Skills and Fitness diary (with video) - Page 3

dizzlmcwizzl · 04-15-2012, 03:26 AM

Played my 1st Adult match of the season this week. Played 1st doubles with my usual partner against a team we thought would challenge us for the district title.

Results: Team win 3-2, Personal win 6-3, 6-1.

Observations: All of the work I have been putting in has paid off. Playing outside 6-7 times prior to the match made the wind less of a problem for us.

My serve was never threatened and my return was very good (for me).

This was against one of the better 4.0 teams in the district so I am beginning to think the regular season will be a dull one at 4.0. I guess time will tell.

dizzlmcwizzl · 04-30-2012, 01:57 PM

Down to 252 pounds ... getting lots of compliments about the weight loss and I am moving around the court well (for me).

I have gotten to the weight where I can run without fear of knocking myself out of commission for weeks. Usually I do intervals on the elliptical for 40 minutes at a pop. But I have started running once a week. I am up to about 3.5 miles on a cinder trail which I find easier on the legs than running on the asphalt. The interval raining has helped my recovery time on the court a lot.

In league matches my record is now 2 wins and 1 loss. The two wins were fairly easy victories against opponents I was sure to beat. The one loss was with a partner I had never met who was recovering from an injury against a solid 4.0 and a self rated player. I felt like I was the best player on the court, but my partner could not come to the net and I found it difficult to adjust to playing 1 up / 1 back.

In terms of my game ... right now I am returning well. My volleys and groundies are about as solid as I can hit them. However, my bread and butter, the serve, is suffering outside. I not yet been broken but I am having difficulty getting in hard first serves. The wind and sun are messing with my toss and I am not good enough to work around it. So I am hitting a ton of kick serves and moving them around the box which has worked so far. But eventually I will run into someone who I need to have the big serve for.

I played a practice match inside yesterday and the fastball came right back. I am hopeful that with a little more time I will get acclimated to the outside soon.

GuyClinch · 04-30-2012, 03:31 PM

Your trophy position looks messed up to me. I think your arm needs to be more in a L shape.

Maybe other posters have insight - but something is wrong..

dizzlmcwizzl · 05-06-2012, 03:47 AM

Down 40 pounds ... and I have uploaded a new video

I am going to create a new thread to ask a question about aggressiveness when I am at the net. I am pretty sure I am not being aggressive enough when my partner is serving, but I am not sure if I can be given the circumstances.

dizzlmcwizzl · 05-26-2012, 04:47 PM

The attached video was taken on brand new courts from a very high perspective in good light. Unfortunately it was very windy which you will hear on the audio. We were tied 6-6 in set one when the rains came.

As far as match play is concerned ... I feel quick (for me). If you watch the video you will see several instances where I move pretty well around the court ... here is one example. This is what you get when you drop nearly 50 pounds.

Unfortunately, my serve return is a little off right now. I am working on it like its my job. Good thing it isn't because I would get fired if it was.

Complete video from the beginning.

dizzlmcwizzl · 06-13-2012, 12:11 PM

This video was taken Sunday. I am down 50 pounds and I am amazed at the difference I feel on the court. I play almost exclusively doubles and even at my heaviest I never felt like I was unable to get to a ball.

However it now feels like I am able to get into a much better position before having to strike the ball. My footwork feels better because it is easier to move around the court.

Any who, it is not much of a shocker to say that if you take the equivalent of a 6 year old off your back you will play better tennis.

Here is the link.

dizzlmcwizzl · 09-02-2012, 02:54 PM

Doubles 8.26 - 2 lower 4.5 players and 2 decent 4.0 players

Over the summer I have been trying to maintain rather than lose weight. I did put back on a couple of pounds so instead of being down 50 I am now only down 45.

Now that league tennis is done I can get back to training without worrying about over use injuries. I felt a little beaten down when training, watching calories and trying to mix in between match cardio.

On the season I finished 21-4 between 4.0 and 4.5 league tennis while playing predominantly line 1 doubles. Our team won our state again for the 3rd straight year and we represented ourselves well at sectionals. I expect to get bumped but I expected that last year and did not.

Currently I feel like I am moving well on the court, in watching the video I rarely see myself staying back... always moving forward and covering the court reasonably well. While watching the video I noticed that I did not hit enough flat serves, instead relying on the kicker, so since this video I have been introducing more flat first serves to keep the opposition on their toes.

In terms of technique what I find is that when I hit quality strokes they are much improved over my earlier videos ... basically my best strokes now are better than my best strokes from a year ago. However, I still find my self too close on some forehands and end up sharply pulling my racket through to hit the ball. When I miss my backhand I am not keeping my head in and shoulders closed.

Maui19 · 09-02-2012, 04:22 PM

I had trouble figuring out which one was you on the court. Great job on the weight. Keep it up--it's hard work but you will never regret it.

TomT · 09-02-2012, 05:15 PM

@ dizzlmcwizzl,

I enjoyed watching the singles stuff the most. Even when heavier you moved exceptionally well for such a large man, imo -- and hit some really nice shots. I'm impressed. Best of luck with the weight thing. You're shooting for 230? That seems like a good weight for a big framed 6'2".

I'm 6'0" 205, and could stand to lose the 15 to 20 lbs that constitutes my gut.

Your perseverance is inspiring.

dizzlmcwizzl · 10-25-2012, 03:21 PM

Here is a recap of my recent activity. Ended the season winning several matches at sectionals only to watch a team loaded with self rates run by us and win the section. This team went on to nationals and lost all three matches 3-2 including a loss to the eventual national champ.

I have been recovering from my heavy tennis through August by spending some time resting in September and early October.

I am now working on my game again. I have started the Insanity fitness program and have begun video review in earnest again.

Here is a link to a frontal ground view of my most recent stroke mechanics. The first half is just groundies. In the second half we play out points but this is not very interesting as I ended up bageling the guy so there are not many interesting points on display.

dizzlmcwizzl · 11-24-2012, 04:53 AM

So this guy that was a player for a high division II tennis team about 5 years ago recently moved into our area. I have been hitting with him because he has not found any better players yet.

Anywho, here is a recent hitting session. Until he starts moving me around I feel like I can at least hang with him. However, there is nothing I can do to hurt him so when he wants to win a rally he just throws the switch.

The video is uneditted and we are warming up for the first 15 minutes. We play some games starting about the 17 minute mark. I won my first service game and did not come close after that.

dizzlmcwizzl · 12-31-2012, 01:28 PM

Played a little dubs Sunday ... I felt really good. On the court are 2 established 4.5s and two new 4.5s. Probalbly all of us are near the bottom third of the local 4.5 band however. Video Provided Here

Personally, I felt like I returned well and my movement was good. I have been concentrating on getting the ball further away from my body on the backhand. This has helped with consistency.

Interestingly during the match I was returning serves to the backhand really well. During one game we won 9 of 10 points served to me on the ad side. We ended up winning 2 of 3 sets even thoguh my partners return was off.

My stats for the match:

Served 77% first serves winning 80% of first serves in play.
Returned 72% of balls into the court winning 65% of the time I got the ball in play and winning nearly half of all points served to me.

Maui19 · 12-31-2012, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

Played a little dubs Sunday ... I felt really good. On the court are 2 established 4.5s and two new 4.5s. Probalbly all of us are near the bottom third of the local 4.5 band however. Video Provided Here

Personally, I felt like I returned well and my movement was good. I have been concentrating on getting the ball further away from my body on the backhand. This has helped with consistency.

Interestingly during the match I was returning serves to the backhand really well. During one game we won 9 of 10 points served to me on the ad side. We ended up winning 2 of 3 sets even thoguh my partners return was off.

My stats for the match:

Served 77% first serves winning 80% of first serves in play.
Returned 72% of balls into the court winning 65% of the time I got the ball in play and winning nearly half of all points served to me.

Diz that vid is listed as private.

dizzlmcwizzl · 12-31-2012, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maui19

Diz that vid is listed as private.

Thank you I fixed it ....

Link for those that don't want to scroll up two posts

Mick3391 · 12-31-2012, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

Latest video

I have uploaded a video below that has been edited for time. My purpose for sharing this video is to receive feedback on the things I am working on ... Please be constructive. I know that the number one thing I need to do is lose weight ... then what?

I plan to upload video every few weeks to document my progress both from a fitness persepctive and from a skills perspective. Hopefully you will see me transform into a lean-mean powerhouse on the court by next summer season.

Dizzlmcwizzl video at 290
Attached is a New Video at 280
Service Return Video 1.6.2012
Doubles at 275
Doubles at 268
Singles at 265
Mid point video (260 pounds)
Singles at 260
Doubles at 257
Doubles at 250 pounds
Singles at 247 pounds
Doubles at 245 pounds
Doubles down 50 pounds
Bad angle video
Worse Angle Video
Great Recording of ok doubles
Indoor Doubles Poaching Strategy Advise
Ground View of Groundies and Points
Hitting with a recent college guy
Singles at the 1 year mark
Doubles after 13 months

My game is a big consistent serve with a powerful forehand that sometimes is inconsistent. I like my backhand because it is dependable and rarely misses in competition, but it does not blow anyone off the court either. My net game is vastly improved but this is still a work in progress.

My biggest liabilities are my size and service return. I am working on the size thing. My service return is sometimes awesome and other times awful. When I am playing a lot and my timing is on I return well, when my timing is off then bad things happen.

You SUCK! Seriously dude!

I'M TOTALLY JOKING

I see these videos and it's hard to know how good someone is doing, not sure why, but I can't tell on videos like these for some reason.

Maui19 · 01-01-2013, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

Thank you I fixed it ....

Link for those that don't want to scroll up two posts

Great tennis! That definitely looks like 4.5 dubs to me. You are moving well, and not nearly as much falling back on BH, which I recall you used to do a while ago.

dizzlmcwizzl · 01-01-2013, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick3391

I see these videos and it's hard to know how good someone is doing, not sure why, but I can't tell on videos like these for some reason.

Yea ... I have experimented with many different recording positions but truth be told most amateur video is pretty weak. Especially if the subjects are not very good.

dizzlmcwizzl · 01-01-2013, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maui19

Great tennis! That definitely looks like 4.5 dubs to me. You are moving well, and not nearly as much falling back on BH, which I recall you used to do a while ago.

Thanks I have been working hard on getting into the correct position. It is amazing how much better my strokes feel when I work to get into the right spot, versus adjusting mid stroke to hit a ball.

dizzlmcwizzl · 01-28-2013, 09:52 AM

Serve and Volley

I am looking for feedback on my serve and volley technique. Please be as helpful as you can. Further explanation below.

__________________________________________________ ______________

I have been working on my singles game because this year the USTA has instituted singles lines for 40+ players. While singles is not my strength I figure that might happen occasionally this year so I should prepare.

I am playing a middle level 4.0. He is 52 years old and is a hot ticket on the 40+ singles tour. He is very quick but rarely comes to the net. His ground strokes are all flat and hard ... so he often varies from hitting unreturnable shots when he is in rhythm to missing badly when he is not.

I am a 4.5 primarily doubles player so this is more practice than challenge. I ended up beating him 6-3, 6-0.

Of the 44 points I approached the net I won 32. On 16 of the 44 points he could not return my serve in play. I moved those points to the back of the video since they are less interesting.

Of the 28 returns he got into play when I came to the net, I won 16 and he won 12. Those points are all in the front of the video.

Moz · 01-28-2013, 11:17 AM

You seem to lose precious fractions transitioning from the serve finish to actually moving in.

I would be expecting to see you hand with more forward momentum and then explode into the court with the initial steps. As it stands there seems to be a pause after you send the serve down.

edit....having another look it looks like the issue is more pronounced serving on the deuce side - frequently you seem to land with your feet behind the baseline.

I'd imagine someone with a decent topspin return would make this very uncomfortable for you.

I only skimmed the thread so apologies if the reason for this has already been covered. Good luck.

04-15-2012, 03:26 AM	#41
dizzlmcwizzl Hall Of Fame Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: DE Posts: 1,764	Played my 1st Adult match of the season this week. Played 1st doubles with my usual partner against a team we thought would challenge us for the district title. Results: Team win 3-2, Personal win 6-3, 6-1. Observations: All of the work I have been putting in has paid off. Playing outside 6-7 times prior to the match made the wind less of a problem for us. My serve was never threatened and my return was very good (for me). This was against one of the better 4.0 teams in the district so I am beginning to think the regular season will be a dull one at 4.0. I guess time will tell. __________________ "You should be playing linebacker, not singles."

04-30-2012, 01:57 PM	#42
dizzlmcwizzl Hall Of Fame Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: DE Posts: 1,764	Down to 252 pounds ... getting lots of compliments about the weight loss and I am moving around the court well (for me). I have gotten to the weight where I can run without fear of knocking myself out of commission for weeks. Usually I do intervals on the elliptical for 40 minutes at a pop. But I have started running once a week. I am up to about 3.5 miles on a cinder trail which I find easier on the legs than running on the asphalt. The interval raining has helped my recovery time on the court a lot. In league matches my record is now 2 wins and 1 loss. The two wins were fairly easy victories against opponents I was sure to beat. The one loss was with a partner I had never met who was recovering from an injury against a solid 4.0 and a self rated player. I felt like I was the best player on the court, but my partner could not come to the net and I found it difficult to adjust to playing 1 up / 1 back. In terms of my game ... right now I am returning well. My volleys and groundies are about as solid as I can hit them. However, my bread and butter, the serve, is suffering outside. I not yet been broken but I am having difficulty getting in hard first serves. The wind and sun are messing with my toss and I am not good enough to work around it. So I am hitting a ton of kick serves and moving them around the box which has worked so far. But eventually I will run into someone who I need to have the big serve for. I played a practice match inside yesterday and the fastball came right back. I am hopeful that with a little more time I will get acclimated to the outside soon. __________________ "You should be playing linebacker, not singles."

05-06-2012, 03:47 AM	#44
dizzlmcwizzl Hall Of Fame Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: DE Posts: 1,764	Down 40 pounds ... and I have uploaded a new video I am going to create a new thread to ask a question about aggressiveness when I am at the net. I am pretty sure I am not being aggressive enough when my partner is serving, but I am not sure if I can be given the circumstances. __________________ "You should be playing linebacker, not singles."

05-26-2012, 04:47 PM	#45
dizzlmcwizzl Hall Of Fame Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: DE Posts: 1,764	Nearly perfect match play video The attached video was taken on brand new courts from a very high perspective in good light. Unfortunately it was very windy which you will hear on the audio. We were tied 6-6 in set one when the rains came. As far as match play is concerned ... I feel quick (for me). If you watch the video you will see several instances where I move pretty well around the court ... here is one example. This is what you get when you drop nearly 50 pounds. Unfortunately, my serve return is a little off right now. I am working on it like its my job. Good thing it isn't because I would get fired if it was. Complete video from the beginning. __________________ "You should be playing linebacker, not singles."

06-13-2012, 12:11 PM	#46
dizzlmcwizzl Hall Of Fame Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: DE Posts: 1,764	Down 50 Pounds This video was taken Sunday. I am down 50 pounds and I am amazed at the difference I feel on the court. I play almost exclusively doubles and even at my heaviest I never felt like I was unable to get to a ball. However it now feels like I am able to get into a much better position before having to strike the ball. My footwork feels better because it is easier to move around the court. Any who, it is not much of a shocker to say that if you take the equivalent of a 6 year old off your back you will play better tennis. Here is the link. __________________ "You should be playing linebacker, not singles."