X shape. Swinging volley from mid court.