Attention Juniors

[D Wilson]

For the juniors here that have a high national ranking and/or are a solid 4.5 and above how many hours a week do you practice and how? (Ex. 1 hour private, 3 hours semi-private, 2 hours group lessons, 1 hour matches, 1/2 hour ball machine, etc.)


What seems to be the best combination for improvement?


Also how old are you?



Thank you very much :D

[topspin_17]

I'm 14, and i have a toyota series u14 ranking of 20. I play 5 days a week, from 3-5 pm. on weekends though, i play from 7-9 in the morning, and then start again from 1-3 pm. we have 6 courts at the academy, but the maximum ratio of coach to players is 1:5 (to be honest, there has never been the maximum ratio, because the players play on different days (the age range is from 6 to about 17, and there are about 40 players).

in general, to improve, you have to have experience with older guys who are a few years older than you. hitting with a coach is good too, like he stands in a corner and he moves you around wherever he wants. another good exercise to improve consistency is what we call 'takka-takka', where the coach stands at the net, and the player hits balls at him, and he returns it wherever he wants. it's like rallying, but at the net. to do a good takkatakka, you have to be quick, because the coach is at the net and he has to rally fast with you to keep up the pace.

[NebAce1]

I practice about 4 or 5 days a week. In the summer I play everyday for around 4 hours. Oh and I'm ranked 350 in the country, and pretty high in my state, and section.

I play in large groups with about 3 or 4 kids on a court, with one pro. We do a lot of drills that involve playing points, and then a lot of drills that involve fitness and scrambling. Then other times on my own I just hit with one of my friends at a public court or something like that, and we just hit and play practice points.

[ayyhwang]

The thing that helps me the most is called Rush and Crush which my coach makes me play with my brother where you have to win an approach shot point, a volley point, and an overhead point in a row. It's pretty hard to do because we both hit consistently so it helps my game a lot.

[soggyramen]

1 hour of agility drills (i.e spider drill & medicine ball drills)
2 hours of semi private group drills (forehand, backhand, volley, overhead, and slice)
1 hour of service/ball return from ball machine

[Verilious]

1 hour of agility drills (i.e spider drill & medicine ball drills)


Spider drill? Mind explaining what that is?

[babolat15]

4-7 hours a day, seven days a weeek

[xtremerunnerars]

The thing that helps me the most is called Rush and Crush which my coach makes me play with my brother where you have to win an approach shot point, a volley point, and an overhead point in a row. It's pretty hard to do because we both hit consistently so it helps my game a lot.

We call that Bump here. The problem is that people on the HS team don't take it seriously and look to play that the whole time instead of doing drills.

Spider drill? Mind explaining what that is?
If it's the spider I'm used to, it's basically starting at the center and touching all of the places where two lines meet.


I'm not playing at all right now...sidelined until at least August. After that though, 3-4 days a week in the fall plus lessons and whatever else I can do. No rankings yet but I'm coming!

[Adrupert]

For the juniors here that have a high national ranking and/or are a solid 4.5 and above how many hours a week do you practice and how? (Ex. 1 hour private, 3 hours semi-private, 2 hours group lessons, 1 hour matches, 1/2 hour ball machine, etc.)


What seems to be the best combination for improvement?


Also how old are you?



Thank you very much :D

Uhhh yeah I'm ranked number 1 in the nation, and I play 5 minutes a day in my garage.

Hey Donald :P

[D Wilson]

My name is Dennis

[Adrupert]

My name is Donald

Fixed that for you.

[D Wilson]

My name is Dennis!!!

[Adrupert]

My name is Donald!!!
Yeah I know already, your name is Donald.