Building Myelin

[westcoast777]

In my quest to find ways to build more myelin, I sought out the knowledgeable tennis_chiro and don_budge by way of PM. I received an illuminating reply from t_c, and d_b gave the suggestion to create a thread out of the idea, so he may devote due energy in a response.
Below is the PM I sent,
As you may know from my threads on tennis player, I am a high school player entering my junior year with limited myelin built for tennis. I have set the goal of playing in college, DIII looks like it would be within grasp if I continue to develop and given that I am fairly tall and left-handed.
After reading 'The Talent Code' shadow stroking became an obsession and I sought out an experienced, knowledge coach in the region to help me with my technique, with whom I take a lesson twice a week. I hit 4-5 times a week and shadow stroke every day, slowly and controlled. Here is my question, what else can I do to build up more of the magical goop, myelin? What is your take on hitting with a ball machine? Unfortunately, the ball machine at the local courts is well past its prime and it's the only option...but I have money saved from a summer job that I would certainly invest in a ball machine if you think it would be of value. With a ball machine, I would be able to hit every day of the week, and add roughly 6 hours of hitting each week - repetition, repetition, repetition!
Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Westcoast777, or, my name, Phil

[johnyandell]

The Ace Attack ball machine is what you are looking for!

[don_budge]

westcoast777 aka Phil...

Thanks for posting your question...we are all learning through your process. If you would please post tennis_chiro's response so that we can all benefit from it. I've got a couple of ideas and I would love to see his input to develop them.

[tennis_chiro]

Go to the source

Sounds like Phil doesn't mind posting this conversation and neither do I so, here is the rest of the conversation following the basic request he posted above. It will take a couple of these posts to list the whole exchange.

My first response to Phil:

Hi Phil,
I don't know if you realized it, but I go on the court with two ball machines, the "Twins" of the Global Tennis Teaching System (see www.globaltennisteachinginstitute.com). Also, I don't want to be redundant and I think I've mentioned here in the forum before if not directly to you: I was cut from the jv tennis team as a junior in high school and ended up being a two-time NAIA All-American in my junior and senior years in college.

If you are trying to earn a college scholarship, you may be too late unless you want to spend a couple of years in the junior college system, but you certainly could learn to play well enough to play for a lot of Div III teams and even some of the weaker Div II teams. Be aware that there are about 10 teams in Div III that, while they have no scholarships, put out a very serious effort in their tennis program. The top players on those teams could earn tennis scholarships to a lot of schools, if not the ones they would want scholarships from.

What little I have seen of your game on this site tells me you could be ready for Div III or even some of the Div II tennis programs in 2 years.

Ball machines are very helpful. You have to find the opportunity to repeat the strokes and build your skills. Just be sure that you work out a program with your pro to make the time you spend on the machines useful. Even a static machine can be very useful as long as you move between shots. Just set down a cone and run around it each shot. If you stand still, beyond the most elementary stages of stroke development, it is a waste of time. It would be nice to have a machine that gives you some variety and you are going to have a hard time finding a good portable machine for much under $2000. But take a good look at the Volley from Playmate.

But hitting balls on a machine, or a wall, or even with a great practice partner is only a small part of the requirement. Perhaps what you need most right now, but you will need a lot of match play and tournament experience shortly. You can start by playing local junior satellites and when you get kicked out of those because you are too good, then there are lots of junior open events you can play.

Machines are great, but critical to your development is a good practice partner. If you can't arrange that, perhaps the machine is a good substitute, but tennis is a game you have to learn to "play".

What kind of a ranking in satellites do you have right now? Do you even have that?

Be sure to develop a full plan for the next 2 years with your coach!

all the best,
don


Phil came back with the following response the next day:

Don,
Thank you for the well considered and insightful response. I didn't realize you run a full program, I checked out the site and I was quite impressed. From the videos I saw, all of your players have clean, smooth strokes -- and they are getting their reps with the Twins and the Wall.

Unfortunately, the Volley from Playmate would be out of my price range. Would any of the Lobster Elite Freedom, 1, 2, or 3 be acceptable?

http://www.lobsterinc.com/products/B...el_Comparison/

As the hitting partner goes...the coach I am working with now developed a player that plays for the local university, UC Davis, who he set me up to hit with twice a week for an hour and a half beginning next week, would a college player be a good hitting partner?

I have played in four tournaments so far.
Tournament 1: "Novice" Division - won the tournament easily
Tournament 2: "Challenger" Division - went to three sets in the quarters and final, but won in the semis 6-0,6-0. Mixed difficulty, but most matches were won with ease
Tournament 3: "Open" Division - Lost first round in three sets, no back draw
Tournament 4: Open - Lost first round in two sets, won three matches in the back draw, lost in the back draw final
The open level seems to be a fit for me. The opponent I lost to first round in Tournament 3 is ranked #70 in the NorCal section and Tournament 4 was a confidence booster.

Thank you for your help,

Phil

[tennis_chiro]

My last response

BTW, the Ace Attack is an attractive machine, but clearly out of Phil's pricerange. In any case, I answered the above response from Phil as follows:

Phil,

I don't run the Global Tennis Teaching Institute program in Delray Beach, FL. I'm in Los Angeles. But I use their ball machine system. The program is pretty intensive at GTTI. If you want to see some of my players, check my articles on Tennisplayer, but I would really rather have some later videos for those players. I need to put up some good before and after photos of the players I have worked with for a couple of years. Anyway,

The fact you are hitting with a college player a couple of times a week tells me your coach is on the right track. Best is if you could find a mutually motivated fellow player that wants to work as much as you do and the two of you grind away, but even then, you need to work with better players. It sounds like that is what you are doing.

I tell my players that have ambitions to become elite players that they need to spend about 20 hours a week on the court. That means 2.5 hours of good practice on 4 weekdays and twice a day on weekends. Always one day off per week. You have to give your body a chance and stay fresh and eager. Get completely away from tennis one day each week. In the long run, that strategy will pay off for you.

Try to play tournaments two or, at most, three weekends a month (or weeks during vacations). You need tournament exposure and experience, but the rigamarole of getting to tournaments and waiting around and playing poor matches can cost you too much practice time. So try to balance it out. Don't become a slave to the "points". Seek out good competition. You should be playing up at least 1/3 of the time, but you should try to arrange your competitive schedule so you can still win about 2/3 of your matches (at least 1/2). In a way, you have to arrange your practice this way too. Be prepared to practice "down" 1/3 of the time, but if it's more than that, you are going to seriously impede your progress.

Playing sets: Whether you are playing tournaments or just practice matches with your friends, you should be averaging at least 8 sets a week. That can get tough with the rain in NorCal.

Rain: Find a good handball wall where you can go hit on rainy days for 1/2 hr between the rain showers. We don't usually get long extended rains in CA, but the courts sometimes stay wet the whole day. A local junior college may even have some indoor racquetball courts you can use. Use a "10&under" green ball to hit against the wall and give you a better rhythm for practice.

Serves: Hit at least 500 practice serves a week. I lived across the street from the tennis courts when I was in high school. I couldn't get a lot of people to play with me so I carried a potato sack of tennis balls to the courts and hit it a couple of times a night. Later, I became known for my serve. Unfortunately, for my hopeless forehand as well!

Fitness: The further you go, the more important fitness will become. In the meantime, incorporate at least a 10 minute warmup with a jump rope and a little stretching when you finish your workout. As you progress in your tennis development, you will have to get more sophisticated in your approach to physical training as well. In the meantime, a couple of 3 mile runs a week (under 20 minutes as a goal) should give you enough base aerobic conditioning. In addition you should be doing pullups, pushups, crunches and core exercises like planks. If you really want to push your anaerobic conditioning, get a 2 lb heavy rope and get so you can do 10 sets of 40 jumps with a 20 second rest (under 50 seconds per set). The heavy rope is a great way to build the muscles in your wrists and posterior shoulders. You need the posterior shoulder muscles to protect you when the racket decelerates.

As for the machine, the Lobster models look great. I have no experience with them except from the 70's when it was an entirely different machine. If you can swing it, try to get the Elite 2 that gives you the horizontal and vertical oscillation. You don't need the fancy stuff, but you would like the machine to keep you moving between two spots. And you want to practice moving up to a short ball so the vertical oscillation is an important feature as you progress. Right now you just need to move, set up and hit and recover. A simple oscillation can do that for you. Later you can add more speed and topspin with these machines. Make sure you figure out how you are going to transport the machine and where you will get the court. If you really work hard, you need a buddy to switch off with you while you recover. Then you can more efficiently keep hitting while your partner is picking up balls. You will probably want the remote control, but you don't have to buy that right away. Same thing with the fancy battery charger. You are not going to be on the court 8 hours a day like a teaching pro anyway.

Good luck with your quest. If you want to, you can e-mail me directly

[bottle]

Wow! I never worked this hard except in rowing and one other pursuit. I would just say one thing, having reviewed THE TALENT CODE two different times by now. The word "ignite" is terribly important. Possibly, myelin doesn't go on unless you're working on a fresh idea. So you can't let coaches and other people do all your thinking for you. Whatever the subject, you have to be working on new approaches as well as new approach shots. And you have to find thresholds of difficulty-- the level where you are just challenged enough to make a few mistakes = myelin as you come up with a creative solution. That at least is my understanding right now.

[don_budge]

Part 1...Myelin...shmyelin

OK...tennis_chiro has beaten me to the punch. As usual he has left no stone unturned. Plus he knows ball machines, video equipment, chiropractics, pyrotechnics, accupressure...what doesn't he know? He's dated stewardesses and a bevy of other beauties. Now he is armed with a copy of "The Talent Code". He's indisputable! But seriously...I would of loved to have him as my coach, or a big brother, or on my team if I were given the task of overhauling American tennis...if Oblabla would just appoint me, "Tennis Czar"...for my managerial skills and my imagination.

But anyways, perhaps I can just touch a bit on philosophy, tactics and give you one or possibly two good ideas to work on in addition to the mountain of work that tennis_chiro has prescribed for you.

First of all, westcoast777, I like you. I like your attitude. I could teach you a thing or two....and it wouldn’t surprise me if I learned a thing or two in the process. So many young people today are lost...and it's not their fault. I put the blame on the last couple of generations for creating the mess that young people are inheriting to sort out. I am getting longer in the tooth by the day but I never catch myself wishing that I was younger...well maybe when I see a particularly pretty young thing. But that aside...if I was a young man, I would need a rock to cling to in my life and some good mentors. Tennis has been a rock for me, a couple of times I found myself clinging to it for dear life and I also have a healthy respect for older guys...and the older the better!

So, I really like the fact that you have a healthy respect for the older guys on the forum and they in turn are very happy to help you in any way they can. tennis_chiro took the time and invested some of his own experiences to try to communicate what may lie ahead for you in your pursuit of some level of excellence in the game of tennis. This is very commendable...on both parts. The older guys that were trying to steer me in the right direction when I was your age and embarked upon a similar path, remain some of my closest friends and my fondest memories.

I haven't read "The Talent Code" but I am going to. Perhaps I will wait for the rush to the store to subside before I purchase a copy. I am pretty much convinced there isn't much new under the sun. The word "myelin" keeps coming up and I wonder how I got this far without it...without knowing exactly what it is. I wonder if I actually have any. Well I suppose Richard Gonzales didn't know what it meant. From all accounts Roger Federer doesn't read much so its possible that he doesn't know what it is either. I just wanted to warn you...I have not read "The Talent Code" yet, but I have read "The Last Words of Richard Holbrooke" by John Escher.

Here is the first point to you, as a young man who has decided to embark upon the sojourn of a tennis player. There is more than one way to skin a cat and just because you did not start at the youngest of possible ages, don't rule yourself out of the race in the long run. First of all, it's a long run and the first ones out of the gates will not necessarily be the first at the finish line. Perhaps the most important factor in your development as a tennis player and that of a human being rests in your attitude. Here are a couple of words regarding that facet of...your humanness. Your attitude.

Attitude:

"The longer i live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."-Charles Swindoll

Attitudes too, are developed over time. Much of it is done in the formative years...where you are presently in your life. The thing about this pursuit of tennis is that the behaviors that you will learn through this process will be of indeterminable value to you later on in life. Full speed ahead. Leave no stone unturned in your quest. Take a page out of the tennis_chiro book of life. You will end up doing it your way in the end. The process that you are embarking upon can be the basis for the ways you will approach new challenges and the hurdles that you will encounter later on in your life. Study the process and connect the dots...the three little dots.

I don't know much about ball machines either. But I did get to know this one wall pretty decently. I had read Bill Tilden's "Match Play and Spin of the Ball" when I was fairly young and I got it in my noggin if that old fart could improve his backhand over the course of one winter...I could too. I think that the wall is pretty much discounted as a valuable tool in the development of a tennis player, especially as man has evolved into a more modern creature, a more enlightened being. But I for one think that is a mistake. If you can incorporate the ideas of repetition, patience and imagination in using the wall the investment of your time and effort will give you an extraordinary rate of return. Instead of investing in a ball machine I would ask my father to build me a wall in the backyard as an investment in my future. That being said...remember, I am from the Stone Age.

With regards to your late start in the sport of tennis...all you have to do is adjust your schedule accordingly. In my opinion, it's a colossal waste of time starting 98% of the kids before they are at least ten years old. Kids that young don't have a clue. Of course there are exceptions. Either way, it's a ten year program in my book. Ten trips around the sun...with you going along for the ride. This is a perfect age for you to embark on the journey...for you. Everyone is different. My own father started when he was 37 and he became an excellent player. For some reason the ten thousand hour rule does't appeal to me...or apply for that matter. It's ten years that is the rule of thumb. If you are 14 now, first of all we determine how much credit we give you for your efforts so far and I arrived at the conclusion that we will give you a credit of one year of hard work. So that leaves you nine more years to become a champion and then the question is...the champion of what? The answer to that is, it doesn't matter...let's just say the champion of something, perhaps of your soul or your neighborhood. If you do your best...you will have an easy time accepting the results. So that puts you at the age 23 years old when you will be arriving more or less at a level of let's say...competitive. You see...it's not too late. If you follow through...on your program. I think that perhaps around the time you are 18 or so you will not be quite ready for the full machine of college competition so at that point you may consider junior college for a year or two, but who knows. You may surprise us. I wouldn't put it past you.

If I were you...I would lay the foundation for my tennis game in sound fundamentals. This isn't such a popular notion these days with fad's that pass for tennis technique. As a teacher I teach my students to hit flatter balls with shorter follow throughs in the beginning and we build on that. It's up to the student to a certain point and once they are far enough along in the process, they can be trusted to make the right decisions for themselves with regards to the flourishes that they wish to add. The most important part of training a tennis player is training them with sound fundamentals and training them to think for themselves...and give them a sense of confidence in their independence. The book “How to Play Better Tennis: a complete guide to technique and tactics” by Bill Tilden contains some of the most valuable insights into the sport of tennis ever conceived. Part three of the book is titled “Match Play Tactics and Tennis Psychology” and I challenge somebody to show me another writing that is as brilliant and as concise as this one.

To be continued...

[don_budge]

Part 2...To be or not to be. That is the question Phil!

Enough about philosophy...it's only food for thought, this is just the tip of the iceberg for that matter. Here is a drill that can serve as your aerobic training as well. Your later start in the game requires you to combine your efforts, to consolidate your time and energy, to organize your thoughts and actions in order to become an efficient, lean, mean, fighting, tennis playing machine. I made this drill up when I was "competitive" and it remains my favorite tennis drill of all time. The whole point of it is to move forwards and backwards. The point of it is to move from the baseline to the net and all points in between. The point of it is to learn the relationship of the strokes as you get closer to the net and as a consequence closer to your opponents baseline. The point of it is to become familiar with the forecourt as well as the backcourt and to learn to use the whole court. The point of it is to train you in the subtleties of the game...the half volley, volley, overheads and underspin touch shots. I am still a proponent of all court tennis. I may be alone, which is just fine by me. I wouldn't bet against the tennis powers that be feeling the same way as me in the end...quite possibly in the near future. Sure it’s exciting for someone who never knew real tennis to become enamored with the speed of the modern game but any true aficionado will always long for the thoughtful, philosophical and intellectual approach to the greatest game that God ever bequeathed to the human race...classic tennis.

Aerobic Tennis...

So westcoast777...use your imagination...use that new pile of goop that you are conjuring in that noodle of yours. You and I are on the tennis court...you are taking a lesson from me in virtual reality...I am in reality in Europe and you are on the west coast of America. We are using eight brand new Technifibre tennis balls (in Europe they come in containers of four), whenever we miss we immediately put another pill into play. No dilly dalleying. No shilly shalleying. Here's the drill. To begin with I am working in the backcourt and you will be the one moving up and back. I start the rally and you take the first ball on the rise and move in towards the net. I return to you and you take the second ball on a half volley and move closer to the net. I always return down the middle and you take the third ball in the air and move right on top of the net to take the fourth with an aggressive move forward. When moving forward do so aggressively. At this point, when you have reached the net, you immediately begin to retreat backwards and I return a ball to you that you volley while retreating towards the baseline. The next ball you play a half volley and on the next ball you have reached your point of origin...the baseline. At which point, you begin the process again...you immediately begin moving aggressively towards the net at the first opportunity, on the first ball. My role in the drill is to return the ball consistently down the middle and to make you work by not missing...thereby allowing you to continuously advance and retreat without stopping. After a few trips to the net you will see why I call this drill "aerobic tennis".

You can do a number of variations of this drill. For instance, one variation might be that once you are on top of the net, I throw up a lob to initiate your retreat to the baseline. For instance, another variation may be that I play all of my returns standing on my service line or at the net while you are working your way up and back. Now you must concentrate a bit more on your target and perhaps you vary your target...plus the fact you are in a bit of a hurry now, seeing that we are working that much closer to each other. For a while you might focus on hitting at my racquet head waist high on my forehand and then change to focusing on hitting the ball at my feet on the forehand side. Switch on these two targets on every other shot. Alternate between targets on my forehand and my backhand at various heights. There are an infinite number of combinations and permutations. Always under control. Each shot with a specific intention in terms of placement, spin and speed. Shots that are hit closer and closer to the net require more and more control and less and less pace. Less and less backswing. It’s like practicing the short game in golf...except you are working your ass off. Develop touch.

Another variation is where we are both advancing and retreating. Let's say that in this virtual reality lesson I begin at the net and hit a ball to you. You immediately begin advancing on the first ball and I immediately begin to retreat. You reach the net at the same time I reach the baseline, so now you begin to retreat as I begin to advance. Forwards and backwards...until we both collapse in a puddle of sweat. It won't take long. I promise. Then you get up and do it some more.

One more variation is where we both begin on the baseline and we both advance on the initial balls to us. So we are approaching the net at the same time and retreating at the same time. We are learning how to do the dance of tennis. It’s sort of a tango! There is no certainty...there's just the next shot to be played. Getting our weight, balance, footwork, racquet, mind, body and soul under control in order to learn to play the game...to do the dance, to play the shot! This sort of training beat's the hell out of thoughtlessly bashing balls from baseline to baseline forever.

Well there you go...young man. Just a couple of ideas. I like the idea of your "shadow boxing" but I also want you to exercise that noodle of yours. I am also going to prescribe a healthy dose of classical literature for you. Your writing skills and reading skills at your age indicate to me that you are using both sides of your bipolar brain...with a slight dominance from the left side. I wonder if bottle agrees that this might be good training for an aspiring tennis player. To feed and nourish that imagination of yours. I might begin by recommending the book "Hunger" by my favorite Scandinavian author, Knut Hamsun a Norwegian. It’s a story about a guy who lives in Oslo that is starving but dreams about being a writer. He’s a student in the school of hard knocks. Put yourself in his shoes...in your imagination. Then I recommend you read everything you can find by him. Then I recommend that you choose another author...there are so many to choose from. Get the book "The Books in my Life" by Henry Miller. That will give you a good starting point in your intellectual quest. Don't forget to read "Don Quixote" by Cervantes and "Journey to the End of the Night" by Celine. You don't want to be a one dimensional tennis player...you want to be a multi-faceted human being who plays all court tennis. By reading the classics...you can travel through time and space in the comfort of your favorite reading chair. No sweat!

Myelin...shmyelin. Indeed!

[don_budge]

Just one more thing...the serve.

I say that a lot don't I...just one more thing. Tennis is a deep well from which to draw.

The serve...tennis_chiro touched on this and to further elaborate use the Stan Smith video to practice by. Variation and repeatability combined with high percentage of first serves in is going to be a huge factor in your relative success. Being left handed, the service becomes a double edged sword for you...just the kind of weapon you want to take to your duels.

A big slice, a huge kick, and the normal "topspin" serve combined with an explosive cannonball to 5 or 6 targets in each of the deuce and ad courts will be worth their weight in gold to you...in the final analysis.

You might want to get down to Los Angeles once a month of so to let Don take a look at you. It certainly couldn't hurt. What the hell...meet in the Bay area. Perhaps JohnY might be interested in this sort of thing from a tennisplayer.net point of view. It's an interesting story and might make for some interesting video analysis. I'd recommend it.

Whoops! That was two things or maybe three. Over and out...for now!

[tennis_chiro]

Any other voices out there?

I agree with just about everything d_b has to say here. I'm not familiar with most of his reading list, but I'm certainly going to add those items to my wish list.

I think the idea about the wall in the back yard is awfully good. If you have a backyard with a flat area with about 10 to 12 feet of width and 27 feet of depth, you can put in an effective wall for about the same price as that ball machine. "The Wall" (see http://www.globaltennisinstitute.com/tennis-wall.html) will cost you about $1,200 plus another $400 to get it shipped to NorCal. If you happen to have a garage with an 8 foot ceiling, you can almost fit one in there, certainly if you use a Quickstart ball. You have to consider whether you have the space and how nuts it might make your neighbors. But that wall really works, and it probably gives you the most reps per minute. Whether or not it is "deep practice" is a question of the attitude you bring to the practice session. And I believe another Swede with the initials BB essentially built his game on a wall!

But, in another vein, isn't there anybody out there who thinks we are full of it or at least has something else to add if not another point of view?! Come on, you guys, Pipe up!

don

[westcoast777]

Wow! Another great response, don_budge.
So many ideas and thoughts to consider and respond to makes it a challenge to quote, so I will response generally.

I'll first go into greater detail about my plans for development.
Technique and understanding the strokes is an obsession. I try to film each of my strokes in high-speed once a week, upload the footage to my computer, and compare the stroke to my pro-model. I look for discrepancies and attempt to relate one problem to another. Example for the forehand: The tilt in the shoulders at contact, the off-arm dropping, and coming short of full shoulder rotation into contact. I shadow stroke and mess around with the variables one at a time, consciously keeping my shoulders level, keeping the off-arm up, whipping my shoulders open. And then combinations, and so on until I make a discovery or meet a dead end and look for other flaws that I may have missed. I record the date and write a short entry, detailing the issues I have with the strokes qualitatively (ex: I often miss long, or, I have trouble hitting flat wide serves in the deuce court) and the positives (ex: my slice in the ad court is affective against right-handers). Finally, I decide on one or, at the most, two changes to make to the stroke, type it into the log, and commit to them until my next filming session.
I have done the above practice for two weeks now and I am pleased with the results so far. Gradual technical improvement, with footage saved each week with the entry.
I also make note of technical changes my coach makes in the log.
For now, the ground strokes are filmed from what would be called a "Center" position, if the footage were uploaded to the highspeed archives. Next will be the "Wide" position, then "Running" and so on. I have just stumbled upon the importance of footwork in the past few days and will start recording footwork improvements soon.

Attitude: Certainly, the right attitude is an asset. It would be difficult to put it any better than you have said it. In particular, the attitude the pros take onto the court is unbelievable. Watching the Nadal-Djokovic match made me cringe, all the long points they played. Strong, fighting will from both players.

Up and Back: Interesting. Approaching the net and playing all-court tennis is not something I am familiar with, which likely means I have quite a bit of room to improve. The volleys are a stroke I have neglected so far, perhaps they will be my next foray. Ending points at the net is not something I can do reliably...

Working with Don/JohnY: I don't see anytime in the next two months I'd be able to go down to the LA area, but that's a great idea if tennis_chiro would be welcome to the idea of working with me. I've actually worked with JohnY twice already, with very good results. My serve and, particularly, my backhand were greatly improved for the trip. I'd definitely consider working with him again in the near future, but I'd like to get rid of the more basic flaws with my "Improvement Log" and leave the tough work for JY

[tennis_chiro]

Great approach!

Phil,
I love the way you are going after like this is your own "Manhattan Project". But don't forget to play some competitive tennis! As soon as I have some time, I'll post a different version of d_b's upandback drill, but his drill sounds great. You have to begin to work on your volleys soon. You don't have to go to the net in your matches that much yet, but you do have to begin to develop the skill to finish there. Don't put that off any longer.

As for coming to LA, I'd love to work with you, but it sounds like it would be a lot more practical to continue to see JY who is a little closer to you. He'll keep you on the right path.

I also hope that you will post some of your progress and let us see what you are working on via youtube.

I will just reiterate once more that you have to play. Be as diligent in your search for reliable, committed practice partners that you can share your journey with as you are in your efforts to document your progress. They can be a little younger than you are or a lot older; they just need to be willing and able to participate with you in a good practice session. This is a completely different task from getting good match play and getting your 8 sets minimum a week of actual play. At the same time, that is also really important. Use the analytical stuff to keep you on your main track. It's important to have process goals as well as outcome goals and track your progress towards them. But don't get so wrapped up in all the recordkeeping and planning that you don't get to live today and play today!

keep up the good work,
don

[don_budge]

Sherlock Holmes...an approach to learning tennis

Edited by don_budge

I'll first go into greater detail about my plans for development.
Technique and understanding the strokes is an obsession. I try to film each of my strokes in high-speed once a week, upload the footage to my computer, and compare the stroke to my pro-model. I look for discrepancies and attempt to relate one problem to another.

I record the date and write a short entry, detailing the issues I have with the strokes qualitatively (ex: I often miss long, or, I have trouble hitting flat wide serves in the deuce court) and the positives (ex: my slice in the ad court is affective against right-handers). Finally, I decide on one or, at the most, two changes to make to the stroke, type it into the log, and commit to them until my next filming session.

I have done the above practice for two weeks now and I am pleased with the results so far. Gradual technical improvement, with footage saved each week with the entry.

I also make note of technical changes my coach makes in the log.
For now, the ground strokes are filmed from what would be called a "Center" position, if the footage were uploaded to the highspeed archives. Next will be the "Wide" position, then "Running" and so on.

I have just stumbled upon the importance of footwork in the past few days and will start recording footwork improvements soon.

Up and Back: Interesting. Approaching the net and playing all-court tennis is not something I am familiar with, which likely means I have quite a bit of room to improve. The volleys are a stroke I have neglected so far, perhaps they will be my next foray. Ending points at the net is not something I can do reliably...

Working with Don/JohnY

westcoast777...I must say, young man...that you have made quite a project out of this. I am very, very impressed. tennis_chiro has given you a mountain of work and all of it good stuff. You can eat an elephant...just do it one bite at a time. I believe that the future bodes well for you for a number of reasons...and not just in regards to your tennis game. I think that I am right about your brain...you are functioning on a different level than most. Don't worry if others don't seem to get you or understand you, they could be using different operating systems. Keep marching to that inner drummer. You are going to end up doing it your way in the end.

Your ideas of documentation are really sound. Ben Hogan recommends as much in his book "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf". Keep in mind that technique is only a means to an end and not the end in itself. It will be tactics in the end...after you have built a fundamentally sound technique that will enable you to accomplish your mission. There is a huge difference in how to hit the ball and how to play the game.

The "up and back" drill that I have described to you is a good place to start with your revelation about footwork. I am curious about the other Don's interpretation of this drill. Every swing begins from the feet upwards which is the reason it is so important to get your feet in position. When your feet are in position, your hips are in position...when your hips are in position, your shoulders are in position. If you can get in position properly...you can go forwards effortlessly and seamlessly...if you learn to begin your swing with a gentle pull of the racquet to the ball in coordination with your turning hips and shoulders. Effortless power is the goal of your technique.

When pedaling backwards do a bit of a quick backwards skipping step. Learning to hit tennis balls when you are moving backwards will teach you a lot about your balance and the importance of proper weight distribution. It will teach you how to play shots when you fail to get your weight properly distributed. You can get the racquet head through the ball when you are off balance but it's a bit tricky. Very important stuff...once you begin to play the game. When you reach the baseline...add a little Mohammed Ali shuffle for a little flourish to your exercise. Learn to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. I am really anxious to hear if you have worked on this drill with your coach or hitting partners. You can do this drill with anyone that can hit the ball consistently straight down the middle in the court...I like to do it with my students just for exercise.

The thing that I really like about you, westcoast777, is your maturity and your approach to such a complicated endeavor as playing the game of tennis. You immediately have recognized the magnitude of your undertaking and made one of your first moves a concentrated attempt to try and organize the thing. As a coach, I would much rather invest my time with an ambitious student like yourself rather than clueless children. I think that one of the major prevailing fallacies that exists today is that you must start as a young child in order to be a good tennis player. Read Sherlock Holmes in your spare time...by Sir Conan Doyle. Hogan also recommends the detective approach.

My only reason for mentioning Don and John was perhaps a "photo op" sort of thing for tennisplayer.net. I thought it would make a nice article.

Do your best every day...work hard but enjoy yourself as well. Work hard and play hard...that's the ticket. Let the chips fall where they may. Room to improve = potential.

[tennis_chiro]

Lobster

Phil,
I went by the Lobster factory today. It looks like they have a nice portable machine. The Elite 2 with the simple remote and basic charger(about $1700 out the door with tax) should give you enough variety to get some real benefits. It will give you the chance to move forward and back as well as side to side. It might even allow you to do d_b's front/back drill. But it will basically fire the same ball all the time; just with an oscillating direction, both vertically and horizontally, if you want that. I think you can adjust the ball, but it will be the same within any individual drill. It will get much more expensive to set the actual position of the shots, which they do digitally with their Limited edition (about $3,100 out the door with tax). I hope to go take a look at the Tennis Tutor tomorrow. Unfortunately, I didn't see the Lobster operate.

don