Work those hips to get in the swing

The key to playing great tennis, according to tennis coach Jack Broudy, isn’t just in the swing. The hips have a lot to do with a player’s ability -- specifically, rotating those hips in a figure-8 motion. That movement, Broudy said, adds to a player’s range of motion and helps maintain balance.

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The 8-Board:

Broudy’s business partner Paul Mayberry invented the 8-Board to help people become comfortable with making a figure-8 motion before they engage in sports such as tennis and golf. Users step on the connected rotating discs and swivel, feet parallel, maintaining balance. A few minutes serves as a good warmup, says Broudy.

“If it teaches people balance, that’s not bad,” says Carl Foster, a professor in the department of exercise and sports science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. “It’s another gadget to do the same thing [as devices such as stability balls]. But some people need gadgets to help focus them.”

Price: The 8-Board, carry bag and video cost $119.95; available at www.grailsports.com or by calling (888) 472-4577.

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-- Jeannine Stein