Spring Cleaning
Despite many New Yorkers’ refusal to believe that this winter would end, spring has indeed sprung. After removing autumn’s leaves and winter debris from your rain gutters, you might want to do a spring cleanup of your tennis.
Are you hoping to get one more season from a pair of threadbare socks because they sport your favorite logo? Lose them and your feet will thank you. Today’s sturdy performance shoes require an adequate cushioning layer between your feet and shoes, and new socks may turn blisters into a memory
Has your default tennis outfit become the old shirt and shorts you wear doing household chores? Changing to an outfit similar to those worn by touring pros might add a boost to your step and encourage you to make even more changes.
Will 2014 be the year you finally add spin to your second serve? Will your spring-cleaning list include changing to one hand on your backhand volley? How efficient is your conditioning program?
Is your racket doing everything you hoped it would when you bought it? You might want to ask yourself if you are playing with a racket that is too heavy for you. I am not one of the big boys, so I don’t play with a racket that is appropriate for them. My frames tend to weigh in at 10.4 ounces, with a 4-¼ grip. I simply don’t have the arm or hand strength I used to have. Playing with a 12-ounce racket strung with Kevlar would guarantee me holding my fork in my non-dominant hand for months.
I am not advocating making thoughtless changes just because it is a new season. You know your game, your equipment, and what you want from the time you spend playing tennis.
I am also examining some of the routines I have fallen into in my teaching. I have creaky knees and a one-handed backhand. I sometimes like to feed with my backhand, alternating high balls with low and varying the spin. Modern educators tell us that most students learn best by watching and copying, and they gain very little from what they hear. So, how effective is my teaching if I describe the key points of a two-hand backhand to a group of six-year-olds while I demonstrate with more than 200 one-hand strokes? Spring cleaning requires a change for me—switch to a two-hander when feeding red and yellow balls to young children.
I have been slow to incorporate technology into my classes, since the thought of carrying a large, heavy camcorder around never appealed to me. A 2014 spring wakeup is the realization that every one of my students carries an iPhone around with them. I find they enjoy videotaping themselves and their practice partners, and they get to keep the recordings on their own devices for future viewing and sharing.
One change I will make this spring is to expand the range of subjects I discuss with students. During a recent conversation about restringing with two siblings I teach, I mentioned that I once owned a steel racket with wire strings. Since they are bright and intellectually curious 15-year olds, when I follow up I will tell them that the Dayton Steel Tennis Racket was the invention of William A. Larned—American tennis champion for seven years during the early 1900s. The racket was basically a metal hoop inserted into a wooden handle and strung with piano wire. Larned was an Ivy Leaguer who soldiered with Teddy Roosevelt as a Rough Rider in the Spanish American War. He was partially paralyzed and suffered for many years from rheumatoid arthritis and spinal meningitis. Shortly before Christmas in 1926, he took his own life in New York City.
As this season changes and we celebrate another spring, I think it is important to occasionally pause and remember past champions, and to remember that they were more than just backhands and forehands.
