Video Diary NTRP 3.0 - 4.0 by Auust 2014 (1 year)

[LeeD]

Prep position, before toss, get both hands more forwards. Angle is tough to tell, but you're almost sidways tohere. Left hand should be on throat racket, inside the baseline.
I think your trophy position has a flaw. Your right elbow looks too far behind you, to the left side of the court, and your elbow is tucked into your rib cage, too close to your body.
Less backswing, in this case, might result in more power because with your new forward hand positioning during prep position, you will drive your racket hand farther into the court, more linear, less rotational.

 

[geepeeone]

Prep position, before toss, get both hands more forwards. Angle is tough to tell, but you're almost sideways to here. Left hand should be on throat racket, inside the baseline.

I think i know what you mean...as always thank you I really appreciate the feedback; It always helps to have a second pair of eyes looking at it.

I think your trophy position has a flaw. Your right elbow looks too far behind you, to the left side of the court, and your elbow is tucked into your rib cage, too close to your body.

Yes. I didn't even know I was doing that before this video. It looks like I am digging my elbow right into my rib cage there.

Less backswing, in this case, might result in more power because with your new forward hand positioning during prep position, you will drive your racket hand farther into the court, more linear, less rotational.

I will try this and see if I get more speed with a more linear swing. Feels counter intuitive but I'll give it an honest effort.

.

 

[stringertom]

Hmmm.

Today something changed in me . . . I realized that I want a much better . . . not modicum better, but an unqualified better serve!

http://youtu.be/u0PM4Mr50js

There are a lot of things wrong with this serve, but I feel it's markedly a step in the right direction.

You have absolutely no bend in your lead hip. Until you can develop a left hip arch and thrust into launch your power will only derive from arm and wrist. Imagine your left side curving like a bow before the arrow release.

To develop those muscles, shadow serve many times at home without ball or racquet. Get in your service stance and lift your left arm as a toss and practice the weight shift forward to your left foot WITH the arching of the left hip. Until you feel that pressure in your hip, you're not getting "the load". The first time you do it, you will KNOW (light bulb goes on)!

 

[geepeeone]

You have absolutely no bend in your lead hip. Until you can develop a left hip arch and thrust into launch your power will only derive from arm and wrist. Imagine your left side curving like a bow before the arrow release.

To develop those muscles, shadow serve many times at home without ball or racquet. Get in your service stance and lift your left arm as a toss and practice the weight shift forward to your left foot WITH the arching of the left hip. Until you feel that pressure in your hip, you're not getting "the load". The first time you do it, you will KNOW (light bulb goes on)!

I've always been a fan of Raonic's serve, because of how effortless it looks. An impeccable mechanics does that. This part will be hard though,

practice the weight shift forward to your left foot WITH the arching of the left hip"

My coach and I have been working on my right foot not going over my left foot but its been 4 months now and I still do it. I guess my body just tends to do it like so, and also I am just not too confident when my weight is on my left foot as it's hard for me to load up and jump forward with the left leg. Currently most of my weight goes to my right foot, and I also I jump off that leg as well.

Is there a model I can follow you can point out that has the same dilemma as I do and yet still able to do that hip thrust?

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[stringertom]

I suggest Pat Dougherty's "Serve Doctor" DVD. He is the big dog at NBTA in kinesiology. You can sample him on youtube in many clips but the full DVD is the best approach to really unlocking the energy puzzle in the service motion.

There's also many a slo-mo clip of Sampras' service motion that details weight transfer and hip third at its best for a platform style. For pinpoint, I recommend slo-mos of Joachim Johansson's move...arguably the scariest delivery seen on the ATP since the Millenium. Ask Agassi...51 aces later in a 4-set match (somehow Agassi survived).

Have fun, relax...it's all part of the formula. Let the hard work determine the results!

 

[geepeeone]

Again...just working on extending the arm forward...not so much brushy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRMwPYPNwv4

 

[caugas]

Fair enough. I can appreciate what you're saying and realize that that is a balance to be had. It sounds like you're on top of it.

The only worry I was expressing is that it might actually be quicker for a player to go from 3.0 to 3.5 or 3.5 to 4.0 by cheating on the fundamentals. I'm speaking from experience here -- because I did it myself. I started focusing only on advancement and winning -- an choosing techniques based on that.

So initially, I was a really good pusher who ran around my backhand a lot. I went all the way to 3.5 doing that. Horrible fundamentals, but I achieved my NTRP goals very quickly. But I ended up stalling at 3.5 for two years because I had no fundamentals. Running east-west and moonballing can only get you so far.

In retrospect, if I'd have been more focused on the journey using fundamentals instead of the focusing only on the timebox... I think I would actually have made 4.0 faster. But it probably would also have taken me longer to reach 3.5. Everything has tradeoffs.

Now, I just focus on fundamentally improving my game -- one mechanic at a time. I do have a goal to reach 4.5. I'm not sure when that will happen, but I'm not putting a timeframe on it. As long as I keep improving my fundamentals... I am confident I will reach it at some point.

Really well said... Moving up takes time, dedication and an open mind with a knack for being a student of the game. My goal is also to become a 4.5 and I'm not sure it will happen, but like you said, you need to start with a strong foundation and add on from there...one skill at a time...
Most 4.5 players I know "don't" relay on 1 or 2 shots to win or thrive, but mix in strategy with 4 or 5 varying excelled shot selections based off of needs to beat their opponent.

 

[geepeeone]

Fatigued

I've been playing 20-25 hours / week for about 8 months now and lately I've been feeling fatigued . . . over-fatigued, maybe. I go to sleep tired, and I wake up still tired. Initially on some days I would purposely take sleeping pills and be in bed for 10 hours straight, confident that after then my body would recover. It did work for a while, but now it has become a case of diminishing return and I find myself all the more dragging my feet in and outside of tennis.

Maybe it's just part of adjusting to the fact that I am no longer in my 20's . . . maybe it's over fatigued - which I hope not. Altogether the fix is simple, rest, duh! But by how much?! Currently I can't last more than a set without my game taking a steep nosedive; even my opponents look puzzled by it sometimes. It's embarrassing really since I don't look out of shape but I've been playing certainly like one lately. I realize that I need to rest, but would intermittent rest in-between tennis days be enough, or would a continuous break be better instead - say like 6 weeks (Suunto.com on over training)? Wait, what, that much time??

I don't want to drag the supposed ailment with band aid fixes here and there, but I also don't want to take that much time off. I totally didn't see this coming. Fu*k!

. . . just thinking out loud

 

[Cobaine]

Take one week off, no physical activity. If you still tire easily, there's probably something else going on.. (Mono, anemia, etc)

 

[LeeD]

That's why most coach's agree that 3 hours a day on court, 6 days a week is plenty, which only totals 18 hours a week on court.
Your body get's tired from pushing off your cement courts.
Your MIND get's bored to death after an hour on court.
Some young kids, who really want to escape life by playing tennis, can do it, but not even a relatively small percentage.
Very few adults can maintain mental concentration playing as often as you do.
I find myself getting mentally bored even after 1.5 hours a day, 3 days a week.

 

[corbind]

I've been playing 20-25 hours / week for about 8 months now and lately I've been feeling fatigued.

So 3-4 per day daily. You realize you're crazy, right? Okay, say you "only" play 5 nights a week that is 4-5 hours PER SESSION! The law of diminishing returns says after X hours you're wasting your time, money, and driving your body to injury eventually.

If you're married your wife is likely livid you're away that much. Still that's an absurd number of hours to play/practice weekly unless you're doing it for a living. Why so much? What is the hurry to get to 4.0 and then what will you do with your 20-25 weekly hours when you get there?

That being said, bless you for having the time and dedication. Most of us are jealous.

 

[geepeeone]

(Mono)

This got me worried until I looked up the physical symptoms of Mono and found sore throat which I don't have!

I find myself getting mentally bored even after 1.5 hours a day, 3 days a week.

In my situation, I've always found that having a personal goal set in a timetable helps deter boredom. When I'm on the court, frustration is the most common emotion I feel, then self loathing, after that fatigue, and then body aches.

Still that's an absurd number of hours to play/practice weekly unless you're doing it for a living. Why so much? What is the hurry to get to 4.0 and then what will you do with your 20-25 weekly hours when you get there?

That being said, bless you for having the time and dedication. Most of us are jealous.

You know what...I took my time to think about this reply. What will I do when I reach 4.0?

I play that much because I am obsessed with the game. Way before, I was obsessed with chess as I am now with tennis. I ate, lived, and slept the game. I gave myself a goal to reach Class A level (notch below Expert), and after some time I did. After then I stopped since Expert Level is no longer a realistic goal for me. Forward to today, I have not gone further since and now just play the sport purely for fun.

What happened with chess will probably happen with my tennis as I know that 4.5 is not a realistic goal for me. I think after reaching 4.0, my manic obsession will taper and then I'd start to play more to experience the fun and camaraderie and less about the competition--just like my experience with chess.

Maybe I'll be looking at 7-10 hours a week of court time by then.


.

 

[geepeeone]

It's amazing what videos can do to spot flaws in one's game. Link is a video of me hitting backhand comfortably and the first thing that got my attention is my distance to the service line playing mini court. (about 4-5 feet)

I would imagine that I need the same space on the baseline on my backhand side in order to hit topspin and not slice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5kLupoL9Jk&feature=youtu.be

 

[linustennis]

this video private?