New Tennis SpeedChain ("V2") coming soon

Yes, dear readers, you read that correctly…

In the coming weeks, we will be releasing a new version of the Tennis SpeedChain (“Tennis SpeedChain V2”) for sale worldwide.

What’s new about “V2”?

Well, ever since TennisSpeed’s introduction of the original Tennis SpeedChain in late Summer 2006, our research and development efforts together with SpeedChain inventor, Kelvin Miyahira, to add further innovation and value to the original Tennis SpeedChain have been marching ever forward behind the scenes.

We have been testing a number of interesting concepts to enhance the effectiveness of the Tennis SpeedChain, and after weeks and months of extensive testing and proving we are ready to finally share these innovations with all of you out there.

The Tennis SpeedChain V2 brings several key changes to the original Tennis SpeedChain design. The most important innovations featured in V2 are:

1. The development of two new handle shapes to encourage and enhance training of critical stroke movements,
2. Structural and cosmetic changes to the handle design, and
3. The ability to immediately adjust the resistance level of the training device by exchanging an entire chain segment for one with a higher or lower resistance level.

These three innovations expand the versatility and usability of the original Tennis SpeedChain.

While the resistance level of the original Tennis SpeedChain was expandable only in the upward direction, the change in the handle design now enables users to either increase or decrease the resistance by exchanging the entire chain segment for another entire segment using a “quick link” system. This capability may be especially useful for tennis coaches and trainers who train a wide “cross-section” of different players using the SpeedChain.

The creation of two new handle designs has proven in our tests to greatly enhance both technical training (stroke movement training) and speed development.

One new handle design integrates a downward bend (angled toward the ground) at the far end of the handle where the chain segment is attached. This specially-bent handle strongly promotes forearm pronation for both serves and groundstrokes, as well as increases the (rotational) resistance you feel when you swing it.

For example, when you swing the SpeedChain with the bent-handle option, you can really feel the correct “covering” movement required to execute the modern topspin forehand that is achieved using proper forearm pronation as you swing through the impact zone. I have noticed that the accentuated sensation of that forearm pronation tends to ingrain that movement into your muscle memory much faster than by (unassisted) pure repetition alone.

The other new handle design is a special, shortened handle (about 40% shorter than the handle on the original Tennis SpeedChain) for use in serve training. The short handle delivers a higher initial resistance level to help develop increased force production during the initial movement of the racket arm toward contact during your serve motion.

(Oh, and the cosmetics of the handles will also be changed, from the original red to a distinctive “brushed aluminum” finish.)

Together, the new handle options and the ability to change the resistance level of the training device by exchanging the entire chain segment has transformed the original Tennis SpeedChain training device into a larger, most versatile tennis training system that addresses both racket speed development and technical stroke training.

In total, there are 9 distinct configurations possible with the handle and resistance options available with V2…

3 distinct handle options: original, bent, and short

times

3 distinct resistance levels (light, medium, strong)

Equals

9 distinct training configurations for the Tennis SpeedChain V2 that could be used to address a player’s specific training needs and goals.

What we plan to do is to offer the complete system that enables you to have all 9 configurations at your fingertips to help you increase your racket speed and improve the technique of your serves and groundstrokes,

Or,

You can purchase a single Tennis SpeedChain V2 with a basic configuration (effectively a "base model") to start (e.g. the original handle + one medium chain segment) and you can purchase the additional handle and chain resistance components (in any combination) as you need them.

So, say you buy the base model to start and then a couple of weeks into it, you decide to focus on working on your topspin forehand. You would then order the new, bent handle from the website, and when you get it, you remove the chain segment from our "original" handle using the quick-link and then attach the chain segment onto the newly-arrived, bent handle, and off you go.

(And, my experience has been that if you are training properly with the Tennis SpeedChain, you will probably need to increase the chain resistance at some point as you continue to improve your racket speed, as well…)

So, watch for the announcement of the official release of the new TennisSpeed V2 on our website (www.tennisspeed.com), or you can sign up for email notification of the V2 release on the TennisSpeed.com homepage (on the right side of the page in the "News Items").

Our on-going discussion of speed training in tennis will continue in my next post.

Until then, TTFN!