Help me understand!

[LeeD]

We can only agree to disagree.
In my world, a baseline shot hit even 6' long equates to a height problem of only 6" at the net. I do use almost a western grip, but my forehand groundies are flatter than most college player's. Consider the ball probably travelled 70+' in the air, so the miss is not a huge mistake. Obviously racket angle, but swingpath, posture, stance, takeback, unexpected bounce, unexpected incoming pace or spin (bounce) can all affect the outcome.
Also, I'm talking hard hitting 4.0 tennis, not pusher 3.5 stuff.
I can easily rally 25 forehands, but I don't see the point during a match.

 

[user92626]

LeeD,

I don't know where you stand to hit your groundstrokes most of the time, but my tennis is that I need to stand one the baseline or 2,3 feets in/out. So, it's very difficult to adjust or talk about 3", 6" height adjustment over the net. Perhaps in your case as you get older your eye sight increases and/or your physical mechanics becomes more precise, but mine degrades as I age.

(Ok, the last statement is a bit snarky (but friendly) , but do you see the point?)

 

[LeeD]

I sorta see your point, but I"m becoming blinder with old age and diminishing physical skills.
I've only played singles with 5.0 or better players in the last year. I"ve lost badly by score each time, but games are much closer than the score. Usually, I'm standing behind my baseline by around 4-6', as is most of my opponents. I try to hit forcing shots on almost every forehand, and when confident, the same with my backhands. No need to rally to run with guys 30 years younger, much better, and more fit.
My safe backhands don't go even 4' long, usually much closer.
My forehand has been a work in progress for over 37 years, and even though I seem to be able to crank up quite a few IN, I have problems with eyesight, posture, footwork, and balance. Can't say my wrist is uneducated.
Still, I'll venture to say that even a wide miss of 3' is acceptable, considering I"m really trying to paint the lines within 2' inside.f
OK, I may seem erratic, but I"m only an old falling 4.0.

 

[OrangePower]

Not really.
Since you also live in NorCal, I would invite you to check out my "75mph" (by some fellow poster's claims) serves.
EVERY court I go to with more than 5 courts, I have the biggest or third biggest serves, and that includes college courts when the varsity singles are not practicing. No, I don't currently claim anything over 95. I'm 62, figure on me losing 30% of my physical skills. Possibly much more, as you know I couldn't run AT all, couldn't jump at all, during my vid.
How fast can YOU serve if you can't run or jump? Think about it.

Huh? What I was commenting on is where you said that male players after 4 years or so will have 120+ MPH serves. I know many male players who have played for many more than 4 years, are rated 4.5 - 5.0, and have nowhere near a 120MPH serve - myself included.

I know nothing about your personal serving speed and would not presume to comment on it.

 

[Maui19]

If I'm missing long, it's not because I'm hitting too hard, it's because I'm not hitting with enough top. When I slow my stroke down, the first thing to go is the topspin.

 

[LeeD]

I can hit too long by either/or/and swinging too fast, too slow, too low, too high. Not talking rally ball here, but winner attempts when my back is against the wall....losing to better players.
OrangePower...sorry to misinterpret. I started playing tennis in 1974. By my 3rd year, my male practice partners were all No's 1-3 of their high schools, or the same ranking in junior colleges. Most of the high school players went on to become top singles their freshman years in college.
By then, I'd already hit with players who WON women's pro events, and quite a few local A's or higher B's.
If I didn't have a decent serve (me lefty), most of those opportunities would have never come. I tended to gravitate towards hanging with other male players who had big serves, as I was never patient enough to play a baseline sort of game.
I think I only knew a handful of developing 17 year olds who didn't have a 120+ serve in their arsenal, and only one made it to varsity singles in college.
A fast serve is not used every time, but is a great factor to have for variety and surprise.

 

[user92626]

LeeD,

Yes you seem very erratic. You try to pain the line within 2 feet inside but miss it by 3 feet is acceptable. To me, that's like saying it's acceptable to throw a bowling ball and hit some pins on the 3rd lane away. Yet, you talk about 3", 6" net height adjustment.

Also, maybe because you always try to force a stroke which cannot be force that your fh is still in progress after 37 years. To me, any stroke is simple to learn. Only the patterns to do them and do them at high speed is what takes a long time and limitless.

 

[dcdoorknob]

I've come to realize that LeeD says lots of weird things like every time he posts, so I think it's best we all take those things with a grain (or few) of salt.

 

[LeeD]

Maybe you guys gotta take it in context.
I say my forehands can be very erratic one direction, but pretty close in another. Posture and swingpath positive, location of target beyond my ability. After 30+ years of tennis, you'd think I'd have a pretty grooved stroke, given time and inclination. I do.
But against guys a level or 3 above me, my game wilters into a rushed, pressing attempt most times, and that's what I'm talking about here.
I can beat most self assessed or USTA recently promoted 4.0's, like maybe 90% of the time. I lose to self assessed 4.5 or 5.5's, or any USTA 4.5, the majority of times. So I"m a 4.0. As such, I have many flaws in my game, the least of which are physical, but that counts too.
Some of you always talk about your best games. I'm the opposite. My best games take care of themselves. I only need to wonder and obsess about my BAD games.

 

[tennis tom]

It seems as with most threads that go beyond the first several pages, it's straying from the stunningly beautiful OP 4.5 cougar cat woman's concerns regarding how to tutor her steady retinue of 18-30 year old cub tennis partners; this thread is useless without pictures!

It may help if she gifted them copies of a new tennis book titled "OCCAM'S RACQUET", by Marcus Paul Cootsona. I'm only fifty pages into it but have already reaped a number of good ideas from it that I've been putting to immediate use for easy free points and wins that would have perhaps been losses instead.

The advice that in the case of this thread probably would most apply is what he calls the "70% rule". That being to hit only 70% as hard as normal. This is working great for me, I'm not making near as many unforced errors and getting loads of free points from opponents who normally would just block back my shots with unpredictable shanks. They are now having to apply their own pace to make returns. Against club/rec players they wind up tying themselves in knots due to lacking stroke fundamentals.

 

[Cindysphinx]

If I'm missing long, it's not because I'm hitting too hard, it's because I'm not hitting with enough top. When I slow my stroke down, the first thing to go is the topspin.

Exactly.

Which is why it is counterproductive to tell the person not to overhit, or take it easy. The fix for me is to get into position and smack that ball.

 

[LeeD]

Great strategy, unless you plan to aim for 5.5 and beyond.

 

[tennis_ocd]

It takes a lot more skill to play in control and stay mentally focused than it does to slam balls around wildly.

Freud could describe this as a mixture of female stroke envy and male castration anxiety.

 

[user92626]

Exactly.

Which is why it is counterproductive to tell the person not to overhit, or take it easy. The fix for me is to get into position and smack that ball.

Yeah right! As if topspin stroke is that easy, to boost we're talking about amateur tennis.

On other hand any player with 3 brain cells could comprehend and do reducing of power.

 

[catfish]

Bordom isn't more important than everything else, but it is a strong force. If you are bored on court, you will not be fully engaged, and therefore will not play up to your potential. Most human beings who aren't mental giants will also lose focus and try to entertain themselves somehow.

And to your point of this being USTA league, it is just that. It isn't Wimbledon. The guy is paying money to play. It isn't a job, it is entertainment. You should try looking at it the same way.

You're right. It's not Wimbledon and it's not our jobs. But it is a team sport, and everybody on the team paid money to participate in the league. Since it is a competition, the goal is to win. We all win some and lose some, but losing needlessly because someone is trying to show off, or ease his boredom is not right for the rest of the team or the partner. When you are playing on a team, you owe it to the rest of the team to try your best and not give a match away because you are bored or feel the need to show your skills.

Maybe people in general are becoming more and more egocentric. I posted this because I honestly don't know what club players are thinking when they throw all tactics to the wind and decide they must hit winner after winner.

One thing I've noticed in tennis is that many club players are more concerned with how they look hitting their shots, than actually playing smart & tactical tennis. I wonder what would happen in a basketball game if one player gets bored and decides to shoot from half court over and over just to entertain himself. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is trying to set up their plays and score by using tactics and strategy that they've learned. Or what would happen if a baseball pitcher gets bored with the "lame hitters", so he decides to throw fastball after fastball with no control just to see how high the radar gun will go. In the meantime, he walks in 10 runs while the rest of the team watches. I have a hard time picturing that happening.

 

[LeeD]

Problem here is what you want vs what he wants.
He wants entertainment.
YOU want only to win.
Captains like you would dump this guy onto another partner, so you can find one with LIKE interests...winning, winning pretty, winning ugly.