XL 107 sq.inch racket for 11 yo student

D

dainova

Rookie
Hi, I met slim fit 11yo girl who plays with huge XL 27.5 length 107 sq inch racket. With extreme grips on both sides and 100% flat shots. Surely it's very abbreviated and short.
Parents want me to work with her on her serve, which is currently is exactly like high ball FH with the same Extreme W grip, with bit of reverse side spin. Uff... anybody will risk to continue to teach her with that racket ?
I kind of afraid to shock her with introducing Cont grip or something close for her serve.

Girls looks like has a lot of practice under the belt, can return everything and great competitor.
Understand it's very generic question, can not get any videos, will appreciate you comments/experience. What was the most extreme grip on serve for your students ?

Thanks
Dai
 
badmice2

badmice2

Professional
I helped a friend who had a student with an extreme western grip as a serve. She was also a volleyball player. For the most part we made it work base on what she chose to do. We had to change her toss to be 10/11 o’clock to compensate for the side spin serve. The serve worked fine and she played through the majority of her high school years.

Though I would highly recommend to change her grip if you can before she hits her u14 years. Adding a continental will give her more variety in the long run, especially with the ability to defend or be more offensive with low balls. The smarter players will pick on the full west all day long. Unless she’s willing to work on her fitness, footwork, and timing, her potential will be limited in the long run.
 
N

nyta2

Hall of Fame
dainova said:
Hi, I met slim fit 11yo girl who plays with huge XL 27.5 length 107 sq inch racket. With extreme grips on both sides and 100% flat shots. Surely it's very abbreviated and short.
Parents want me to work with her on her serve, which is currently is exactly like high ball FH with the same Extreme W grip, with bit of reverse side spin. Uff... anybody will risk to continue to teach her with that racket ?
Click to expand...
i don't think the racquet is a big deal... at least one atp pro used to use the big bubba
probably more important to address the extreme W grip fh...
in the past, my approach is just to slice everything, and play on a fast court, and let them make their own conclusions...
if they only/mostly play on clay, maybe the hawaiian grip is not as big an issue (worked for berestegui:
), then it's your job let them know how they need to "defend their grip" (eg. hit high & loopy to prevent low ball replies, switch to conti for droppers, conditioning/foot speed, etc...)
interesting that ball is flat... personally i developer a hawaiian grip fh because i was trying generate topspin with an extreme angle swing, and had to deal with high balls, and i was/is short... i ended up switching E/SW to be able to flatten the ball out more (vs. hitting high & slow & loopy), but maybe i might not have switched if i had learned to flatten the ball out with a hawaiian grip
I kind of afraid to shock her with introducing Cont grip or something close for her serve.
Click to expand...
have to, if they want more variety (and eventually more rhs/power/spin), but that's really a decision her & her parents need to make... just can educate them on the pros & cons of her current serve... i've had more than some (non-tennis) parents insist that their kid's pancake serve is better/fine (compared to the complicated conti grip serve i was suggesting to them) - because it went in, and it was more powerful... i just had to shrug, and say, "ok". (but they were only thinking short term, what can i learn today, to help my kid's 2-3mos tennis season that's coming up in a few weeks)
Girls looks like has a lot of practice under the belt, can return everything and great competitor.
Understand it's very generic question, can not get any videos, will appreciate you comments/experience. What was the most extreme grip on serve for your students ?

Thanks
Dai
Click to expand...
 
bitcoinoperated

bitcoinoperated

Professional
An 11yo girl probably can't generate any pace. Unless this racquet is unreasonably heavy, what is the problem?

Teach her to serve properly though, anything else is a disservice especially since girls are rarely taught to even throw a ball. No decent player serves with a forehand grip.
 
E

eah123

Professional
I know when I taught my girl to do an advanced serve, it was helpful to have her choke up (move grip toward the racquet throat) to give her more control over the racquet head and to “feel” pronation.

That’s what I would do with anyone learning to serve, and this will also take out the issues of an XL length racquet.

If parents can afford private lessons, why not suggest they get a normal size 100sq in racquet for her? Tell them that this will help her with control. Everyone needs more control and consistency!
 
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