Dear Ernest and Edmond,
Ever since I started playing tennis, I have been working out how to hit a backhand winner. My deficiency was clearly demonstrated 6 months ago, when Edmond asked me, to join his drill with Tony Ko and the School Team, to hit an approach shot on my backhand. My success rate was about 5-10% with 50% of my shots going into the net. I figured out that I was relying on a lob, a slice or a hit and hope backhand. Occasionally, I hit a good shot, then I would pump myself out by yelling out "yeah; come on", just as Ernest described how the rest of the boys would react after hitting a winner.
Ten years ago, my Russian Davis Cup Coach Konstantin Pougaev improved my all-round game, but I did not have the inspiration to sort out my backhand. My brother said that I was trying to rely on memorizing a formula.
Last Saturday, I had a practice session with Ernest, who refused to give up chasing on lost causes. He spent half an hour working on the practice court with Mavis and me. When Mavis stopped, Ernest and I played on for another 30 minutes. My backhand started to come together and was trading over 30 backhand rallies with Ernest. Ernest then taught me to stop my hips rotating by using the free arm to balance like Roger Federer. The other mistake was my racquet face used to be opened when making contact with the ball on the backhand. Ernest spotted that and made me roll over the ball. I was so excited with this improvement that I asked Simon to give me a Singles game last night.
To our astonishment, I was hitting backhand winners all over the court, partially inspired by the visual images of Djokovic and Tsonga playing in the Australian Open. Although Simon was one service break up when we finished the match, I held on to the rest of my service games and pushed him to long deuces in almost every game. In Simon's own words, Ernest managed to teach an elephant to climb a tree. So there is always hope after 30 years of mediocrity.
The morale of the story - A great coach / mentor makes a hell of a difference to your tennis / your life. The WYK Tennis Team is so priviledged that they have 2 great coaches supporting your development, and even elephants can climb trees. Let's hope you guys will continue to work hard and improve on your tennis game.
Raymond
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Raymond, I tried the approach shot drill today with the kids. I believe, practice makes almost perfect. From today's training, I can see the improvement of Chris and Tommy. I recalled that they hit the approach to net and out when I started the coaching in wahyan.
I agree with you coach can effectively help the player, but what is most important: the players should be involved in the training or practice. There is no short cut for success, only practicing and practicing many many time can help you to improve and reach the upper level.
Cheers,
Edmond Ip
Post a Comment