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Memorial Northwest Community Center Click Buttons for Other Tennis Information>
The foundation to enjoying tennis always starts with building your individual tennis skills. We have three Tennis Pros available for lessons to all Memorial Northwest residents. If you have an interest in learning how to play tennis or would like to sharpen your skill please contact on of our Tennis Pros: Head Tennis Pro: Gilberto Arcay 281-799-5021
Marlon Mazique 713-857-0723. Marlon is available Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8am to noon. He was ranked in the top 5 in singles and doubles in the state of Texas. He has taught tennis now for 10 years.
Instruction rates are set by the professionals.
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TIP OF THE MONTH by Gilberto Arcay TAKE CHARGE Switch From Defense To Offense In A Flash. 1.Learn To Read To transition from defense to offense more quickly, effectively, and often, you need to pay attention to what's happening on the court. I don't just mean basic things like, "this guy has a great forehand" or "she has a phenomenal touch at the net." You need to read the elements of the incoming ball: height, speed, direction, and spin. The sooner you know what type of ball is coming your way, the more quickly you can react to it and get on the attack. 2.Don't Push Think of your defensive shots -- the lob, the hard slice, the topspin forehand -- as weapons. Don't settle for putting back in play. That's desperation, not defense. Try to do something with the ball that will make your opponent adjust. Defense is about buying yourself time so you can get into better position and THEN go on the offense. Here is an example: When you are pulled into the backhand corner, don't hit a low liner over the center of the net; go for the high topspin backhand crosscourt. This will give you time to regain your position. If your opponent likes to dictate with inside-out forehands from the backhand corner, hit a roller to the forehand side so he has to move. Unsettle your opponent so you get a chance to go on the offensive. Pushing won't get the job done. 3.Follow The Ball Once you begin to play more intelligent defensive shots that open up offensive opportunities, learn to take time away from your opponent by moving forward, either for a volley or a ground stroke inside the court. When people attack the net, or simply step into the court in expectation of a short ball, they often do so aimlessly. Here is a simple rule: Commit to the attack before hitting the ball. Don't go for an outright winner, but hit a well-placed offensive shot. Then follow the path of your shot, whether it's hit crosscourt or down the line, to hit your volley.
SWING FASTER ON YOUR STROKES. RACQUET-HEAD SPEED IS THE KEY TO POWER AND SPIN ON THE FOREHAND. HERE ARE SOME DRILLS TO GET IT. 1. SWING QUICKLY, NOT VIOLENTLY When people hear that they need to swing their racquets faster, they tend to do too much. Any teaching pro who has tried to increase a student's racquet-head speed knows what to expect at first: lots of vigorous body movements, a loss of balance,and numerous attempts to muscle the ball. Violence doesn’t produce racquet-head speed. You need to think about swinging quickly and smoothly, not forcefully. Take Roger Federer as a role model. He gets lots of racquet speed on his groundstrokes with seemingly little effort. 2. SIT FOR SUCCESS Here is a drill that will make your strokes faster and more fluid, yet teach you about balance and control. Sit on a bucket inside the baseline, face the courts as you would in a semi-open forehand stance; then have a partner feed balls slowly to your forehand. When you hit forehands like this, you’ll better understand that your shoulders must remain level at all times, you’ll see the importance of hitting through the ball and following through, and you’ll know why good posture, which helps you maintain balance, is essential for racquet-head speed.
Summer is here, so make sure that you drink lots of fluids, and it should mostly be water. If you are playing USTA summer leagues or any tennis leagues, drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water daily. Studies confirm that body muscles and tissues need time to absorb the fluids, so do not wait until the match to start drinking. The water that you are drinking during that match is for the next game. Wearing a bandana around your neck and a hat, mostly light colors, will help you to stay cool and hydrated. Increasing your water consumption is very important to prevent cramps, and the hat will prevent headaches and help you to perform better. Good luck this summer. For the players who aren’t playing any leagues this summer, work on your game. For example, if you struggle in a particular area on your game, this is the time to improve your skills. Get together with your pro and work hard so when the next season is here you are ready for it with skills and confidence. TRY IT. GOOD LUCK SEE YA ON THE COURTS.
Find out what your opponents' weaknesses are... PROBLEM: Have you ever gone home after a tennis match not knowing why you lost that match or feeling that you played very poorly? REASON: Most of the time when we lose a tennis match, it is because we don’t end up playing our strength to their weaknesses; we end up doing the opposite. SOLUTION: As soon as you walk on the tennis court and warm up with your opponent, you need to look for clues. For example, hit some balls to each one of their strokes and make mental notes. Then after the warmup, you and your partner get together and make a game plan based on your observations. That’s how most of your successful tennis players do it. Why not yourself? Try
it! It will work!
GET BEHIND YOUR OVERHEADS Many people think that if they can serve well they should be able to hit good overheads. After all, they seem like the same stroke, but there's one key difference. With the serve, you control the ball flight with your toss; for the overhead, you have to move quickly to get your body in place under the ball. To line up properly, position yourself so that if you were to let the ball drop, it would strike you in the chest. This helps ensure that contact occurs in front of your body, just as it does on your serve. Good luck, and see you on the courts. MAKE STAMINA A PRIORITY Lots of accomplished players say that in order to win tennis matches you have to go through aches and pains. More time is spent on footwork, movement and stamina than on how to refine your swing. The drills that build confidence by repetition also build physical strength, so players don’t fear staying on the court for a long times and going deep in rallies. It’s difficult to beat a player who can absorb pressure, stay in the point and challenge your consistency. To improve your on court resilience, drill as though you’re simulating a lengthy point. For instance, try this 10 – ball exercise: stand at the baseline and have your partner move you side to side by alternating feeds to your forehand and backhand for three strokes a piece. Then move up for a mid court ball that you punish with a transition ground stroke; continue forward for a first volley around the service line and close in on top of the net for a second volley. Finally, have your partner throw up a lob that you must retreat for and smash it. Repeat the sequence until you can’t continue. Do your best to keep all 10 shots on the court.
THE ART OF POACHING Poaching may be the scariest move you'll have to make on a tennis court. You need to leave your position at the net at just the right time, fly across the court as fast as you can, and head right into the returner's line of fire. It sounds daunting, but to be a good doubles player, it's essential that you learn to do it well. There are four critical elements to poaching: your position, stance, timing and direction. Let's take each of them one step at a time. 1. Positioning: Most players stand both too close to the alley and too close to the net to poach successfully. You should stand right in the middle of the service box for the best results. By positioning yourself in the middle, you'll be right in front of the returner, who will immediately consider you more of a threat. 2. Stance: To move effectively, you should lower your center of gravity as much as possible. Widen your stance and bend your knees and you'll be in position to push off and move quickly. You also need to be balanced: if you are leaning in one direction and your opponent returns the ball the other way, you'll have trouble reversing your momentum. 3. Timing: The best time to take off for a poach is either just before the returner strikes the ball or even better, as he's hitting it. In other words, make your move when the returner's attention is on hitting the ball so he won't notice you. 4. Direction: When you poach, the key is to move diagonally - sideways and forward at one. Players often only move to the side because they're already too close to the net. By moving forward as well, you can use your momentum to punch the ball, increasing your chances of hitting a winning volley. ¡Try it, it will work! BE AWARE OF YOUR COURT POSITIONING Many club players struggle to choose the right moments to be aggressive. This often boils down to smart shot selection, a discipline in which Roger Federer excels. He rarely pulls the trigger on a backhand down the line unless he has time to set up and hit it. Federer recognizes when his opponent has hit a weak shot and uses his foot speed and athleticism to take the ball early and attack. He is just as aggressive with his feet in these situations as he is with his strokes. You should try to get on top of or inside the baseline before you go on the offensive. If you are deep in the court, use a rally ball and wait for a better opportunity to unload . Playing with that kind of restraint will help increase your winners and reduce your errors. Good luck, try it, it will work!
How You Practice is How You'll Play Practice at the same pace you will play: lots of club players spend a lot of time on the courts practicing incorrectly. For example, since you know that every ball you hit at a lesson or a drill will not, count players spend too much time hitting the ball too hard and not practicing at the pace that you will really play in a match. Remember, however you practice you will perform on a tennis court. Make sure that when you are taking a lesson or a drill practice with the same intensity and pace that you will use in a match. Try it. It will work! GOOD LUCK, AND SEE YOU ON THE COURTS.
Tip of the Month by Gilberto Arcay Director of Tennis at Memorial Northwest HIT THE STRINGS A well placed toss is critical for an effective serve. Unless you are hitting a kick serve, you should put the ball out in front of you and just to the right of your left foot (if you are right handed). A good test: toss the ball and let it drop with out hitting it. If the ball bounces in front of the baseline (approximately 6 inches to a foot) and to your right (about 6 inches to a foot from your front foot) you are in business. A better test place a racket on the ground at your target area. Get in your serving stance at the baseline and see if your toss falls and hits the strings. You may have to experiment to find the exact spot, but the dividends are more than worth the time. Once you can hit the target consistently, your toss has arrived. Good luck and see you on the courts.
KEEP YOUR GRIP SOFT One of the most impressive shots in tennis is the drop shot at the net. Here is how to do it: To execute that difficult shop, you need soft hands. That's just another way of saying you should use a relaxed grip. To get the feel for it, try the two-finger volley grip. Rather than holding your racquet like you would normally, grip the handle with only your ring and pinky fingers. Your other fingers should wrap around the grip, but don't use them to squeeze. This encourages the relaxed, soft feel you need to make those eye-catching droppers and sharp angle touch shots. Good luck and see you on the courts.
BUILD CONFIDENCE THROUGH CONSISTENCY Don’t miss. It may seem like an unrealistic goal, but if you trust your strokes and your ability to hit one more shot than your opponent, you’ll have belief in your game. Building confidence through consistent repetition is a major part of any successful tennis player on the tour or club level. Here is a drill that will improve your consistency. The player on the baseline is asked to hit aggressive top spin drives directly back to the feeder that is at the net. The feeder pops the ball back and the player must respond. The emphasis is on producing spin control, clearance over the net for safety, and ultimately the ability to rally for 10, 20 and even 30 shots without an error. As you can tell, the ability to hit a reliable ball is held at a higher premium than the ability to hit winners. Here is a great game to improve this skill. Play points up to 11 with a partner in which the ball is fed from the baseline and winners aren’t allowed. You can hit the ball with good pace and spin, and you can move your opponent around. But instead of trying to hit a finishing shot, you are hoping to draw an error. Remember that your two main obstacles are the net and the lines. Good height on your shots will clear the first hurdle, and brushing up on the ball to create top spin will conquer the second. |
Memorial Northwest Community Center
17440 Theiss Mail Route Road
Spring, TX 77379
Office 281-376-4001
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