analyze a junior players strokes

[kctennis1005]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeB0j8eccj8

any feedback?

im 16 yrs old, 6'5", 175 lbs

[ChuDat]

nice strokes. I see you played Calvin Mark at usta national open, I never knew he played tennis and he lives a couple of houses from me. BTW are you using tecnifibre

[kctennis1005]

nice strokes. I see you played Calvin Mark at usta national open, I never knew he played tennis and he lives a couple of houses from me. BTW are you using tecnifibre

ya im using technifibre. ya calvin is pretty good, but i didnt play too well against him. him and his bro are both just very consistent players with no big weapons but no real weakness

[ChuDat]

which tecnifbre are you using?

[kctennis1005]

which tecnifbre are you using?

tflash 310...but its leaded up quite a bit(over an ounce and a half)

[baseline08thrasher]

you look like you have really nice strokes, I liked them alot.
If you had some faster footwork that would do you good.
But that is most challenging for a guy that is as tall as you.
I'm surprised that you can hit the ball that well.
What's your rank and what section?

[kctennis1005]

you look like you have really nice strokes, I liked them alot.
If you had some faster footwork that would do you good.
But that is most challenging for a guy that is as tall as you.
I'm surprised that you can hit the ball that well.
What's your rank and what section?

socal. im 66 in 16s(which is a lot lower than i should be) and 100 in 18s. what bout u?

[baseline08thrasher]

i'm about to move up into the 16's myself in USTA Southern California.
And i've done so terrible against all of the dinkers and lobbers in 14's.
I've allways been up just can't close them out, cuz then they just lob like crazy, i hate it. And all of the groundstrokers i've played i've beaten them up easy.
And everyone can tell i have way better strokes and everything, i just gotta pull it together.
I will be in at least the top 75 for 16's though.
Do alot of the kids in there hit groundies or is it some messed up lob game?

[kctennis1005]

i'm about to move up into the 16's myself in USTA Southern California.
And i've done so terrible against all of the dinkers and lobbers in 14's.
I've allways been up just can't close them out, cuz then they just lob like crazy, i hate it. And all of the groundstrokers i've played i've beaten them up easy.
And everyone can tell i have way better strokes and everything, i just gotta pull it together.
I will be in at least the top 75 for 16's though.
Do alot of the kids in there hit groundies or is it some messed up lob game?

theres no lobbing but u have to be able to deal with diversity. even though im 6'5" i beat certain people by just slicing the ball back or being consistent. whats ur name?

[Duzza]

I think you play a lot like me when I see myself on videos. I'm 18 and only 6'3'' but still your backhand and forehand look really similar to mine. If this helps at all, I don't think I get low enough on the ball sometimes :p

[predrag]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeB0j8eccj8

any feedback?

im 16 yrs old, 6'5", 175 lbs

Pretty nice.
However, you need to make sure that you execute every little detail when you prepare and have little bit more agressive footwork.
also you are leaning backward little too much on both forehand and backhand.
I bet that you could improve power wihtout really trying to hit any harder if you just lowered your center of gravity and leaned into the ball more.


Regards, Predrag

[roddick89]

i like your backhand alot, the rest of your strokes are also nice and smooth.

[10isDad]

Jeez, I'm going to sound like every teaching pro I've ever known: bend your knees.

You tend to play every upright. Difficult to get low when you're tall, but if you can play lower to the ground (lower your center of gravity), it'll pay off. Better reaction time, better use of legs to help with power/spin + you'll just get stronger legs.

[Moz]

And i've done so terrible against all of the dinkers and lobbers in 14's.
I've allways been up just can't close them out, cuz then they just lob like crazy, i hate it. And all of the groundstrokers i've played i've beaten them up easy.
And everyone can tell i have way better strokes and everything, i just gotta pull it together.
I will be in at least the top 75 for 16's though.
Do alot of the kids in there hit groundies or is it some messed up lob game?

Your first step should probably be to improve your attitude. You won't get anywhere thinking you are better than people who have actually beaten you on the court.

[kctennis1005]

Your first step should probably be to improve your attitude. You won't get anywhere thinking you are better than people who have actually beaten you on the court.

baselinethrasher isnt the op

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

Maybe bring your feet together when serving-and a couple slight "form" pointers when serving...like arching- drawing back.
Is it because you have the height, that you have adapted a variation of the serve form more to your needs- Like you don't arch your back because it puts stress on a tall frame?

Seems like you were warming up thru out the tape- that is, I was thinking of more intensity.
I do like the surroundings and the court is beutiful- pretty lucky fellow to be playing in, essentially, paradise.
Hows about coming out on "The 3:30 to Yuma" and learn a style we call HOT (110 +)tennis ?

[TennisCoachFLA]

Kevin, you are obviously a confident player and won't be bothered by some frank and honest comments....I think you will use them to improve. You have the tools to do some excellent things with your tennis....but...

I have had the great fortune of attending seminars by Nick B., Evert, Connors, and have worked for Macci. They all have the same take home message, the best players practice like they play. Since they practice with intensity, their hitting sessions are relatively short.

From this video, I think you practice like an 80 man hitting in the park with his wife. Off the back foot many times, unbalanced, waiting for the ball, good form only 75% of the time.

Practice with a passion, practice like you are in a match. For example, the first few minutes of this video where you are hitting forehands. Go get the ball, take it on the rise, then hustle back to your position. Hit every stroke with intensity and the same exact form.

Hit a third of the number of balls but with 3 times the effort. You will find that you improve much faster with a lot less time spent hitting. Its always about quality over quantity of time spent practicing.

Good luck, you have talent.

[tenniscrazed]

Kevin, you are obviously a confident player and won't be bothered by some frank and honest comments....I think you will use them to improve. You have the tools to do some excellent things with your tennis....but...

I have had the great fortune of attending seminars by Nick B., Evert, Connors, and have worked for Macci. They all have the same take home message, the best players practice like they play. Since they practice with intensity, their hitting sessions are relatively short.

From this video, I think you practice like an 80 man hitting in the park with his wife. Off the back foot many times, unbalanced, waiting for the ball, good form only 75% of the time.

Practice with a passion, practice like you are in a match. For example, the first few minutes of this video where you are hitting forehands. Go get the ball, take it on the rise, then hustle back to your position. Hit every stroke with intensity and the same exact form.

Hit a third of the number of balls but with 3 times the effort. You will find that you improve much faster with a lot less time spent hitting. Its always about quality over quantity of time spent practicing.

Good luck, you have talent.

Ditto lots of waiting for the ball to come to you even on a mid pace ball. Go get it man don't be afraid of a fuzzy little ball, it's not going to hurt you, take the risk. Don't be afraid to shank a few either while you relearn pure crazy aggressiveness. Then you learn to back off when you have to. You certainly have the size and strength to produce incredible velocity on all strokes, and incredible spin especially on a silice forehand or backhand.

Manfred
No disrespect intended however, there is no law that says you must come from either a very hot place or very cold place, nor is there a law that says you have to be rich or poor, black or white, short or tall, boy or girl to succeed in tennis. The passion comes from within. Is it just me, or did just sound like little "BB"

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

No dissing taken, just a beAutiful setting-
Playing in 110 will put some spring in your step/ intensity to a workout-
No one comes out and "horses around (1/2 a**ing) in the heat.

Glad the coach "added- fleshed out" what I ment by "intensity"
I was afraid it would come off snotty... like "Does UTUBE cause tapes to look like slow motion sometimes?

I just look and look again at Boris Becker serve/symbol of company- feet meet dead together, and look at his body almost an "S" If it was good enough for him, I figure it must be right- however, if a player's back starts to give them trouble (at 6'-5") they can modify the "perfect" serve pretty easy and still be effective.

[kctennis1005]

i know a lot of people are commenting on the intensity... i was warming up and taking the ball on the rise and taking it early is very effective if i was trying to hit winners, but i wasnt...i was trying to rally

[tenniscrazed]

No dissing taken, just a beAutiful setting-


He is from Southern CA., how bad can it be. I am glad no dissing taken, I would not want to disrupt our cordial dialog.

i know a lot of people are commenting on the intensity... i was warming up and taking the ball on the rise and taking it early is very effective if i was trying to hit winners, but i wasnt...i was trying to rally

Forget this rally business, blast away even if you're blasting to and from the middle crush the ball, impart incredible spin by not playing tall get way lower than you think and spin that bad boy with all your 6' 5" behind it. Try it for a few weeks and see what happens. At first you will hit the fence, more spin, get lower. Then after a couple of weeks you will be amazed how much power you can put on a ball and still keep it in play.

Good luck

[BigBUBBA]

You seem just a little sloppy and loose and don't move your feet as much as I'm sure you could and ytou drop your arms a bit early on the serve but otherwise your excellent

[Matt_MS]

Overall pretty nice strokes, one thing I noticed is that on your forehand, maybe you could turn more sideways and put your non dominant hand out because it looks like you are hitting the ball just a tad late. Also on your slice sometimes you hit down in your slicing motion, try to just stay through the ball as much as you can.