Hitting with Franco, Ari and Jorge

Man, i am slow. My footwork is getting worse and it must be the extra lbs i'm carrying on me. Got more vids but still cutting them up. My groundstrokes feel ok, not too much rust, especially with Franco's shots spinning every which way. My shoulder doesn't hurt anymore so the backhand is coming back. Need to work on the legs, not getting enough bend, especially on low forehands.

Rallies with Alex

Alex is an ace. He's probably better than me at every aspect of tennis except with maybe putting massive amounts of topspin on the ball. I've played with players around Alex's level and much better than him, but I've always found Alex particularly difficult for me to rally with. He has an exceptional degree of control with the ball laterally, angles and especially with depth. He's very deliberate, I know he knows which shots I can't hit and he knows exactly how to hit them. With most players I can adjust and adapt to their game to a degree. Alex can change it up and keep me guessing at will.



Why do I like playing against Alex? Rather than most 4.5's and 5.0's, he makes me play my best. My footwork has to be on point, I can't loft a shot, and I have to focus on every ball. Most importantly Alex wants to see me get better. If he sees me flub up a backhand, he will deliberately hit consecutive shots to my backhand wing and won't stop until I consistently return them back.

During our hitting session I focused alot on making sure I was hitting the slice properly. Coming home and watching the videos of my strokes, I realized the majority of all my errors were bc I was not making contact with the ball in front of my body. I got to be more conscious of that. I think I flubbed up wayyy to many forehands into the net bc of that simple error. Also got to really bend the knees when loading up on my forehand. I can't be using a golf swing on low balls.



I played alot of tennis the past 4 days, in fact i played everyday. Going to take a day off, get some rest bc I felt some tennis elbow coming on during our hitting session. I hit with Franco the spin doctor on Thursday. I definitely need my footwork to be on point.

Matchplay with John

I'm glad I won (6-4) but I know John can play better. I'm dissappointed that I managed to blow a 4-1 lead. My serve was the best its been, I was ripping winners and aces on a consistent basis. My groundstrokes became a little cold, but while hold serve, I was able to take more risks on my return game. I think me and John will have more interesting matches in the future. He usually dictates play in our hitting sessions. I should take the opportunity to work on my confidence with the groundstrokes and improving my 2nd serve.

Rallies and Match Play with Julio

I was with the ball machine, but got a great rally and match with Julio. Julio is a strong 4.0-4.5 who plays a Western FH and a one handed BH. He actually flattens out his forehand, and has great control. He plays pretty similar to Alex, in which he possess great control and can open up with some pace and hit some real winners. Oh and he plays varsity tennis at Felix Varela High school.

We had some really good rallies while I was playing with the APDC with the PHT at 54#. I'm really beginning to like the lower tension, especially since I'm using Poly's. I definitely need to hit more winners off my backhand wings. I don't want it to seem like a liability. We played a match and naturally he took it 6-1. I think we took a few points to deuce a few times. My only saving grace was my serve at times was really on fire and I was bringing the heat. That and I was able to rip a couple forehand winners.

I'm really getting the hang of disguising my forehand. Though I since I take such a huge cut on the ball, most of my forehands have both good pace and a ton of spin. I have been flattening out every so often and doing a straight flatter drive type forehand. I tend to aim for low clearance over the net anyways, so I'm not afraid anymore to open up on a flat shot.

Since I've found myself hitting the slice out of comfort, I've learned how to hit it correctly. I think I was just doing a chopshot before. Mostly its just footwork. If I can get in position early, I can get ready and just crack a nice 2 hander out.

Service wise I'm happy. I had to resort to hitting 2 first serves bc Julio was just abusing my weak 2nd serve. I put some work into my kick and slice serves but is coming along slowly since timing has never been a strong point of mine. Once I work back into my strength training routine, I'm pretty sure my 1st serves will be pretty devastating.

I look forward to more good games and hitting sessions with Julio. Considering I played one hell of an ultimate frisbee game and had a nice run in the morning, I think if I had my wheels with me, I could of gotten a few more points off him.

Rallies with Puerta

I always like hitting with David. Mostly because we goof around and crack jokes and its pretty casual. David is actually a former #5 seed with the FSU tennis team. He hasn't had the opportunity to hit as much as he'd like but he still gave me plenty to deal with. Man I wish I didn't pop my strings last week. I had been using this new Super String Pure Control v8's in my mains which felt a world better than the kirschbaum I usually use.

Going back, I found myself lacking some pop and dwell time in the string bed. I was hitting short and to the net again. My backhand was solid at times, but I still deferred to the slice if I felt uncomfortable. Rattled off a few serves to see if my serving streak was a fluke, but they blasted nicely and consistently. Too bad alot of our best rallies weren't video taped. I'll make sure to leave the camera on next time.

Oh and I promise to never wear that shirt again... didn't realize I looked like a crossing guard from behind.

More Rallies

So had another good pair of hitting sessions with John and Aaron respectively. Had an especially good couple rallies with John. We're both getting better with our consistency and I'm actually coming to the net more and actually winning a point here and there. I just need to remember to keep the racquet in front of me. I notice I'm just sitting there at the net waiting to be passed most of the time. I need to work on close avenues but whatever, it felt really natural coming to the net at times and its not like I'm forcing it.

My forehands seems like I'm miss hitting a bit bc I'm noticing I'm not getting a clean sound from the hit. The backhand is also getting more reliable and not a liability.



Aaron's been out sick for a few weeks so it took him a bit to get his bearings. It was tough getting some good rallies going bc of the amount of net balls (hey I'm partially guilty too I guess). Still though, every hitting session is a good session in my book.



For some reason youtube is making all my vids look darker than they really are. Its kind of annoying.

11/10/08 - Rallies with John

Finally new Videos!

Added a new hitting partner to the rotation. John is a solid 3.5 with excellent footwork and flat groundstrokes. You can see he has S & V tendencies, but hasn't felt comfortable deploying it yet. We're definitely well matched up and had some pretty good hitting sessions the past couple weeks.

John's Groundstrokes


I'm decently ok with my performance. A couple too many net balls but I know I didn't warm up before hitting and it shows with my lazy footwork. I'm tending to scooping those low forehands too much. Need to bend those knees. I'm also whipping my forehand, need to stop that and drive the ball deeper into the court. Backhand wise I'm getting there. I know what I need to do:

• Time my step and shoulder turn for more power
  
• Hit away from my body and in front of me
• Drop the racquethead

My service has just not been the same since the leg injury and that sucks bc i was serving so well. The timing is off and I'm not leaping into the court. I guess I just need more time. I'm actually plowing through the kick serve and I realize that some of my "kick" serves due to a bad toss actually ended up being slices.

And yes, I can't volley, not even to save my life...

At the end of it all, I'm just happy being out there. The weather has been excellent and Me and John really push the envelope with lots of running on our rallies. Its almost starting to feel like a workout.

Groundstroke Progressoin

So I wanted to compare how my strokes look in the last 5 months I've committed to playing tennis. Other than the 1st couple weeks my strokes haven't changed too much at first. Upon closer inspection and with the help of slow mo I actually notice I do more shoulder turn, left hand use, knee bend and smoother stroke. What the video can't show is how much more consistent I've become.

8-9-08 Groundstrokes and Serves

Its been a while but I've been playing some insane tennis. My forehand has become a consistent weapon with some good directional control. My backhand is becoming more reliable as well. I can slice from both wings and my service returns are much improved. My 1st serves are going in about 50% or more and my kick and 2nd serves are gimmes anymore. I still occasionally double fault but I think with some more work my service will be much better.

Groundstrokes! in Slow Mo


Serves! in Slow Mo


To work on:
Forehand
- Need some more knee bend on lower shots.
- I'm going to try finishing by my bicep and work on some depth control
- Going to see if i can sustain more higher powered rallies

Backhand
- Drop that racquet head and work on sharper angles with spin
- Consistency

Volley
- Need more time getting comfy at the net. Strategically learn which alleys to close on approach.

Serve
- must get up to 60-70% 1st serve and 90% 2nd serve.
- more Kick on the kick serve
- more knee bend and more jump

6/8/2008 Vs Ball Machine

Rented the ball machine again and making more progress now. I've been having a few issues with my footwork, forehand inconsistency and now backhand inconsistency. My serve believe it or not has gotten better. I'm about 40% on 1st serves and 70% with a 2nd Kick serve. With the ball machine I tried to stay on top of staying on my feet and split stepping but after a while that just faded. My take back problems stemmed from me taking the racquet back with both hands which would essentially FORCE me to turn my shoulder. The draw back was that my timing was off a bit and I was hitting too close to my body instead of in front of me, resulting in balls going long.

Dipping my racquet head down on my backhand has also been an issue. I'm just more powerful and consistent with the compact motion. I'm going to really work on changing this.

5/10/08 Match Play

You know I'm pretty happy with the result. I've gotten the hang of my new racquet the Babolat Aeropro Drive. Started off slow which is my trademark but the next 4 straight points showcased alot of the finer points I've been working on. Despite the tired legs from Ultimate Frisbee in the morning, I had decent hustle in chasing down my some shots. The biggest improvement has to be my ability to hit that forehand slice. My reaction time is atrocious and when Luis can actually hit that 1st serve, I'm slow to react. I've never been able to hit a forehand slice, or any approach shot on my forehand side so that was a great improvement for me. When necessary I was able to hit DTL or cross court, but I was really more interest in keeping the ball in play so I could prolong the in game rallies. My 1st serve was better than on most days (even had a couple aces) but my 2nd serve is a joke. I'm putting learning the kick serve on hold until I can develop a decent 95% 2nd serve where my opponent isn't standing on the service line.

The biggest glaring weakness, which is where Luis started coming back was hitting shots with no pace. I'm overhitting, or overspinning. This has always been a big problem for me.

Serve
+ Some 1st serves actually got in!
+ Only 1 double fault!
- 2nd serve is a joke
- Need to still improve consistency on 1st serve.

Forehand
+ Good power, good control when employed
+ Consistent, not too many unforced errors after the 1st set (other than on junk balls)
+ Forehand slice was hit!

Backhand
+ It didn't unravel my game
+ Slice was very consistent
- No Backhand winners, need to rely on 2 hander not slice
- Not much directional control

Footwork
+ Able to hustle when needed
- Lazy, didn't get back to center, didn't have mental focus
- no lateral steps, all running, if he double backed me, i would of been stuck

4/13/08 Groundstrokes vs Ball Machine

I'm pretty happy with the level of play today, but then again with 5 hours on the ball machine, I better have developed some consistency. A good mix of running shots and just tweaking my groundstrokes here. I feel I have good contact and transfer of energy on my power shots and I'm getting the hang of my directional control. My slice is becoming more reliable which is a big bonus for me. Footwork was off and on... I was happy with my speed but I noticed that I totally didn't employ a split step like I usually do. Too much stuff to remember.

Forehands
+ Good shoulder and hip rotation
+ Excellent power and contact in front of the bod
+ Consistency and ability to hit a softer shot is also coming along
- Low balls, still not bending at the knees
- On a couple Kill shots, getting lazy and swinging with reckless abandon

Backhands
+ Consistency is developing
+ Backhand slice is now a legitimate shot to employ especially when out of position
- Off and On with starting racquet head low
- Must elongate stroke, still to short of a motion

Footwork
+ Light on feet, good foot speed
- No split step
- As fatigue creeps up, losing mental focus

4/2/08 Groundstrokes and Rallies

I'm clearly developing my forehand into being more consistent, well at least when it warms up. I think this has to do with the fact that I'm now able to slow down my stroke and hit at a slower pace. Since I took a about 4 years off, I have muscle memory of how to hit a hard forehand, but the slower ones well... yeah. I know its weird. What worries me most is how my backhand has deteriorated. I'm learning to hit a slice on my backhand side for running shot purposes. I'm getting the hang of directing my forehands at least, they go left and right when I want, but not necessarily in bounds. My footwork is also coming along ok, much lighter on my feet, but I need more bending at the knees to set up my shots.

Forehand
+ consistency is getting there
+ able to hit the ball with less pace.
+ able to hit high and low balls finally
- midcourt forehand needs work, FH slice maybe, but windshield shot needs improving
- running forehand needs work
- low balls go over, but lack knee bend
- directional control, yes; directional control with ball being in, no

Backhand
+ trying to slice, don't know if i have any positives here
- consistency is deteriorating
- must remember to dip racquet head down on set up.
- starting to slice more instead of using the 2 hander, since i don't rush the net this is not a good idea

Footwork
+ light on the feet, able to get to the ball
- being still lazy and not moving back to center after hitting the ball
- should work on longer strides to get to the ball, short steps only when setting up
- need work on reaction time after ball is hit, not waiting for it to bounce to make a move

3/26/08 Groundstrokes

Ok the big thing about this vid is that if you noticed, my swing speed has decreased, but my ball velocity remains the same if not faster. I'm making more solid contact with the ball. The footwork is getting there, but still needs work. You can really see my weight transfer from the back foot to the front foot clearly. I threw in a few 1 handed backhands for fun to mixed results. Still need to dip the racquet head down and swing through on those 2 handed backhands.

FH:
+ They look much better, more complete. Consistency is much better.
- Footwork on low balls could use more leg bend. Directional control will be my next big focus.

BH:
+ If in a pinch or in the need of a reach the 1 hander can be deployed. The slice is becoming a rock in terms of consistency for me now
- My 2 handed backhand needs overhauling. No spin, bad form, just needs retooling.

Footwork:
+Much more lively on my feet.
- Ready position needs to be more bent, a little too jumpy at times

3/19/08 Groundstrokes vs Wall

Ok so the biggest thing I've been working on is working on my contact point. I'm pretty happy with where I'm making contact with the ball now, but I'm still in need to work on loading power in my legs. The wall is a good yet difficult learning tool. It acts like an unbeatable opponent at the net. so yes every ball comes back, but your reaction time is halved. My footwork is atrocious but so long as there is improvement, I am happy.

Things to work on:
- Reaction time
- power loading in the legs
- smoother stroke
- footwork!

3/12/08 groundstrokes

Ok this in these vids i'm just banging away while being fed. Things I learned from watching myself:
- not extending the left arm for aiming purpose
- this results in hitting the ball at my body instead of by my lead foot
- too much jumping, i'm not using my legs to load up power, its all arm
- my racquet speed is way fast, but i need a smooth transition to use it appropriately
- my backhand motion is excessively short and flat, i need to drop my racquet head down and develop a full stroke

A lot of work ahead of me but it'll be fun...