Sunday, November 18, 2007

Trainning before Gaming

The off-season (winter) for amateurs is not much different than it is for pros. The colder weather and shorter days in the northern hemisphere mean less suitable time to do the thing we love...play tennis.
The focus of my training will be on my skill sets and overall athletic abilities. I will start in the same place the tennis game does, with the serve. My dad is always telling me that you need to have a good serve cause it is the one point you have complete control over and you want it to help you get some cheap points from time to time. Taking advice and pointers from him can be very difficult though; he like his father (and I like him) has a tendency to be overbearing at times. Still I try to listen what he says, and combine that with what I see the pros doing and what I have read and use it to my own benefit. Over the past couple weeks that I have been working on it I have seen positive results; my serve has improved from the embarrassing to bearable, but I am not stopping there. I don't want to push it to hard, but if I can I would like to add variety to it rather than just getting it in.
Along with the serve I am going to work on a shot that I would really like to have as part of my arsenal, for both offensive and defensive reasons, the slice. Coming in both backhand and forehand varieties, the slice is a great way to mix things up, change the pace of a rally, get your opponent out of position or get a ball that was largely out of reach. The forehand slice is rarely used in the game as anything other than defensive because it is an awkward shot, but the backhand slice when used correctly is a thing of beauty. Because unlike the serve I need someone else to practice this shot, I dont think that I will be improving on it as much this winter.
Lastly I would also like to work on my volleying. Being able to get to the net and finish a point of is important. What good is getting your opponent out of position if you stay back and give them time to recover. As well it is an essential part of the doubles game which I enjoy. Work on not swinging and punch the ball and all will be well.
There is alot to work on but I think it is doable. I hope the weather stays nice so I can keep playing outdoors cause I cant afford to play indoors. The spring season should be fun. More challenging and better tennis in the future.

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