How to get to the next level of studying the game

[RookieStaff626]

I’m a lefty with a slice serve and I play 1 singles at my high school and I am interested in playing college tennis at the next level. I understand the mechanics of the game very well and have a good game and strokes. I want to study the game off the court as well. I watch the regular YouTube videos and watch pro tournaments, but what specifically can I do to get to the college level in general, both physically on and off the court?

 

[LeeD]

Get better at every aspect of your game.
Better to watch and comment with other players, joint effort.
Watch local A or 4.5+ players, especially tournaments.
Get bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter.

 

[LeeD]

Being no.1 now, you should be fine at JC's.
Don't expect to make the varsity team at major universities like UCLA.

 

[eah123]

There’s a great video from Intuitive Tennis about the different levels and what the differences are. I believe that for you, becoming match tough by playing tournaments regularly will be the most important thing aside from finding a coach with experience developing college level players. Good luck!

 

[LeeD]

Lots of top highschoolers end up in the club program of even smaller universities. They can't even make the JV team, yet were top 3 in high school.
Not saying this applies to you....you might be a phenom prodigy on your way to ATP.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Study the people who play at the level you aspire to. Note the similarities and differences. Work with your coach [assuming you have one; if not, can you get one?] and devise a plan.

Exploit that lefty advantage as much as possible.

Take care of your body: you may feel indestructible but all bodies have limits. Keep up the conditioning, stretching, strength training, and keep a reasonable diet and sleep schedule.

Take care of your mind: people are always talking about how the mental game is often the difference between two equal opponents. Learn to not only deal with adversity but to embrace it [I know; easier typed than done but I have the easy task of giving advice rather than having to follow it].

Enjoy the journey.

 

[Friedman Whip]

Don't mean to bust anybody's bubble, but I assume most every state has a classification system depending on school size. For example here, 7A (biggest schools) down to 1A (smallest). Huuuuuuuuuge difference between number 1 at big school vs no. 1 at lower levels.

 

[Torque]

Work on all aspects of your game. Work on serve and return as your strengths. Fitness is essential. Most importantly - play smart- learn what you can do as a player and the best playing style for your ability. Work on creating the point not just hitting as hard as you can. Learn to read the opponent’s weaknesses- exploit the weakness. Play outside your local area against advanced players. Learn from your wins and losses.

 

[Chas Tennis]

There are sub-motions that the current ATP players use. These can be seen in high speed videos. Learn these sub-motions and learn how to identify them in high speed videos.

It is difficult to know what to believe in the new information age - what is true and what is not. You can often determine that by simply looking at high speed videos. The Youtubes of Anatoly Antipin displaying composite frames are a great reference for what to believe or not about tennis strokes.

I have observed sub-motions in strokes using high speed videos. I always used videos to discuss and illustrate the sub-motions. If you spend some time you should be able to use high speed video for analysis and feedback for your strokes.

Recommended high speed camera:
Casio Ex- FH100. Used, it has a very fast shutter speed.

Reference- Biomechanics of Advanced Tennis, 2003, B. Elliott. Biomechanics is a science and it evolves as new things are learned and added.

Learn the history of the serve and the 1995 research on internal shoulder rotation.
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