A New Year's Serve

[explorequotes]

Thanks

Thanks, Bottle. I was really curious how you went about applying that thought.

It certainly sounds like you made some progress.

don Friendship SMS

[bottle]

Thanks

Thanks, Bottle. I was really curious how you went about applying that thought.

It certainly sounds like you made some progress.

don Friendship SMS

Well, what they usually say is, "Nice shot." But sometimes they say more. As in the case of a soft, high passing shot down the line. "You're not going to tell me that's what you intended, are you?" No, I'm not. But since the shot was exactly what I intended, I will be more apt to remember the unique mechanics I used, not just from the positive reinforcement of having made the shot but from the unsolicited comment, too. Will try it again. Will tie a bow around my pinkie to remind myself. Definitely a counter-intuitive shot. Do it wrong or to the wrong person and you will lose the point in a hurry.

[bottle]

What do you do if you have Good Volleys but see Volleys that are Smarter than yours?

Keep the volleys you have but admit they are dumb?

Start changing to the new volleys immediately?

This is the conundrum I face when my attention-- inadvertently-- is brought to the cache of Patrick Rafter volleys at TennisPlayer.

(https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...evelFront1.pct)

(https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...PRBHVFront.pct)

I heard, in person, Vic Braden say to finish volleys high.

I heard, in person, Luke Jensen say the exact same thing.

But Welby Van Horn in SECRETS OF A TRUE TENNIS MASTER, says to hit down a little. As did Dave Smith at the old Tennis One website.

And Billie Jean said in one of her books to volley level.

And John McEnroe, to my eyes, volleys level on his forehand side and with a huge chop way down low on his backhand side.

Is this the time to re-study the volleys of Cash, Edberg, and Navratilova?

I have a feeling I'll stay level and dumb with Billie Jean King since that has worked best for me.

All I had to do, however, was take one quick look at Rafter's volleys and I incurred immediate disaster.

Both in surprise invitation doubles on Saturday and in the geezers' regular round robin today the forehand volley was all right but the backhand volley had gone sour and was in need of dour rehabilitation.

[bottle]

Thanks

Thanks, Bottle. I was really curious how you went about applying that thought.

It certainly sounds like you made some progress.

don Friendship SMS

What you have done in creating these two new websites is incredible. But don't forget the poem with the line in it, "till a the seas gang dry."

[bottle]

Stotty, Tomaz Mencinger and Stefanos Tsitsipas-- all on the Cusp of Simplifying Huge Forehands

Stotty would like to see "fewer moving parts." It is a phrase he has used more than once.

Tomaz (https://www.feeltennis.net/about-me/) meanwhile suggests that a slower oncoming ball is the time to add the full bells and whistles of maximum topspin-- if that is what you think you want.

On a faster oncoming ball he wants his students to keep their wipers on their cars and maybe replace the rubbers.

And then there is Stefanos Tsitsipas-- a young guy on the tour who has actually taken on Roger Federer. I don't refer to court time spent together but rather to stroke design. The Greeks used to be known for elegant ideas-- is Tsitsipas a throwback? Instead of imitating Roger's forehand he wants to edit it.

To return to Tomaz Mencinger now, Tomaz has a video at "Feel Tennis" where he accuses tennis students of thinking in two dimensions rather than three.

The subject is the forehand loop when seen from a right hander's right side.

If the player were Andre Agassi, you wouldn't see the racket start out for the right fence then come back into Andre's bod.

Enough! It's time to do self-feed. Semi-straight-arm forehands today that start toward right fence then come back at same depth a small amount toward the bod.

At first I thought of adding the sideway components to existing loops that slightly lower the racket.

But if one returns the racket "at same depth" it will lower by itself.

[bottle]

Fumigation Leading to Centrifugation

I always wanted to apply the word "centrifugation" to my ground strokes even though the definition never seemed quite right (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LDxOSz80pI), and I didn't have the tennis knowledge necessary for that purpose either.

Well, Tomaz Mencinger, a Slovenian operating in a second language, handles both explanations with ease.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeElHXkCG7g).

What a discovery this guy is whether I'm late in joining the parade of testimonials or not. He has a Conradian mastery of English, it seems to me. A word man, definitely. And how much verbal facility does tennis instruction require along with the more commonly known and celebrated virtues? A lot. Moreover, Tomaz Mencinger is fine illustration that all YouTube teaching professionals were not created equal.

Now, thanks to the Feel Tennis videos, I finally know why my McEnrueful is a great shot on some days and horrid on others. It is a straight wrist shot. I therefore must tighten my grip for contact, a virtuoso effort which can be tough on a day when one doesn't feel as virtuoso as John McEnroeso.

So much higher percentage to lay back the wrist and do so late but not too late and with edge rather than face gravity-dropped down. Bio-mechanical stability then replaces virtuoso effort and frees you up to lighten your grip practically to the point of taking your fingers off the handle.

[bottle]

Relaxation and Firmness, Circular and Linear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QC0lAHptR8

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1653e84a39abb5f7

[bottle]

Thoughtfulness: Unit Turn Mistakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xH1jAL_KNo

[bottle]

Tomaz Mencinger on Weight Transfer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b96lTo4zKA

[bottle]

Throwing to Pushing Ratio: Letting Go vs. Control

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb2Wz0alEjs

[bottle]

Hit the Ball in the Seat of its Pants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3K9y8ptQ0s

[bottle]

Clear and Early Intention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8Yh3hVG08

[bottle]

Your and My Service Toss: Not as Virtuoso as John McEnroeso

One of my favorite Tomaz Mencinger videos (so far) is called "Analyzing a Tennis Serve & Improving the Toss Height."

I recommend it especially to the barfly in Winston-Salem who was on the city crew that produced Davis Cups against India and France, a guy who was blown away by American Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe's ground strokes.

Sitting on a bar stool, this bearded Kenny Rogers look-alike, despite succeeding with the main bartendresse, complained repeatedly that, in his own tennis, he was unable to get his service toss high enough to be effective.

Well, it turns out this problem is almost universal.

I will not replicate the Tomaz Mencinger video since my mission here is not to be a flak for anybody.

If someone is seriously worried about the height of their toss, however, they will get on line and sleuth it out.

Its wonderfulness is for many reasons, some teacherly and one even humorous.

First, Mencinger actually tells where to get more oomph for the toss-- from that section of bod between shoulder and hip.

Think about that. It's just one phrase, expressed briefly and only once-- "from shoulder to hip"-- you'd better not miss it. Reflect then how this new expenditure of energy will add to one's form without one having to think about it.

If you have an ice cream cone grip, say, and an entirely straight arm, and an emphatic downswing, and are committed to physical effort rather than relaxation in this phase of the cycle, and then stretch the muscles between shoulder and hip as arm goes up, you will heave the ball as high as you could possibly want.

In the video, Mencinger has drawn a horizontal line where he thinks the apogee, the acme and zenith-- all one-- ought to be.

When his student gets the ball up to this bar he cries, "Victory!"

But when the student on a subsequent toss regresses, he cries "Defeat!"

"Defeat!" "Victory!" "Defeat!" "Defeat!" "Victory!" "Victory!" "Victory!"

This is how it can go.

Of course there is no line, no bar, no suspended wire out on the court nor should there be.

Mencinger, wearing glasses, drew the line into the video afterward.

[bottle]

Hey, Wait a Minute

If stretching lead side shoulder-to-hip muscles and sinews increases toss height, why won't same stretch on trail side of bod improve weight transfer (and upward component!!!) on a topspin serve?

[bottle]

A Few Notes on the Following Video (but You Really Should Make Your Own)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KRYA9ZlYmM

1) The dance step Mencinger teaches starts with inward movement of one foot. The other foot then goes out and immediately comes back in. Which gives impetus to the other foot to go out and come back in, etc., etc.

2) The grip taught here is a change for me since I've recently had thumb on top, not for basic forehands when it doesn't matter where thumb is; but, for wipered forehands the forefinger to be wrapped around the bottom of the handle and the thumb is naturally wrapped too, and the wipe is levered from those two points. The other fingers as Mencinger demonstrates could come off.

Less work, Mencinger suggests. Well, you're turning the racket from a somewhat choked up position if you do it just from thumb and forefinger. Also, since forefinger is two inches farther up the handle then thumb, that's two extra inches of leverage to power fast spin.

3) Gravity drop feels like you're waving racket on edge. Try some with bottom three fingers off racket and not hitting a ball?

4) Bowl balls.