Best way to improve?

[donnyz89]

What would you say is the best way to improve, comparison to the cost..., i mean, if u have the money the best is have bolliteri personally coach you but im talking about for normal people, the bset way to spend money and time.

i think just hiring someone whos relatively better than you and pay him to beat the snot out of you for an hour everyday is the best. I dont think ill get better playing with people my level.

any thoughts? or experiences?

[x Southpaw x]

What would you say is the best way to improve, comparison to the cost...

i think just hiring someone whos relatively better than you and pay him to beat the snot out of you for an hour everyday is the best. I dont think ill get better playing with people my level.

any thoughts? or experiences?
You can do that... and you'll learn some... but the holes and mistakes in your play/strokes will either take more time to disappear or become more permanent. Make sure you get a coach at least once a week for repairs, evaluation and such.

[zAllianceBmx]

most effective way to improve is to play as much as you can. taking lessons, if you got your strokes and know what your doing, does not beat playing everyday with friends. this is coming from a couple division 1 college players and coaches.

[tennis4losers]

FOOTWORK :mrgreen: its's something everyone can work

[Tim Tennis]

I think going with the pro is best avenue to take if for no other reason, you take that step you are definitely commited to improving your tennis game. I would rank my weaknesses and be determined to correct and greatly improve what I consider the worst part of my game, even if it meant having to learn a new grip or some other drastic change to get to the next level. You have to be willing to take 1 step backwards before you can take 2 steps forward. It would be great if the teaching pro is familar with your game and you could ask him what area you could work on that he thinks would benefit your game the most.

That is just the start. Now it is up to you to make the lesson "stick." You can ask a friend to hit with you and tell him what stroke you are working on. Hopefully he will be good enough to direct balls to the area you are trying to improve, if not they can always feed you balls. As mentioned in the poll you can always pay a higher level player to hit with you. Of course there is always the "wall."

You got to love the game.

http://www.tennisgeometrics.com

[theace21]

Tough question with not one correct answer. If your strokes are in need of serious correction, then lessons will help. But changing your strokes often results in poor play for a period of time.
If your strokes are good, then competitive matches a couple of times a week, with solid drill work the other days will help you develop that edge. Have someone evaluate your game with - their observations should tell you what you need to work on...

[thejerk]

Do what ever will cost you the most.

[donnyz89]

well. you guys make sense, i guess it depends on your level of play and area of improvement. FOr me though, most coaches tell me I have a "nice game" and a "complete stroke", so I need hitting and playing and competing more than anything. So for me, i think paying 15$ to a good player that will just beat me down hard every day will help me improve the most. i dont necesarily mean like a 5.0 just crushing me 60 60 in a hour but someone that will push myself.

[GotGame?]

well. you guys make sense, i guess it depends on your level of play and area of improvement. FOr me though, most coaches tell me I have a "nice game" and a "complete stroke", so I need hitting and playing and competing more than anything. So for me, i think paying 15$ to a good player that will just beat me down hard every day will help me improve the most. i dont necesarily mean like a 5.0 just crushing me 60 60 in a hour but someone that will push myself.

I'm in a similar situation as you, and I recommend hitting with many different styled players either at or above your level. How are the public parks around your area? Have you thought about joining a club?

[SageOfDeath]

What would you say is the best way to improve, comparison to the cost..., i mean, if u have the money the best is have bolliteri personally coach you but im talking about for normal people, the bset way to spend money and time.

i think just hiring someone whos relatively better than you and pay him to beat the snot out of you for an hour everyday is the best. I dont think ill get better playing with people my level.

any thoughts? or experiences?

Comparison to cost? I'm sorry but I find it hard to ratio improvement to cost.

Hitting with friends for free (I do that but they are serious about tennis not goofing around)
Group Lessons w/games and drills for cheap (helps improve)
Private hitting sessions with players better than you for cheap (I do that for free....)
Private lessons with pros for a lot (helps improve areas of your game that you need most)
Ball machine ( Something I think is necessary for reppition so you can permanently engrave a certain something in your game)
Backboard (or whatever its called, alternate to a ball machine if you can't afford a ball machine rental or to buy one)

Playing people your level WILL help you improve. You need to play people worse than you, the same level as you, and people better than you. You may find it suprising if people worse than you seem to beat you or if you beat people better than you.

[nViATi]

hitting with friends has a lot of variables. if you are just whacking the ball mindlessly of course it won't help. if you really really work hard and try to improve it can work