Arrived the court at about 2:30pm, warming up with Tommy. Then, Boris came.
Today, four boys came only: Tommy, Boris, Brian and Louvre.
We did some rally, cross-court.
The theme of today is still volley, or actually is to concentrate on boys' net game against the old boys on coming Sunday.
We did some forehand shot against the net player, some felt afraid and moved back, but some were brave. The forehand chasing shot is not easy for them at first. They felt hard to hit the ball down the line or to hit a passing shot. Maybe, they needed to have more practice.
I know the passing shot is not easy to hit.
We focused on the lob.
Unexpected, they did excellently! You must have know that, Boris's lob is always the best of our team. Boris's lob made Louvre run around the court. Brian and Louvre also did a good job, their lob were okay, making the net players confused. However, Louvre was not good at overhead. I have to concentrated on his overhead next time. The drill is important, as I'm afraid the old boys like Joseph and Simon would move to the net together.
Playing against two net players is tough.
We had another drill about the net player against the baseline player. Two at the net, other two at the baseline of other side. I feed a lob to the net players, so that the baseline players have to rush and get the ball. At first, they did it badly. When Tommy hit a powerful overhead, Brian and Louvre couldn't get the ball back. At the end, Brian and Louvre got all the ball back to the court. This practice is also decided for coming Sunday, Raymond and all the old boys, I bet that you will feel hard if you are the net player!
A special game of today: volley-volley match.
Boys were standing in the service box, 2 vs. 2.
If the ball bounce, you will lose a point. So, what you have to is hit a volley only to the court.
Brian and Louvre were smart, they hit some powerful volley, making Tommy and Boris felt hard and never get the ball. Moreover, Brian did some drop volley which is hard for Tommy. The drill not only trained their volley, also the footwork. If you want to hit the ball, you have to chase and run very fast to get the ball back.
Service again.
Boris left. We had doubles again, just like last Monday.
The best understanding team Brian and Louvre, I were paired up with Tommy. During the game, I found that all of them were improved, they tried hard to maintain the consistency. They never have the "killer" or "winner" shot in the game. I felt pleased, what they did is only hit the ball in the court! They learnt! However, Louvre had some unforced error today and... What I was shocked is he couldn't hit the easy ball, for example, the easy shot at the mid court or just in front of the net. The easy shot is hard for Louvre...
Another shocking thing is Tommy had totally 5 double faults in his two service game. At his 1st service game, he had 3 double faults in a game. Tommy couldn't controll his serve in the court. He didn't hit the ball with a straight arm, I told him so many times! His so called Topspin serve is not always in the two service boxes.
After the double, Brian and Louvre had a single match and I told Tommy to practice his serve.
In the single, Brian was smart, I can see he tried his placement, moving Louvre. But Louvre did well and hitting all the ball back with consistency. You can't see the powerful forehand/backhand like Barry and Chris, but you will find many consistent shot in the game. That's another style of tennis. They tried some approach shot and volleys, which were all unexpected. Overall, both did a good job in the single. But, Louvre was still feeling hard in the easy shot...
Tommy practice the serve. I taught him to have a flat serve.
He found it difficult, especially tossing the ball. I learnt that the foundation is very important to all tennis player, you know, it is hard to correct the posture after you had practiced the same incorrect stroke for years. I hope Tommy would practice more. I can only say, serve is very important in match. Serve is the start of the game, if you can't have a good serve or a consistent serve, it would be the end of a game!
Work hard boys!
I was glad to play with the hardworking boys like Tommy, Brian and Louvre!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Dear Edmond
thank you for the blog. it is like taking the tennis practice courtside. We know specifically the progress of all our young players.
I could see that you have prepared the boys well for the upcoming contest on Sunday. It will focus them on playing their best tennis. The results are that important, winning or losing, but finding improvement in each and every game they play from now on.
Their footwork have improve considerably since Ernest and you took over the coaching. Also, the backhand, volley and service have improved.
Tommy's service has improved. A fortnight ago, Tommy served 7 double faults in his first service and five the following game. So, he has improved considerably, reducing 2 double faults per game. The rest of his game is improving.
The Old boys know all about Boris as my brother named him Andy Murray of WYK the very first time they played almost a year ago. He looks unorthodox, but Boris is the most effective and efficient player in the team.
Brian and Louvre should give a good acoount of themselves in the Sunday match, they are good match players.
Post a Comment