Is it still beneficial to take lessons if the coach uses dead balls?

[onehandbh]

My coach brings a border collie to pick up balls during the lessons. Is that common practice.

 

[dennis]

Does anyone make a pressureless ball that is standard in weight?
I figure somewhat dead balls are OK for feeding to reinforce strokes, or try new ideas, since a feed is waaaaaay slower than a real ball hit by an opponent, and it's fed from a much shorter distance.
For hitting one on one, or two on one, etc., new balls is required, of course.

They weigh the same, in my experience. They just feel heavier when you hit them, presumably because they are harder.

 

[Better_Call_Raul]

The Wilson Triniti balls do not come in an airtight can. Why?

All the other balls come in an airtight can to minimize oxygen leaking out from the ball.

 

[ratherlosethanpush]

The Wilson Triniti balls do not come in an airtight can. Why?

All the other balls come in an airtight can to minimize oxygen leaking out from the ball.

They're low pressure balls with a thicker wall to try to replicate the bounce of a pressurised ball. So they're not under pressure.

I find them better than pressureless, not yet up to 'normal standard, pretty good in the cold where pressurised balls struggle and last well.

 

[Better_Call_Raul]

They're low pressure balls with a thicker wall to try to replicate the bounce of a pressurised ball. So they're not under pressure.

I find them better than pressureless, not yet up to 'normal standard, pretty good in the cold where pressurised balls struggle and last well.

The opponent opened up the can. Used the Wilson Triniti for first time.
They played okay. The sound of the bounce was different and louder. Bit annoying. But maybe I'm not used to the sound.
The guy told me Wilson Triniti are actually used for his kids official high school matches.
Was surprised to hear this as I thought official matches still predominantly used normal pressurized balls.

 

[badmice2]

It’s hard to comprehend whether people on these board really understand the value of tennis lessons.

there are no amount of technique lessons you can take that truly teaches ball feel. The goal of learning technique is to promote proper racket delivery through your hands. Therefore the outcome of a properly struck ball is ball feel - the sensation in your hand when the ball meets strings which is delivered through your racket. That ah ha feel when you strike the ball well? That’s what you’re paying for in lessons. That ah ha feel doesn’t guarantee the ball going in. It does give you feedback whether you did something right; or it tells you what adjustment you need to make to delivery the ball a certain way.

Shortest answer to this question - yes instructors should be using GOOD balls. No instructors should be feeding dead balls to students. PERIOD.

Ball feel from dead ball is completely different than good balls.

If the goal after spending $$$$ on lessons is to play matches which uses NEW BALLs, why would anyone accept learning ball feel through DEAD BALLS?

Just saying.

BTW…#1 complain by pro players? Tennis balls. What are they complaining about? Different tournament, different ball brand - in essence, different ball feel from tournament to tournament.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Dead balls are acceptable, even preferred, for zombie tennis.

 

[socallefty]

Dead balls are acceptable, even preferred, for zombie tennis.

With dead poly,

 

[innoVAShaun]

You get what you pay for. There are plenty of former college players that are uncertified coaches charging only $30-40/hour. Some are there to teach with a basket usually full of dead balls. Some are just paid hits where they have one new can. Usually, these coaches are also willing to meet you at the crappiest tennis courts in the city.

Now if you're paying $60 or more per hour, at a club where the coach has carts and carts full of balls, I would expect the balls to be in decent playing shape.

 

[Better_Call_Raul]

What is the the top priority of a typical lesson?
Answer: To learn the proper swing. How to swing the racquet on an easy soft feed. That is the first step.
Then progress on movement and footwork to the ball.

Oftentimes, a ball feed is not even necessary. A student will work on shadow swings, throwing drills, etc
While new balls are nice, old balls are certainly not the end of the world.

Also note that top coach Brian Dabul sometimes feeds heavy wet balls.
Forget the reason why.

 

[nyta2]

i'm guilty of having a hopper of dead balls...
that said, most of my students are beginners... so dead == better (ie. like playing with red, orange, green balls), because the ball tends to travel slower
that said, if i know someone is good (eg. i have high3.5-low4.0 folks), that want to hit, i'll be sure to bring a couple of new cans to rally with, but still end up using the dead balls (usually for hand feeds) to work on specific thigns (usually serve, footwork, stroke tweaks)

 

[Better_Call_Raul]

that said, most of my students are beginners... so dead == better

Why does Dabul sometimes use soaking wet balls for hand feeds to advanced players?

 

[nyta2]

Why does Dabul sometimes use soaking wet balls for hand feeds to advanced players?

i presumed it was for more resistance...
never did that drill specifically, but we did used to play in the rain alot was always fun making the ball "spray"

 

[badmice2]

Why does Dabul sometimes use soaking wet balls for hand feeds to advanced players?

likely ball feel. Heavier ball in your string bed forces you to find the delivery feel - "holding the ball in your string bed", carrying the ball through the line of the ball longer etc.

A bit like bowling with a heavier ball, you have to hold your delivery longer with a heavier ball vs. a tendency to pull off your elbow with a lighter ball.

 

[PRS]

To me, a coach using a lot of dead balls is a warning flag, but not necessarily indicative of the coach. I think there are good coaches out there who use dead balls. Heck, I knew one coach who actually believed that you could tell how good a performance program was by how many dead balls they had in their baskets, saying the more dead balls the better.

I disagree with him, but he was still a very good coach. If I were to go somewhere and saw they had a lot of dead balls, it would immediately make me more skeptical about the level of instruction, but it wouldn't immediately tell me that the coaches are bad and the lessons aren't worth it.

 

[tennis3]

Any coach I've ever taken lessons from always uses dead balls for the lesson (because it's too expensive to be replacing them obviously). So what are your thoughts on this?

That's part of it. But as you say, it makes the student think he's much better than he is. Which keeps the student happy and keeps him coming back.

What student wants to hit with "real balls" and miss all the time? Real balls are way too hard to control, and coach's know that.