Friday Report (28-Mar-2008)

There was no training on the Thursday this week, but we had the training on Friday.
Unfortunately, with the rain, we postponed our training at 12n.

Not too many boys.
Louvre, Oscar, Tommy, Jordan, Brian.

Normal training like warming up and some basic strokes.

We had the forehand and volley drills.
Louvre was great, returning many powerful forehand shots which hit by Tommy and Oscar. Louvre seemed improved a lot at the net game: he's no longer afraid of being a net game player.

While Oscar and Tommy became more powerful.

Next, we had the backhand slices drill.
Horribly, only Oscar could hit a good form slice.
I told the boys to hit a backhand slices down the line, in case to pass the net player. If you could do that, the ball would land on the tram line and without the intercepting by the opponent.

Except Oscar, all the boys' backhand slice form are incorrect.
I don't know how Jordan can hit the single hand backhand with his "special" form.
Louvre and Tommy hit the slice with an opened racket face.

One thing I have noticed, I found that most of time, Louvre would make the same mistakes as Tommy made. For example, they hit the forehand without standing still on the ground, open racket face single hand backhand.

One more drill about the "saving the shots".
One player with my side, others hitting overhead.
The one have to save as many shots as he could.
Interesting drill.
Oscar did the best, while Jordan seemed not paying attention to every shot.

Lastly, we hand the double and the king of the court.
I joined with them for the king of the court.

I'm so proud of our boys' improvement.
Tommy could return my powerful baseline strokes, while Brian can rally many shots to me.
Many of them did well in the game.

Let's pray for the good weather next week.
I will have training with them on next Thursday, probably in our tennis court.
As Chris told me that the courts of king's park are full, we may have the training back at wyk.
I hope, next week, we would have more concentrated training for preparing the match.

P.S.
Ernest and Raymond, probably in summer, we should focus more on the boys' backhand, especially their slice.

Wednesday Report (19-Mar-2008)

Good weather in the morning.

Oscar, Tommy, Louvre, Jordan, Chris and Calvin.

We had some warm up.
Some hand feed easy drills.

I found that many of them have the lazy and heavy feet.
In long run, we have to give the boys more running drills!

Groundstrokes and volleys.
Louvre improved a bit in his net game.
Oscar and Tommy should focus more on their topspin baseline, in order to get the ball in.

A funny net mini game.
Boys divided into two teams and hitting volley only.
If the ball bounced, the team would lose a point.

Tommy and Oscar were great, they do bend their knees, especially the low volley.
Louvre was a funny boy: when he is at the net, he can only hit backhand volley. It seems that he never try any forehand volley...
In fact, Jordan didn't hit a low volleys: never bend his knees!

In long run, the net game needs to be focus.
As if we are promoted into Division 1 next year, net game would be crucial for winning the match!

One drill about the forehand.
Wide in side out shot, a mid court attack, and lastly hit a drop shot.
The drop shot is a hard drill for some of our boys, I bet.
This is a bit hard for them maybe, they have to hit a drop shot in order to "put" the ball into the basket.
Tommy couldn't slice or even drop shot. Oscar seemed better.

Service.
I' m so proud some of them improved their service:
Jordan became more powerful while Tommy is a bit more consistent.
It is funny that some of them demonstrated the "Louvre's serve".
Louvre seems to work hard on his service, but one problem of his serve is that every time when he tosses the ball, his feet would move forward few times.

Oscar and Tommy played against Louvre and Calvin.
I gave Chris and Jordan some private and individual training.

Chris tried his best, he told me that he wanted to be more consistent.
He hit the bal cross court with Jordan, they rallyed a bit.
I saw Chris improved a bit of his forehand, but some error will be made if he wants to hit a wider angle of shot.

Not that bad.
Jordan seemed inconsistent when he hit his backhand.
Chris wants to improved his backhand.

Good day.
I appreciated the boys as they can wake up so early in order to play tennis.
I'm sorry I'm a bit hurry to end the class as I have to go to school.
Maybe, if anyone wants some more individual lesson during the holiday, please feel free to call me to arrange the schedule.

Next week, I will have the lesson on Friday, still start at 9am.

Thursday report (15-Mar-2008)

Today, we have nearly all the school team for practicing tennis.

Tommy, Oscar, Nicholas, Calvin, Barry, Chris, Jordan, Kenny, Ivan, little Bryan.

Unexpected, too many kids.

We first had some warm up.

Tommy and Oscar played against Chris and Barry.
Our vice captain's team was beaten by the two young lions.
Chris did bad and was so nervous.
One thing is that, Barry has to control his temple in the game. You have to give support to your partner, not just blaming him. Maybe, just say "add oil" just give him a hug is okay.
Support is better than a word of blame, you know.

Ernest, Raymond and Joseph, please tell Barry on Saturday to control his temper.

The two young boys were great, especially Oscar.
Tommy did a good job, but he seemed a bit nervous and did make some unforced error.
He needs more practice and perhaps more experience of playing matches.

I offered other boys some drill and game.
We had the team divided into two.
3 vs.3, running back to get the high ball...

Good job the boys.

Service.

Our boys did serve well when practicing in wahyan.

Next, we had the new game" recovery".
Team divided into two and then if you miss a shot, you have to run to the next court and touch the far single side line, then running back as quick as you can in order to help our team mates. Our boys did well. We then had the "elimination", if they miss a ball, he had to be "out".

A very exciting game which demonstrates a nervous environment for our boys.

Oscar and Tommy played against Nic and Calvin.
However, this is a handicap match, every game starts at 0-30.
Oscar and Tommy did bad at the first as they feel that this is not that fair.
However, I told them that it is a good chance "feel" the adverse condition in the game.
Luckily, our boys overcame and learn how to get back from this kind of condition.

We also had the special training to help the second pair: Barry and Chris.
Barry and I stayed at the baseline while Jordan and Chris at the net.
We rallyed and Chris volleyed for a whole basket of trolley.

I fed many fast ball to them, both Barry and Chris.
Chris seemed better at his net play. He sometimes gets the back swing too much and then racket face opened, the ball out. In terms of Barry, he couldn't hit a low volley, especially his backhand volley. All in all, both of them played better and better.

It is a fact that our boys really hope and wish to beat the next two big giants: WYCHK and WEST ISLAND. It would be a must to win both two matches if you want to be promoted to Division 1 next year.

Maybe, we shouldn't worry too much.
Some of our boys were too nervous when playing in the inter school, I know.
Some of them afraid that they would lose the set, as they are representing wah yan.
Maybe, there are a bit pressure they feel.

Boys, you have already done your best, I really know!
I'm so proud of all of you.
I appreciate our team, especially the team spirit, the heart on tennis.
It seems to me that this is even better when I was the school team in wahyan.

Many of the old boys wish the team luck, not even Raymond and Joseph.
Sam told me that everything will be fine, the team is strong and we can still be promoted to D1 if we beat the next two giants.

Pray for our boys.
I will wait you all on Saturday morning.
Moreover, I will try to arrange a court for warm up.

Thursday report (6-Mar-2008)

Many kids again:
Louvre, Brian, Nicholas, Oscar, Tommy, Jordan, Chris, Kenny, Ivan, Bryan.

We first had some easy drills.
I told Brian and Louvre to first play a double with Tommy and Jordan.
The score was 4:0 to Tommy's team.

We got the three ball cross drill.
One baseline forehand cross court, one mid court attack and lastly a very tricky drop shot.
I put a basket near the net, boys had to hit a drop shot in order to "bounce" the ball into the basket.
This is a very hard and tough drill.
Most of the kids did well, especially Oscar and Jordan.
However, Nicholas was the only one who can drop the ball into the basket.
I'm proud of him.

We also had the running two court drill and the chasing short ball drill.
Many of our kids ran quickly to get the ball.
The footwork of them had improved, I bet.

Service.
I then told Brian and Oscar to play against Kenny and Ivan.
The score is 6:3 , but I knew Kenny did a good job.

I'm sorry, today I don't want to mention too many of the drills as many of them did well in the drill. Moreover, it is a fact that our kids play so good when they are practicing in wahyan. I want to mention more about our game match today.

At the end, we got two doubles and a single.
Single: Brian played against Kenny.
Unexpected, Brian lost 4-6 to Kenny.
Kenny was great, so consistent that he could beat Brian.
In fact, I found Kenny are playing better and better.

Next, Chris paired with little Bryan, played against Jordan and Ivan.
Our vice captain's team won.
Jordan was a bit not in a good mood of match play, Chris complained to me that Jordan seemed not paying attention or focus during the game.
I knew Bryan was new and he's not that good in backhand. But, I appreciated him that he tried all the best to rally the ball in the court.

Then, I paired with Louvre and played against Tommy and Oscar.
Tommy and Oscar were great, they got the understanding of each other.
I didn't do well, as I have long time no playing or rallying on the baseline. Unfortunately, I have one match of my university next Tuesday.
So, we were beaten by the young men.

Oscar is very consistent while Tommy do have his powerful serve.
Tommy have to work harder on the net game.
Not many unforced error.
Louvre seemed better, he could control his temper even I made many unforced error.
Sometimes, Louvre was unexpected: hitting some killer shots.
Louvre did a good job.

At the last, one more double:
My place was replaced by Jordan.
Jordan and Louvre vs. Tommy and Oscar.
It seems to me that Jordan and Louvre played so well, they have the understanding of each other. I bet they would be a good team in future.
Oscar played the best: he was so strong and too good.
But, Jordan seemed not that good, some unforced error. Chris and I agreed that Jordan was still hitting only with his arms. Chris told me he could see his brother hitting the ball with very straight legs.

Louvre also did his best.
I'm proud of all the four players.
They were great players.

Good match.
Boys did well today.
The return of serve of them seemed better today.
But, playing in the real match is not the same as practicing in wahyan.
The more important is our kids seemed not really good in their mental:
some may get four double faults in a game as they were nervous...

Just pray for the team.
In long run, gaining more experience of playing tournament would help our kids.

Something that I have noticed:

1/ Raymond and Ernest, I'm still seeing some of the boys or I could say all our boys DO NOT call the score loudly when they in the match. Please do tell our kids to call every score loudly next time, especially in the inter school championship.

2/ That's nothing about tennis. It is pleased to see we got the whole trolley full of tennis balls. But boys take so long time for picking up the balls. I know, no one like picking up balls. However, I do hope to see the balls to pick up the ball in a faster way next time.

3/ Some attitude I have noticed today. I don't know whether it would appear on Ernest's class. It seemed that I'm too clement and too kind to the boys, I seldom shot at them even they are not listening my words. Today, I told the boys to pick up the balls, but some still hitting or just serving. The F4 boys should show a good image, so that our younger kids like Oscar and Little Bryan can learn from you. Wahyan is a good school, our students not only learn from the textbook, but also they learn from the higher form students and the old boys. I think, it is crucial for our players to show their good image or they should be a good demonstration for the F1 boys.

I'm sorry for my poor grammar.
It seemed that I have so many demands or requests on the boys.
In my own opinion, I just feel that the coaches here are not only teaching you tennis skills, we are here to help you or to teach you the right value and goods. I hope our boys will be polite, kind and considerate men in future.

Thursday report (29-Feb-2008)

So many kids today:
Nicholas, Calvin, Oscar, Tommy, Jordan, Chris, Bryan, Kenny and Ivan.

The inter school is coming, we will have our first match next Saturday at the Gap.

We practiced a few shots for volleys and basic ground strokes.

The young kids Kenny, Ivan and Bryan were great. Kenny played better, while the new blood Bryan still on his improvement. I'm sorry that we had to focus on our core players, preparing the coming great match.

Boys did well in the first few drills: those basic ground strokes drills.
However, I found that some of the kids were still inconsistent, like Oscar and Tommy. They had the killer shot, but the probability of hitting in of these killer shots was only one-forth. On the other hand, many of them played better at the net.

I gave them some doubles drills.
Nicholas and Calvin played against Tommy and Oscar.
It was a great match, Oscar was consistent while Nicholas did his best at the net.
Nic and Calvin were beaten by the two young kids.

Then, Wong's brother had the double drill with Oscar and Tommy.
The " switch" game.
Once you play a backhand, you have to switch side with your partner.
Once you come to the net, you have to come in with your partner together.

At the first 11-point game, Wong's won.
Here comes to the second game, Oscar and Tommy played better while Wong's brother had some misunderstanding with each other. Tommy and Oscar came to the net few times and hit many killer shots.

The game score was one game all.
Here comes to the last game, we had a different rule.
Four of the players came to the net, I fed a high ball which they had to chase back and get the ball back.
The drill is interesting, I found some of them really feel afraid with a lob.
However, after some shots, most of the them could get the ball, but some still hit it out.
At the end, Oscar's team won.

Some service and return.
Next, I served to them, they practiced their returning.
Tommy did a very good job, returning my every shots and rallied with me.
But, I don't know whether he can perform like this in the real match.

At the end, I paired with Jordan and played against Oscar and Tommy.
Good match.
Tommy's serve threaten us, while Oscar consistently rallied to us.
Jordan made some mistakes.

Maybe, for our last practice next week, I will focus on their returning and serving.
Moreover, more match play.
I hope more kids could come next week, in order to prepare for the Saturday match.

Raymond and Ernest, any ideas that we should focus on at our next Thursday Class?

Some feeling about watching the tournament

Boys had the Lion Club tournament today.

After our Thursday training, I went to the Victoria Park with the boys.

It is a sad fact that Long Long lost his single.
Long Long and Oscar beated their opponent without losing any games.

Nicholas and Calvin lost to the DBS pairs.
They were great, they lost only 1:8.
I'm so pleased that they can have one game playing against these two good players.
Nicholas enjoyed the match.
The DBS players were HKTA's NTS player. ( NTS is the best training group of HKTA)

When I was watching their match, I chated with the HKTA national coach Christiaan (who is my friend, and I helped him last year in the gap). The HKTA national coaches are visiting everywhere to see their players' tournament, which is what Ernest and I doing!
We chated and he asked one question," Why are they on the baseline?"

Nic and Calvin were at the baseline all the time.
I knew Nicholas tried some volleys and gained some points.
What I was upset is that, we had work on their volleys today's and in previous many lesson. But they never volley at the real match. Maybe, Calvin was a bit nervous and afraid. Nic did his best, I bet.

Waitng till nearly 8pm, our doubles played.
Louvre and Brian played against Tommy and Jordan.

I watched...
Another HKTA national coach Nathan came, we chated.
He asked the same question again, " why are they on the baseline! Edmond, did you coach them?"
I just replied I had told them many many time to come to the net.
He replied, " you should train harder next lesson!"

Four of them were right standing at the baseline.
No net game.
No intercept.
I just saw Brian came to the net and approached, winning some points.
Others were just standing at the baseline and waiting for the ball.
Unforced errors...

I knew Jordan blamed Tommy when Tommy made mistakes. ( Actually, Tommy was still a bit sick in the court)
On the other side of court, I saw Brian giving some tips to his partner in a very good manner. Even Louvre made a mistake, Brian was still smile and cared him. I appreciated Brian's good job.

I was so upset and a bit angry...
Ernest and I coached them the volleys many many times, from last summer to now at least.
But, they are still standing at the baseline..
Maybe, some of them are a bit nervous as this is a very formal tournament outside wahyan.

We had practiced volley today, especially the interception.
There is no excuse that you don't know how to volley.
Some just making excuse that playing in the net may lead to a lost of the match becasue his net game is not that consistent.

We taught, we practiced, practiced and practiced.
However, in the real match, they never use what they learnt.
It is funny that our players are good in our court or the training.
They did learnt a lot in the training and improved a lot.

At the end in the tournament, some of them just still playing in their own style's tennis, not what they had learnt and practice in wahyan.
Why?
Because our kids are mentally sick when playing tournament? If so, experience is a must to improve.

I'm sorry I can't really express all my feeling in English here.
I'm sorry I may be a bit angry today.
I'm sorry I may be a bit impatient today.

But, I just hope to see the boys: use what you have learnt in wahyan!
Use all you learnt in the match.
It is absolutely a sad fact if you cannot use what you've learnt in Ernest and my class.
Why do we have trainig three times a week?
It is because, we want all of you to join and we want you to practice and practice many times.
Practice makes almost perfect. Then, at the end, you can use what you practiced and learnt in the inter school: showing off what you have learnt in the lesson.

Maybe, let's think for the solution to help the boys in order to remember everything they learn in Ernest and my class.
We had practice so many times. If you still playing your own style in the match, then you are just back to your starting point, which is the place where you have not yet join our training.

Ernest and all the old boys,
Next time, once you see both the doubles players are at the baseline together, no matter they are serving or returning, just stop them.
AND tell them to run around four courts for ten laps!
I don't want to see the so called "2-baseline" tactic again! I'm sick of this! This is not double!

Thursday report (21-Feb-2008)

Sorry for canceling the lesson of last week, as I got sick.
I got the fever for nearly a whole week.

Today, we had too many kids, because many of the kids have matches today.
Oscar, Brian, Louvre, Jordan, Tommy, Nicholas, Calvin, Ivan and one new blood Bryan (Actually, I don't know he is Brian or Bryan, just named him Bryan to distinguish the two Brian).

I had an idea to give them some individual training.
I gave them everyone a whole basket to train.

I asked what they want to improve, they had one basket time to work with me.

First, we had Oscar.
I worked on his backhand, he complained that his backhand is weak.
I found that his slice backhand is awful, but the two hands backhand is much better.
I gave him many balls, he tried to add some spins in order to be consistent.

Then, he practiced the overhead.
I feel proud of his net games.

Next, Nicholas and Calvin.
Calvin worked on his forehand, while Nic focused on his backhand.
Both of them made a mistake is they "jumped"when they hit the ball.
I told them to hit "still", just stand still and hit the ball.
Good job, boys.

Next, Jordan and Tommy.
Tommy was a bit sick, telling us that he got a fever last night.
Simple forehand and backhand.

Then, we had the intercept session.
Nicholas and Calvin played against Jordan and Tommy.
I fed the ball, the two net players have to intercept the ball, while the baseliner have to hit a wide angle shot in order to prevent opponent 's interception.
Jordan was active, Nicholas tried his best.
All of them had a good net game. They tried their best.
I'm so surprised they tried hard to intercept.

Brian and Louvre.
We had the same training like the previous.
I told them to hit the ball wide in order to prevent the interception.
Brian did a good job.
Ivan came to the court and acted as the net player of my side.
They tried to come to the net together.
I was so happy that Brian wanted to improve his approach and net game.
Louvre and Brian did very good at the net.

Volleys for all the boys.
All of them played so good.
They are braved to face my powerful forehand killer shots.

Last but not the least, the two young kids: Ivan and Bryan.
I'm sorry as times is running out, I just fed them a forehand shots.
Ivan played as usual, but if he can "stand still", he could have better performance on his forehand and backhand.
Bryan was the first time to come, he is good and he learnt tennis only half year.
Bryan had a good form, but no backhand at all.
In long run, he could be a good player if he practices more.

I'm pleased to see the attandance today.
Many boys, they are trying their best to improve themselves.