NTRP Rating *Video Included*

DownTheLine said:
Heres the match video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dQkOQ2zOsw

I'm gonna get a better one soon. I don't think this shows too much talent from both players or our abilities. The guy I am playing is 2 a local college and I won the set 6-2
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The good news is that you have a Tonlars forehand and backhand. The bad news is that you have a Tonlars serve. Sorry Tony! When you toss the ball from the far court, you should turn your back to the target enough for me to see your shoulder blades. You have virtually "0" upper body rotation on your serve. You could also slide your left hip to the target when you toss as well.
 
Limpinhitter said:
The good news is that you have a Tonlars forehand and backhand. The bad news is that you have a Tonlars serve. Sorry Tony! When you toss the ball from the far court, you should turn your back to the target enough for me to see your shoulder blades. You have virtually "0" upper body rotation on your serve. You could also slide your left hip to the target when you toss as well.
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While I agree with you and so does my coach, but my serve gets me out
Of a lot of trouble.

I have been working to improve this area of my game and will continue to.
 
Good luck, man. Don't worry about NTRP. If you're interested in playing USTA league after you finish college, you can self-rate at 5.0 and play there. Anything lower will be a waste of time. Whether that means you realy are a 5.0 or something higher, who cares? NTRP is meaningless once you get to the tail of the bell curve.
 
Limpinhitter said:
The good news is that you have a Tonlars forehand and backhand. The bad news is that you have a Tonlars serve. Sorry Tony! When you toss the ball from the far court, you should turn your back to the target enough for me to see your shoulder blades. You have virtually "0" upper body rotation on your serve. You could also slide your left hip to the target when you toss as well.
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No problem Limpin! Ive been working with a coach and I turn my shoulders much better now, and overall my serve is coming along.
 
Hit outside for the first time this year! Very noticable difference.. ball dies a lot faster than inside and always the wind/sun/outside surroundings will always mess you up at first. Overall it was really fun and great get fresh air.

The court also grabs the ball a lot more. Kick serve working great!
 
Good strokes though Conner, you have a nice game! Maybe we will see you at an open tournament around here someday
 
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DownTheLine said:
You're fine. No way I could ever become a world class player.. that's insane
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good call:)
the depth of talent and competition in men´s pro tennis is just unbelievable.
it is easy to deceive yourself and think you are talented enough to get into the pro ranks and it is the responsibility of trainers and coaches not to feed such illusions.
 
Footwork first: step into, not across, and load up with full wt. on back foot on plant.

Coil second: more coil back, with full shoulder cocked back, chin into deltoid.

Body wt. third: angle your chest into the ball on contact, with body angled forward on a tilt, and throw yourself into the shot like you do on fh.

Quick hip open fourth: focus on the hip opening very fast, and the rest of the shot "dragging" behind.

Put them all together and tell me which one worked the best.
 
DTL, do you mind relaying some of your tennis background? How long have you been playing? What type and how much coaching have you had? How much do you practice per week on average and how much do you play matches per week on average? Do you do other training (plyo, strength training - bodyweight and/or free weights, running, jump rope, etc) or other sports to help train for tennis?

I hope these questions aren't considered too personal. You have great looking shots and amazing footwork. You make me tired just watching you. I watch a lot of D1 tennis at the University (Sunbelt conference fwiw) where I work and you'd fit right in on any team I've seen play.
 
beernutz said:
DTL, do you mind relaying some of your tennis background? How long have you been playing? What type and how much coaching have you had? How much do you practice per week on average and how much do you play matches per week on average? Do you do other training (plyo, strength training - bodyweight and/or free weights, running, jump rope, etc) or other sports to help train for tennis?

I hope these questions aren't considered too personal. You have great looking shots and amazing footwork. You make me tired just watching you. I watch a lot of D1 tennis at the University (Sunbelt conference fwiw) where I work and you'd fit right in on any team I've seen play.
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Well I frst started playing with my dad in middle school. We played about once or twice a week for fun. Back in middle school I was big into Football and Basketball. Going into High School I needed to pick a sport that I wanted to continue with since I believe that nowadays you can only be a one sport athlete to succeed at the highest level you can(besides some rare cases).

I started really caring about tennis Freshman year and was 6 on my HS team.. I finished like 8th at flight 6. Which is VERY VERY bad. Freshman winter I didnt improve as much as I wanted due to Hernia surgery. Going into the sophomore year that summer I played everyday for atleast 6+ hours.. everythign revolved around tennis and I think I played around 362 days straight only stopping at christmas. Sophomore and Junior year i finished 3rd out of the whole state but last year I should have atleast gotten 2nd(wrong side of the draw) and had set point against the eventual champion.

I have probably played around 795 days out of the last 800 for an average of about 3 hours a day. It is a lot of tennis, but I have improved an amazing amount and will hopefully continue to do so. I think me being pretty athletic helped me out.

I go to group lessons twice a week for a total of 3:30 hours and have a private lesson once a week for about an hour. My coach and I probably sit down once or twice a month and really talk in depth about my tennis game too.

I workout occasionally about twice a week, but am pretty lazy when I do so. I play in a rec basketball league just for fun with friends. I don't do too much off court training. I'm usually pretty tired from tennis itself and have been naturally strong my whole life.

In the summer I play anywhere form 21-45 hours a week and in the winter it's usually 10 hours a week.
 
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kiteboard said:
Footwork first: step into, not across, and load up with full wt. on back foot on plant.

Coil second: more coil back, with full shoulder cocked back, chin into deltoid.

Body wt. third: angle your chest into the ball on contact, with body angled forward on a tilt, and throw yourself into the shot like you do on fh.

Quick hip open fourth: focus on the hip opening very fast, and the rest of the shot "dragging" behind.

Put them all together and tell me which one worked the best.
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I'll make sure to focus on those steps tonight when I hit.
 
Solid hitting man, you should be in good shape for D1 tennis. It all depends on what schools you are looking at, and what you are trying to get. Are you looking for scholarships, or just to play? Stuff like that. If you are looking to definitely get some money and playing time your freshman year, I would look at the Patriot Conference and possibly the Big East. It all depends on where you want to go, for instance UConn will be a lot easier to play at than Louisville or Notre Dame (as far as the big east is concerned) but you would definitely have success in the Patriot Conference
 
DownTheLine said:
Well I frst started playing with my dad in middle school. We played about once or twice a week for fun. Back in middle school I was big into Football and Basketball. Going into High School I needed to pick a sport that I wanted to continue with since I believe that nowadays you can only be a one sport athlete to succeed at the highest level you can(besides some rare cases).

I started really caring about tennis Freshman year and was 6 on my HS team.. I finished like 8th at flight 6. Which is VERY VERY bad. Freshman winter I didnt improve as much as I wanted due to Hernia surgery. Going into the sophomore year that summer I played everyday for atleast 6+ hours.. everythign revolved around tennis and I think I played around 362 days straight only stopping at christmas. Sophomore and Junior year i finished 3rd out of the whole state but last year I should have atleast gotten 2nd(wrong side of the draw) and had set point against the eventual champion.

I have probably played around 795 days out of the last 800 for an average of about 3 hours a day. It is a lot of tennis, but I have improved an amazing amount and will hopefully continue to do so. I think me being pretty athletic helped me out.

I go to group lessons twice a week for a total of 3:30 hours and have a private lesson once a week for about an hour. My coach and I probably sit down once or twice a month and really talk in depth about my tennis game too.

I workout occasionally about twice a week, but am pretty lazy when I do so. I play in a rec basketball league just for fun with friends. I don't do too much off court training. I'm usually pretty tired from tennis itself and have been naturally strong my whole life.

In the summer I play anywhere form 21-45 hours a week and in the winter it's usually 10 hours a week.
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Thanks very much for the detailed reply DTL. It is clear that your hard work has helped you harness and focus your obvious natural talent.
 
MLB_MOB said:
Solid hitting man, you should be in good shape for D1 tennis. It all depends on what schools you are looking at, and what you are trying to get. Are you looking for scholarships, or just to play? Stuff like that. If you are looking to definitely get some money and playing time your freshman year, I would look at the Patriot Conference and possibly the Big East. It all depends on where you want to go, for instance UConn will be a lot easier to play at than Louisville or Notre Dame (as far as the big east is concerned) but you would definitely have success in the Patriot Conference
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Looking to get money and I don't care where I end up. I wanna go to the best team for the best price.
 
DTL, I would challenge to to play a match with this focus: impact extension rather than the final score:

There are several felt extensions on impact. Most don't extend their full body like the pros do, but remain stationary while impacting. Most don't focus their disciplined practice on the mental art of extending, nor the relaxed/tensed modes of extension. Most also don't grunt with power into the impact, or focus on "chi" extension like martial artists do, or like the pros do into impact. Most don't focus on relaxing the upper body vs. the lower body, or the mind's relaxation in order to create more speed/power impact. If you focus on total core rotated speed, if you focus on defending/attacking the impact zone and maintaining that spot as an arc in front of you, with the arc further in at low and high points (as if your arm is barred low or high, straight elbow out in front at impact, regardless of double bend, or full arm bar throughout the stroke, the impact out front should be barred at all times unless jammed), the arc forms a "shield" that's shaped like a roman gladiator shield. To implement a pure focus on impact, for pure speed/power, extension, takes a decision that requires a lot of focus, to maintain full relaxed speed, while keeping that impact zone extended. Flat shots require the ball to be shaped straight ahead, for a longer time than top spin shots do, on a straight ahead trajectory vs. a low to high one, on the impact bed of the strings, and slice shots require a sliding feel downwards, yet still powerful if hit for penetration/skid.

So it is your perception, felt ahead of time, like a mental unit turn, or like a quarterback visualizing his throw ahead of time, that I am referring to, and its "shape" on the string bed, and its duration of impact time, and its length, its color, its size, the amount of water that it holds, all of the perceived impact, felt ahead of time, that I was referring to, as extension, as focus during practice, as a way of creating certainty of shot before impact.

Those who are able to master this speed of rotation, only do so through intending to and a lot of practice of extending the impact time far longer than it actually occurs in real time, of time staggering so to speak, by speeding themselves up so much, that the impact slows down for them. All the pros are time staggerers. All are unit turn masters. All are foot work masters. Time flows more slowly for them, as it does for all top athletes, and that is why they make it, their ability to slow/stagger time down to smaller, faster bits than the rest of us can. (Study other sports and you will see the same slowed down phenomena. Jordan hitting a three pointer while levitating slowy up to win the game. Montana slowly double patting the ball before hitting Rice with a lazy pass for 75 yards and no time left. Any big league pitcher staring down batters. Any big league hitter coiling and stepping into his at bat before the ball leaves the pitchers hand.)

Anybody can do it a little. The ball only stays on the bed for 4/1000th/sec. Blink your eyes. That took 0.35/sec., or 80 full ball impacts would have happened in the time it takes you to blink your eyes, yet, each impact feels far longer even to us hacking nobodys. We are all able to extend time somewhat, and the frame wobbles, fooling us into thinking it's on the string bed longer than it is. The camera does not lie. It shows the strings "grabbing" and "snapping back" into place very fast. Yet, how many of you determine whether or not you have won or lost based on improving your impact extension, relaxation, defense of contact point, speed of core rotation, coil before impact, foot work to set it all up, rather than the meaningless final score?

Focus on speed of core rotation, defense/attack of impact, extending perceived time, sped up feet, larger coil to start with, and that will take you to the next level. You are already doing it on an unconscious level. Now become aware. Those who fully extend, and fully throw themselves into impact, and fully defend the impact point, and fully focus on core speed are the ones who don't miss while applying weaponized shots. Those who don't miss while pushing, don't throw themselves or extend into impact, but they just focus on defending the contact point precisely, during a more stationary extension, the lull masters, and this is a mode you need as well as the weaponized mode. It's lull-jam-finish.
__________________
 
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I've been reading winning ugly the last couple days.. And wow does Gilbert have some good insight! He lays it out very clearly. I would rec. it to everyone.

Have been really focusing on using my legs and core more. Especially hitting outside now I could use the extra strength.

One last thing. If someone's backhand chokes up a little maches what would you say is the problem and how would you fix it?

Thanks guys!!
 
Choking on your weak side is caused first in the mind. Second: footwork leading to coil. Third: speed of core rotation. Fourth: impact extension. Fifth: fear of missing and bad choice of shot.
 
DownTheLine said:
I've been reading winning ugly the last couple days.. And wow does Gilbert have some good insight! He lays it out very clearly. I would rec. it to everyone.

Have been really focusing on using my legs and core more. Especially hitting outside now I could use the extra strength.

One last thing. If someone's backhand chokes up a little maches what would you say is the problem and how would you fix it?

Thanks guys!!
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Stop worrying about the out come of the shot. Like Kiteboard says,learn to feel the shot and you will know during the stroke whether or not you have hit a quality shot. Once you feel the full impact of your stroke,you can then make adjustment with more spin,less spin etc. If you are choking, you are thinking about the consequences of missing. This is negative. It will only make things worse.
 
OrangePower said:
Nice play, and best of luck with your college career.

It's obvious that you have good form and great feet, so I would agree with 5.0+. But hard to judge overall ability based on just rallying. Serve and ROS are pretty important also, no? And I'm sure we all know people who look great when warming up / rallying, but then can't put it all together in a match. Certainly not knocking you here because from what the videos show you are a very good player; just saying we don't have the full picture.
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Couldnt agree more....impossible to say anything abould match playing level based on the vid. I would assume that there are 4.5s who can rally like that.
 
I've been really focusing on bending my knees and rotating off both wings. Ben working well!!

Really helps with the extra spin/depth of the shot!

Thanks Guys!
 
Speed of rotation begins in the mind. You picture it as if it has already happened, rotating very fast, and can only be done with relaxed core, yet tense core, if that makes any sense at all. Defend/attack the contact point with a solid certainty of where you will contact the ball. Let low balls come into your body more. Extend out after medium ht. balls. Attack high balls, all with extremely rapid core rotation, and drag the hip out first, and all else behind that super fast opening hip.
 
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DownTheLine said:
One last thing. If someone's backhand chokes up a little maches what would you say is the problem and how would you fix it?
Click to expand...

Focus on footwork, early preparation and early contact point. Don’t even think your swing because that’s going to cause you to tighten up on your shot even more.
 
I dont mean to come across as negative. This guy clearly hits the heck out of the ball and is much better than i could ever hope to be. My issue, or question, is how much can we learn about one's tennis skill from a video where for two minutes he is exclusively fed forehands between the service tee and the doubles alley, and then two minutes of backhands to the opposite side of the court. If there was more in this video that i missed, i'm sorry i didn't see it.

So I know he can kill the ball and look good doing it. But i don't know if he can construct a point. I don't know if he can volley, or serve ( again if it is there and i stopped watching before it came up, my apologies). I don't know how he hits on the run or out of position, or what he does when plan A fails. I would imagine we should learn those things before we give him a scholarship or say he is 6.0.

Perhaps this reply is more a commentary on the state of the game, where all that matters is being able to play huge from the baseline, consistently, in order to win a war of attrition, instead of developing a well rounded game. If technology and current coaching techniques mean that slices and serve and volleys and variety are meaningless at a high level, I'll just stay at a crummy 4.0.
 
hey man, great videos and nice fhs.
not trying to bring you down or sound negative, but be honest what ntrp rating do you think you are?

anyways, dont take this as a negative comment by any means.

overall, i think your forehand and backhand is great. Volley is decent, seeing that you take your racket back a bit too far.

imho, i would rate you a 4.5. The way you were playing in your match(video) definitely will not give you a spot on any D1 or D2. if by any means you do play for D2, i say you'll be at the bottom of the list. i think D3 suits you the most.

again, sorry if a sound a bit harsh, thats just my 2 cents.
 
He can play on D1, and he will if he wants to. He would kill any legit 4.5 who wasn't sand bagging it, although some do! It's just strange how some jealous people will down trod anyone better than they are. I'd recruit him for my school. You don't get to be number 1 in your state unless you are open level, btw.
 
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iambape said:
hey man, great videos and nice fhs.
not trying to bring you down or sound negative, but be honest what ntrp rating do you think you are?

anyways, dont take this as a negative comment by any means.

overall, i think your forehand and backhand is great. Volley is decent, seeing that you take your racket back a bit too far.

imho, i would rate you a 4.5. The way you were playing in your match(video) definitely will not give you a spot on any D1 or D2. if by any means you do play for D2, i say you'll be at the bottom of the list. i think D3 suits you the most.

again, sorry if a sound a bit harsh, thats just my 2 cents.
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Did you read the topic? He's been recruited by D1 schools (albeit lower tier ones) already...

He's also rated a 3 star recruit and is the number one player in his state. Nothing about that says 4.5 to me.
 
Lol, that's d1? D1 high school? Sorry if thi sound offensive to op

I didn't say he can't play d1, i just dont think he is goos enough for d1. no I did not read the topic. I am basing my opinion on his videos.

Idk. NorCal playing like that will give you a 4.5. Nothing more nothing less. Plus, I said no negative intention was given. Jealous? I am down to play him. So many sandbaggers nowadays, that's just how tennis is now. Can't hang? Step down.
 
iambape said:
Lol, that's d1? D1 high school? Sorry if thi sound offensive to op

I didn't say he can't play d1, i just dont think he is goos enough for d1. no I did not read the topic. I am basing my opinion on his videos.

Idk. NorCal playing like that will give you a 4.5. Nothing more nothing less. Plus, I said no negative intention was given. Jealous? I am down to play him. So many sandbaggers nowadays, that's just how tennis is now. Can't hang? Step down.
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Do you realize how badly you're trolling?
 
MarinaHighTennis said:
IMHO OP can give Gage Brymer a good match
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Just fyi, Conner is a 3 star on TRN, while Gage is a blue chip. Gage is in the top 5 nationally as well.

Conner you had a nice close straight-set win over Toby, took a set off Sprecher, and close 3 set loss to Nath. And, youre still improving. He is definitely in the top 10 in the USTA Northern section. If he played national tournaments regularly, he would probably be somewhere in the 100-200 range
 
TonLars said:
Just fyi, Conner is a 3 star on TRN, while Gage is a blue chip. Gage is in the top 5 nationally as well.

Conner you had a nice close straight-set win over Toby, took a set off Sprecher, and close 3 set loss to Nath. And, youre still improving. He is definitely in the top 10 in the USTA Northern section. If he played national tournament regularly, he would probably be somewhere in the 100-200 range
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I said a good match, doesn't mean he'll win haha:)
 
Just to let everyone know. I signed with the University of Nebraska: Omaha and am looking to have a great season there. The team has improved head over heels since last year with multiple red shirts coming into the line up. I won high school State and another state champ is going to UNO as a freshman recruit. I am very excited to go along with my college career. I am also getting new frames. I have decided on the new Wilson BLX 95s 16x18. They are great racquets!! I will post video of me hitting with them too! Thank you guys for everything!
 
DownTheLine said:
Just to let everyone know. I signed with the University of Nebraska: Omaha and am looking to have a great season there. The team has improved head over heels since last year with multiple red shirts coming into the line up. I won high school State and another state champ is going to UNO as a freshman recruit. I am very excited to go along with my college career. I am also getting new frames. I have decided on the new Wilson BLX 95s 16x18. They are great racquets!! I will post video of me hitting with them too! Thank you guys for everything!
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Muahaha, now you're a Big10 rival of mine :twisted:
 
DownTheLine said:
Just to let everyone know. I signed with the University of Nebraska: Omaha and am looking to have a great season there. The team has improved head over heels since last year with multiple red shirts coming into the line up. I won high school State and another state champ is going to UNO as a freshman recruit. I am very excited to go along with my college career. I am also getting new frames. I have decided on the new Wilson BLX 95s 16x18. They are great racquets!! I will post video of me hitting with them too! Thank you guys for everything!
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Congrats man! That's huge! :D

-Fuji
 
Can someone explain the Big10, Pac10, Big12(?) etc?

Tried looking them up but got even more confused. Are they based on geography or division?

Is it like the MLB, NBA, NFL regional conferences?

Is University of Nebraska (for example) a D1 tennis program?

ThIA,

Confused Brit...
 
forthegame said:
Can someone explain the Big10, Pac10, Big12(?) etc?

Tried looking them up but got even more confused. Are they based on geography or division?

Is it like the MLB, NBA, NFL regional conferences?

Is University of Nebraska (for example) a D1 tennis program?

ThIA,

Confused Brit...
Click to expand...

Nebraska is D1. The D1 conference alignments seem to change every year, but the D1 schools don't, so even if Nebraska changes conferences, they will still be D1. Nebraska was in the Big 8 then that changed to the Big 12 then they (and Texas) left that conference to join the Big 10, which now has 12 teams (and the Big 12 has 10...). The conferences originally were geographically aligned, but are less so since all of the conference switching began about 10 years ago.
 
UNO is a different school than the Cornhuskers in Lincoln that I think everyone is thinking of. Either way, congrats OP! Don't burn yourself out this summer. It's going to get real in the fall.
 
Yea guys it's UNO not UNL. Lincoln is the Big12 school and its mainly separated by geography. I am actually staying with Head and updating to the IG Prestige Pros. I love the feel and the way they play way too much to let them go.

Any other questions just let me know!
 
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