San Jose Swim & Racquet Club

The following are 11 ways to improve your tennis game at the San Jose Swim & Racquet Club:

1. Private hour and half hour lessons. These lessons can include technical work and hitting with the pro during that time to see if the technical and strategy changes work.
2. Semi private lessons. Get together and start working with a team mate or best friends.
3. Team Practices. At practice learn how to use new strategies, unusual doubles formations and new shots to win.  Can be all strategy and match play.
4. Clinics for 3-4-5-6 players. Work on game play situations and strokes (only if needed to execute the strategy).
5. Drop-In Clinics. These clinics are available most every day of the week for all skill levels.  Just show up and get a practice – no game arranging necessary.
6. Free ball machine use. We have Playmate and Little Tennis Twist machines.
7. Tennis Socials against a variety of players. We host a lot of tennis socials throughout the year such as multiple fund raisers, the Wooden Racquet tournament, and for themes like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.
8. Practice balls. Baskets of balls are available for members to practice serves, drill or train with another member.
9. Practice wall. It’s been undefeated since 1956.  Everyone grew up on the wall – great for conditioning and repetition of strokes.
10. USTA match play. We have singles, doubles and mixed on a year round basis.
11. Daily and weekly member. We have court reservations for walk-on and reserved courts on which to play and train.

Drop-In Clinics – The drop-in clinics present lots of opportunities to experience live ball situations in both repetitive and competitive match play within the clinics. The variety of players in the clinics also provide lots of live ball experiences with a variety of players. (Players hit close to 800-1,000 balls in the 1 ½ hour clinic.)

Meet New Players - Players meet new players in the drop-in clinics and often schedule hitting times with each other using the drills they used in the clinics to improve their skills.

+Only the Saturday 10-11:30  Drop-In (everyone’s favorite) ever has more than 4-6 players in a clinic and on 2 courts. In fact that there is usually 2-3 staff professionals in the clinics provide lots of individual help and hitting partners in the clinic.

Private Lessons - Any private lesson may involve adjustments in technique or strategy and then live ball hitting with the pro to determine immediately the students ability to execute the adjustments suggested by the professional.

**The amount of the hitting or instruction is determined by the wants or needs of the student. The private lesson may be a total time of live ball play with the pro. The pro may offer suggestions to improve the students technical or strategical skills.

Juniors Activities this summer:

In addition we have a Summer Sports Camp from 9 AM – 4 PM on Monday – Thursday for kids. Ages 5-16.

We offer summer tennis clinics and Junior Team Tennis vs other area clubs for all levels.

Quick Start is the way to introduce the young ones to tennis for a lifetime. Ages 4-8.

See our 2010 Summer Tennis Brochure for details or contact me directly. My number is 408-892-3806.

Visit http://www.sjswimandracquetclub.com/

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Review your match.

1. What were your best strokes and plays during the match?
2. What were their best strokes and plays during the match?
3. What were your weaknesses in the match?
4. What were their weaknesses in the match?
5. What was your confidence level like in the match – beginning, middle and end?
6. What was your conditioning level like in the match?
7. What was their conditioning level like in the match?
8. What key adjustments did you make in the match?
9. How did you adjust to their adjustments in the match?
10. If you had a chance to re-play the match what would you change?

Each match you play will help you get better, give you more information about your game and yourself.  You must pay attention to what each match teaches you to grow as a player.

From your mistakes you will learn the most -  but don’t forget to know why you won as well.

Each match is not the end but one more step on your journey to becoming the best player you can be – and it never ends.

Forever be a learner.

Ken DeHart

www.kendeharttennis.com
kendehart@aol.com

Photo Credits: pixeljones

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Andy Roddick

Andy’s match was a sports psych’s dream.  Andy played a deliberate style early in the match but the 20 year old opponent is very smooth and athletic with a dream backhand.  It appeared early on that Andy was not serving his best.  He had been well around the 70% mark and lots of free points coming into the match.  His arm today seemed a little dead.

Sure enough, he called for the trainer who did some deep tissue work to loosen it up.  The players are limited as to how many times they can be treated for the  same injury, so at some point, Andy had to decide if he could continue or retire.  Questions to consider include: can I finish the match, will I further damage my shoulder, how will it affect me in my next tournament in San Jose – the SAP Open? Much to his credit, he changed tactics and stayed in the set.

As we have all experienced when playing an injured player, it can affect our game as well. We mentally start wondering if he can finish or attempt to change our game to see if we can take advantage of the injury.  That will usually affect the non-injured player more than the injured player – and it did.  When we quit worrying how we are playing and just hit – we do well and that is what Andy begin to do – hit the ball flatter and put the opponent on his heels.

Andy worked his way through the 3rd and 4th set. The pain killers he had been given seemed to numb the pain and he began to serve stronger as he went along. Whey – it’s 2 sets each now and the next change is about to occur.  At 2 all in sets now, Andy takes a deep sigh of relieve and goes back to his old style of play, more spin and less aggressive.  Cilic realizes it is now or never and  begins to come out of his shell.  Andy has 40-love on his opponents serve in the first game of the 5th set and lets is get away.  Now Cilic breathes a sigh of relief.  Andy is upset, letting it get away like that but does not go on the attack again.  He reverts to the way he played the 1st and 2nd set and Cilic is too fast and has too good of hands.  He handles Andy’s spinner shots and puts him on the run again.

I am on the couch pulling for Andy – but at 4-2 with Cilic serving, it is not up to Andy.  He has let himself get behind and it is up to the Croatian to win or lose at this point.  He serves big and pulls off the upset – his first ever major semi-final.

What can we get from the match? It is easy from the couch to see what to do and listen to the advice of the announcers.  On the court, we have all felt and done what Andy did tonight.  But his determination not to give up when others have been retiring in this event this year points to how much of a fighter Andy is – just like his Wimbledon match with Roger last summer.  14-16 in the 5th set.

Andy did a great job playing with what he had to play with.  He adjusted his game, moved in to take second serves inside the baseline and just go for shots.  It is easy when you are down – you are losing anyhow.  When we get even and realize we can now win, there is a tendency to back off and hope the other player will lose. The difference is slight, hardly noticeable to some spectators, only those of you who put yourself on the line and play league play would know the feeling.

What Andy and we experience is an article I wrote about on my blog site called the “hour glass“ effect.  Just like and hour glass, the person on top has only a few thoughts crossing their mind.  The person on the bottom of the hour glass has all the thoughts coming down on them – too fast, bad equipment, shouldn’t lose to this player and etc.  Finally with time is about to run out on them, the person on the bottom decides to – just go for it, don’t miss, go in, it doesn’t really matter – they just begin to have one thought only.  The fear is gone.  The player on top now has switched to the bottom of the hour glass and all these thoughts begin to creep in – I could win this set, game or match, never defeated this player before, my next opponent is …  it doesn’t matter, this player now has all the monsters in his mind.  The momentum has switched and the hour glass was turned over several times in this match.

Good on you to Andy.  We hope he did not injure his shoulder to badly.  He is 9 and 1 in 2010 and off to a good start.

Photo Credits: burntfilm

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Tennis Ball Machine

Ball machines are great for practicing your doubles shots – if positioned correctly.

5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine:

1. Do not place the ball machine on the baseline in the center of the court
2. Do not have the ball machine oscillate from deuce court to ad court
3. Do not use the ball machine to practice only your ground strokes
4. Do not stand still after each of your shots
5. Do not return random shots of the in-coming ball

5 things TO consider doing when using a ball machine:

1. Place the ball machine in the deuce court near the singles side line
2. Have the ball machine direct the shots to your deuce court alley
3. If you wish to have the ball machine oscillate, have it direct the ball to your deuce court alley and then toward the center service mark in the deuce court as though you were pulled wide to return a shot and the next ball was directed up the middle to your center of the court.
4. After each shot recover to a new position on the court to keep your feet in motion simulating real match play
5. Direct each ball you receive back toward an intended target. Aim for a direction and depth as you send the ball back over the net.

There are many options to consider in planning your practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of you practice time with the ball machine.

5 things to consider when PLANNING your practice:

1. Getting advice from someone on how to adjust the ball machine and how to vary deliveries of the ball
2. The length of time you want to practice – half an hour or an hour based upon your goals, shots you wish to work on and conditioning level
3. Having a friend join in with you to practice volleys off your ground strokes or lobbing off your volleys when at the net.  They can even practice poaching on every other shot that comes out of the ball machine and you can practice switching after the poach.
4. It also helps when it comes time to pick up the balls when the machine is empty so you can spend more time hitting.  That may include taking turns putting balls in the machine while either of you are hitting then rotating turns. Consider serving all the balls that did not make it over the net when you do have to pause to pick up the balls to work on your serve as part of your practice.
5. Write down drills you create or ask your tennis professional to suggest some drills that would be good for your doubles game.

10 options to make your PRACTICE PRACTICAL:

1. Select real doubles targets:  deep cross court to square #2, short underspin or heavy short angle shots to square #1, down the line toward the net players alley or lobbing high and deep to square #3 over the opposing net players head.
2. Even though the ball machine is set to send the ball to you as a ground stroke, practice moving forward after your initial shot to play a half-volley and then moving in further to play a volley or two.
3. As you play shots moving in toward the net, select targets for direction and depth that you would actually use if your opponent were on the baseline where the ball machine is located and your were attempting to capture the net.
4. When you get to the net, recover back quickly and retreat back toward the baseline as though you were put on total defense by your opponent.  Pause to make a shot from your position and then retreat further back until you choose to advance forward again.
5. Vary the speed of your shots.  Use the 3 speeds mentioned in other articles: level 1 is slower and has lots of spin, level 2 is a rally speed and level 3 is as hard as you can hit – without missing.
6. Vary the spin of your shots.  Use varying degrees of topspin and underspin to improve your weapons in match play.
7. Vary the frequency of the shots delivered by the ball machine.  Allow little time between shots or too much time like an opponent who plays softly and slowly with their returns.
8. Vary the spin of the shots delivered by the ball machine to help you learn how to receive different shots that may be difficult for you in your matches.
9. Limit the number of shots you make without pausing.  Hitting 3oo balls in a row just because that is how many the ball machine holds is not effective not efficient practice.  After about 40 or 50 balls, use the remote and turn off the machine and reset some feature of the ball you are receiving – change the direction of the in-coming ball, speed, spin or depth of the ball.
10. Change your targets often.  Practice enough returns to specific targets until you are confident with that target then move on to a new target that demonstrates your ability to control the direction, depth, spin and speed of your returning shot.

Ask your tennis professional to use a ball machine in your next lesson to see how it can be used effectively in your practice session.  Ball machines are great ways to allow you repetition in learning how to hit a shot.  They also assist in developing confidence in your strokes so you can play them in match play without having to think about “how” to hit.  This will allow you to focus more on the strategy of “where” to direct your shots and enjoy playing the game – TENNIS.

by Ken DeHart
USA High Performance Coach
PTR & USPTA Master Professional

Photo Credits: arsandy.wordpress.com

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Ken DeHart and Jazz Playing Tennis Balls

Today was another great day and we finally had sunshine – yeah… I took the tram to Rod Laver and was able to get in straight away.

Met with the Tennis Australia group that ran the Australian Coaches Conference and thanked them for making it such a great experience. I went to the players tunnel and saw Roger Federer off to workout in the fitness room as well as Todd Martin, Del Potro and Justine.

I went out to the outback courts to watch some others play. Robin Sonderlin who would win the first two sets then drop the next 3 – 6-4, 6-4 and 6-1 to a Spainard in 4 hour match. Think we have all been there – done that, hate that feeling. Watched James Blake beat the Frenchman – Clement, 7-5, 7-5 & 6-1. Blake recently left Dunlop and went to Wilson’s Federer frame. I talked to Kelly Jones, his new coach about James and he is in his best condition and excited to play.

Talked to Melanie Oudin from Atlanta that did so well at the US Open. She was out practicing with her coach Brian DeVilliers and working on his serve before she plays today at 4:30. Met with 2 former Association Coaches from Holland – Frank and Canada – Louie and discussed the difference between a coach and instructor as well as what makes a good coach. Stopped to talk to Li Na the #1 player from China whom I met on the flight from Sydney to Melbourne.  Her match was postponed from today to tomorrow. We discussed how it affects her planning in preparing for the next match and her eating.

Went into Laver Arena to watch Roger Federer play Igor Andreev from Russia-he hits a really heavy ball (combination of spin and speed).  He beats Roger in the first set 6-4 but Roger wins 6-2 and is up 5-4 but loses his serve and must win it in a tie breaker.  Roger turns it up another level and wins 6-0.  Rogers forehand sometimes goes on vacation – without him.  He moves and you can’t hear him move, like a Ninja in daylight.

Tonight we will see Aussie Alicia Molik vs Julie Coin.  Alicia un-retired and is doing well.  She won the first set and the Aussies are going wild, she is up 5-2 and and and loses the set and the third.  We have all been there – done that.  The Monster of “I could win this” ate her up.  She got tight and the shots lost depth and speed.  Now we are watching Tsonga play in Hisense Arena against Stakhovsky from UKR.  Better leave, it is 12:31 and I have to pack to leave in the morning after and early morning workout.

P.S. Richard Gasguet, France, and Youzhny on Margaret Court.  Youzhny, #20 seed, wins from 2 sets down and cramping to win in 4 hours 40 minutes and 5 sets.

Earlier today I was at the Wilson booth when Justine Henin came by to sign autographs for Wilson – huge crowd of adults and kids.  She is very patient with everyone.  More camera crews there – could hardly see her.

Took the players transport back to the hotel earlier today and rode with famous Aussie player and coach, Tony Roche, and Sophie his player who lost in qualifying but is in main draw or doubles.  He will be back in the US in March at the Indian Wells Tournament.  He gave me his cell # and I may try to get him to come to San Jose for a PTR workshop and speak at the San Jose SRC.

Wayne Elerdon, the Canadian speaker and I walk up Russell St to Lygon St and find a good Italian Restaurant with sidewalk cafe style.  Lygon St is just like Willow Glen and Los Gatos downtown with trees, sidewalk cafes and shops.  It is next to Melbourne University which I had visited earlier in my trip.

Hope you have enjoyed my updates from Australia.

My next adventure is to North Carolina at the end of the month for an Enrichment Program put on by the USTA to update 20 of us on Quick Start Tennis for young players and working with Recreational Coaches.

After that we have our NorCal USPTA Conference where Mike Barrells of England who is here with me this week with speak on PTR for Kids and Jorge Capastany from Michigan and I will present on “Drills, Coaching, Player Development & Error Detection”, the first weekend of Feb.

Feb 10th Kameron and I leave for Hilton Head, SC.  He will be my hitting partner for the PTR Nationals and week long Symposium for teaching pros on every possible aspect of teaching and coaching with 800 pros from the US and 50 plus foreign countries.

See you soon, keep it dry – I am ready to get on the court.

Ken DeHart
SJSRC Director of Tennis
PTR & USPTA Master Professional

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This is my third day in Melbourne as a speaker and my first time to Australia.  It has been an awesome experience…..

Today I walked about 6 blocks from my hotel on Russell St down to the tram (trolley) which I took over to Hysense Arena.  I am the 2nd presenter today on Hysense and they have the roof open today.  My presentation is on “20 Best Games for Strategy and Tactics” and I have 6 young players who will demonstrate the drills I will do.

There are 4 cameras on and about 250 coaches.  It is like a match and today I am on.  Good energy and I make quick friends with the kids so they respond well to all the drills we do.  My jokes are good as well today and I can tell I connect with the audience well.

The weather is cool this year so far and has been a bit cloudy.  Cool weather comes in form the south and hot weather from the winds out of the north.

Got voted the best presentation of the weekend to date.  Every DVD I brought with me sold out after my presentation and they were asking for more, so I told them to go to www.kendeharttennis.com to order.  Gave everyone who bought DVD’s a copy of my “Today” card with Kam and me on the top of it.

Got to be on the court to assist Dan Santorum with his presentation on Corrective Techniques and with a top physical trainer from Australia for the youth doing exercises to prevent injuries.  Later Dan and I went over to Rod Laver Arena and went to the players area.  We saw most of the players practicing.  Said ‘Hello” to the Bryan Brothers and Fabrice Santoro and got to see Donald Young from the US play his qualifying match. We talked to a long time friend of ours, Brian DeVilliers who is the coach for young American player Melanie Oudin from Atlanta, said “hello” to Donald Young’s dad and a couple of other international coaches.

We took the players van back to the hotel.  Dan got a ticket to a Crickett match at the big stadium next door and I chose to go with Frank from Holland and Mike Barrell from England to visit Kooyong Club.  It was built in 1879 and was the site of the Australian Open for several decades until they built the new stadium in Melbourne.  We had dinner there with a couple of friends who are members (10 yr wait list to join), 52 courts – 30 grass and about 20 clay, pictures of all the great Aussie players from the past and a few hundred silver trophies.  They are having a tournament going on now as a lead up to the Australian Open.  Songa and Verdasco will play in the finals tomorrow.  Federer will be there to play a practice match as well.

What history at this club.  They just spent $132 million renovating the facility.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Coaches Conference back the Hysense Arena from 9-4:30.  We will have a 4 hour course on all aspects of the serve from Bruce Elliott, one of the top bio-mechanist in the world, a presentation from famous Australian player and coach – Ray Ruffles and Miguel Crespo on Drills, think before you feed.

I have Sunday off except for a dinner for the speakers at the conference to do some sight seeing.  Monday I have Rod Laver Arena tickets to watch first round play.

Ken DeHart

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Tennis Doubles

Great teams like the Bryan brothers talk between points, keep each other pumped up and focused on what they are planning to do to play the next point. They also have to know what their job description is as a teammate to help their partner play effectively.

Do you know your job description?

Here are 7 simple descriptions for each of the 4 positions on the court in a match:

Server:

1. Talk to your partner and tell them where you intend to serve – to the opponent’s forehand, backhand or body.
2. Decide where you will stand to serve to create an advantage for your team – near the center service line, near the alley or neutral between the two.
3. Decide if you plan to – serve and stay back, serve and volley or serve and attack the first short ball.
4. Know what your partner at the net intends to do – stay, fake or poach.
5. Get your first serve in play 80% of the time with a specific – direction, spin or speed.
6. When you miss your first serve – you create a “must” situation for your second serve, your partner goes into more of a defensive mode and your opponent plans more aggressive returns.
7. Get ready for another ball to be returned as the point is seldom over with the first shot.

Server’s Partner:

1. Know where your partner intends to serve and – will they stay back, serve and volley or attack the first short ball.
2. Decide and communicate what you plan to do on the return of serve – stay, fake or poach.
3. Your job – D.A.D. – distract the returner (legally) by getting your feet in motion, attack the return or once the ball passes you – move back to play defense.
4. If you poach – aim for 1 of the 3 valleys with your volley – the 3 Service line “T’s” on the court and not at the player where they might defend themselves and accidentally get the ball back in play.
5. Avoid the 2 mountains – the two players aim to the outside of either player or up the middle in the 3 valleys.
6. If you do not poach, move back on a diagonal when the ball passes you to face the opposing net player or the net rushing team and play defense.
7. Get ready for another ball to be returned to you as the point is seldom over with the first shot.

Receiver:

1. Tell your partner which part of the court you plan to direct your return – 1 of the 4 squares on the opposite court is a good start.
2. Decide if you will – chip, drive, loop or lob the return.
3. Use the D.A.D principle – distract with your positioning, attack the return or defend by getting the ball back in play.
4. Position yourself to be able to move forward into your return of serve.
5. Decide if you will – return and go in, return and stay back or fake a move in after the return
6. Use your return to set up your partner at the net so they can finish the point.
7. Get ready for another ball to be returned as the point is seldom over with the first shot.

Receiver’s Partner:

1. Know where your partner plans to return the serve – one of the 4 squares.
2. Know if your partner plans to – chip, drive, loop or lob the return.
3. Call the service line for your partner so they can focus on the return.
4. Once the serve is determined to be good – look at the opposing net player and prepare to defend your position in the event they poach or your returner hits to them with the return.
5. If the return is past the net player move over and up to defend your net position against the ball to be hit by the server.
6. Prepare to D.A.D – distract the server who is now returning your partners shot, attack the return by the server or defend your net position if they attempt to hit at you.
7. Move back on a diagonal to defend if the ball goes back to your partner by facing the opposing net player or both opponents if they both come into the net.

These are a few key concepts that can help you and your partner become a more effective team by knowing what your Job Description is for each of the 4 positions on the court.  You can do your job well and help your partner do theirs.

Communication is vital, movement is critical and execution necessary for success as a doubles team.

Check out my website at www.kendeharttennis.com for UDF’s or Unusual Doubles Formations that can greatly enhance your teams positioning and ability to change momentum in a match.

Ken DeHart

Director of Tennis-SJSRC
USA High Performance Coach
PTR & USPTA Master Professional
2 Time PTR International Pro of the Year

Photo Credits: yingtak

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Rafael Nadal

This (UDF) Unusual Doubles Receiving Formation puts the receiver and partner on the same side of the court.  The receiver (let’s say – deuce court) is in regular receiving position.  The receiver’s partner is positioned directly behind him so that both players are lined up in the deuce court.

Options:

1. If the serve is out wide to the deuce court, the front receiver will move to their right to return the serve. The partner behind them will move over and up toward the ad court to defend that part of the court. This helps put both players in motion.
2. If the serve is up the “T”, the front receiver will move to their left to return the serve and continue to move to the ad court following the return.  The partner behind them will move up to defend the now vacated deuce court.  This will put both players in motion.

Reasons for the receiving team to use this “I” Formation-Both Back:

1. The receiving team can create confusion for the serving team
2. The receiving team can put themselves in motion if they have become too stagnate with their receiving play.
3. The receiving team wants to intimidate the serving team and get inside their head regarding options instead of focusing on the ball.
4. To protect a weak playing net player against a strong serve and volley team or a team that attacks the net player on the first ball.
5. Helps the receiving team change momentum in a match, set or game.

How to play teams that play the “I” Receiving Formation-Both Back:

1. Make a decision as to where you want to serve and don’t change your mind.  Call time and make a plan with your net player.
2. Decide who you want to move to the ad court by serving wide to force that player to play deuce or up the “T” to force the back player to play the deuce court.
3. Serve at the receiver’s body to make the decision to move left or right by the receiving team more difficult to determine.
4. Following the serve, return shots deep down the middle.
5. Practice against this formation in practice match to recognize the options of the receiving team. Play it so you can feel how it is to be in that position.

What not to do:

1. Avoid getting sucked into their style of play. Call time out and make a game plan with your net player – have a plan.
2. Avoid trying to serve too hard and have to hit a lot of second serves or double fault.
3. Avoid returning too short on their return of serves so they might dominate play with their ground strokes.
4. Adjust your serving formation if they are bothering your service games.

Photo Credits: mirsasha

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What's the end goal?

The more options you have in the category of spin and speed, the more weapons you will have to defeat your opponent. For example, using under spin, some side spin or top spin can provide several options for controlling a point. Having options as far as the speed used to direct the shot you have chosen also provides another way imposing a tactical control during a point. Level 1 can be a loopy-spinny ball, level 2 is a rally speed that allows you to keep the ball in play and level 3 is as fast as you can hit and still keep the ball in play.

The ultimate end may be to win the match but within that is the end of winning the set, the game or the point. Regardless of the goal, begin with the end in mind.

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Win the warm up.

1. Introduce yourselves to your opponents.
2. Spin the racquet before beginning the warm up so you will be on the correct side when warming up and know the serving order as to who will serve first, second and so on.
3. Immediately be the one who “spins” the racquet to decides who will have 1 of the 4 options (don’t spin the racquet on the ground as it often takes too long, scratches the end of the grip when it falls to the ground and depending upon how it is picked up the racquet you can control the be “up” or “down” call. Just spin the racquet in your hand with the butt of the racquet toward your waist until they make their call, “up” or “down” then show them the butt of the racquet to see who won the spin.
4. If the opponents win the “spin” and choose to serve, make them serve from the sunny side of the court first and prepare to lob them a lot during the first game of the match.
5. In the warm up, the first server for each team will take a lot of practice serves as they will begin the offense for their teams initially. The third and fourth servers will take a lot of overheads, a few serves and focus on returning the servers as the first two servers warm up. This is important as the third and fourth servers will play several games before serving and have opportunities to be warmed up before actually being called upon to serve. However they can play an important part of their teams success by focusing on returning well early in the match.

You and your partner need to have a plan before the match starts. This gives you confidence and a purpose for what happens early in the match.

Photo Credits: GeoNando

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