Wednesday, August 20, 2008

State of the Union

Keeping up with this trend of how much I've progressed I think I should clearly define where I was, where I am and where I want to be as a player. I'll be rating them on an NTRP scale (1-7)

Quick Summary - Past, Present, Future
Forehand - 2.0, 4.0, 4.5
Backhand - 3.0, 3.0, 3.5
Serve - 2.0, 3.5, 3.5
Net/Approach - 2.0, 3.0, 3.5
Footwork - 2.5, 3.5, 4.0
Mental - 1.5, 2.0, 3.5
Overall NTRP - 2.2, 3.2, 3.8

Forehand
Before - 2.0
  • Power - 3.5
  • Control - 2.0
  • Consistency - 1.5
  • Spin - 2.0
Now - 4.0
  • Power - 4.5
  • Control - 3.0
  • Consistency - 3.0
  • Spin - 4.0
Year End - 4.5
  • Power - 5.0
  • Control - 4.0
  • Consistency - 4.0
  • Spin - 4.0

The forehand is like the bench press of tennis. Its pretty much a good litmus test of your ability as a player in my opinion. I've always been a strong guy and racquet and arm speed hasn't been a problem. As I've progress i've managed to Incorporate more shoulder turn and better foot work to plant and really unleash on the ball. From here I'd really like my consistency to be almost perfect, and be confident to take risks on down the line and inside out shots.


Backhand
Before - 3.0
  • Power - 3.5
  • Control - 2.0
  • Consistency - 3.0
  • Spin - 1.0
Now - 3.0
  • Power - 3.0
  • Control - 2.5
  • Consistency - 2.0
  • Spin - 2.5
Year End - 3.5
  • Power - 4.0
  • Control - 3.0
  • Consistency - 3.05
  • Spin - 3.0

If the forehand is the benchpress of tennis, the backhand is the Pull ups of tennis. You don't like doing them but you have to (well in my case I love pull ups...). Its funny I don't think my Backhand as gotten "better". My old 2 hand BH was very compact, and flat. It was actually my rock when my forehands were going all over the place. Problem with it was I wasn't able to hit very low shots with it. I'm trying more and more to Drop the head down and add spin. The biggest problem is that I really need to remember to step with the right leg and hit. If I don't do that, I lose all pace and the ball gets "pushed" over. If I can get a grasp on down the line and cross court shots, I'll be happy with it at years end.


Serve
Before - 2.0
  • Power - 3.5
  • 2nd Serve - 1.0
  • Control - 1.0
  • Consistency - 1.5
  • Spin - 1.0
Now - 3.0
  • Power - 4.0
  • 2nd Serve - 3.0
  • Control - 2.0
  • Consistency - 2.5
  • Spin - 2.5
Year End - 3.5
  • Power - 4.5
  • 2nd Serve - 3.0
  • Control - 3.0
  • Consistency - 3.0
  • Spin - 3.0

My Serve is one of my biggest weapons I haven't been able to take advantage of. I've always had good head speed in the beginning but I wasn't priming the legs and jumping enough which I've been doing to negate my height disadvantage. My dink 2nd serve has finally become a decent 2nd serve. My control is nonexistent, I either go in or fault. My over all consistency needs to go up, i'm averaging about a 50%/80% split. I hope to develop my 1st serve consistency to 60% and be able to control it to go down the line or swing out wide. I want to get more power on my kick serve so I'm able to pull an ace every now and then with it.


Net/Approach
Before - 2.0
  • Coverage - 2.0
  • Consistency - 2.0
  • Placement - 1.5
  • Power (approach) - 2.0
  • Angle (approach) - 2.0
Now - 3.0
  • Coverage - 2.0
  • Consistency - 2.5
  • Placement - 2.0
  • Power (approach) - 4.0
  • Angle (approach) - 3.0
Year End 3.5
  • Coverage - 2.5
  • Consistency - 3.0
  • Placement - 3.0
  • Power (approach) - 4.0
  • Angle (approach) - 4.0

I don't play at the net often but I do like to use my approach shot to shorten the court and put away balls. It took me awhile to get a hang of the windshield wiper but its become a staple of my game. Reflexes have always been a weak point for me, as soon as I can improve that, I can improve my coverage at the net. One of the biggest things I can do to improve is instinctively know which alleys to close off when approaching.


Footwork
Before - 2.5
  • Footspeed - 3.5
  • Split Step - 2.0
  • Coverage - 3.0
  • Agility - 2.0
Now - 3.5
  • Footspeed - 4.0
  • Split Step - 3.0
  • Coverage - 3.5
  • Agility - 3.0
Year End 4.0
  • Footspeed - 4.5
  • Split Step - 4.0
  • Coverage - 4.0
  • Agility - 3.5

I've always had quick feet but I definitely lack proper footwork. I did the split for just the sake of it, instead of using it to prime my legs to jump at the ball. I'm getting better with my court coverage and not being caught flat footed. The things to work on is perfecting my split step timing, coming back to the center of the court, and lateral movement agility.


Mental
Before - 1.5
  • Focus - 2.0
  • Temper - 1.0
  • Strategy - 1.0
Now - 2.0
  • Focus - 2.5
  • Temper - 2.0
  • Strategy - 2.0
Year End - 3.5
  • Focus - 3.5
  • Temper - 3.5
  • Strategy - 3.5

Probably the most overlooked aspect in tennis. I have a very weak mental game. I get angered (incensed actually) very easily. If i'm fatiguing I make mental slips like not split stepping, footwork, etc... Strategy wasn't a factor early on b/c I didn't have the tools (like directional control) to employ them. I need to work on staying focused, I've played a few time where I was drained physically but I let that carry over into the mental realm and was just mentally sluggish and lazy.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my tennis game. I'm about a 3.0 - 3.5 NTRP. I know I can hang with players at the NTRP of 5.0 b/c of my raw physical ability. But its technique I need and I know I've been improving and I've identified points in my game that need improvement and I'm making attempts to fix them. I got a good 4 months left and I'm going to make the most of it. Mainly by playing against a high calibre of opponents. I'm getting a bit complacent playing around with lower skilled players (even though the games are fun) and I need to make a serious effort to challenge myself.

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