February 2016 Video

[boojay]

Hey all, here's the latest video of me hitting to show how I've progressed since practicing with the Ball Whacker (a portable contraption my dad and I built to work on strokes indoors last November).

In this clip I'm warming up against a tricky left-handed player I had struggled against last year, but this time I won pretty handily 6-2, 4-0, he gave up when the outcome became obvious. I say warm-up, but in reality I worked harder during this than the actual match itself.

 

[boramiNYC]

Very nice! Great balance, efficient steps, early prep, and secure footing. Your bh footwork seemed a bit less secure than fh, although it's very good in rec standard. Congrats on your improvement. Ball Whacker did work it seems.

 

[onehandbh]

what racquet are you using?

 

[boojay]

Very nice! Great balance, efficient steps, early prep, and secure footing. Your bh footwork seemed a bit less secure than fh, although it's very good in rec standard. Congrats on your improvement. Ball Whacker did work it seems.

Thanks! And yes, I noticed that on the backhand too, I was quite disappointed with that when I saw the footage, but knew going in that inevitably I would be disappointed with something. I didn't feel I was hitting it very well anyway, particularly with this kind of opponent who mixes everything up and is constantly moving the ball and hitting very unpredictable shots (depth and spin-wise). Immediately prior to this I was hitting with my regular partner who gives a lot more pace and consistency so that would have masked my weaker side better by allowing me to utilize his pace and not have to move forward as much, but the good thing is now I have something to work on the next time I go out. I'll try to add more weight into my shots and swing more freely as opposed to being tentative and worrying about getting the ball in the court so much.

what racquet are you using?

I switched to the PS97 in November 2014! Still improving with it. I feel like I'm cheating sometimes because I can just flick shots in, but that promotes laziness so I need to learn to minimize and only resort to that when necessary.

 

[VexlanderPrime]

Your FH looks buttery smooth. Great work man!

 

[boojay]

Your FH looks buttery smooth. Great work man!

Thanks, always a work in progress

 

[pushing_wins]

what level is this guy?

 

[Dolgopolov85]

No problem can be found. Great hitting.

 

[boojay]

what level is this guy?

Clearly 2.5

No problem can be found. Great hitting.

Hah! Thanks, you're far too kind, but there's plenty of room for improvement, as there always will be. For example, the earlier comment about the backhand, which I completely agree with, and honestly I was still feeling stiff-ish on the forehand side as my opponent would often hit a shot that died off before it reach me. Those are balls I need to recognize earlier and get to with better footwork and move forward into the shot. I'm guessing you can't tell, but it was an awkward hit for me.

 

[Fintft]

Thanks! And yes, I noticed that on the backhand too, I was quite disappointed with that when I saw the footage, but knew going in that inevitably I would be disappointed with something. I didn't feel I was hitting it very well anyway, particularly with this kind of opponent who mixes everything up and is constantly moving the ball and hitting very unpredictable shots (depth and spin-wise). Immediately prior to this I was hitting with my regular partner who gives a lot more pace and consistency so that would have masked my weaker side better by allowing me to utilize his pace and not have to move forward as much, but the good thing is now I have something to work on the next time I go out. I'll try to add more weight into my shots and swing more freely as opposed to being tentative and worrying about getting the ball in the court so much.

Yes, imho:

1. For the BH side, as you say, but I would keep it short by trying to "slap" the ball more. (from the left side and up as well, but that's more complicated). Try that CC first.
2. You could do more weight transfer on some of the FHs- I never once saw you step into the ball, although you seem to push on the back foot.

• I'm referring to this last point: 8. Right foot comes forward due to the full body rotation creating balance. here http://lockandrolltennis.com/forehand/

Overall I liked your shots and especially your bouncing and adjustments steps, congrats!

 

[pushing_wins]

Clearly 2.5

Hah! Thanks, you're far too kind, but there's plenty of room for improvement, as there always will be. For example, the earlier comment about the backhand, which I completely agree with, and honestly I was still feeling stiff-ish on the forehand side as my opponent would often hit a shot that died off before it reach me. Those are balls I need to recognize earlier and get to with better footwork and move forward into the shot. I'm guessing you can't tell, but it was an awkward hit for me.

but saying 2.5 you are hoping people will respond with that clearly too low

lets try 3.5...i dont think you will get the clearly too low response you want. 3.5 is in the debatable range.

whats the purpose of posting your videos?

 

[Rino]

but saying 2.5 you are hoping people will respond with that clearly too low

lets try 3.5...i dont think you will get the clearly too low response you want. 3.5 is in the debatable range.

whats the purpose of posting your videos?

Whats the purpose of inquiring about his ranking?

 

[Rino]

Hey all, here's the latest video of me hitting to show how I've progressed since practicing with the Ball Whacker (a portable contraption my dad and I built to work on strokes indoors last November).

In this clip I'm warming up against a tricky left-handed player I had struggled against last year, but this time I won pretty handily 6-2, 4-0, he gave up when the outcome became obvious. I say warm-up, but in reality I worked harder during this than the actual match itself.

Nice hitting mate.

Do you have a photo/video of your homemade ball machine? Would like to see it.

 

[pushing_wins]

Whats the purpose of inquiring about his ranking?

i like debates

 

[Dolgopolov85]

Hah! Thanks, you're far too kind, but there's plenty of room for improvement, as there always will be. For example, the earlier comment about the backhand, which I completely agree with, and honestly I was still feeling stiff-ish on the forehand side as my opponent would often hit a shot that died off before it reach me. Those are balls I need to recognize earlier and get to with better footwork and move forward into the shot. I'm guessing you can't tell, but it was an awkward hit for me.

I am sure there's always scope for improvement but those aspects that have been pointed out/which you have mentioned are relatively minor. You're on the right track!

 

[boojay]

Yes, imho:

1. For the BH side, as you say, but I would keep it short by trying to "slap" the ball more. (from the left side and up as well, but that's more complicated). Try that CC first.
2. You could do more weight transfer on some of the FHs- I never once saw you step into the ball, although you seem to push on the back foot.

• I'm referring to this last point: 8. Right foot comes forward due to the full body rotation creating balance. here http://lockandrolltennis.com/forehand/

Overall I liked your shots and especially your bouncing and adjustments steps, congrats!

Thanks for the feedback, but I think you might want to watch the video again. I would agree there's not much weight transfer on my BHs, that's my fault for not making enough of an effort to do so and not being fully aware that I was just tracking the ball down and simply getting shots back into play. On the forehand side, more often than not, I was dictating and pushed off the ground to unload whenever I felt comfortable enough to. I even hit a few FHs like the LockandRoll guy as you've described, but my preference is to hit with a closed or neutral stance whenever possible, and I typically only resort to open stance when I have to, i.e. dealing with faster balls, having to track down wider shots, or just being lazy. Your advice to slap at the ball is unusual too as that would promote more arming of the ball and while you can get a decent amount of pace sometimes, I prefer to hit a steadier, heavier shot, and that means making full use of the body as opposed to just slapping at it.

but saying 2.5 you are hoping people will respond with that clearly too low

lets try 3.5...i dont think you will get the clearly too low response you want. 3.5 is in the debatable range.

whats the purpose of posting your videos?

Heh, you can believe whatever you'd like, but if you're not going to read the first sentence of my post, I'm not sure I'll have an answer that will satisfy you.

Nice hitting mate.

Do you have a photo/video of your homemade ball machine? Would like to see it.

Thanks! Yes I do, here's the original thread discussing its use and development: https://plus.google.com/+booJay/posts/hkXUQsbp937

And here's a backup YouTube link in case that doesn't work for you:

i like debates

Sounds more like you enjoy stirring controversy. Unfortunately I don't have the time nor the desire to feed you so you'll have to move on.

I am sure there's always scope for improvement but those aspects that have been pointed out/which you have mentioned are relatively minor. You're on the right track!

Absolutely, there will always be. Thanks for the encouragement! It's always nice to be reminded of any deficiencies, even if they're ones I already know about, I sometimes (ok, often) forget.

 

[Fintft]

Thanks for the feedback, but I think you might want to watch the video again. I would agree there's not much weight transfer on my BHs, that's my fault for not making enough of an effort to do so and not being fully aware that I was just tracking the ball down and simply getting shots back into play. On the forehand side, more often than not, I was dictating and pushed off the ground to unload whenever I felt comfortable enough to. I even hit a few FHs like the LockandRoll guy as you've described, but my preference is to hit with a closed or neutral stance whenever possible, and I typically only resort to open stance when I have to, i.e. dealing with faster balls, having to track down wider shots, or just being lazy. Your advice to slap at the ball is unusual too as that would promote more arming of the ball and while you can get a decent amount of pace sometimes, I prefer to hit a steadier, heavier shot, and that means making full use of the body as opposed to just slapping at it.

Please correct me if I'm wrong(can't watch videos from work) but while your "pushing off the ground" is good, what about the finish: "8. Right foot comes forward due to the full body rotation creating balance"?

And by slapping I don't mean use your arm only, but still the whole body. What I was referring at was throwing your racquet at the ball (that ATP whipping/delayed arm motion)...Lastly I meant that mainly for your 1HBH: slap the ball, as opposed to just push it.

 

[boojay]

Please correct me if I'm wrong(can't watch videos from work) but while your "pushing off the ground" is good, what about the finish: "8. Right foot comes forward due to the full body rotation creating balance"?

And by slapping I don't mean use your arm only, but still the whole body. What I was referring at was throwing your racquet at the ball (that ATP whipping/delayed arm motion)...Lastly I meant that mainly for your 1HBH: slap the ball, as opposed to just push it.

Ah I see, that's different, whipping into the ball vs slapping at the ball. My apologies for misunderstanding you. You'd be right that I didn't do any whipping or very little windshield wiper action here, and for two reasons: 1) The opponent I was playing against could barely handle my regular, medium paced shots, of which I was mainly focused on good depth and consistency. The extra spin and pace I could inject by whipping into the ball would have made it almost impossible for him to get the ball back into play--it is a warm-up after all, and 2) I shank a lot when I go for whippy shots against weaker hitters unless I'm warmed up properly and am in a rhythm with better footwork, which typically is only achieved against stronger players. That's the bigger excuse, I couldn't get grooved enough to hit the shots I wanted. It's actually another thing I need to work on, hitting with controlled power and swing speed, even against junk balls without going for too much.

And in regards to the right foot (or left foot coming forward), it really depends on the stance and how much weight I'm wanting or am able to put into it. I'm not going for my shots in full force at any time during that video so not once was my full weight being utilized. Even during the match I just moved the ball around because I figured beforehand that's all I would need to do, and I was right. Many times I was just looking to recover right away, sometimes even before I'd completed the followthrough properly because I knew how wild (or crafty) my opponent could be when redirecting balls and since I wasn't looking to hit winners, that meant I had to compensate somehow to keep the rally going. It was either that, or hit winners/unreturnables, which to me, makes no sense to go for when you're warming up. I did go for a couple short ones, but only because he tried to against me the points prior, unsuccessfully.

 

[aimr75]

Nice vid

Will send through an email soon. Just been a bit busy

 

[boojay]

Nice vid

Will send through an email soon. Just been a bit busy

Heh, thanks Tony. Hopefully you've been able to get some more hits in!

 

[Fintft]

Hi,

I agree (for what is worth) to what you are saying and I also applaud your self-diagnosis (as per the Inner Game of Tennis)!
Again, I was suggesting hitting/slapping the ball more (as oposed to pushing it) on the 1HBH (from the little I've seen in your vid), but you've explained that one as well.

Most of all I loved the part about getting "warmed up properly and in a rhythm with better footwork, which typically is only achieved against stronger players"...I try to take advantage of them as well

Ah I see, that's different, whipping into the ball vs slapping at the ball. My apologies for misunderstanding you. You'd be right that I didn't do any whipping or very little windshield wiper action here, and for two reasons: 1) The opponent I was playing against could barely handle my regular, medium paced shots, of which I was mainly focused on good depth and consistency. The extra spin and pace I could inject by whipping into the ball would have made it almost impossible for him to get the ball back into play--it is a warm-up after all, and 2) I shank a lot when I go for whippy shots against weaker hitters unless I'm warmed up properly and am in a rhythm with better footwork, which typically is only achieved against stronger players. That's the bigger excuse, I couldn't get grooved enough to hit the shots I wanted. It's actually another thing I need to work on, hitting with controlled power and swing speed, even against junk balls without going for too much.

And in regards to the right foot (or left foot coming forward), it really depends on the stance and how much weight I'm wanting or am able to put into it. I'm not going for my shots in full force at any time during that video so not once was my full weight being utilized. Even during the match I just moved the ball around because I figured beforehand that's all I would need to do, and I was right. Many times I was just looking to recover right away, sometimes even before I'd completed the followthrough properly because I knew how wild (or crafty) my opponent could be when redirecting balls and since I wasn't looking to hit winners, that meant I had to compensate somehow to keep the rally going. It was either that, or hit winners/unreturnables, which to me, makes no sense to go for when you're warming up. I did go for a couple short ones, but only because he tried to against me the points prior, unsuccessfully.

 

[The Vitamin L]

Lookin' smooth as always! Makes me want to switch to a one hander.