Serve video

[evikshin]

Hi John, a video of my serve is on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywbbypy-HCg

Its sideways, and unfortunately you can't view it in slowmotion, but it is possible to freeze it right at the racket drop.

Warmly,

Evan

[johnyandell]

Evan,

Go to Attach Your Videos in our Forum down below and attach the same piece of video.

John Yandell

[evikshin]

arghghghghghghg

it won't let me attach it! it says..."page cannot be found."

I clicked the "manage attachements" button and "uploaded" the file. This is what your talking about right?

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr always getting thwarted LOL

[johnyandell]

Funny I can only make it work with QT files. So that's probably the problem. If you have QT Pro convert the AVI file and try that.

[evikshin]

damn i don't have quick time pro. that's gonna cost money to upgrade i think. is that the only way?

my apologies for being difficult,

Evan

[marty]

Your racquet stops as trophy position just like my serve

[evikshin]

Yea I noticed that. I'm still deciding whether I should fix it or not

Perhaps John will weigh in with his opinion. However, I suspect that its not a problem as long as it doesn't impeded the racquet drop (which it doesn't, in my serve--I've checked in slow motion).

[marty]

I surpose tossing to high and having a hitch at the trophy postion is better than not hiting with full extension.

[EricMatuszewski]

Evan,

Hope John doesn't mind me adding my 2 cents in here. But, Just wanted to let you know that in my opinion you've got some good stuff happening in your serve.

the video quality prevents me from seeing the stuff around contact (which is important) but I can say a few things anyway.

Here's what I like about it:

1) "Trophy" position, your hitting arm is lifted very nicely.

2) Great leg drive!

3) the sound indicates that your getting spin.

A few questions for you..

How old are you? (you look like college age)

Do you play tournaments?

Where do you live? (looks tropical)

Do you do resistance training? (looks like your a gym rat)

[evikshin]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for looking over my serve. I'm 25, and I played varsity for a division 3 school. I wish I lived some place tropical! I'm currently attending dental school in Boston, and the video clip you saw was me at the local park.

I've currently rekindled my love for tennis and I'm in the process of restructuring my serve. I'm modeling it after Federer--I feel his serve his perhaps the most realistic model for us mere mortals to copy.

I used to work out at the gym extensively, but not so much anymore. I'm trying to cut down on sheer bulk and get more lean and quick, for my foray back into tennis.

--Evan

[johnyandell]

Evan,

I will get the AVI thing working eventually. It shouldn't be a problem so I will look into it.

John

[EricMatuszewski]

Evan,

I see the "Federer like" timing in to the "trophy", the slight abbreviation in the wind up, and the platform stance. Hope to see better quality clips in the future.

You look pretty muscular in the upper body for someone who doesn't work out that much.

As a sidenote...I've found this to actually decrease external rotation and thus limit your "drop". However more drop doesn't neccessarily mean more pop. Girls tend to have easier and more extreeme external rotations but less ball speed and spin (Go figure).

How tall are you?

[evikshin]

John: Thanx man. I look forward to having you critique the video.


Eric: Thats a good point about "more drop," I never really thought of it that way, in terms of women having more drop but less pop. I've always got the impression, from John's articles, that more drop equals more power. But you raise a pretty point with the example about the women.

I'm 5' 6". My oldstyle of serve was very Roscoe Tanner like, with a low toss to my right, pinpoint stance, and very flat. I used to be able to kill it, but consistency was a big problem. Throwing it off to the left and launching left has decreased some of the power, but the consistency is now pretty solid. Hopefully some day I can get back some of that old power while retaining the consistency!

Evan

[EricMatuszewski]

Evan,

quote: "I've always got the impression, from John's articles, that more drop equals more power."

I'm not saying that more drop isn't good, I just mean that it's a more complicated equation than that.


Most 8 year olds can get more external rotation than Sampras (he's usually the example of exceptional flexability), that doesn't mean that they can hit with his pace or spin.

So, work on your flexability but don't think that it's going to be a magic pill.

Spinal flexability will also increase "drop" if it's drop your after.

Doing the "Upward Facing Dog" yoga pose and "Superman" excersises (explained in Paul Roeterts article) will help with spinal flexability and strength that you need to more safetly get in and out of those positions.

Realize that it's no magic pill.

Your form looks pretty good, get that Quicktime Pro (it's worth it) and share it in the forum. I think it will help alot of other players to talk about it.

Eric

[evikshin]

I never said the drop was a magic pill. I was merely paraphrasing John's emphasis on the importance of it. Obviously there is more to it, like having the correct toss, contact point, pronation, etc.

John made the statement that Federer may be trying to compensate for lack of flexibility by having a more powerful leg drive (he gets up higher than Sampras et al.). Perhaps this is something to look more into.