A New Teaching System: Serve: Swing Keys

[johnyandell]

Would love to get your thoughts on my latest, "A New Teaching System: Serve: Swing Keys"

[TheWatcher]

Been away for too long. Came back and dived into the entire new method serve.

My thought is that this article pulled together the series in multiple ways. Confessing that I have studied a lot of online serve gurus--some of whom I think you mentored. The detail, sophistication, simplicity and easy camera presence are all the best I have seen.

[stotty]

It's been a great series, and this was a great way to round up. The videography in this last video is really quite wonderful and quite simply the best I have seen.

John, you've become awfully good with that camera of yours.

[hockeyscout]

This is great ...

My eight year old is watching it and getting her head wrapped around it. It's a bit complex for a younger kid, however, she's on it. Hopefully she'll figure out a new way to reinvent what she see's on this site in these articles, videos and game matches she is seeing. She's very verbal, so the video was nice.

[klacr]

Great video on "Swing Keys"

Clear, succinct and relateable to players at any level. Having concise images and visualization power is an enormous factor in the feeling, thinking, cerebral game we know as tennis. Like the late Robin Williams once said..."tennis is chess at 90mph".

Having an order, a strategy and a image burned into your brain on what needs to happen and what you need to feel is advantageous beyond what any buzz words or cliche teaching tips are circulating in the world.

The worst part of this article...It represents the end of a marvelous series on the serve and John's teaching system. I really enjoyed it. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I hope there are more series like this in the future on the forehand, backhand and volley. Knowing John, I have a feeling he is one step ahead of us.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[jimlosaltos]

video

Would love to get your thoughts on my latest, "A New Teaching System: Serve: Swing Keys"

I particularly liked the way you re-cropped your existing videos to focus in on various elements of the serve. Good stuff.

[johnyandell]

Got an interesting detailed comment on the article from a subscriber who wishes to remain nameless. I have my thoughts but would like to hear from you guys here before I respond:

Thanks for doing this series on a topic that I think is so valuable. As always your content is great.
I must confess I prefer the text approach with moving images embedded because I can overview the contents quickly and read while I watch and easily see valuable clips repeated which embeds the stroke etc in my mind...

If you are going to do video lessons, I think keeping them fast paced and with voice over action pictures is key, with less of a head standing there talking...squeeze out all the fluff, the intros, the stuff that takes time to get to the meat. Just get to the main dish and pound away at your points in order...

As a point of comparison, and I hate to bring up a competitor because I've been a loyal follower of yours for years, I do find the video lessons that the tennisoxygen guy does pretty effective, especially with his pace and voice over discussion of slow motion video of the pros, with line drawings. It's great to be able to imprint the images of the pros doing serves by simply scrolling slow mo through the videos that you and the TO people present.
It's just what you prescribed.

The lesson you just posted had a great set of images of the elbow moving up and swing path...this came first and I liked the repeated series of images...but then you went back to the toss, which actually precedes the swing, and this was confusing in my mind...and then you moved into the second serve motion...pretty soon, all the images got mashed together. I think it would have been better to do two shorter lessons. One on the first serve motion in order of swing images needed, and the second on the second serve motions/images.

So honestly, I love your stuff, but since I have a media background, I just thought I'd give you two cents worth from a loyal fan about how to improve the new format...video is tough to do...and my view may not be the same as what many others want, as I see from the forum...

Good luck with it. keep pushing the envelop!

[klacr]

thoughts

John,

In regards to the comment,

I too enjoy the text with the videos embedded but your series on the serve is your own and therefore in your own and preferred style. I can still follow along and if anything the video with voiceover gives me a clearer and more detailed picture. If I did miss something, either conceptually or visually, I can always scroll back to rewind.

I don't mind the talking head idea for the first 30 seconds or so. I feel it humanizes the article and its sends the message that you are showing yourself, thereby standing behind your ideas and your beliefs. Putting a face with an idea condones confidence and pride.

As for this other website that was mentioned....tennisoxygen.com? NEVER HEARD OF IT. But to be fair, I gave it a chance and gave the site a little visit. Sadly, not much to be seen since the website has been "temporarily suspended" due to some copyright issues with their footage of tour players.
Once again, tennisplayer.net , often imitated, never duplicated.

If you are pondering a change John, you may want to provide the audio transcript and embedded video option along with the straight video and voiceover. It may be extra work but you would have both options covered. Either way, I'm supportive of the adaptation if necessary

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bottle]

More Informality and Bar Room Visits in Advanced Tennis Instruction

I'm working on a different style of serve at least in what the lower body and chest and human head do, but think the critic here has an overly left brain view of what advanced instruction should be. (Should I also say I have a "media background?" Probably not. Too many commentatoes over there.)

If one is teaching tennis to a complete beginner, there almost has to be a step one, step two etc. maybe up to 10 if not 300 .

But then, fellows, get over that, please. The best coaches in every sport do all kinds of spontaneous stuff and don't parse every little thing as they hold forth and more important, interact. This new informality may be essential to eliciting fresh perceptions from all sides.

Skip Prosser, the late basketball coach at Wake Forest University, had two Lithuanians on his team. And insisted on learning a new Lithuanian phrase every day.

What did this surprising conviction of Skip's have to do with clodhopping sequence in one of his training programs for hitting free shots? Nothing.

[stotty]

Tennis Oxygen has been suspended for breaching something or other. All I can say is some YouTube channels infringe just about everything. It's become impossible to police content except for the content of officially recognised websites, who try to do their level best not to infringe anything but unwittingly get caught out...seems unfair.

I am going to be honest. It's the best way.

The Tennis Oxgen owner is way too verbose and repeats himself over and over again to stretch out the clips. (I do like him, though, and his website.) So I cannot relate to what this anonymous poster is saying here. John has a slower delivery (a little too slow perhaps) but he isn't verbose and there is never unnecessary junk in his presentations. We aren't stupid, members would see through it if there were.

I think John's shooting sequences are great and VERY easy to follow...at least from the standpoint of a coach they are. John is out on his own when it comes to shooting positions and alignments. He has the best eye for it in the business.

John, speed up your delivery just slightly and you would be perfect...but then others may think differently. It's impossible to please everyone all of the time.

[stroke]

John, I think your presentations are right on track, no changes.

[johnyandell]

Thanks all for your thoughts! The forehand series starts in a couple of months!

[hockeyscout]

Thanks all for your thoughts! The forehand series starts in a couple of months!

John, we're all here (coaches and players) watching this serving video. You're a hell of a coach. We like it so much. Their are so many bullshitters in this industry who don't know squat ripping off parents its sad. I tell you, for 19.99 a month this is the best deal in the industry. Hats off to you. Nice job on this here.

[johnyandell]

HS,

That is fantastic to hear! And I happen to agree with you on the value proposition...

The big issue is coaches have to say something. The assumption is that they "should know" and actually "do know." But what they are talking about happens too fast for them to see accurately--so some things they say are correct and others are fabricated to fill the holes.

One of my hopes is that more and more coaches will use the resources here to test their theories, correct themselves, and maybe upcoming guys will see some things that I haven't.

[klacr]

Hockeyscout,

This site has endless advantages and I speak for many coaches including myself when I say that it inspires and invigorates my teaching desires and purpose. A breath of fresh air in the world of the internet, coaching and the dangerous rabbit hole that is Internet tennis coaching. Tennisplayer.net has been imitated by many but duplicated by no one else. 2014 has been a groundbreaking year for the site and I have a feeeling 2015 will get even better for the subscribers and the entire tennis community

Many coaches want to learn the ins and outs of tennis. But many are unwilling to take the time and do the research. Tennis is a long term development sport if you are a player. Unfortunately, it's the same as a coach. It takes many years and lots of personal time. And just when you think you are beginning to understand and get it, you realize there is so much more to go and often a new player will come by that makes you reassess and question what you once thought was not possible. It's a great sport and has provided me endless opportunities in my life. One thing to understand is we will never, ever know it all. That's what makes it fun. It's the relentless pursuit of perfection and knowledge and never the actual catch that makes it worthwhile. The growth you experience as a player, coach and person from this site makes it a must have for those that care about the tennis education process.

During a car ride I experienced with the late Vic Braden over a decade ago, We arrived at entrance of his hotel and while the purposefully extended car ride was full of his answers to my wide range of questions. In an attempt to calm my rabid and insatiable quest for all knowledge, facts and answers to everything, Mr. Braden grabbed me by the right hand that was resting on the console of my SUV I was driving (my left hand on wheel) he gave a dramatic pause to gain my attention and said...

"Mr. LaCroix, I appreciate your passion and hunger. But take time to enjoy what you know, as it will never be everything and you don't want it to be

Great coaches never say they're great. Good coaches will think they are great. Bad coaches know they are bad.

Enjoy the process of your learning. It should never end.

Thanks for the ride Kyle. I appreciate it. You are a good kid. See you at dinner in a few hours. We will have much to discuss over the course of your career. Pace yourself."

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton