First Tennis Lessons

[dlk]

Been playing nearly 2 years now. 1 year league play; bumped from 3.0 to 3.5 this year. Fairly athletic. Flat, no spin hitter. But I've hit a lull of progress with my current strokes. I'm gonna start my first private lessons soon. (Now I know it varies with the individual & the amount of practice, with which I employ my new lessons.) What kind of progress can I expect with professional lessons? I mean will I definantly be able to tell a difference in my game, after said lessons?

I'm guessing my current technique tops out at 3.0 level; what do most people work on during their first few lessons? Thanks

 

[Cpetford95]

Well it all depends on hoproiod the pro is... but if its a good pro then you should be progressing very soon... good luck

 

[HunterST]

It also depends on what type of form you have now. If it's pretty solid with a few easily correctable problems, then you should see a lot of progress.

If you've reached this level with fairly unorthodox strokes, then you may have to retool your shots. That will lead to a shorterm dip in play, but a longterm gain.

 

[dlk]

It also depends on what type of form you have now. If it's pretty solid with a few easily correctable problems, then you should see a lot of progress.

If you've reached this level with fairly unorthodox strokes, then you may have to retool your shots. That will lead to a shorterm dip in play, but a longterm gain.

I'm guessing my strokes are unorthodox, as I've had comments that my strokes were "good for a beginner, but won't take me far."

 

[HunterST]

I'm guessing my strokes are unorthodox, as I've had comments that my strokes were "good for a beginner, but won't take me far."

Then I'd advise you to listen to what the pro says, and not be afraid to take a short term dip in your play. It might be a little frustrating, but the ceiling on your level of play will be much higher.

Depending on your individual case, however, you might find it easy to incorporate more orthodox elements into your strokes.

 

[PinkTennisNinja]

Been playing nearly 2 years now. 1 year league play; bumped from 3.0 to 3.5 this year. Fairly athletic. Flat, no spin hitter. But I've hit a lull of progress with my current strokes. I'm gonna start my first private lessons soon. (Now I know it varies with the individual & the amount of practice, with which I employ my new lessons.) What kind of progress can I expect with professional lessons? I mean will I definantly be able to tell a difference in my game, after said lessons?

I'm guessing my current technique tops out at 3.0 level; what do most people work on during their first few lessons? Thanks

If you've reached this level with fairly unorthodox strokes, then you may have to retool your shots. That will lead to a shorterm dip in play, but a longterm gain.

I'm at this exact same spot. I just got bumped to 3.5 and I know I can do very well at 3.5 but I'm not sure how long that will last. My fh is almost text book and my strongest shot but my bh is very unorthodox but it is very consistent. I'm looking forward to my lessons

 

[ProgressoR]

When I had lessons I could rally well and I liked my fh and serve. After months of lessons I am in the process of retooling my fh the second time and my bh is unrecognisable to what it was. I am working on net play. First retooling of fh was immediate gain. This one is a dip but I feel the progress is happening soon. My bh was static and didn't improve for 3 to 4 months then within a month it clicked and now I like it. If you are lucky you will see immediate gain. Otherwise be prepared for some de progress in execution while you learn the proper strokes. But you must persevere if you are serious. I suggest you ask the coach to teach you classic type of strokes. Eg moderate grip and a stroke mechanic with some top spin before considering more extreme grips and going for more spin. Walk before you run. I had conti both sides and was shown sw fh and reverted to eastern which I now use. Sw was too much for me. Work on basics. good grip and sound mechanics and look for consistency ie rally 10 20 30 shots with the new stroke before you think you have it. Must work on baseline and serve first and wouldn't worry too much about correct movement and net play etc till after learning the strokes. Work out what works for you. Eg for me I was bombarded with 5 things to think about on a stroke which was too much. Pick one thing. Work on it. Then pick another. Work up to those 5 adjustments one at a time. It worked for me. My game is changing in every way with private lessons. Hope you get the same.

 

[user92626]

IMO, at such levels, 3, 3.5, 4, you don't need lessons from pro's. You just need time, some hard thinking and discipline. I would invest in those items and practice the textbook strokes. The strokes by themselves aren't hard at all.

It's putting them all in a meaningful script in a match is what you need a pro for, if you know what I mean.

 

[dlk]

IMO, at such levels, 3, 3.5, 4, you don't need lessons from pro's. You just need time, some hard thinking and discipline. I would invest in those items and practice the textbook strokes. The strokes by themselves aren't hard at all.

It's putting them all in a meaningful script in a match is what you need a pro for, if you know what I mean.

Are you serious? I can tell I'm not hitting the ball the same way others' do (meaning players I hope to someday be competitive with). To me, time is money, and I don't have the time or money to experiment in hopes that I learn the correct technique. My current FH is only effective if ball is at least stomach-high, anything lower & my shot loses power & follow-through.

 

[MNPlayer]

Are you serious? I can tell I'm not hitting the ball the same way others' do (meaning players I hope to someday be competitive with). To me, time is money, and I don't have the time or money to experiment in hopes that I learn the correct technique. My current FH is only effective if ball is at least stomach-high, anything lower & my shot loses power & follow-through.

I think lessons can be extremely useful, they were for me. You should get good instruction on your strokes but also other things like footwork if you get a good pro. My basic strokes are pretty good now but I still get a lot from weekly lessons. The key is you have to practice what you learn in match play, drills etc for it to be useful. I would say a 3 to one ratio of play to lesson time at the very minimum. Also you need to have an open mind about changing your game and suffering short term for long term gain.

 

[sureshs]

I mean will I definantly be able to tell a difference in my game, after said lessons?

Only if you then practise what you learned

 

[Cindysphinx]

Been playing nearly 2 years now. 1 year league play; bumped from 3.0 to 3.5 this year. Fairly athletic. Flat, no spin hitter. But I've hit a lull of progress with my current strokes. I'm gonna start my first private lessons soon. (Now I know it varies with the individual & the amount of practice, with which I employ my new lessons.) What kind of progress can I expect with professional lessons? I mean will I definantly be able to tell a difference in my game, after said lessons?

I'm guessing my current technique tops out at 3.0 level; what do most people work on during their first few lessons? Thanks

What do most people work on? It doesn't matter. You have to figure out what you want to work on, work on it, and stick with it.

I would come to the lessons with a basic idea of what you think needs fixing, but if the pro has a different opinion, go with the pro. I came to my lessons thinking I had a good FH and needed help on the BH. My pro convinced me to work on my FH, and I am thrilled that I listened.

The other mistake that I think people make is trying to do too many things at once (lack of focus). If you decide you need to learn to volley, then stick with that until you get it. If you bounce around using bits of lesson time to work on everything, you will wind up with nothing, IME.

Good luck. I really enjoy lessons.

Cindy -- hoping she fixed her BH service return once and for all in today's lesson

 

[dlk]

My plan is to work on my FH & serve, or whatever the pro suggests I work on.

 

[fuzz nation]

Are you serious? I can tell I'm not hitting the ball the same way others' do (meaning players I hope to someday be competitive with). To me, time is money, and I don't have the time or money to experiment in hopes that I learn the correct technique. My current FH is only effective if ball is at least stomach-high, anything lower & my shot loses power & follow-through.

Good for you. Was is Socrates who liked to say something like, "The more I learn, the less I know"? The thing about taking lessons is that you want to be clued in on good habits. Put that off and it's likely that you'll compile lots of bad ones that take lots of effort to un-learn.

I've done a little teaching and one thing that occurred to me is how frustrating it can be in my position with a student that doesn't do their "homework". If we go through a couple of sessions, but this person I'm working with doesn't get in any court time aside from our lessons, there's not nearly as much learning going on. At best, we can only pick up where we left off, but we might have to backtrack and review things, too.

A teacher should give proper guidance, but you've got to build your habits. A lesson or two doesn't take the place of practice sessions where you digest what you've learned and incorporate it into your game. Even if I'm mastering the obvious for you here, you'd be surprised at just how many folks expect significant progress after only an hour of lesson time.

Make sure you've got a two-way street working with your communications. A teacher should understand what you want to accomplish, but that person should also make sure that you understand what's going on, why you're covering this or that, etc. If you're not on the same page, you're likely to be wasting time and money.

Remember that a stronger player is often one with fewer weaknesses. Learn everything! Technique, tactics, positive psychology... whatever you can get into. Don't be shy about even bringing a notebook to your lessons - it's easy to fit a smaller one into a racquet bag (or cover).

As for progress, you may not be astounded with night-and-day improvement from one day to the next while you're taking lessons. If you're practicing on your own along with productive lessons though, you'll probably be able to see serious development after a few month when you stop and evaluate the skills you've compiled. Remember that if things feel foreign, different, unfamiliar... whatever, that's a sure sign that you're learning new stuff. Enjoy the process.

 

[user92626]

Are you serious? I can tell I'm not hitting the ball the same way others' do (meaning players I hope to someday be competitive with).

I better explain my view before I get further misunderstood...

About you having no time and "time is money", well, unless you're a pro who's on some sort of track, if you, like me, come to the court to enjoy tennis and that's the time you have. There's no time limit like 6 months or a year...

It's always fun to give yourself a challenge and save money in the process. On top of that, you've got this board and the Internet which is available 24/7... I think it's a little excess, and in a way undermine this place's usefulness, website instructions, youtube, etc. that after all these free resources you still have to resort to a pro to learn how to hit a stroke To me that's unrealistic.

"My current FH is only effective if ball is at least stomach-high, anything lower & my shot loses power & follow-through."

To that, I'd say..go out and hit 3 buckets full of balls. How do you hit your effective FH? Hit the same, except try to bend lower with your knees. Keep your upperbody and posture straight and still. Bending to get your vision horizontally closer to the shot thus easier to see.

Mentally, most people fear low pace or low skidding shot and they have the tendency to try to lift/guide the ball over the net, resulting in hitting long or a lot weaker shot. You need to get over this mental fear, if you have it. Keep hitting the big, decisive stroke that you've practiced before that has topspin built-in. If you watch ATP pro's, you'll see that the only time they hit in a "guiding" manner to keep the ball in is with drop shots which they have to scramble like crazy. For everything else they just rip it. They don't miss short shots and low sliced shots.

I think if we understand things well conceptually, execution can be learned much easier, and that's one of my points about "hard thinking". It serves me well.

Cheers.

 

[dlk]

To that, I'd say..go out and hit 3 buckets full of balls. How do you hit your effective FH? Hit the same, except try to bend lower with your knees. Keep your upperbody and posture straight and still. Bending to get your vision horizontally closer to the shot thus easier to see.]

Mentally, most people fear low pace or low skidding shot and they have the tendency to try to lift/guide the ball over the net, resulting in hitting long or a lot weaker shot. You need to get over this mental fear, if you have it. Keep hitting the big, decisive stroke that you've practiced before that has topspin built-in.

Yeah, I often do not bend at the knees when hitting, especially if on the run. And that's what I'm doing; guiding the ball alot of times. If I have time to set up, I can really hit a hard deep shot, but those low ones I just can't address like that. Thanks

 

[fuzz nation]

For some reason your last post (dlk) reminded me of something.

If you're in the middle of working on a new skill or type of shot, something that may keep you in a more positive mind set is the idea of "good contact" as your initial goal, not accuracy. At least when you're learning anything new, you don't really have it grooved yet, so it doesn't matter where the ball lands. The first thing that has to come is a proper move on the ball and a stroke that hopefully catches it on the sweet-spot, right?

Once you figure out how to get good contact with a new shot, you can always work on the direction after that. To learn, you've got to miss and miss big while you're working things out. You're likely to see a lot less frustration along the way if you can keep this in mind.

So get out there and spray it around with a smile.

 

[charliefedererer]

Yeah, I often do not bend at the knees when hitting, especially if on the run. And that's what I'm doing; guiding the ball alot of times.

Just yesterday Lsmkenpo made this interesting observation in another currently running thread The legs are the key to kenetic chain on serve: Agree or disagree?.

"I would estimate about 90% of the intermediate to advanced recreational players don't achieve a proper coiled position on their serve, therefore leg drive isn't adding much to their serves to begin with. Leg drive without a coil is just jumping up and hitting the ball at a higher angle, and arming the serve. As the player tires during a match their jump height decreases and so goes the timing and consistency of their serve with it.

The legs do facilitate the kinetic chain, but how they should start the chain is often misunderstood. They don't facilitate solely by bending to drive up and hit the ball, they start the chain by bending to allow a stronger coiled position, big difference and probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of the proper service motion.

Think of the knee bend as the distance between the coils of a spring that is anchored and standing upright. If we pull the top of the spring back to store some energy the distance between the coils on the backside of the spring are shortened, here is the equivalent to the service knee bend. We are not storing energy by pushing the spring straight down from the top and allowing it to spring up, We want to pull the spring back deeper (knee bend)to store more energy to allow a stronger arc into the ball, this is how the knee bend adds the most power to the serve.


Here is a great video that really shows how the knee bend is used to coil, the deeper Soderling bends his knees the more he coils, thus storing more energy to propel into the ball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a56pvP1i6x8

So the answer to the question depends on how the legs are being used, if they are being used to facilitate a stronger coil than they are adding to the serve, if they are being used to jump up without adding to the coil, it is not nearly as beneficial to the serve.

I know a lot of players might think they are coiling, but most would probably be surprised how limited their coil and arc into the ball actually is compared to a pro level serve. When you think you are coiled enough you probably still have a good ways to go. This is why pros can make a 100 mph+ serve look effortless and amateurs look like they are tapped out around that speed."
-http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=359477&page=2

And the concept of coil down [knee bend] in the backswing, coil up in the forward swing is every bit as important in the forehand, backhand and volley as in the serve.

Stand straight up with the knees locked and you will look awkward trying to wave at the ball with your arm.

Coil down and coil up and your strokes will flow. Your whole body will flow.

 

[dlk]

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[crystal_clear]

Great post~

Soderling knee bent more than 90 degrees...

Just yesterday Lsmkenpo made this interesting observation in another currently running thread The legs are the key to kenetic chain on serve: Agree or disagree?.

"I would estimate about 90% of the intermediate to advanced recreational players don't achieve a proper coiled position on their serve, therefore leg drive isn't adding much to their serves to begin with. Leg drive without a coil is just jumping up and hitting the ball at a higher angle, and arming the serve. As the player tires during a match their jump height decreases and so goes the timing and consistency of their serve with it.

The legs do facilitate the kinetic chain, but how they should start the chain is often misunderstood. They don't facilitate solely by bending to drive up and hit the ball, they start the chain by bending to allow a stronger coiled position, big difference and probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of the proper service motion.

Think of the knee bend as the distance between the coils of a spring that is anchored and standing upright. If we pull the top of the spring back to store some energy the distance between the coils on the backside of the spring are shortened, here is the equivalent to the service knee bend. We are not storing energy by pushing the spring straight down from the top and allowing it to spring up, We want to pull the spring back deeper (knee bend)to store more energy to allow a stronger arc into the ball, this is how the knee bend adds the most power to the serve.


Here is a great video that really shows how the knee bend is used to coil, the deeper Soderling bends his knees the more he coils, thus storing more energy to propel into the ball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a56pvP1i6x8

So the answer to the question depends on how the legs are being used, if they are being used to facilitate a stronger coil than they are adding to the serve, if they are being used to jump up without adding to the coil, it is not nearly as beneficial to the serve.

I know a lot of players might think they are coiling, but most would probably be surprised how limited their coil and arc into the ball actually is compared to a pro level serve. When you think you are coiled enough you probably still have a good ways to go. This is why pros can make a 100 mph+ serve look effortless and amateurs look like they are tapped out around that speed."
-http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=359477&page=2

And the concept of coil down [knee bend] in the backswing, coil up in the forward swing is every bit as important in the forehand, backhand and volley as in the serve.

Stand straight up with the knees locked and you will look awkward trying to wave at the ball with your arm.

Coil down and coil up and your strokes will flow. Your whole body will flow.