Hitting against fed, slow, high balls is not an indicator of tenns level
VERY few teenagers are competitive in A/Open tournaments, even if they hit better, run faster, are bigger physically.
NLBewell is a 5.0. Used to be OPEN level player.
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I'm not certain what you mean by A/Open tournaments, but really good teenagers mainly compete within their age group 16u or 18u since that's where their real competition is. many top teenagers like 4 or 5 stars will crush most Open tournaments and will find them boring.
I've subbed in for coaches for 3.5 and 4.0 league-I really have yet to see any 3.5 hit 5/6 decent topspin shots in a row like topspinner does in the video
1) Im 6ft hardly small.IF, as YOU say, OP could be a 4.5 player, then he would qualify as one of the top 6 singles on your team.
I think not.
He's too small, he's unbalanced, he doesn't have the power, he cannot handle YOUR power.
1) Im 6ft hardly small.
2) That was over a month ago, after playing no tennis for a year apart from an hour a week.
3)We were going for a 100 shot rally there.
4) Your wish is my command seem like people really want a matchplay video..
5) Ill crush any 3.5 4.0 and 4.5 by the looks of youtube.
6) anyone from England will know what this means but I am a 5.2 LTA rating, that will hopefully give someone sense of how good i am in a match.
7) I dont think i am better than what i actually am, i am very modest, but when someone tells me i cant deal with power deep grounds and spins i get angry because how on earth can they assume that.. Lets seem them post a video.
Fair enough, I dont care about USTA or what ever they are though, that wasnt my initial opinion. but 4.5 sounds about right what ever.. BUT Youtube make them about to be really ****!! Excuse my language!Supposedly an LTA 5.2 is a lower-level 4.5 here in the U.S. http://www.itftennis.com/shared/medialibrary/pdf/original/IO_3274_original.PDF
However, league players are generally ranked lower than they theoretically should be (see lots of sandbagger threads) and the USTA has generally driven people down in the ratings over the years, so the level that was a 4.5 is now a 4.0. There are very few 5.0's around - your instructor would probably play in a 5.0 league (perhaps as a 5.5, you can do that in some situations) if he had an ATP ranking a while ago. On YouTube videos, people often inflate their claimed rating, so I can't blame you for a misapprehension on that.
Unless you are crushing 5.1s and 4.2s, you wouldn't be crushing USTA 4.5s.
A match play video would be cool. I can better tell how far off my guesses were.
I hit the ball more on the rise than moving back, but that was a big point. so i opted to move backShort clip, but good. Technique on serve is better than that on groundstrokes - rare for kids these days. Might be a couple things to pick on there, but can't see enough to tell for sure. Since I don't want to say anything wrong about a serve that is pretty good, I'll leave it be. A good serve like that definitely bumps you up in the ratings higher than I guessed.
Basically, just take the good advice given here about hitting through the ball and being stable. Those are pretty ugly groundstrokes. A lot of it is just letting the racket flow through low to high instead of forcing it up by yanking the racket and jumping. You'll get the hang of it if you let yourself relax. That will help your movement, also.
Learn to take the ball on the rise so you don't have to move back like you did on that backhand. Another thing adults generally do better than juniors. If you get that far back in the court, you would be a dead duck in 4.0 singles (the opponent would be sitting on the net) unless you can pinpoint a lob right on the baseline - which many adult 4.0 players can do.
These are all things that develop gradually as you get experience.
One thing I've learned through the years is to always respect your opponent no matter what they look like. There are lots of guys who, when you see them, you would say they couldn't play tennis at all who would crush you like a bug.
It's happened to me even back when I used to be a very good player, and it will happen to you.
I don't think you guys know what top D3 is. A top D3 school (Amherst, Williams, Emory, etc.) lineup consists of four and five star recruits. There are blue chips in D3. Amherst's #1 singles was ranked 19 nationally out of high school. I don't know if fruitytennis is at that level or playing for one of those schools, but as far as NTRP goes, any kid playing for any one of those schools is 5.5 at least.
Those are pretty ugly groundstrokes. A lot of it is just letting the racket flow through low to high instead of forcing it up by yanking the racket and jumping.
I agree. And yet, any one-hander would rather have Gasquet's slingshot of a BH rather than the classic looking one of Federer...So are Gulbis's - but they are also very effective. Are the OP's strokes effective? We don't know yet - he's a 5.2 ranking over here (a ranking which you have to earn, you can't self rate) and you don't see tons of div 5 rankings and higher, but we haven't seen enough yet to judge the effectiveness of his strokes.
I'm on a campaign to stop people (coaches included) judging tennis aesthetically when they should be judging shots on safety (biomec efficiency) and effectiveness!
I had a quick view of the video, I gotta leave but I'll add more later. The thing that stood out for me thats inefficient is your take back on the backhand. On the forehand you go racket head up right away, then drop nicely which is great and you keep the racket moving. On the backhand from that angle it looks like you go down first, then up and back down again, stopping and starting your swing back up again.
I agree. And yet, any one-hander would rather have Gasquet's slingshot of a BH rather than the classic looking one of Federer...
I just think here the jumping is unnecessary and consumes too much energy for what it's worth, but that's all.
Well I didn't see by the time I posted. Much cleaner. Too bad the videos are a bit short. I had though you'd continue posting in the same thread instead of starting another one, but now I saw it.Do you want to look at my other thread?
Well I didn't see by the time I posted. Much cleaner. Too bad the videos are a bit short. I had though you'd continue posting in the same thread instead of starting another one, but now I saw it.
Topspinner - exactly what is it you are looking for in these threads? If you are working with a good coach (and you have some good coaches at exeter) then you really don't want to be listening to views of an internet message board. Sure, there are some really god coaches here, but they get hidden amongst the weekend warriors who love to spout off!
If you just want people to tell you you look good etc (ego massage) then you're probably out of luck there too as this is one of the only places where you'll find a touring pro told he is "at best a 3.5 NTRP"!
So, exactly what are you looking to hear?
I am playing at one of those top schools
Anyways, my point was proved in the other thread
If you don't mind me asking, which one? I know some of the guys at those schools; I'm playing for Haverford this coming fall.
yo topspinner, you're right. you're mad good and could probably play on the pro tour in another year or two.
you're movement especially is excellent and shows that youve been playing tennis, and sports as a whole, for a long time.
Haverford is a college just outside Philly. We play in the Centennial Conference (D3); we just finished in 2nd place, behind Johns Hopkins and ahead of Franklin and Marshall and Swarthmore.
Hehe, get used to explaining this, unless you're talking to someone from PA/NJ... I'm an alum and it's rare that I encounter someone who's heard of it around here.
Have fun at the 'Ford, it's a nice place to spend 4 years!
He's great, but kind of overrating him now lol. He's probably top 120 in the class (if he was in the USA), but not good enough to be pro. He would get a scholarship to a D1 school though.
He probably can't beat me yet (although it might be close)... only 8th grader/rising 9th that's ever beaten me is a guy named Spencer Brown. Frustrating.
Serendipity! Did you play there?
So are Gulbis's - but they are also very effective. Are the OP's strokes effective? We don't know yet - he's a 5.2 ranking over here (a ranking which you have to earn, you can't self rate) and you don't see tons of div 5 rankings and higher, but we haven't seen enough yet to judge the effectiveness of his strokes.
I'm on a campaign to stop people (coaches included) judging tennis aesthetically when they should be judging shots on safety (biomec efficiency) and effectiveness!
Ash, I was commenting on him unnecessarily jumping (and not in rhythm with the shot) and yanking the racket upward out of its natural swing path. Both are biomechanically poor. Gulbis' stretch of his front arm serves a biomechanic purpose of not pulling his front arm in and around too soon. I was calling the stroke ugly to get the OP's attention since he seemed to be ignoring the good advice of others who had advised him to be more stable and fluid and he was acting like he thought his strokes were perfect (as kids are wont to do).
I will have players do seemingly odd things on order to fix flaws by getting the player to get the proper feeling of a portion of a stroke.
Yeah. And fix your toss. Personally, to hit more in front (even on serves), I tell myself: try to watch the ball through the strings. It does wonders. It's so effortless, you're only moving the arm like a whip, fully extended at contact. I sometimes wonder why I try so hard to hit hard. It almost feels like you're gaining time by hitting so much in front.So basically what i gathered is:
1) hit through the ball and not yank upwards
2) dont jump on forehand
3) set outside foot before prepairing for the stroke
4) stay loose and more fluid
5) dont stop on serve
thats all i got yeah?
So toss consistency. And trying to watch the ball through the strings on groundstrokes?Yeah. And fix your toss. Personally, to hit more in front (even on serves), I tell myself: try to watch the ball through the strings. It does wonders. It's so effortless, you're only moving the arm like a whip, fully extended at contact. I sometimes wonder why I try so hard to hit hard. It almost feels like you're gaining time by hitting so much in front.
http://www.revolutionarytennis.com/federervisiontechnique.html
That study is splitting the hairs for nothing, like fixing balls to an item to correct the vision. Don't take it too literally. But the idea is there: trying to look to the ball through the strings. You're never going to see the ball through the strings because the ball is too fast and too close to you, but that's what it feels like. The body is stable, almost like it's not moving, the head still, so still it almost leans back a bit. Since the body moves less and only the arm goes forward, you gain stability. You're also forced to prepare earlier.
Now, if I could do it consistently and not forgetting it all the time, it would be perfect. :lol:
Yeah. You cannot actually see the ball through the strings. But it's what it feels like since you hit so much in front. If you read the article in my link, I think you can understand.So toss consistency. And trying to watch the ball through the strings on groundstrokes?
whats up with the hopping on the forehand? robbing yourself of power