Jackbuckland
New User
A little about me….
I am 44, and born/raised/currently live in Houston, Texas. I grew up playing just about every sport under the sun; but focused primarily on baseball until high school, where I played golf. I went to UT Austin where I partied, waited tables, played in a band, and somehow managed to get a degree. And other than wiffle ball and ping pong, got away from most sports all together. As the real world set in, I did what many do: put on weight, get healthy, lose weight, rinse and repeat. In 2014 at 37 had my first son, and then another in 2016. Life got busy, family got busy, work got busy and, with the help of lots of work golf, travelling, big dinners, and a healthy dose of boondoggling, I wasn’t doing too much in the way of taking very good care of myself. On January 15th, 2020 I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. My blood work had always been fairly abysmal, and I have diabetics on both sides of my family. So I saw it coming to some extent. As a slight framed guy, I was 200 lbs, and just about every relevant marker in my bloodwork was in a range from really bad to “dude, come on now”. So, I was at a crossroads. Changes needed to be made, and not just one less queso run per week. Turns out, it was the wake-up call I need…
I always enjoyed playing tennis, was already a member at Westside Tennis Club, and live about 5 miles from **************’ retail location (blasphemy, I know, on this forum!). All perfect nutrition for a growing holic….
So my journey began….
I came into this chapter with (2) 2013 APDs which, at the time, I thought was the perfect frame. I bought a beat-up old Neos 1000 stringer, and did a sh!tload of research and TT forum stalking. I was in the vortex, and was happy to be there…
What I quickly found was that due to my still-developing technique and taking the ball a bit late on both sides (incl. OHBH), the ole APD would quickly take its toll on the wrist and elbow (exacerbated by full bed of poly at 55#). So I started demoing and buying racquets with great frequency (while taking lessons and focusing primarily on my technique and footwork…the real answer). Started with the Prince Phantom 100x 305 due to the positive reviews and flexy nature. Sold it, and moved on to a steady diet of Radicals (MPs and Pros, including the 2021 Pro, which I really like), Speeds, Volkls, Ezones and Vcores (just to name the ones I’ve owned, but have demo’d many, many others). I thought the Ezone 100 was it, and amassed 3 of them. What I quickly noticed after playing with them for several months exclusively, is that 1) They are really comfy and muted, and play so easy in all areas; but a bit too much free power for me to swing out, and still hard on the wrist/elbow (for me anyway) and 2) The more my game progressed and evolved, the more I began to appreciate feel and precision in a frame. So the search was not yet over….
Fast forward to today….
I went from 200 lbs, down to a low of 148 lbs (now settled in at about 155). My bloodwork, blood pressure, resting heartrate, blood sugar, and overall physical well-being have all swung into optimal levels. I generally feel great, and it has been almost exclusively due to an almost daily regimen of tennis, low carbs, and lots of red wine. So if we are good with hyperbole, I can credit tennis for basically saving my life. I never have to motivate to play. I could play every singe day, and when I am not playing, I am reading about it. ****, I read reviews and forum threads about rackets I already own! Full blown holic stuff.
As for my holic journey, for the first time since this all started, I think I have hit paydirt. On a whim, I decided to demo a blade a few months back. V7 16x19 (also the 18x20). Yep, from the first session, I knew I was on to something with the 16x19. Given that I had just bought the VCore 98, leaded it up, and was enjoying it, I thought it best not to go buy a blade. But I demo’d it again, then a couple of weeks later a 3rd demo. Quickly realizing that all of the noise about Wilson QC was 1,000% true, I noticed this: there are 2 kinds of blades in stock form, good ones and bad ones. Praise to whomever that the first demo I got was one of the “good” ones or I would not have been back. The second demo was over spec, sluggish (as so many here have noted), and oddly a little stiff feeling. Pretty much a garbage feeling racquet, compounded by the fact that the demo was strung tight. Feeling confused and lost, the 3rd demo brought me back to life. So I now bag the blade, string with Tour Bite Soft at 50 to 52# (my favorite string for this frame so far) and am in total bliss. I cannot believe it took me this long to get to the blade given so many good players use these and Strikes. Better late than never! I had to pick up the recent Roland Garros Version as one last act of unchecked holic defiance, and now I am set. Got 3 “good” ones and am not looking back. Famous last word, right?
All of this to say simply, thank you. I have learned so much about this game from you all…..
I am 44, and born/raised/currently live in Houston, Texas. I grew up playing just about every sport under the sun; but focused primarily on baseball until high school, where I played golf. I went to UT Austin where I partied, waited tables, played in a band, and somehow managed to get a degree. And other than wiffle ball and ping pong, got away from most sports all together. As the real world set in, I did what many do: put on weight, get healthy, lose weight, rinse and repeat. In 2014 at 37 had my first son, and then another in 2016. Life got busy, family got busy, work got busy and, with the help of lots of work golf, travelling, big dinners, and a healthy dose of boondoggling, I wasn’t doing too much in the way of taking very good care of myself. On January 15th, 2020 I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. My blood work had always been fairly abysmal, and I have diabetics on both sides of my family. So I saw it coming to some extent. As a slight framed guy, I was 200 lbs, and just about every relevant marker in my bloodwork was in a range from really bad to “dude, come on now”. So, I was at a crossroads. Changes needed to be made, and not just one less queso run per week. Turns out, it was the wake-up call I need…
I always enjoyed playing tennis, was already a member at Westside Tennis Club, and live about 5 miles from **************’ retail location (blasphemy, I know, on this forum!). All perfect nutrition for a growing holic….
So my journey began….
I came into this chapter with (2) 2013 APDs which, at the time, I thought was the perfect frame. I bought a beat-up old Neos 1000 stringer, and did a sh!tload of research and TT forum stalking. I was in the vortex, and was happy to be there…
What I quickly found was that due to my still-developing technique and taking the ball a bit late on both sides (incl. OHBH), the ole APD would quickly take its toll on the wrist and elbow (exacerbated by full bed of poly at 55#). So I started demoing and buying racquets with great frequency (while taking lessons and focusing primarily on my technique and footwork…the real answer). Started with the Prince Phantom 100x 305 due to the positive reviews and flexy nature. Sold it, and moved on to a steady diet of Radicals (MPs and Pros, including the 2021 Pro, which I really like), Speeds, Volkls, Ezones and Vcores (just to name the ones I’ve owned, but have demo’d many, many others). I thought the Ezone 100 was it, and amassed 3 of them. What I quickly noticed after playing with them for several months exclusively, is that 1) They are really comfy and muted, and play so easy in all areas; but a bit too much free power for me to swing out, and still hard on the wrist/elbow (for me anyway) and 2) The more my game progressed and evolved, the more I began to appreciate feel and precision in a frame. So the search was not yet over….
Fast forward to today….
I went from 200 lbs, down to a low of 148 lbs (now settled in at about 155). My bloodwork, blood pressure, resting heartrate, blood sugar, and overall physical well-being have all swung into optimal levels. I generally feel great, and it has been almost exclusively due to an almost daily regimen of tennis, low carbs, and lots of red wine. So if we are good with hyperbole, I can credit tennis for basically saving my life. I never have to motivate to play. I could play every singe day, and when I am not playing, I am reading about it. ****, I read reviews and forum threads about rackets I already own! Full blown holic stuff.
As for my holic journey, for the first time since this all started, I think I have hit paydirt. On a whim, I decided to demo a blade a few months back. V7 16x19 (also the 18x20). Yep, from the first session, I knew I was on to something with the 16x19. Given that I had just bought the VCore 98, leaded it up, and was enjoying it, I thought it best not to go buy a blade. But I demo’d it again, then a couple of weeks later a 3rd demo. Quickly realizing that all of the noise about Wilson QC was 1,000% true, I noticed this: there are 2 kinds of blades in stock form, good ones and bad ones. Praise to whomever that the first demo I got was one of the “good” ones or I would not have been back. The second demo was over spec, sluggish (as so many here have noted), and oddly a little stiff feeling. Pretty much a garbage feeling racquet, compounded by the fact that the demo was strung tight. Feeling confused and lost, the 3rd demo brought me back to life. So I now bag the blade, string with Tour Bite Soft at 50 to 52# (my favorite string for this frame so far) and am in total bliss. I cannot believe it took me this long to get to the blade given so many good players use these and Strikes. Better late than never! I had to pick up the recent Roland Garros Version as one last act of unchecked holic defiance, and now I am set. Got 3 “good” ones and am not looking back. Famous last word, right?
All of this to say simply, thank you. I have learned so much about this game from you all…..