Post-Playsight Syndrome

[Benben245]

Have any of you had your mental projection of how you play and move around the court shattered after watching your Playsight video? In my case, the video was so abominable I had to be sedated as I began writhing and thrashing around; (some say I levated momentarily before going into convulsions).

I am currently in therapy with a bio-feedback 'doctor' if you wish to call Dr. Stevens anything more than a back-alley abortionist with rampant halitosis. He is supposed to help me forget; make it go away. But I will never forget! It haunts my days, my dreams, and consumes my nightmares, it is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and my end.

 

[OnTheLine]

Okay, loved your post.

This is why I don't allow film of any type anywhere near me.

I am older than I think I am, I am fatter than I think I am, I am slower than I think I am (although I am told I am still fast), I hit softer than I think I do ... only thing I would allow to be tracked would be the serve ... I know it is decent.

All of these delusions help me play .... If I were to really know just how terrible I am, just how ugly, fat, slow, etc. ... well, I might crawl into the attic and never come out again.

 

[mikeler]

The real problem is that we are used to watching the pros play from that exact same camera angle. We get used to seeing their speed and pace of shot.

I'll admit, the first time was a little rough watching myself but subsequent matches were not so bad. It helped me fix an issue I had on my forehand. After a few matches, I felt like I got everything I needed out of the videos and didn't watch them much anymore.

 

[esgee48]

It's your Doppelganger from Earth 2 that's recorded on Playsight. I don't look like a Fat Old Lizard on video! Or do I?

I think I need a drink to calm my nerves.

 

[Mongolmike]

I think everyone should see themselves play on video at least once. Yes, you might not realize you have this incredibly weird serve motion, or that you fall back on every backhand shot, or that you spend more time spinning your racquet then prepping for the incoming ball.... but that is why you SHOULD see yourself at least once on video. It is instructive.

 

[silentkman]

Okay, loved your post.

This is why I don't allow film of any type anywhere near me.

I am older than I think I am, I am fatter than I think I am, I am slower than I think I am (although I am told I am still fast), I hit softer than I think I do ... only thing I would allow to be tracked would be the serve ... I know it is decent.

All of these delusions help me play .... If I were to really know just how terrible I am, just how ugly, fat, slow, etc. ... well, I might crawl into the attic and never come out again.

I have Playsight from the National Campus in December that I still have not watched yet. I tried for five minutes and I almost threw up.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I think everyone should see themselves play on video at least once. Yes, you might not realize you have this incredibly weird serve motion, or that you fall back on every backhand shot, or that you spend more time spinning your racquet then prepping for the incoming ball.... but that is why you SHOULD see yourself at least once on video. It is instructive.

"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" - A Few Good Men

 

[mikeler]

I have Playsight from the National Campus in December that I still have not watched yet. I tried for five minutes and I almost threw up.

Did you do the full Playsight with all the data (speed/spin of every shot) or just film yourself there?

 

[Benben245]

I think footwork drills are anathema to the joy of hitting but would greatly improve the visual quality of one's game from a third party perspective. With footwork everything would speed up including swing speed.

 

[silentkman]

Did you do the full Playsight with all the data (speed/spin of every shot) or just film yourself there?

everything, I may watch it within the year. Playsight is super cool.

 

[MathGeek]

Okay, loved your post.

This is why I don't allow film of any type anywhere near me.

I am older than I think I am, I am fatter than I think I am, I am slower than I think I am (although I am told I am still fast), I hit softer than I think I do ... only thing I would allow to be tracked would be the serve ... I know it is decent.

All of these delusions help me play .... If I were to really know just how terrible I am, just how ugly, fat, slow, etc. ... well, I might crawl into the attic and never come out again.

My thoughts exactly.

I'm so slow. It may feel like tennis and fast in the moment, but it looks so awkward and slow.

But video is a great training tool. Everyone is doing a number of things much differently than we think. Often it's footwork and positioning - a lot of it is laziness - like not bothering to hustle back into position until the opponent sends it back - a low or a bad first step after the opponent hits the ball - waiting until the ball crosses the net to hustle on low shots, etc.

I certainly don't want my tennis videos posted online. But they are a valuable tool. My racquet skills are unlikely to be fixed or improved greatly. Positioning and footwork are fixable, but it takes constant effort, and nothing like video to remind me.

Listen, I'll never be a great tennis player. But I owe it to myself and to my partners not to be a lazy tennis player.

 

[pc1]

Have any of you had your mental projection of how you play and move around the court shattered after watching your Playsight video? In my case, the video was so abominable I had to be sedated as I began writhing and thrashing around; (some say I levated momentarily before going into convulsions).

I am currently in therapy with a bio-feedback 'doctor' if you wish to call Dr. Stevens anything more than a back-alley abortionist with rampant halitosis. He is supposed to help me forget; make it go away. But I will never forget! It haunts my days, my dreams, and consumes my nightmares, it is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and my end.

You just among the millions of players who imagine themselves to be better than what they are. It's not a big deal. Most of us tend to do that.

 

[Kenny022593]

You can use 3D view. It shows a sprite moving around the court. You get to see your positioning and movement without having to see yourself hitting a ball. Win win.

 

[silentkman]

You just among the millions of players who imagine themselves to be better than what they are. It's not a big deal. Most of us tend to do that.

Totally disagree, In our hearts we know how bad we are. That's the reason we don't want to watch video of ourselves.

 

[pc1]

Totally disagree, In our hearts we know how bad we are. That's the reason we don't want to watch video of ourselves.

I guess you're right.

 

[sureshs]

I like to watch other people's tapes and make fun of them

 

[shazbot]

sureshs has set the bar so high, that all videos pale in comparison.

 

[SavvyStringer]

I would go with we think we move/hit better than we do and we are our own harshest critics due to feedback last night. I played and got multiple complements on my ability to track down drops shots and hit them back for angle winners. For all of the people I was playing with 1) they feel like they don't move well enough to get to those balls and 2) they feel like the shots I hit are difficult. I'm sure on video it looks ugly if I were to look at it, but they found the shots amazing. It's all in the eye of the beholder. For me, I didn't really have to go all that hard to get to the shots and the angle backhands are actually a really easy shot for me because my backhand volleys are actually probably my strongest shot outside of my serve.

 

[aurablaze]

Video is one of the greatest tools for self-improvement, so just treat it like a tool. Honestly the only one embarrassed by watching you play would be yourself since most people don't care. The faster you get over that feeling the faster you can use it as a way to improve. After all, video don't lie, and that means you can adjust your technique and see if it's sticking. I personally like seeing the progress made after I started recording myself.

 

[sredna42]

LOL it is a sobering and traumatizing experience.

 

[Demented]

I started playing on playsight court 3-4 times a week about 2 months ago. I immediately started lessons to correct my lack of balance and strength in my quads after my first. viewing. I'm very fast and explosive from soccer but my deceleration balance was awful. I'm tempted to post a clip of the first week compared to now....

 

[BulldogLouisiana]

Listen, I'll never be a great tennis player. But I owe it to myself and to my partners not to be a lazy tennis player.

This is a great!

 

[time_fly]

Our club doesn’t have playsight but it has a low budget substitute: Nest cameras on each court that you can watch via app. I go back and watch a lot of my matches. It is a humbling experience. Although I can pick up some technical flaws the cameras aren’t that detailed. It’s especially useful to see strategic errors and mental lapses. A lot of time I realize that what I think was happening in the match was very inaccurate in retrospect.

 

[dman72]

Watching video is definitely humbling and helpful, especially if you can shoot it from the "TV" like perspective from behind and above. You will realize how slow both you and you shots are compared to pros. I feel like I move relatively well for my age, and guys have told me I cover ground well, but damn does it look stiff and awkward on video. I also realized that while my serve is in no way near pro level, my arm action is at least correct in terms of take back and pronation. Many guys I play are so far from anything resembling good technique on serve, it's scary. I was expecting to see that in my video as well, but it didn't look nearly as bad as everything else.

I can imagine getting actual stats on your speed and RPM of shots would add additional humility.

 

[dman72]

Watching video is definitely humbling and helpful, especially if you can shoot it from the "TV" like perspective from behind and above. You will realize how slow both you and you shots are compared to pros. I feel like I move relatively well for my age, and guys have told me I cover ground well, but damn does it look stiff and awkward on video. I also realized that while my serve is in no way near pro level, my arm action is at least correct in terms of take back and pronation. Many guys I play are so far from anything resembling good technique on serve, it's scary. I was expecting to see that in my video as well, but it didn't look nearly as bad as everything else.

I can imagine getting actual stats on your speed and RPM of shots would add additional humility.

 

[Demented]

I can imagine getting actual stats on your speed and RPM of shots would add additional humility.

I actually think it's the exact opposite. They structure the TV angles and views to make the balls look extremely fast. I'm probably an average 3.5 with good racket head speed. My playsight match average forehand is 54 mph which blends all shot types and situations. I'd guess my actual average topspin forehand is about 60 with my winner quality balls falling into the 67 to 75 mph range. My average spin rpm is about 2100 with the big balls in the low 3000s. Now my accuracy, endurance and consistency numbers are what really separate me from pros vs Joe's. I rarely manage to take a rally over 8 shots without committing an error.....

 

[Big_Dangerous]

"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" - A Few Good Men

"I have neither the time nor the inclination!"

 

[BGod]

No not really. I was very fast and could hit fantastic shots but I was inconsistent and prone to choking. I had different angled videos taken by friends and I did the same for them. It's the unforced errors that make the video go by boring but I was a 5-5.5 player.

 

[ShaunS]

Video is one of the greatest tools for self-improvement

I strongly agree. I had an instructor who would tape us performing specific shots when I was younger to help us see what we were doing. It's so instructive not because you don't know what you're supposed to be doing, but because you actually thought you were until you see otherwise!

Nowadays, when people show me some video of my matches I am thoroughly disappointed in myself. Just a lot of basic mistakes and a lack of preparation, and when did I put on all that weight?

 

[Ben42]

My home courts just got them (video only, no stats) and I got to see myself play for the first time over the weekend. I was prepared to see a version of myself that didn't come anywhere near the one I held in my head, and I wasn't disappointed.

But I could see right away where I could improve my strokes with some fairly simple adjustments. I played again the other day and saw an immediate difference both in how I played and then how I looked on video.

I was also struck by how slow both my shots and my movement looked. Even a couple of passing shots I know I smoked down the line looked pretty tame. I don't know how much of that is just the speed not translating to video, and how much is my own delusion. I don't think there's much I can do about it though, so I'll just worry about cleaning up my strokes.

 

[Demented]

The angles and depth behind the baseline make everything look faster on TV. I hit a 82 mph forehand yesterday on my playsight and I bet if I go get the video clip it looks slow.

 

[ChaelAZ]

I've posted plenty about the perception vs. reality of video for myself. But I learned a while back to embrace it and work to improve myself in ways that I can actually see in the videos. It is an excellent tool for learning.

 

[Demented]

Oh, I love my playsight. I wrote some scripts to pull the shot data out of the viewer so I could clean it up and put it into an analysis tool. I really wish they'd have done a better job with their baked in analysis though. The shot data is useless because they don't break down the average/max/min per shot type(forehand topspin vs slice vs lob vs volley vs return). They roll it all together so your averages look like crap. One of my peeves is that in warm up mode, it counts feeds into your stats. I end up pissing my partner off by feeding at 50+ mph heh.

 

[sovertennis]

Wife and I play at the nearby university, which has Playsight installed on some courts. Recently, we recorded a practice session and the watching of it later was a sad, sad revelation for my recently-bumped to 4.0 wife, who observed that she does not actually move, swing or hit as fast as she had previously perceived. (Me, I've seen myself on vid many times, and although I remain remarkably svelte and dangerously handsome*, I had no delusions about how devastating my forehand would be on a new video).

We did learn Imperative Rule 1 for Playsight: Do not watch the vid on your phone, which will make you appear to be so slow that you're playing underwater. Watching it on your computer moniter makes you at least look quasi-athletic.

*Or not, but I sure ain't posting the vid on TT.

 

[atatu]

Here's a highlight from social doubles I played the other night, one cool thing I discovered is that I could watch in slow motion on youtube, which is helpful. Watching this I realized how bad my service toss is. I'm the server, my partner is 68 years old, pretty impressive I think.