My Little Buddy...Aaron

[don_budge]

Here is an ATP forehand...or am I mistaken? Something new under the sun? Hardly.

My little buddy...Aaron. He played Joey and I was Jake...as in Jake LaMotta. I was the "Raging Bull"...raging against the Prince Graphite. We loved McEnroe. It was 1980. We saw that movie together with his father Herb. We used to play on that. He used to punch me in the arm and I would look at him and laugh...I would say "you can't hurt steel". He went on to play some great tennis. I couldn't have been prouder of him. Always a gentleman...just like me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3vnlPtt2GE

He grew up just around the corner from where bottle is operating out of now. The Lochmoor Country Club. Nice 'hood. They got me a nice little part time gig there when I was temporarily laid off from my job with Ford Motor Company during the recession of '81. They and Chuck Brainard...my good friend and the head professional. The restaurant at the club had the best New England Clam Chowder...I will never forget that. That was some pretty high living for a poor Columbian Kid just trying to make a living. Ahemm...maybe I should claim to be the inventor of the ATP forehand. Nah...that wouldn't be me.

[bottle]

This sequence, among other things, is a good example of reduced or eliminated pause between backward and forward forehand body rotations as is any of the very different in other respects John McEnroe forehands that I have examined (!).

I'm thinking of pool, of billiards, where people talk about a pendulum. But a pendulum can be circular, too, as in some old clocks.

And the backward rotation could be delayed for sideways travel, as here, or protracted all through the footwork for a really cool feel.

Lucky you are to know the Kricksteins. I'm lucky to know the family of Aaron's partner in the junior national champion mixed doubles. Met her, too. Doesn't play tennis any more.

[klacr]

Here is an ATP forehand...or am I mistaken? Something new under the sun? Hardly.

My little buddy...Aaron. He played Joey and I was Jake...as in Jake LaMotta. I was the "Raging Bull"...raging against the Prince Graphite. We loved McEnroe. It was 1980. We saw that movie together with his father Herb. We used to play on that. He used to punch me in the arm and I would look at him and laugh...I would say "you can't hurt steel". He went on to play some great tennis. I couldn't have been prouder of him. Always a gentleman...just like me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3vnlPtt2GE

He grew up just around the corner from bottle is operating out of now. The Lochmoor Country Club. Nice 'hood. They got me a nice little part time gig there when I got temporarily laid off with Ford's during the recession of '81. They and Chuck Brainard...my friend and the head professional. The restaurant at the club had the best New England Clam Chowder...I will never forget that. That was some pretty high living for a poor Columbian Kid just trying to make a living. Ahemm...maybe I should claim to be the inventor of the ATP forehand. Nah...that wouldn't be me.

Nice video. It's a small world. I happen to know Aaron very well since he happens to be a member of the gated country club community that I teach at. he's also the director of tennis at a a club 2 minutes down the road from where we are. We get along because we both cheer for the Michigan Wolverines and we both keep our mouths shut when around other people. Not conceited, just shy and introverted. Great guy.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bottle]

And I really do think this is the ATP forehand. Maybe the best example I've seen. Or am I wrong? Like Steve, I ask for someone to set me straight if it isn't true.

In one of the comments under the YouTube video someone talks, almost disparagingly, about the lowness of Aaron's arm compared to "most pros." But Aaron's forearm is roughly parallel to the court. He looks like Roger Federer in that regard. Neither guy lifts the elbow way up which the commenter insists is the norm. Well, maybe it was three years ago, and maybe it will continue to be, but should it be? What exactly is the advantage of that with all we now know?

I tried to add a reply to said three-year-old comment but the link was either too old or some blindfolded monitor scotched my deathless prose. I suggested that the commenter bring himself up to date by learning about the Gordon-Macci-Yandell ATP Forehand which advises getting forearm parallel to the court.

Wow, it sure is fun watching associated videos of Aaron dealing so well with Edberg and Stich.

[don_budge]

Wolverines...and other furry critters.

We get along because we both cheer for the Michigan Wolverines and we both keep our mouths shut when around other people. Not conceited, just shy and introverted. Great guy.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Yes of course...I had forgotten that about him. A big Wolverine fan. I will never forget though what a nice boy he was. Not just nice but modest and almost embarrassed at the great achievements that he made at such a young age. His behavior and attitude is not so much a reflection of his tennis...but a reflection of the love and devotion of his wonderful parents. Dad is truly an original...they broke the mold when it comes to parents. The good doctor is equally impressive as the son. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree...as they say. Mom was a saint. Their devotion to their children was unparalleled in my eyes.

I am not certain if he holds some kind of record for national junior titles won but he just might. He was always playing up in his age group also. He is the youngest player to win an ATP event or at least he was. One of his strongest attributes was that forehand of his. I distinctly remember having a very difficult time seeing the ball coming back at me when he hit that thing, let alone trying to get into position to do something meaningful with it...it was traveling that fast. The backhand was no picnic to play against either. This was at the age of fourteen or so.

Beyond the strokes though...there was his competitive spirit. Personally, I have never known anyone who wanted to win like he did. What a tennis heart! He wasn't the biggest, the quickest or the strongest...but man...pound for pound the kid was tough. Really tough. He would never quit. It was the mental part of his game that complemented his technique that made him so tough. Actually he quit on me a couple of times in practice...when he was about ten years old. I used to frustrate him with my lefty spin serves...but he got used to them long before he was shaving. Truly a child prodigy...and a genuine human being. A rare combination.

He is very modest Kyle...very much like yourself. He might just be embarrassed to hear me speak of him like this. He might just remember an old friend who cared for him like a little brother. I can certainly see why you two get along. It was so nice to hear that you two know each other!

[klacr]

Yes of course...I had forgotten that about him. A big Wolverine fan. I will never forget though what a nice boy he was. Not just nice but modest and almost embarrassed at the great achievements that he made at such a young age. His behavior and attitude is not so much a reflection of his tennis...but a reflection of the love and devotion of his wonderful parents. Dad is truly an original...they broke the mold when it comes to parents. The good doctor is equally impressive as the son. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree...as they say. Mom was a saint. Their devotion to their children was unparalleled in my eyes.

I am not certain if he holds some kind of record for national junior titles won but he just might. He was always playing up in his age group also. He is the youngest player to win an ATP event or at least he was. One of his strongest attributes was that forehand of his. I distinctly remember having a very difficult time seeing the ball coming back at me when he hit that thing, let alone trying to get into position to do something meaningful with it...it was traveling that fast. The backhand was no picnic to play against either. This was at the age of fourteen or so.

Beyond the strokes though...there was his competitive spirit. Personally, I have never known anyone who wanted to win like he did. What a tennis heart! He wasn't the biggest, the quickest or the strongest...but man...pound for pound the kid was tough. Really tough. He would never quit. It was the mental part of his game that complemented his technique that made him so tough. Actually he quit on me a couple of times in practice...when he was about ten years old. I used to frustrate him with my lefty spin serves...but he got used to them long before he was shaving. Truly a child prodigy...and a genuine human being. A rare combination.

He is very modest Kyle...very much like yourself. He might just be embarrassed to hear me speak of him like this. He might just remember an old friend who cared for him like a little brother. I can certainly see why you two get along. It was so nice to hear that you two know each other!

Birds of a feather...


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton