tennis lesson babble
Warning: technical and geeky tennis talk ahead...
I think I was so distracted ranting about the state of tennis in my last post that I forgot to mention I'm taking lessons this summer! It's a great deal - $19 for roughly six weeks of lessons, meeting twice a week (take that, snobby tennis clubs!). The lessons are offered by the city. There's twelve of us. The ages range from high school to retirees and everything in-between. A good mix. Tonight was the second lesson. We practiced hitting both forehands and backhands. Predictably, I was much stronger and consistent with my backhand. My kingdom for a strong forehand! I don't know why I struggle so much with my forehand, while my backhand comes naturally. All I can say for certain is that it is supremely frustrating! I'm trying to slow down and not hit the ball so hard. I've also noticed that I tend to hit the ball much better if I stretch for it - when I do that, I think I'm stepping into the shot, which is something I do naturally with my backhand.
Did I mention how thrilling it is to hit a backhand winner? There's nothing else like it in the world!
For the last fifteen minutes we once again played King of the Court, which means essentially that everyone had a chance to play each other, one on one, in brief, mini-games. I enjoy the variety of opponents. I'd say there are three others who are at my level or higher, so I have some people to watch and learn from. Andrew, a high school student, has a wicked spin on his forehand and backhand. I'm SO jealous! I want to learn how to do that.
We haven't gotten to serving yet, thank God. It's not going to be pretty.
But all in all, I'm really happy to be back on the courts, playing again. I love this sport. I hope I can continue to improve and play for a long, long time.
I think I was so distracted ranting about the state of tennis in my last post that I forgot to mention I'm taking lessons this summer! It's a great deal - $19 for roughly six weeks of lessons, meeting twice a week (take that, snobby tennis clubs!). The lessons are offered by the city. There's twelve of us. The ages range from high school to retirees and everything in-between. A good mix. Tonight was the second lesson. We practiced hitting both forehands and backhands. Predictably, I was much stronger and consistent with my backhand. My kingdom for a strong forehand! I don't know why I struggle so much with my forehand, while my backhand comes naturally. All I can say for certain is that it is supremely frustrating! I'm trying to slow down and not hit the ball so hard. I've also noticed that I tend to hit the ball much better if I stretch for it - when I do that, I think I'm stepping into the shot, which is something I do naturally with my backhand.
Did I mention how thrilling it is to hit a backhand winner? There's nothing else like it in the world!
For the last fifteen minutes we once again played King of the Court, which means essentially that everyone had a chance to play each other, one on one, in brief, mini-games. I enjoy the variety of opponents. I'd say there are three others who are at my level or higher, so I have some people to watch and learn from. Andrew, a high school student, has a wicked spin on his forehand and backhand. I'm SO jealous! I want to learn how to do that.
We haven't gotten to serving yet, thank God. It's not going to be pretty.
But all in all, I'm really happy to be back on the courts, playing again. I love this sport. I hope I can continue to improve and play for a long, long time.
posted by Mike Willis @ 10:45 PM
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