Sheer talent...or 10,000 hours to make a pro

[GeoffWilliams]

Nalbandian (Argentinian my ass, looks like a nazi artillery officer. He's as Argentinian as Giselle Buendchen is Brazilian!), has always been a topspin off cross court angles,flat down the line grind you to death, hardly ever come into the net type of Agassi assassin clone. IN the beginning owned Federer. Who also had troulbe early on with Hewitt. These super returners cannot be served and volleyed on without Sampras ability server. Any volley not absolutely killed low and away gets eaten up and you are passed easily with some crazy angle shot.


I call out to the powers that be: Acapulco's final match (only decided on three points: a double fault, a high back hand, and a mishit forehand) a good indication of what can happen to the final if you:

Speed up the courts, speed up the courts and even out the tactical edges. Anderson came in 31 times (20/31) and Dimitrov: 9/11. 65% vs. 81% winning net odds.

[GeoffWilliams]

Thanks for the breakdown don_budge. My post was simply put up to ask what the questions about what a player needs, the talent or the practice. I used myself as an example. I appreciate the thoughts and I can tell from your line of questioning you are a good coach. My speed? I'm actually pretty fast, the problem is I'm fast for guys my size. No where near the explosiveness of someone who is 6 feet tall and 30lbs lighter. My tactics are pretty sound but in my opinion, I think everyone can use help in this department.

So what does it take more of to become a master or expert? Talent or hours or both? I know some don't like to use the word "talent", so if its not talent, what word do we use to describe someone with "talent"? Attributes is a good word. What attributes do we absolutely need. Can these attributes be improved, learned or gained or is it just luck of the draw?

As for a tennisplayer.net forum get together, I mentioned to another member in private that it would be great to have a tp.net meeting. A time and place where we can all meet, banter, share ideas, learn from each other and maybe watch some great tennis. Indian Wells or Miami 2015 anyone?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I say a tournament, for forum guys! Cash prizes! Fun exercise practices. (Yandell has to play singles! Have to have 500 posts to enter.) Double elimination, or a buy back in.

[klacr]

I say a tournament, for forum guys! Cash prizes! Fun exercise practices. (Yandell has to play singles! Have to have 500 posts to enter.) Double elimination, or a buy back in.

I'm in! Need 10 more posts.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[10splayer]

I say a tournament, for forum guys! Cash prizes! Fun exercise practices. (Yandell has to play singles! Have to have 500 posts to enter.) Double elimination, or a buy back in.

Free drinks and 1# seed for anyone that outposts Bottle.

[stroke]

Free drinks and 1# seed for anyone that outposts Bottle.

If this was Facebook, I would have hit the "like" button.

[stotty]

Seedings...

In a forum tournament, the seedings (based on posts) would be as follows:-

John Yandell #1
bottle #2
don_budge #3
Stotty #4

Geoff, Klacr, stroke and 10splayer would doubtless be the dangerous floaters in the draw. Folk would pay big money to see a don_budge versus 10splayer showdown...the paparazzi would be climbing over themselves to get snaps of that one.

But if all goes according to plan, it's me versus John in the semi, and after seeing his sliced backhand in the Pro Slice and Your Slice article, I fancy my chances. That would just leave either don_budge or bottle to be mopped up in the final. I know bottle's ever-changing game better than himself since I read his posts most days, so I have a game plan for him. don_budge will need a good old fashioned fast court to have any chance of defeating me, and as there are none of those around these days...the title would seem to be mine.

Let's get started...

[GeoffWilliams]

Free drinks and 1# seed for anyone that outposts Bottle.

Ha, ha. Can't be done.

[10splayer]

In a forum tournament, the seedings (based on posts) would be as follows:-

John Yandell #1
bottle #2
don_budge #3
Stotty #4

Geoff, Klacr, stroke and 10splayer would doubtless be the dangerous floaters in the draw. Folk would pay big money to see a don_budge versus 10splayer showdown...the paparazzi would be climbing over themselves to get snaps of that one.

But if all goes according to plan, it's me versus John in the semi, and after seeing his sliced backhand in the Pro Slice and Your Slice article, I fancy my chances. That would just leave either don_budge or bottle to be mopped up in the final. I know bottle's ever-changing game better than himself since I read his posts most days, so I have a game plan for him. don_budge will need a good old fashioned fast court to have any chance of defeating me, and as there are none of those around these days...the title would seem to be mine.

Let's get started...

This is funny. Yeah, you think DB may hit a couple overheads my way? Doubt i'd play well though, as I am intimated/in awe of the metaphysical. My only chance would be to split step. Not only would I split step, but I'd say the word split step, to remind myself to split step. Then I'd ask Worldsbesttenniscoach if i split stepped...well at least better then Fed. Cause, he doesn't know how.

But alas, im 0-9 against armchair theorists, so I don't like my chances.

I'll show up though, unless DB puts me on time out..... again.

[klacr]

In a forum tournament, the seedings (based on posts) would be as follows:-

John Yandell #1
bottle #2
don_budge #3
Stotty #4

Geoff, Klacr, stroke and 10splayer would doubtless be the dangerous floaters in the draw. Folk would pay big money to see a don_budge versus 10splayer showdown...the paparazzi would be climbing over themselves to get snaps of that one.

But if all goes according to plan, it's me versus John in the semi, and after seeing his sliced backhand in the Pro Slice and Your Slice article, I fancy my chances. That would just leave either don_budge or bottle to be mopped up in the final. I know bottle's ever-changing game better than himself since I read his posts most days, so I have a game plan for him. don_budge will need a good old fashioned fast court to have any chance of defeating me, and as there are none of those around these days...the title would seem to be mine.

Let's get started...

Great stuff! Not knowing the level of players or never having seen them play, it will make seeding tough. Something to keep in mind...age of competitors. Youth vs. Experience. I'm 31. Full of energy. Ready to go. All day.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bottle]

Maybe, though obsessive, you were too nice and not crazy enough like an Austrian skier, Elmar Schneider I met on a student ship. He had every bit of talent necessary. They assigned him to triggering avalances-- that's how good he was, good enough clearly for the National Team but didn't feel he was crazy enough. I'm dozy from drugs for a dental implant which is keep me off he courts for a few weeks. I can barely type-- will report soon. Yes Dead Poets Sockety. A very good school, but with the kind of shortcomings I devised. Couldn't have gone there without a scholarship. Best. See ya.

[bottle]

Don't know to whom I was replying in #25-- need to improve my use of the reply with quote button. The typing and logic and references were obscure, too, and though I tried to offer an excuse, I truly am woozy and on drugs now for an extracted tooth that was extremely infected.

That I should be seeded 2nd in the poster's tournament however is ridiculous. I should be placed at last for purposes of future surprise that will only occur if I have a great day with my Rosewallian backhand slice. As for my 1htsbh, it won't quite be ready in time.

[bottle]

Public and Private School Tennis Can Both be Good

I got into this game because I was inspired by some players. Some players who are now coaching federer and Djokovic. And no, I'm not talking about Severin Luthi and Marian Vajda. ...

Deep questions. Or shallow questions. Depends how you view it. Perhaps questions for Cranbrook Students (Bloomfield Hills on the shores of Kingswood Lake) C'mon bottle, you remember Dead Poets Society? and even questions for Dr. Herbert Krickstein as to where his son went right and where I went wrong.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

When I try to point to a specific section of somebody's quote the way Don Budge does, it never works for me but I'll try again.

I liked DEAD POET'S SOCIETY and am interested in both private and public schools, having attended them 50-50 from ages 12 through 17 .

As an education editor among other duties for a middle sized daily newspaper in Connecticut, I became more deeply concerned about public education and now think that if America were more resolute about making non business model numerical improvements to local systems (especially a committed reduction in class size), we could pretty much kiss the decadent luxury of private prep schools goodbye.

This is opposite to current political climate in Michigan and too much of the American elsewhere which decade after decade short-changes public schools, e.g., Detroit central but Grosse Pointe here too which last week turned down a sensible measure for better technologies in North and South which would have helped those two big high schools maintain their high standard and appeal to outside business.

I like the old film MR. CHIPS and thought that man for man-- for there were no women in my personal mix-- the strength of faculty at Hotchkiss was higher even than at Brown, although recently a Brown undergraduate came to share one-half of the discovery of water on the moon.

The expense at Hotchkiss however! Definitely aimed at exclusion for the one per cent. And that expense now is 100 per cent worse though doubtless someone would like to twiddle my math. When I was there, I had a pretty good scholarship thanks to the previous headmaster George Van Santvoord-- a very interesting man and not just for interviewing me when he was leaving and didn't have to do that!-- and that helped a whole lot but still...

Hotchkiss in Lakeville, Connecticut and University Liggett of Grosse Pointe Michigan where the Pulitzer Prize winning writer and Brown graduate Jeffrey Eugenides attended have good tennis teams, and so does South, and North isn't bad either.

Since tennis matters, maybe this personal evidence does too, and we need a better balance between public and private through more bucks to public rather than to dicey business incentives that have included a major downgrading of the movie industry. (I guess the business community in Michigan, a pretty shallow lot, don't like anything that might be art. An exception might be PBX Chemical CEO Jim Nicholson's unfailing support of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.)

Recently, I loved my 55th reunion at Hotchkiss. I had a great time with dudes I detested when I was 16 . And clearly the whole atmosphere had become humanized through women as students and more women on the faculty.

However, I still question the social scene engendered by America's private schools. There is too much entitlement, don't you know. Incidents like our football captain's check of a skinny Jew in the stairwell and Mitt's snip-snip of a gay guy's long hair are part of a petri dish producing bullies and cliques and fossils rather than mature men.

[lobndropshot]

Secrets of Sucess

This thread has taken a turn for the weird I meant to post a couple days ago. I think this goes along the lines of what we were talking about. http://www.radiolab.org/story/91971-secrets-of-success/

[bottle]

Weird? Or "reality?"