1.      Try to be stationary when you hit – isn’t that nice.  Maybe we can get our opponents to hit directly to us.  BALANCE is what we need and more than being still, if we can move forward and through the hit so much the better.

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2.      Watch the ball- this comes up all the time, because of course we see it coming.  We’re not that dense.  What needs to happen, is that the HEAD NEEDS TO STAY STILL!!  Watching the ball hit the racquet before looking up insures that we don’t jerk the head up and move the racquet head off path.

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3.      I need more power to play with those guys- seriously, I’ve heard this too many times.  The first time I was on the court with a world-class player he just hit everything solid and someplace that wasn’t easy for me to hit well.  It is consistency and placement that matter.  Players ALWAYS HIT WITH THE POWER OF THEIR LEVEL OF PLAY.  If you are being overpowered it is because you aren’t yet at that level, it isn’t that you aren’t at that level because you can’t hit hard enough.

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4.      My second serve works because I take something off of it and place it where I want- …do you really want to go with that?  This is a great way to stay at the same level forever.  What other shot that is so important can you practice by yourself?  This shot more than any other can be responsible for winning more matches yet it is a shot that too many people give up on improving.

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5.      The players we play against lob too well for me to come in- heard it for over 35 years.  Winning points at the net are easier than winning from the baseline.  Overheads are a practice shot more than any other.  If you practice it every time out not only will it be better, but the ability to get to them will increase.  Even for old fogies.​

 

6.      I’ve played at the same level for a long time and I’m too old to get better- please, please, please, … really?   Roger Federer works to improve his game and has made changes.  Getting better involves having better fundamentals.  This is done by working on small things until they are part of what is done naturally.  There is no big secret or special magic, but persistence pays off.

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7.      I need to play with better people to get better- playing with better people along with playing with people who are your own level or lower is productive.  Trying to play with better players all the time TEACHES YOU TO LOSE.  Also if this were the case and everyone had to play with better people than why would someone better play with someone worse?

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8.      Slice your volleys- yes the volley has underspin, but it isn’t because players slice DOWN on them.  Volleys are generally hit by moving forward and keeping the racquet face close to the same level.  Underspin is simply a by-product of the racquet face being open and is not a goal in and of itself.  Too many players chop at the ball thinking that they need to create slice.

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9.      The second serve should be hit as hard as the first serve- yes this is true, but completely misunderstood.  The idea is that you swing the racquet just as fast and at an angle to the path of the shot.  This will create spin that will help keep the ball in the court and it will move slower through the air even though the swing has been fast.

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10.   The better server should always serve first.     Okay so what if the better server is also a much better netman than the partner?  Couldn’t that make the better serving arrangement the one with the better netman already up and cutting off returns?  What about having a bad sun with a lefty and righty?  Then the players should set up so that they aren’t looking at the sun. 

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It may help a bit to  remember some of these things.  Play well tomorrow.

I

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So