Finding my strokes after 20 years. Stroke video inside

[Greg G]

That wasn't the point of the video lol? But there was no way to get back in front of the service line, plus I think I was gassing out at that point? There's a similar one at the end where I do go back in

[5263]

Originally Posted by Greg G

That wasn't the point of the video lol? But there was no way to get back in front of the service line, plus I think I was gassing out at that point? There's a similar one at the end where I do go back in

As Lee said, I guess there are reasons to do it at times.
I just always wonder why guys start in there if they are just going to backup
as the play progresses. I don't think you can volley as well moving back.
Why not just start further back?

sorry...lol, not the point of the vid
I'll stop

[LeeD]

No no, let's continue.
If your partner is pooping back sitters over and over, there comes a point when it's worthless to stand in, so you might as well concede the point.
Standing at center of service line makes you a huge easy target.
At least when you stand ON the service line, you have a chance to get a lucky reflex blocking shot to, hopefully, neutralize the point.
Question of opponent hitting offensive shots, your partner barely defending with weak crap, so what are you going to do?

[PrestigeDave45]

Good luck with the tennis. Great to see someone coming back into the game from such a long lay off. I'm currently one year back after 20 years away.
You seem to be doing really well, have watched ur youtube hitting vids and ur proficient for sure.
Well done

[5263]

Originally Posted by LeeD

No no, let's continue.
If your partner is pooping back sitters over and over, there comes a point when it's worthless to stand in, so you might as well concede the point.
Standing at center of service line makes you a huge easy target.
At least when you stand ON the service line, you have a chance to get a lucky reflex blocking shot to, hopefully, neutralize the point.
Question of opponent hitting offensive shots, your partner barely defending with weak crap, so what are you going to do?

If you want to continue, it should not be hijacking Greg's thread, but since I'm
already responding, I'll remind you that I said there are some reasons to do that.
I'll be glad to explain why I disagree with the above if you start a new thread on
it.

[Greg G]

You're welcome to continue it here:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=440148

[LeeD]

So, after 17 pages and 300+ posts, you are the only person who deserves to answer here?
Did I hijack, or did I expound and explain something YOU wrote, about backing up from service box position? You yak about not backing up, and only a cursory attempt, feeble as it is, to say there might be a reason. I explained the reason.

[LeeD]

Lots of players separate court sense from player strokes, but the two go hand in hand, even if the senses and the hitter are two different players on the same team.
Your partner is hitting the balls. He's supposed to be on your team, so essentially, he's an extension of YOU. Your strategy is supposed to be geared towards winning. His strategy should be also. Both of you are supposed to think along the same lines, not exactly the same, but the same general concepts.
Your partner seems to hit lots of weak, high floating balls waiting to be crushed, down your throat or for a clean winner.
What do you do? You can tell your partner to hit harder. You can run around your side of the court senselessly, hoping to distract your opponent's. You can backup to a safer defensive position, which is being done.
Which to choose?

[Greg G]

Uh. What happened while I was away?

Anyway, here's video of today's session. I think it went pretty well.

Crosscourt forehands (2 angles):
http://youtu.be/Gu2BjcuFE48

Slow motion:
http://youtu.be/dDVBZuanGMk

Stills:



Inside out forehands (2 angles):
http://youtu.be/Lp1RVzPzFHg

Slow motion:
http://youtu.be/Le15iEOyROE

Stills:

[Greg G]

Slow motion side view of the inside out FH:
http://youtu.be/Nf4FZWh7_q8

Stills:

[Cheetah]

holy crap! nice improvement! I think I actually saw some sidespin in there! very nice. RHS took a nice a jump up too. and i/o fhs!
Damn. I'm good.

Ok, I know you feel good now and think you don't have to improve anymore but... gotta keep going. you still have more potential

Good energy with the footwork but I say take 15-20% of that increased energy and put it into a better leg load. You are loading better but it's still a little loose. Often you load but then you unload it before the swing and hit off of your left foot. This makes you arm it more. You don't need to have a huge explosion off of your right leg where you're flying off the ground like a Fed highlight vid. Just a correct load and a decent push will do if it's loaded right and timing is right. It's all timing.

So get MORE weight on your right and get a nice CONTROLLED, nicely timed push off of it. Take a big step.

Watch this short vid. Note the part where he talks about how rafa loads. Just a big step and then a push. No need to rush it. rushing makes things tense.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFrg3...ature=g-user-u

Swing path is starting to look good now. Try to work on making the arm even looser. It's better but I can see you're still using the arm muscles a little too much for the rhs and there could definitely be more racquet flip at the ptd stage although i can see it's starting to take shape now.
A good leg push and a looser arm will still give you more rhs and more spin and power. If you can get your arm looser you will also get more radial / ulnar deviation for more spin naturally w/o effort.

I see that you are swinging out to the right now. That looks way better don't you think? Looks much more mechanically correct.

A good tip you should try is to hold the racquet quite a bit looser than you are now. A looser grip will make your arm looser. You don't have to make it tight on contact. Don't worry about that. It takes care of itself. I hold my racquet really really loose.

It also looks like you actually have topspin now. Pretty cool.

Remember to hit the inside of the ball on your i/o fh's. you did it sometimes but sometimes not. you want the i/o's to curve away. Your first few were pretty good. had sidespin.

You hit a lot of good shots in those vids. That's the first time I've seen you hit where you were driving the energy into the ball like I kept saying. None of that fading to the left stuff. nice.

[Greg G]

See now I know it's improved if I got a positive response from you! Big thanks!

I slid the grip ever so slightly further towards SW. From modified eastern, I may be a weak SW. Feels good though!

Oh I know it needs more improvement! It's good on balls fed right to me, still kind of breaks down on rallies though. But that will come over time

[Greg G]

Need a bit of clarification regarding the sidespin component. Am I correct in saying that for a crosscourt forehand, I would be hitting more of the outside of the ball in a 5-11 direction, and inside out would be the inner part of the ball at a 7-1 direction?

[Cheetah]

Hitting on outside on fh is 'hooking' the ball. yes it's sidespin but you can also make square contact on the back of the ball coming across it for sidespin in the other direction like on the i/o. And you can also hit the top half of the ball on the outside. i do that sometimes on short balls and it really curves away a lot. and you can also hit the inside on a cc which i do just to mix up the spin in a longer rally. but the last 2 are advanced shots.

If I were you i'd concentrate on developing the up the back and across sidespin. That's the one used the most with this type of fh and it gives a little extra security and a nice kick on the bounce. It will also help you develop the angular momentum swing because to do it well you really have to be swinging on an arc.

[Greg G]

OK I'll work on square contact, up and across. Just clarifying the concepts in my head. Thanks!

[5263]

Originally Posted by Greg G

Need a bit of clarification regarding the sidespin component. Am I correct in saying that for a crosscourt forehand, I would be hitting more of the outside of the ball in a 5-11 direction, and inside out would be the inner part of the ball at a 7-1 direction?

I/O spin is more the 5-11 when observed from directly behind the balls target
path or line of shot, for a righty and the ball will tend to tail down & right.

[Greg G]

Back from a 3 week non-tennis vacation in Florida! 5 pounds heavier. Ugh.

Anyway, just getting my groove back. 22 hours on a plane takes a while to shrug off (well it used to be easier!) Didn't feel like drilling the first time out, so I did a long mini tennis warmup, then played half a set. Played surprisingly well, 3-3 (ran out of time). I didn't let my opponent control the center and run me ragged this time out


Forehand: Form may not be as good as the last time out, but the placement seems better. The switch to a full SW grip from extreme eastern (not big a change actually) and spreading the index finger further away (more pistol grip) seems to have made the PTD position and the windshield wiper feel much more natural.

I notice I need a bit more extension with the left arm, it's dropping early now. Plus I probably need to point the butt of the racquet to the ball more. Will fix that next time out.

Serve: Meh. :/

http://youtu.be/HzTAgCvnMbI

[Greg G]

Finally got back on court. A bit busy IRL, so I had to make do with shadow swinging for a week, just working the ulnar deviation/radial deviation part. People probably thought I was epileptic, doing that move while walking in public...

I got out on court, did some drop hitting inside out forehands, just concentrating on the stretch-shortening cycle, relaxing the arm and dragging the butt of the handle to the ball. I think this is a great way to start, even before half court play. Really lets you focus on technique.

Played a set with the usual guy I play with (and always lose to). I beat him 6-4! First time ever. The forehands had some pop in them, and I was playing without thinking about technique! Honestly, I have never ripped the forehand like this...maybe ever! Usually it's my backhand that causes the damage, but today I was cracking forehands to the smart targets crosscourt and inside out!

Was making sure to catch the ball at the top of the bounce as much as possible, staying loose and relaxed, and striking with intent. On return of serves I could visualize what I wanted to do...and actually did them! All the hard work is starting to pay off!

Anyway, here's some footage. I do see some issues when I get forced out wide to the forehand. Footwork needs improvement on these wide balls. I do get to hit it, but the recovery needs work. Suggestions would be most welcome!

http://youtu.be/ySvw0VR4Ii8

I also need to work on the reverse crossover for running around the IO forehand. Need a more positive first step, so I don't get caught late with the weight going left (Cheetah's pet peeve).

http://youtu.be/kCFpf8_UgiY

[Greg G]

Played competitive doubles today, and at one point found I was missing forehands consistently long. Took a few games to figure out I was drifting back to my old modified Eastern grip from the SW grip. I guess it's easier to maintain a new grip playing singles. The faster pace of doubles points makes it harder to maintain the new grip. Ah well. Time to break out the basket of balls

[Greg G]

Been working on court sense more than tecnique the past few weeks- been doing well vs the regular guy, just controlling the play from the center of the court. Won again 7-6 (after screwing up a 5-2 lead).

Anyway, all the forehand talk here got me excited to go have a hit!

Hit for a while with a former Davis Cup player (10 years retired). Cooperative warmup for doubles, so we were just hitting crosscourt. Groundstrokes were holding up pretty well, though I'm sure he was holding back. After rallying with him for 30 minutes or so, I was really winded from the weight of his shots.

Warmup
http://youtu.be/qd_KjrpUcSQ

Point play
http://youtu.be/Pk8Dw2JOP6o

I still need to keep the palm down for more PTD. I did some hand fed drills after the session, which kinda helped that. Unfortunately camera ran out of juice...

Anyway, would be nice to get some comments/pointers/reminders from you guys. To keep me on the right track.