Project J

[don_budge]

Project J…and Rick Macci cont.

At 3.30 in the Rick Macci serve video that hockeyscout so generously has shared with us for this evolving thread...Rick says the following complete with his expressive body language and gags.

"position of the elbow. The elbow should always be shoulder, shoulder, elbow. Should always be...I could draw a straight line...I don't even need to look...there's a straight line through my shoulder, shoulder, elbow. Every time. It's almost like a see-saw...like a teeter totter."

He is demonstrating the trophy position. He assumes a position similar to Usain Bolt's archer position. I have been using this imagery in teaching the smash, the abbreviated "second serve" motion for beginners and on through with more advanced motions. I alway like using the image of creating lines with students. Vectors of energy lining up the shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vc3_pUFSgI

Project J gets into this elbow, shoulder, shoulder position with a tilt really well. As Rick Macci explains…the motion is initiated with a push of the rear leg. It looks as if your young man does this very naturally…but it is an excellent "swing thought" perhaps when you are in a match and your rhythm deserts you. Get the backswing into this "elbow, shoulder, shoulder" alignment and initiate with the legs. It helps to synch the motion…to establish and hold onto the rhythm. Aspects of match serving that are not to be underestimated.

[EdWeiss]

Thanks Steve for all of your posts. Very thoughtful stuff.

I have copies of the Tilden books. I made a copy of the first chapter of Match Play and Spin of the Ball for the student and gave it to him yesterday. I think much of it is still relevant. Some of my favorites (and this was written in 1925) from the book: "Spin means control" - with today's strings and rackets, more true today than ever, "Never give your opponent a chance to make a shot he likes" - in today's parlance: keep the ball out of his strike zone] and "Every ball has an outside and inside edge every time is comes to you" - great concept for a student to become aware of.

(Tilden was an obviously very troubled man, we will never really know what went on with Tilden (even his biographer, the great Frank Deford, was not sure but speculated he actually never had sexual relations with the boys). If some do not want to read anything by him I can understand that. I do suggest that before making a final judgment on Tilden, one read Big Bill Tilden by Deford.)

I like your idea of the student experimenting with spin. Right now he struggles with consistency given how relatively little he has played. I am having work on the backboard (the weather just turned here) to help in this regard. He likes hitting against the backboard.

thanks again for your posts and interest.

[EdWeiss]

Project J Groundies

After a brutal winter here in the NYC metro area, today was the first day with a true hint of spring. So what better day than to take some video of the student hitting groundies on the backboard! There are two from the side and also one from behind view. I have my own thoughts but do not want to influence anyone. Please fire away. As noted in earlier posts, the student just turned 15 and has been playing seriously for about 2 years at this point. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve, I will start having him put an 8x11 sheet up on the board to practice hitting at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0HQzYlVNWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNWUSSfH840

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjMXdkwGndI

[GeoffWilliams]

Hitting foot on bh is too closed. Frame is too light, needs to be customized. Strings aren't right for his game. Damn good for two yrs.

[don_budge]

Hmmmm….Michelangelo and "The Fountainhead"

After a brutal winter here in the NYC metro area, today was the first day with a true hint of spring. So what better day than to take some video of the student hitting groundies on the backboard! There are two from the side and also one from behind view. I have my own thoughts but do not want to influence anyone. Please fire away. As noted in earlier posts, the student just turned 15 and has been playing seriously for about 2 years at this point. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve, I will start having him put an 8x11 sheet up on the board to practice hitting at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0HQzYlVNWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNWUSSfH840

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjMXdkwGndI

Very, very interesting. How does one take this lump of clay and develop it into "what"?

What is the projected finished product going to look like and how does one get there? What is the plan?

[tennis_chiro]

Looks great. I see a lot of good fundamentals. I like the lightness of his feet and his seeming eagerness to move for the ball.

don

[don_budge]

Project J…the Defensive Game (Part 1 of the First Year Objectives)

After a brutal winter here in the NYC metro area, today was the first day with a true hint of spring. So what better day than to take some video of the student hitting groundies on the backboard! There are two from the side and also one from behind view. I have my own thoughts but do not want to influence anyone. Please fire away. As noted in earlier posts, the student just turned 15 and has been playing seriously for about 2 years at this point. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve, I will start having him put an 8x11 sheet up on the board to practice hitting at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0HQzYlVNWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNWUSSfH840

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjMXdkwGndI

Pardon me EdWeiss…I'm just writing little stories. It's only food for thought. But this thread is rich in thought provoking material.

Taking everything that I know about this particular project, this would be how I would approach the way forward. You say that he has been playing for two years. That's just fine. Bill Tilden says that it takes one year to learn how to play the game of tennis, five years to be a tennisplayer and ten years to be a champion.

Your young student here looks to me to be pretty raw. It also looks to me as if he has a lot of natural ability. I really like the fact that he is out practicing on the wall at the first sign of spring…this bodes well for the future.

As far as targets on that wall…that's a very good idea. How about 3 8 X 11 targets spaced 5 times across the width of the backboard. What a great looking wall. Perfect that you have the lines of the court drawn on it as well. The targets could be for instance on each sideline…1 foot over the net line, 2 1/2 feet over the net line and 5 feet over the net line. A set of targets in the middle and sets of targets halfway between the sideline and the middle of the net. Aiming is a very important part of practice.

Very, very interesting. How does one take this lump of clay and develop it into "what"?

What is the projected finished product going to look like and how does one get there? What is the plan?

The architect designs his structure to fit in the surrounding environment…enhancing not only the structure itself but everything around it…everything connected to it. A favorite book of mine is "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. The relationship between the coach and student is much the same. The student in this case has a unique environment…a unique set of opportunities and perhaps some unique limitations.

One must always keep in mind that any perceived limitation can be turned into an advantage with the proper attitude…with the proper spin.

To begin with…a clue. All championship teams are built on sound and impenetrable defence. This is where we start. The backhand…more specifically the slice backhand is a stroke that is designed for clever defence and clever subtle offence. I was so glad to see "Project J" hitting a one hand backhand. It opens up a lot of possibilities…not to mention the permutations and combinations.

The slice backhand has so many variations. Among the shots played with slice off of the backhand are…lobs, volleys, drop shots, approach shots, a variety of speed, spin, placement and depth shots. In other words it may just well be the shot with the most variety and forms of control. I would take a year to fully develop this aspect of his backhand which will include driving the slice backhand as well. There isn't a whole lot of difference in the slice drive backhand and the topspin drive as it is largely a factor of stronger grip and meeting the ball earlier…but the foundation is the slice. Defence wins and playing more defensively for a year on the backhand is going to pay dividends down the line.

The slice backhand is actually one of the most important foundations of the classic game and the more aggressive backhand will naturally evolve once this shot is cast in cement. Once the student shows that they are capable of playing impeccable defence and begins to be more aggressive with the slice (Rosewall) it is time to start building on that foundation into the more topspin drive (Budge). Then and only then does the student proceed into the more modern backhand (Federer). Fundamentals first (FC-Fundamentally Correct) Sometimes it pays to go one step back to go a bunch forward.

Your student is two years into the five year plan of being a tennis player. This development on his backhand side is so important that it will be worth being patient and systematically developing it for the next three years. At which point he is still only half way to his 10 year end product goal. He has the time to do it right.

When you watch him hitting against the backboard you can see that he doesn't have control. He doesn't keep the ball going a dozen times, let alone a thousand. He doesn't repeat the same motion twice in a row. Teach him the patience and the value of methodical practice. This sort of lesson is all important in life. When be gets control of that slice backhand he should be able to hit a thousand or two thousand in a row at which point he will have the capability of defending against some great offence. Champions have a foundation of defence. Don't let anyone fool you…aggression looks to be the answer but behind every aggressive player is this foundation of defence and subtle offence.

Start training him on the backhand volley. Then progress to the next step of Bob Brett's drill of moving forwards and backwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCGTbqT-im8

…this one too from Bob Brett:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osnpBCjAyC0

Here is Roy Emerson on the slice backhand…good sound fundamental advise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXDwZMY1LTg

The ensuing discussion from a thread started by gzhpcu…"For Kyle: Emerson explains slice backhand..."

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=2624&highlight=Emerson+hand+backhand&page=2

…a natural progression from Emerson is this fellow Scott Doerner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVsYU5PDTf8

The beginning of a blueprint…if I was Howard Rourke. AKA…Frank Lloyd Wright. The next post on the forehand.

[klacr]

After a brutal winter here in the NYC metro area, today was the first day with a true hint of spring. So what better day than to take some video of the student hitting groundies on the backboard! There are two from the side and also one from behind view. I have my own thoughts but do not want to influence anyone. Please fire away. As noted in earlier posts, the student just turned 15 and has been playing seriously for about 2 years at this point. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve, I will start having him put an 8x11 sheet up on the board to practice hitting at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0HQzYlVNWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNWUSSfH840

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjMXdkwGndI

A brutal winter? Too bad. Florida had just two days of Winter this year

I love these videos.
The tennis wall...my nemesis, my companion, my best practice partner I've ever had. Many hard fought battles were lost, always lost, against that big green monster. Looks like Project J is battling against it as well. Glorious.

I see some great fundamentals. Lovely strokes.
Tell me, what grip does he use for that one handed backhand. Looks near a true continental from video but hard to tell. I see that as one of his backhands, despite the good technique, went flying up up and almost over the wall. When it comes to looking at issues in strokes, The symptoms often happen just after the flaw.
With that continental grip he has to hit it just right and thats a small window.
That forehand really looks nice but my focus is on that backhand right now. I'm rooting for your student Ed. I hope he does something I could never do...beat that wall. The odds are stacked against him but something tells me he thrives under the opportunity to beat the odds. Keep up the great work Ed. Proud of you and Project J.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bottle]

Here is Roy Emerson on the slice backhand…good sound fundamental advise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXDwZMY1LTg

The ensuing discussion from a thread started by gzhpcu…"For Kyle: Emerson explains slice backhand..."

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=2624&highlight=Emerson+hand+backhand&page=2

…a natural progression from Emerson is this fellow Scott Doerner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVsYU5PDTf8

In re-reading this thread I was again impressed with the slice video of Roy Emerson but particularly when he demonstrated a level takeback at level of the ball and level unfolding swing to the ball followed by a straight arm swing straight at the target.

I fooled with this and even for a while changed from my composite (ironically called "Australian" grip by Ellsworth Vines or John McEnroe unigrip by me).

Eventually though I went back to more of a Rosewall model especially when I noticed a small flat loop at the beginning of Emerson's actual slices when he quit his "teach."

The first best thing that ever happened to my slice was the adoption of Rosewall's skunk tail in the famous 1954 Davis Cup video (just put those words in a search engine if you haven't seen it enough yet).

That position creates a big loop down before a tabletop swing.

The second big thing-- and better than the first-- was a lower takeback just a small bit above the ball followed by a flat loop.

I had noticed that Rosewall himself used this smaller loop in video taken later than 1954 Davis Cup when he was 19 years old.

That helped. So did the Trey Waltke article on slice in this website-- same small loop sometimes activated by pull on butt rim.

I think the arm gets barred at bottom of the shallow loop, but we all find our way-- if we keep trying-- through various thickets in the game.

The slice thicket or constellation does offer tremendous variation-- an immediate one though off of tabletop configuration is slight roll of early barred arm just coming into ball. That would be slight roll closing pitch and straightening wrist (SIM) at last instant to create a weird bounce.

The other option off of same deal is not to do that, preserving more speed.

This is probably my best tennis stroke, so naturally I am more opinionated about it than my other shots.

What I don't like is the banana-shaped slice form which Vic Braden taught in TENNIS FOR THE FUTURE as a chip service return (seen here in the Scott Doerner video?).

It sometimes worked for me and I would still try it if desperate.

But I don't think the percentage of success is as great as for the other two slices I have described here.

[EdWeiss]

Great posts guys.

Geoff: I see what you mean re the foot position. On the racket, the vast majority of our kids in the program come from families below the poverty line. If not for our program, they wouldn't come within a country mile of being able to play tennis. We supply everything free of charge. The kids all use used rackets donated to the program. The student had been using the Wilson racket which Federer used before he switched. The student found it hurt his arm so he started using another used racket which you see here. Having said that, if you can think of a good racket for him, I can buy it for him. Good kid so happy to do that.

[EdWeiss]

To Don: I agree re the lightness on the feet. Interestingly, he often lets the ball descend too low where he hits it when it is barely above his ankles. It is not from any unwillingness to move, he just has got in the habit of letting the ball descend a little too much.

[EdWeiss]

To Steve: thanks for the passion in your posts. I will set up those targets on the wall. On the slice backhand, his current shot is more of a "modern" slice where the racket head goes under the hand level after contact (like Federer's backhand slice). but I am sure he can learn the Rosewall slice so we will work on that. He loves to move forward to the net - no fear.

Kyle: spot on observation re the fact that his control is not yet there - the technique at this point is ahead of the results. I attribute that mostly to his relative lack of experience. You are right re the grip. In the winter I had him put the knuckle more on the top of the handle but he has gone back to a grip closer to the Continental - fine for the slice but for the drive you are right want at least an Eastern backhand grip.

[don_budge]

The Slice Backhand…the Foundation of the Defensive Game

This is probably my best tennis stroke, so naturally I am more opinionated about it than my other shots.

There is something terribly important about my slice backhand. It is the foundation of my defensive game yet I am always playing insidious offence with it as well.

You can play it a number of ways. An infinite number of ways. Don't forget the court extends above the surface. I can land the ball pretty darn comfortably on the baseline from just about anywhere with a three or four meter trajectory.

I have one main practice partner…I don't have the energy to play after spending around 25 hours on the court anymore. He is about 6' 4" tall and an ultra fit 40 old who I have been "schooling" that past few years. He had a two hand backhand and I have weaned him off of that.

We started him slicing the ball and now he is getting a little too close for comfort…so I have to be more aggressive with my backhand. I am developing the drive once again. But the slice is going to have to be the default stroke when push comes to shove. He is starting to try to come over the ball just a tad…another hurdle for him to clear…and me as well. But I am convinced that this is the way to develop a backhand.

If my aggressive drive isn't working…I definitely have something to fall back on.

[bottle]

A Table Top Ought To Be Level

My girlfriend Gwendolyn Brooks didn't have me in mind when she penned these words but they still apply: "We real cool. We shoot pool."

Later: At least I can try to get it right.

We Real Cool
Gwendolyn Brooks, 1917 - 2000
THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.



We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.