Gravity as an assist
Obviously, there are many different forms a successful service motion can take. Because the human machine is capable of doing so much more than we can even imagine. But a lot of us are not so gifted and have trouble developing a consistent toss and service rhythm. My argument is that if you use the assistance of gravity, it can be a great help to your rhythm and therefore your consistency. I don't think it makes that much difference to the speed of the serve, but I feel not enough emphasis is placed on developing a motion that is repeatable and has a consistent rhythm. Gravity is always the same. If you can get gravity to determine the speed of your backswing, that will be a great comfort to your inner computer. It will say, "Oh yeah! I remember that. We've done that before." And will reproduce the same rhythm. Now if you can synchronize the movement of the left hand with the right and gravity is determining the speed of the right hand, then gravity is determining the speed of the toss. That would be a pretty comfortable and consistent toss with a very consistent rhythm.
If someone has no problem making a consistent toss and their motion is working for them, but needs a little tweaking, I will leave their motion alone, but if they are having trouble getting a consistent toss, I know gravity works for everyone; although it can be difficult to change a habit at first. I think too much emphasis is spent on trying to get that last ounce of explosion out of the leg drive, when it would be a whole lot more effective to serve 10 mph slower and get in 70% of first serves instead of 55% or 60% at the higher speed. Worse, the numbers are more like 40% to 50% for anyone below world class. And sometimes even world class players.
As for the direction of the backswing relative to your opponent (pointing the racket), think of the action of a gyroscope (yeah, it is operating at right angles to what I am talking about, but it is a similar principle and this is just a metaphor). The spinning action of the gyroscope it upright. You could "imagine" that the movement of the racket in the serve swing keeps everything aligned. Every movement of the racket sends a message to your "kinesthetic computer". If you swing off to the right of the net post, that registers. If everymove you make reinforces the direction you want to hit the ball, that makes it easier for your body to control the motion and be more accurate.
Tennis is and always has been C...A...P. Consistency, accuracy and power. The more powerful players win by forcing the weaker player to play at a speed where they are no longer consistent or accurate. It seems less so today, but on the terms that I am defining right here, tennis is still C...A..P. A little more consistency and accuracy on a serve that might or might not be a little slower could be a very good thing. I'm just saying...
Bottle, I'd like to hear more about Kate. She seems like she was very much like some of the characters she played in her early movies...just living life to the absolute fullest. Demonstrating a lot of the qualities I like to think you need to be a great tennis player...but I digress!
don brosseau
Originally posted by bottle
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If someone has no problem making a consistent toss and their motion is working for them, but needs a little tweaking, I will leave their motion alone, but if they are having trouble getting a consistent toss, I know gravity works for everyone; although it can be difficult to change a habit at first. I think too much emphasis is spent on trying to get that last ounce of explosion out of the leg drive, when it would be a whole lot more effective to serve 10 mph slower and get in 70% of first serves instead of 55% or 60% at the higher speed. Worse, the numbers are more like 40% to 50% for anyone below world class. And sometimes even world class players.
As for the direction of the backswing relative to your opponent (pointing the racket), think of the action of a gyroscope (yeah, it is operating at right angles to what I am talking about, but it is a similar principle and this is just a metaphor). The spinning action of the gyroscope it upright. You could "imagine" that the movement of the racket in the serve swing keeps everything aligned. Every movement of the racket sends a message to your "kinesthetic computer". If you swing off to the right of the net post, that registers. If everymove you make reinforces the direction you want to hit the ball, that makes it easier for your body to control the motion and be more accurate.
Tennis is and always has been C...A...P. Consistency, accuracy and power. The more powerful players win by forcing the weaker player to play at a speed where they are no longer consistent or accurate. It seems less so today, but on the terms that I am defining right here, tennis is still C...A..P. A little more consistency and accuracy on a serve that might or might not be a little slower could be a very good thing. I'm just saying...
Bottle, I'd like to hear more about Kate. She seems like she was very much like some of the characters she played in her early movies...just living life to the absolute fullest. Demonstrating a lot of the qualities I like to think you need to be a great tennis player...but I digress!
don brosseau
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