Saturday, August 8, 2015

Tennis Lesson

Seems like when I arrive at a lesson with a new pro they generally start off with... What do you want to work on? What would you like to get out of this lesson? Or something like that... Here is my diagnosis: My forehand is OK. I wouldn't mind a bit more pop or generating more cross-court angle. My basic stroke is up the line. Pretty comfortable with slicing. Good drop shot/lob. My stroke is mostly linear, and I probably don't have enough hand to eye coordination to add a loop at this late date. Started with mostly a continental grip. My backhand is a wild thing. I can chip consistently. Lobs and drop shots come naturally. I have found a grip it & rip it swing that should become a more consistent way to hang in points. My serve is a confidence stroke. Tell me that I serve well and move on so we can be friends. Seriously I feel good about my flat and slice serve. At some point a bit of help with topspin makes sense, but later. My volley feels weird these days. Need to fix it. I seem to struggle with generating my own pace. I also have trouble with balls hit at me with pace. Too many errors and not enough winners. My transition game is awful. I used to be good at getting into the net, but now everything seems to be an emergency. My overhead is moderately crappy, but I sort of hate working on it. I need to work on it, but perhaps we should defer a bit on this. I need some help with return of serve, but that seems to be something for later. OK, I bet you haven't gotten this much pre-lesson feedback ever. No worries, just loose thoughts while I am watching some Atlanta tennis matches.