Pickleball - is it the new thing in racket sports? What about Padel?

When are you going to try it?

Clay Court Pickleball

This sport appears to be the one that seniors love because of the reduced amount of court coverage needed as well as a lower threshold for skill to compete.   Experienced tennis players should find the game easy to learn.  Most well accomplished tennis players tend to say that once their mobility goes away is when they'll take up Pickleball. 

Court Dimensions - Having your own court should be considerably less expensive since the court dimensions are considerably less than a tennis court.

What about Padel?

Another racket sport that has been around since 1969 is Padel.  It is played similarly to tennis but on a smaller court.

Here is some information on the sport of Padel.

Rules of Padel

What will happen to Tennis?

Tennis isn't going away but it now has some follow on sports that may lend to the overall popularity of racket sports.  If this occurs then it is likely so much better for tennis players in general though it may cause problems between tennis players and pickleballers when it comes to court space.  It's happened in other sports so it could easily happen here.  The smart thing would be for communities to make sure there are enough of both kinds of courts to serve the public demand.  One way of doing that would be to build lots of tennis courts and add pickleball lines on at least half of the tennis courts though I can see where eventually it will be done with all of them.

Don Budge and his Signature Racket

Here is an old Don Budge Signature racket.  These date back to the 1940's since Budge had his big run of Grand Slam events in the 1930's.  He was the first player to win all four slams in a calendar year and thus set a standard for judging players as the G.O,A.T.  (greatest of all time.)  Up until Laver completed two of these Calendar year Grand Slam wins of all four events he could have arguably been called the GOAT.  Now of course they call whichever player has the most total wins the GOAT. That is currently Federer but Nadal seems to be chasing that record depending on when both retire and who wins a few more in the meantime.  Novak is also chasing the numbers as well so we'll see how things end up.

Don Budge remains a top name in the history of tennis and his one handed backhand was legendary for  its effectiveness.

For more detailed information on Don Budge here is a link to his WIKI Page

You can see this racket was barely used.




With a Current Value around $10 plus shipping costs add $10 minimum.  To own one you'll have to part with at least $20 as of 11/2019 unless you find one at a yard sale for a a few dollars.  Most are not in great shape so if you find a very good condition one it should fetch more depending on how old it is.  This model comes from the 1940s.  Some later versions may have been produced into the 1950s.

Nadal Displays his Soccer Skills

He's good.

This also shows how well coordinated he is along with his ability to judge spatial relationships throughout his body.  So rather than just eye hand coordination he has a 360 sense of position and can perfectly judge locations and velocities.  It shows on his court sense and judgement of balls coming at him.

String Sensistive Rackets

I can't make an overly stiff frame soft enough with a change of strings to make me like the frame. The same goes for a flexible frame that cannot be changed enough by string tension or type to stop that trampoline effect. Maybe a frame that has all of the mid range attributes of moderate head light balance, and flex combined with weight to allow you to choose it's best characteristic with the right string and tension is the ideal and could be seen as string sensitive. Or taken the other way, a stiff and powerful frame can be ruined with rotgut string at the wrong tension just as a sponge bucket frame can be made to lose all feel with the wrong tension and poly.

The best answer is to experiment and test different frames that augment and compliment your game taking into account any predisposition toward injuries you may have. You can always change the characteristics of weight and balance but changing racket flexibility doesn't happen. You can loosen strings to reduce shock but at some point it will alter your stroke results and may require a change of approach which at that point might be best to consider a change of rackets.

Tennis Coaching in the Future: Work Smarter, Play Better

Work Smarter

This article stays in generalities mostly and avoids details but the point is that teaching must adapt.

Memes for Tennis: When your opponent has had enough of playing,

Enough of Playing

Tennis Journalism

Peter Bodo on the State of Tennis Journalism

I've been reading Peter Bodo's writings since he began publishing and he clearly knows his trade.  The one thing that I've witnessed and participated in is the rise of free tennis journalism thanks to the Internet.  It is more hands off since players can't have relationships with thousands of writers.  The cost of travel to follow the players can't be covered by most since they don't have an expense account courtesy of a publication.  Tennis reporting has become more distributed in terms of both quality and direction but on average I'd say that we've all benefited from the huge increase in information found regarding tennis players, the tour, instruction, and coaching.

Before you waited once a month for your Tennis Magazine and that was it unless you read the USTA publications related to amateur competition.  There is a Tennis Industry magazine that existed for a long time but only club owners usually saw these since they were the market for the products advertised there.

On average I'd say we're all better off with the state of things in Tennis Journalism.  Having Bodo out there to keep up the standard of knowledge and excellence gives the competition something to aim toward.

Tennis Equipment Costs - It's a bargain

I'm guessing at these prices based on memory but here is a representation of how to value your tennis gear.

Late 1970's Corolla $2k, Stan Smith Shoes $12-15, Jack Kramer Racket $20-25. Current price Corolla $20k, Newest Endorsed Shoes $60-130, Newest Endorsed Racket approx. $200. Everything went up 10x since mid 70's as the dollar went down in value.

The quality has improved generally along with the technology so I'd say we're good on most things. Don't buy the latest frame and when you find a frame you love pick up a dozen of them when they are being discontinued. You can always get your money back on Ebay if you switch out.

Pick shoes that work for you and avoid the logos with endorsements that add cost. If you are hard on shoes get and apply shoe-goo at Wal-M and wear those shoes when practicing and not playing or teaching.

Clothing, well that's your call but the modern fabrics are so much better at surviving stains, wear, and maintaining color that if you get the top quality stuff and wash cold you'll have it for years.

No matter what you think the value versus cost of tennis equipment right now is as good as it has ever been. Just don't think that you can buy skill with fancy equipment. Do the deep and repetitive spending on training, instruction , and competition whenever possible.


Addendum: Everything went up but tennis balls. I think they were $2 a can in 1960 and haven't seemed to budge since then. Spend your money on new tennis balls and laugh.

Health: Happiness as Social Glue

Happiness

Spread it around and smile more often.  It really does help others and yourself. 

Winning and Success in Tennis

If I had a kid that showed up for lessons and didn't seem to care or try and then while asking the kid about it the kid said, "It's not all about winning."

Here is how I would handle it. First background and then the answer.

I had a teacher tell me in 9th grade that it's not all about winning. She was a nice lady but didn't agree with a paper that I wrote on competition. I forget the details including the grade but remember that I essentially said that it's all about winning. Now let me move the clock forward 50 years. I still think that it's all about winning. Now though, I tell students that it is how you define winning and success that give you the most benefit and ability to move forward. Of course we want to win by the score if possible, but to even be on the playing field is a win if you are improving, learning, and competing. I only left the court unhappy after a loss if I let myself down for some reason.

Think of the future

Sometimes surviving to fight another day can be a win especially if you're in a life and death circumstance like cancer or war. I think almost tennis player would agree that to come up short against Rafa in a final anywhere at any time would be a win. I'd take it. Call me number two or three. " I'm good." The fact that I could honestly say that I was in his league or at least was there to be crushed by him would still mean I was better than 99%+ of all the other players out there. This would be especially true if I took games off of him since he doesn't give away gift points or games to anyone that I've seen. If could walk around saying that I met Rafa, Fed, or Novak on the court for a match and wasn't leaving in a wheelchair or on a stretcher and had taken some points, games or even a set would make me feel like winner. If you can't say that, well I suggest looking closely at how you measure success which is another way to say winning.

Set Your Own Definitions of Success and Winning

I made it through 40+ years of teaching a sport that I love though I never played professionally. I don't consider myself anything but a winner since I came out of the other side with a lifetime of pleasure on the court, a solid income, respect from those who wanted to learn tennis, and am able to share some lessons to others like this.

So when you hear, Winning isn't everything, it's how you play the game." I'd add , no it's how well you play the game. Well enough to call it winning. To quote Vince, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Then go about defining it for yourself so you can claim success and a win by the standard you set and not those set by others including misguided teachers. Even on the court a score loss can be a win for the future.

What I'd say to the kid.

I'd tell the kid that his teachers must not understand winning and the if they never talked about how to define it or how to measure success then they needed to study the concept further. Otherwise, they are setting up anyone in this competitive world to have their delusions crushed. Did the teachers not chase a win by getting their credentials to become teachers and if they hadn't they wouldn't be there parroting such a false truism since credentials are everything in the realm of Education.


2 Mental Shifts Highly Successful People Make
This is good reading with some concise information.

Margaret Court: All time Grand Slam Winner - Treat me like Laver

Court - wants equal treatment        (She has a point.)

You can be erased from history if your views don't conform.  What does that say about the state of  freedom of thought in the West.

Health: Can Cancer be Contagious

Contagious Cancer Spread by Human Activity

ATP Forehand

So what is the ATP Forehand?

Here is a good primer online that I came across. 

ATP Forehand

As the discussion of wrist lag indicates if you want reliability and precision then you might best consider what has been a standard take-back for a long time.  Rules about keeping the swing on the hitting side of the body are standard for all good and effective forehand strokes. 

Another concern is when you reach wrist-lock.  This is ideally between the forward part of the swing and the contact point.  In many cases and especially from older styles is remained firm from beginning of the backswing to the finish, (follow through).

Tennis Coaching and Teaching - Avoiding Misunderstandings

How a Tennis Coach or Instructor Interacts With Students Can Make all the Difference

Your Personality

First off we all have a template of behavior formed by our upbringing and sometimes that is helpful in teaching and other times it must be overcome.

Self Assessment

Here is how I see my own actions over four plus decades of teaching:

For me, looking back at my early teaching compared to now I was a hard case drill sergeant and I didn't care who was on the other side of the net, they all needed to work. It was probably because I was raised in a military family where discipline was everything. I've softened up a lot and now think happily of my last twenty years of teaching where I just loved being out on the court with anyone else who wanted to be there.

You can adapt and change

To me if we aren't all laughing at least part of the time I wasn't doing it right. As for exposure to varied groups of people, my last post retirement gig was teaching at a college where I had exchange students from all over the world including Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South and Central America. Treating everyone with respect worked well and I can say that everything came down to careful communication to avoid misunderstandings. If you're smiling, laughing, and people see in your manner and behavior that you are genuinely happy to have them out there with you there never seems to be a problem.

Focus on the Job - Teaching Tennis

Focus on getting the job done of teaching tennis rather than taking sides in the current social issues. That to me is how it should be handled.

Health: Increasing Oral Cancer Rates

Cancer Rates - Oral Record High

Teaching Ratios - Group to Private for a tennis pro

3 to 1 ratio of groups to private lessons

That's my recommendation. In the early days where I taught I learned that groups paid the best even when you consider the amount of time needed to organize them. In those times we paid a flat rate for the court no matter if it was a group or private. I focused on groups and that ratio if managed well was probably 75% groups with the remainder private lessons. It was much more lucrative but then I was also willing to spend Sunday evenings making calls to schedule more groups.

Group Size

I stayed with max 6 students per instructor and if we had enough sign-ups and space we'd run 3 or 4 courts at a time. The idea that a pro would get paid the same rate for a groups versus private is great for the club but bad for the pro unless he's already well compensated with a salary. There is little incentive to organize and run groups if you can go with privates and receive the same pay.

Private Lesson Pros

Some pros went the other way and ignored groups and preferred to get paid to go out and hit. Not to be mean, but I looked at them as surfer dudes with no long term plan. A 40 hour week on the court is hard enough and will crush you physically over time so I'd be looking at 30-40 max and organize as many groups as you can and consider the privates gravy.

Burnout and How to Thrive

It's very easy to get burned out with a heavy teaching load so my focus would be on a mix between adults and juniors with varied categories of skills. More importantly, you'll notice that the Marquee named pro will often be the head pro and just cherry pick the advanced players and let the assistant pro's handle the beginner to intermediates and also pay them to either run or assist in the groups. Everyone has their place in the operation this way.

Health: Aspirin can fight Depression, CBD Snake Oil, Cannabis Mental Health Improvement Questioned, Protein, Foot Pain

Aspirin


CBD This generation's snake oil


Mental Health improvement from Cannabis - Studies show poor evidence


Narcissists Happier


What Protein Does for your Body - WebMD


Why your feet hurt - WebMD

Green Dot Balls for Players below 4.5 - one pro recommends

Green Dot Balls

Anything that helps players enjoy the game makes sense but I suspect this idea will never catch on among regular players since it will stigmatize those as needing training wheels.