For the coaches out there do you see anything unique in Mark's shots?

Thanks,

Sean

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Disclaimer - me discusing Mark is pretty silly...

Two things jumped out at me:

1)  He seems very balanced in virtually every picture.  (I suspect this is true with every very good player though.)

2)  It appears that his feet are not "classically" positioned.  (Yes, they are located at the ends of his legs - just below the ankles.)  His right foot appears to be farther foreward in his stance than I've been taught.  It appears that it is forward of the left by a fair bit on backhands, and "about even" with the left on forehands.  Without knowing exactly where he is aiming, I can't be too certain of the exact amounts.

bes

Good eyes for footwork, no footwork! ;-)

Mark has a great forehand that could be even better if the weight transfer was from back (right leg) to front (left leg) allowing for strong waist rotation. 

I know he does it sometimes; but not always.  By having the front (right leg) loaded with the weight he is forced to use a ton of shoulders, arm, and wrist to generate his power. 

Because of his height and arm span he can get a little bit away with looping with his upper body instead of his lower body. 

But he could have the same power of the top 10 players in the world if he was doing it the same way Primorac does. 

When he is off the table on the forehand often he will have his feet the correct way since there is not enough time to move from the backhand to the forehand and then place your right foot in front of the left, but up to the table he does tend to be in a backhand oriented position that places a premium on his wrist making up for the angles to loop to all parts of the table. 

Sometimes if you see Mark whiff on high balls to the forehand I believe it is due to not being sure where his feet should be. 

When we were watching his great play in San Diego; Stellan and Angie both mentioned it was unusual that his weight transfer was front to back on his forehand side.

Thanks Rob for the many pics from Vegas as there is a ton that can be learned from the stills.

Thanks,

Sean

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Joey Cochran from South Bend also plays his forehand with the same foot position so I am guessing it is something in the drills they do that encourages this.  Danny is a lefty but I don't remember him ever telling me when I went to his camps to keep my right foot forward on my forehand attack.  But there is a chance he stresses being more square to the table when blocking on the forehand side and this has led to Mark or Joey's right foot being infront  of the left on the forehand side.

What it shows is there are multiple ways to do something.  I know that Mark would have a more lethal loop if he used a bit more waist.  Khoa is very similar with not much waist when looping on his forehand side.  On steparounds you can get away with it but balls wide out to the forehand you need more waist.  Also don't stand behind the ball but to the side for more leverage and power.  Check Lupi out on the forehand when he is wide on his forehand, great balance, great power and great leverage.

Thanks,

Sean

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