Lesson #21 with Eldon

7/13/09  Monday  9:30A.M.

Chico Racquet Club

 

In today’s lesson Eldon and I went over my backhand, forehand and my return of serve.

 

Backhand

 

1.  It’s important for me to maintain some kind of loop in my take away.

2.  The racquet head should be lower than my hands at impact.

3.  On shots wide from the corner I need to be sure I follow through with my left foot and side of my body.  (To swing them around at the end of the swing)  This helps the ball stay in the court.  Also, my thought is that I need to follow through more consistently with my racquet and hands over my right shoulder.

4.  I need to develop more consistency with my backhand so I can rely on it in matches.

 

Forehand

 

1.  Eldon wants me to develop my own style, to determine what feels natural, something that will be easy to repeat.  His main recommendation is to keep my strokes compact.  There is less to go wrong when your strokes are compact.

2.  Pull the racquet head through with the hitting hand leading the way until impact and then let the head go through on its own ahead of the hitting hand.  I discussed with Eldon how this was hard for me to do since I had been taught as a teenager not to do that.  I had been taught a very controlled follow-through.

3.  I decided to ask Eldon (since I am making some basic changes to my forehand) what he thought should be my preferred grip for the forehand.  He told me he thought I would hit best with a grip that was towards the semi-western.   So this is what I began to work on in this lesson.

4.  I hit a lot better when I was relaxed.  This seems to be a very big key.

5.  Eldon didn’t comment on my footwork today.  I thought maybe he would.  I think he wanted to keep things as simple as possible today.  He knows that I have been struggling with changes in my forehand.  His feeding of balls was slower, also, I believe to help me develop more confidence.

 

Return of Serve

 

1.  Keep it very compact, a very short backswing.

2.  Have in mind where you want to return the opponent’s serve.  Have a specific place in mind:  down the line, crosscourt or down the middle.

3.  We worked a lot on my backhand.  It seems weaker than my forehand return.  I think I normally run around my backhand in matches to return with my forehand.  I probably shouldn’t do that.  My backhand is going to eventually be very capable of returning well if not better than my forehand.

4.  Try to get some regular practice on the return of serve.  Also, before a match it is essential to hit some returns of serve in order to try to develop a sense of rhythm.

 

Closing comment:

 

I enjoy working with Eldon.  I like his style of teaching.  He allows the student to come to the teacher with questions.  He doesn’t just preach.  This is a smart philosophy since the student’s own questions will be meaningful and the student will be more likely to understand the responses.   Eldon does not try to impose a one-size fits all type of style.  He doesn’t try to put his students in a mold and hope they will come out successful.  He provides some basic guidance and information, but then allows his students to discover what is natural and useful for him or herself in their own growth in the game of tennis.   Eldon’s philosophy of teaching puts some of the responsibility back on the student.  The student needs to be thinking and analyzing, also.  I like that.  This style of teaching allows both the student and teacher to be creative while it also enhances their opportunity to grow in their relationship and learn from each other.  For me, Eldon’s philosophy is enjoyable for the student as well as the teacher.  And that’s the way it should be!