Took my First Lesson Last Night........

[michael_1265]

..........technically, my second, since I took one 30-minute lesson two years ago to try to straighten out my 2HBH.

I stuck to the forehand for the 45-minute lesson. Everything he said made sense. I expected him to try to convert me to an open-stance forehand, but he said he is getting away from that. We worked on what he said is more the approach of the Spanish players, with a tight, compact preparation and swing. It actually felt correct. He got me to understand the whole loading and unloading thing. Although I had fairly strong forehand, I guess it was a function of being 6'4" and 230 more than anything else, because I apparently was using more arm than rotation. It may take a while and a few more lessons to fine-tune, but I think this can be put to use immediately. I'm playing a couple of sets tonight with a 4.0 who is more realistically a 4.5 (I'm a newly-minted 3.5), so I have my chance to see if I can make these adjustments work. Under pressure, lots of it.

I'm the kind of person who likes to figure out everything by himself, but at 46 and wanting to progress farther before age slows me down too much, this was the right move.

 

[Federerx16]

Great. When's the next one?

 

[Cindysphinx]

When are you going to practice what you've learned?

 

[LeeD]

Quite often, something new and improved DOESN'T work the first few times, and if you can just stick with it, it'll come around and be a plus.
Most new ideas take time to saturate and implement...correctly.
Don't be surprised if the 4.5 smokes you as usual, as most 4.5 would smoke a 3.5 no matter what instant improvements the 3.5 made.
Just trust the new ideas, and use them for a few matches.

 

[NLBwell]

I'm interested to hear your progress. Keep us updated.

 

[michael_1265]

Quite often, something new and improved DOESN'T work the first few times, and if you can just stick with it, it'll come around and be a plus.
Most new ideas take time to saturate and implement...correctly.
Don't be surprised if the 4.5 smokes you as usual, as most 4.5 would smoke a 3.5 no matter what instant improvements the 3.5 made.
Just trust the new ideas, and use them for a few matches.

I expected to get my usual 6-1, 6-1 lashing, and I did. I played well, with a handful of outright winners, possibly twice what I normally have. He was off a little because of a tweaked wrist, and he was using pinpoint control instead of power to beat me.

Funny, my best shots of the night were hit in a rally I lost. He returned a deuce court serve deep to my forehand, and I drove it back hard crosscourt, nicking the singles sideline about two feet from the baseline. He retrieved it short to my backhand, and I rolled it hard crosscourt at an implausible angle and followed it in. Amazingly, he got to it again, throwing up a defensive lob, which I took out of the air and hit down the middle of the court. Then a short topspin lob.............which I hit into the net. Although it was frustrating to lose the point, hitting two likely winners (against a lesser player) and fielding a deep lob successfully during one rally is about as good as it gets for me right now.

As a side note, after hitting with this guy, I have to laugh at folks (on this board or elsewhere) who think they could rally with a pro. My friend is my age (46), and he has not played competitively since college, but he played for a Div I Southeast Conference school. The skill difference between us is huge, and he is capable of hitting winners at will, or nearly so. I have to think the skill gap between us is about the same as between him and a typical top-500 pro, and again between the top-500 pro and a top-10 pro. Heck, in Tennis Magazine this month, a 42 yo 4.0 man gets destroyed by an 11 year old girl who is nationally ranked. They're not even on the same planet as we are.


The lesson did not represent a huge change. I'm realizing now that I often had hit shots just as I was taught on Monday, but I didn't recognize what I did right at the time, and thus there was little chance of repeating it. Now that I am getting a feel for the shoulder turn and a more compact preparation, I just might be on the road to generating consistant power. Oddly, I lost the handle on my 2HBH last night. I could only hit it for con

 

[LeeD]

Oftentimes, it's better to implement new shots against lesser opponent's, so you can actually see success right in front of you. Playing a level above, lots of your "winners" will be setup shots for him.
And oftentimes, perception is a huge issue. I've played some top 30 men's pros in real matches, and the difference is more consistency, calmness, choice of shot, and executing what he can do vs me getting the jitters than anything else.
And of course, it depends on what level you are used to playing. I was used to playing at a good level, so pro level shots were expected to blow by me, which they did.
If a player never played Open tourneys, then of course, a real pro player would shock the system.
And most college singles players never get close to top 700 mens. Possibly 5 a year get there, but lose the ranking within a year.

 

[papa]

......... I expected him to try to convert me to an open-stance forehand, but he said he is getting away from that. ..................

Did he provide any material to suggest this is the way to go in our sport, suggest this is his opinion alone, or that its easier (maybe in his own eyes) to teach a neutral stance first.

I've attended clinics and studied the Spanish approach & current teaching methods - I suspect we have some misunderstandings here.

 

[dlk]

Did he provide any material to suggest this is the way to go in our sport, suggest this is his opinion alone, or that its easier (maybe in his own eyes) to teach a neutral stance first.

I've attended clinics and studied the Spanish approach & current teaching methods - I suspect we have some misunderstandings here.

Interesting question. WHen I had my first lesson; he watched how I hit & suggested certain easy modifications to incorporate some strong topspin w/more net clearance. He didn't say this is how pros hit or "how I hit." He said for my style "these are things you can easily implement to maximize your current game", not alot of new concepts. He teaches high school tennis at his other job & says he has many students/players who have to start from scratch.

To OP, sounds like you're on track.

 

[michael_1265]

Did he provide any material to suggest this is the way to go in our sport, suggest this is his opinion alone, or that its easier (maybe in his own eyes) to teach a neutral stance first.

I've attended clinics and studied the Spanish approach & current teaching methods - I suspect we have some misunderstandings here.

The impression he gave me is that it would be the best path for me, given my age and my desire to progress to 4.0 and to hit the ball more consistantly and with more power. He described the Spanish style as being more efficient. The only worry I have is that I still won't be imparting enough spin to hit the ball the way I want to, with a sufficient margin of error. We'll see, but I certainly like the feel of the shot. At my size, I won't win many matches retrieving from the backcourt, but at the same time, I haven't had a weapon lethal enough to punish the players who often fill the 3.5 singles slots, the guys with 3.0 strokes and 5.0 speed. I could see my forehand becoming a real tool in these matches.

 

[LeeD]

At your size, having ONE huge weapon to compliment your serve should take you pretty far up the ladder.
A forehand can do it.
A consistent backhand is a must.
And never miss returning those paltry serves you face, but always place them where YOU want them, don't just return them with no thought.
You got reach and leverage, so volleying should be your best asset, if you don't want to run back and forth along the baseline retrieving little guy's shots.

 

[michael_1265]

Interesting question. WHen I had my first lesson; he watched how I hit & suggested certain easy modifications to incorporate some strong topspin w/more net clearance. He didn't say this is how pros hit or "how I hit." He said for my style "these are things you can easily implement to maximize your current game", not alot of new concepts. He teaches high school tennis at his other job & says he has many students/players who have to start from scratch.

To OP, sounds like you're on track.

My lesson had the same general tone, which is tuning as opposed to rebuilding. As long as it works, I'm happy. In any case, I had no real desire to join the Windshield Wiper Brigade; I just didn't want to lose the arms race

 

[papa]

The impression he gave me is that it would be the best path for me, given my age and my desire to progress to 4.0 and to hit the ball more consistantly and with more power. He described the Spanish style as being more efficient. The only worry I have is that I still won't be imparting enough spin to hit the ball the way I want to, with a sufficient margin of error. We'll see, but I certainly like the feel of the shot. At my size, I won't win many matches retrieving from the backcourt, but at the same time, I haven't had a weapon lethal enough to punish the players who often fill the 3.5 singles slots, the guys with 3.0 strokes and 5.0 speed. I could see my forehand becoming a real tool in these matches.

OK, I was under the impression that he was suggesting to you that the Spanish style was a thing of the past which simply is not true. However, it sounds like maybe he felt that it was not for you, at least at the moment based on your skill set and manner of play - I understand that.

I have a little problem with players getting away from the open stance because I think its the way to go - not necessarily on every shot but whenever possible on the forehand side. Even the backhand is now being hit more from an open stance, especially/mostly the 2HBH.

 

[papa]

Interesting question. WHen I had my first lesson; he watched how I hit & suggested certain easy modifications to incorporate some strong topspin w/more net clearance. He didn't say this is how pros hit or "how I hit." He said for my style "these are things you can easily implement to maximize your current game", not alot of new concepts. He teaches high school tennis at his other job & says he has many students/players who have to start from scratch.

To OP, sounds like you're on track.

Yes, as I responded to Michael I can see this - might not necessarily agree with the approach but coaches/instructors are on the court with you.