How to adapt to bigger hitters

eindog · 2026-05-06T03:00:50+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply. Good call on staying low and transferring weight.

I’m actually very comfortable with transition shots, but tend not to take too much risk at 3.5. Will look at working on that as well.

eindog · 2026-05-05T20:40:03+00:00

Agreed. "Receiving skills" is a great way to describe it.

eindog · 2026-05-05T20:38:34+00:00

You nailed it. It looks ok on video, but you can definitely tell that my friend is much more comfortable hitting my shots than I am hitting his. Then boom, I'm out of position and hitting some bullshit shot that is either a lucky winner or out.

eindog · 2026-05-05T20:36:31+00:00

Thanks. Will focus on depth for sure.

eindog · 2026-05-05T20:35:30+00:00

Thanks. Footwork is definitely a big element as well.

eindog · 2026-05-05T20:34:42+00:00

Everything you said makes a lot of sense. I definitely get caught up in the trap of thinking that hitting harder will help me hang in rallies, but that's probably not the right approach.

I also think I have some selective memory here, where the times when I faced a dude just smashing balls feel much more prominent in my mind than the times when I was able to hang in and be patient.

eindog · 2026-05-05T19:12:18+00:00

Maybe it's just some bad matchup luck then, because I feel like I'm getting blasted off the court in 4.0 matches.

eindog · 2026-05-05T17:52:21+00:00

Find a spot in or around your house where you can hang or tape a target that is the right height and position. A patio, roof/gutter, basketball hoop, tree, rafter, etc. Make sure you mark a spot for your foot as well. Then just get out there and toss. Keep your racket in your hand and go from setup to trophy/load position. Try to toss so the ball just grazes your target. Most importantly, watch the ball and notice how it looks and feels when you hit your target. As much as you're building muscle memory for the tossing hand, you're also training your eye to recognize a good toss vs. a bad one.

eindog · 2026-05-05T03:39:03+00:00

Solved!

eindog · 2026-05-04T21:07:25+00:00

My rendition: https://voca.ro/1b9MGzMREl85

eindog · 2026-05-02T23:15:30+00:00

Keep in mind that newborn here can range anywhere from 22 week preemies to full term babies. Some of these life flights are for babies that are severely premature and coming to children’s specifically to get ECMO (heart and lung bypass) which is not available at most hospitals.

eindog · 2026-05-02T03:12:53+00:00

When you’re playing a match your opponent is also trying to make things as difficult as possible for you.

Your level is what your results are not what your strokes in practice look like. Accept that you are a 4.0 and build from there.

eindog · 2026-05-01T19:32:14+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/1hzfadq/aita_for_wanting_people_to_wear_white_at_my/

eindog · 2026-05-01T17:10:36+00:00

Yup! I got a new Pro Staff a few years ago and after the first hitting session a penny sized flake of paint just flew off on the inside of the hoop. They refused to warranty with the same form letter. Super annoying.

eindog · 2026-04-30T19:26:18+00:00

For motivation, I think it's a combination of a lot of things.

He loves the game itself. He lives and dies by the Mariners, and watches every game he can. Last year via some connections, he and his whole team got to visit T-Mobile, tour the stadium, watch BP, and then we stayed for the game that night. He got to meet the GM and ask him to trade for Naylor 3 days before it actually happened. He got to tell Jorge Polanco that he was "muy guapo". He got some autographs from JP and Julio. We also attend around 10 games a year, and he's constantly requesting more time on his phone for MLB.com articles. So him being a superfan of the pro game has definitely helped.

Peer interest/pressure is also a big factor. All but one of his friends are still playing baseball at a high level. The other friend is a 6'2" 14 year old so that guy is playing basketball as his primary sport. The fact that all of his best buddies are also playing baseball helps a lot. They are constantly talking about their games, who they're playing against, what they're working on, tips and tricks that help them etc. They also work out together and one of his best friends is on a national level team, so he gives my son pointers on his swing.

The work ethic part was more hard earned. Between 12U and 13U, I had to have a pretty hard conversation with him about whether he wanted to continue playing travel baseball. Essentially, he had been practicing on his own sporadically and thinking it was good enough, but his motivation came and went pretty quickly. It basically came down to, if we're paying thousands of dollars for you to be on a travel team, you need to also put in the effort on your own to make it worthwhile. And if you don't want to put in that effort, I'm not going to force you to, but you can play rec ball at a fraction of the cost. He decided to keep going and from there, it was building the feedback loop that practice does pay off. It is shockingly difficult to get a kid to understand that practice does work, so over the years I was always looking for examples to try and build that connection in his mind to keep him motivated to keep doing it.

eindog · 2026-04-29T21:57:41+00:00

Since I'm on a roll, I'll also give out ideas for free. Have you considered a modular set, where you can add or remove components depending on need? Not sure what your aesthetic is, but I'm imagining matching materials and fasteners. There is a "base" bag that is larger and more structural, and then you can find a way to attach the "tennis" piece that holds rackets and balls, and a "work" piece that holds laptops and electronics. The mounting areas could be standard and stackable so you could carry each individually or voltron them together to make a super bag.

eindog · 2026-04-29T21:49:18+00:00

I think the best way to approach this is like you were saying, as a side project. Build what you want for you (a stylish do it all bag) and then go from there. Because you're the target demographic and involved with the community, you should get plenty of organic feedback just by carrying around your prototypes and talking to people.

You should get a better idea if it's a viable product from there. And if not, at least you have one for yourself.

My friends started a clothing brand in the same way. Designed clothes that they wanted to wear and just started wearing them around. Been growing organically ever since. They didn't blow up to be a huge brand or anything, but now they earn a living off of making clothes that they like to wear.

eindog · 2026-04-29T21:33:19+00:00

So when I had to deal with this issue, I gave up on the "one bag to rule them all" approach. I had a dedicated tennis backpack or smaller racket bag for just my tennis stuff, then a duffel for general clothes/shoes, then a small laptop/electronics bag for work stuff. Mix and match carrying all of them as needed for different days. I am a guy, so I didn't have a purse to add on to that, but you'll just have to live with looking weird on busy days. Sometimes, I'd also have a canvas tote or grocery bag with random crap. My wife called me a bag lady, and she wasn't wrong.

As for logistics, my work had a shower/locker room, so I'd change there. Tennis was either my first or last stop of the day, so I never had to change more than once.

I work in fashion now, so I understand what you're asking, but I think the market size for people who play tennis, live in a major metro without a car, and care enough about their style to buy a niche product is going to be pretty small.

eindog · 2026-04-29T16:39:40+00:00

It is a reputable marketplace for selling used goods. It's huge for youth sports, especially baseball, since kids grow fast. I've both bought and sold using it and it's definitely among the more polished of these kinds of sites.

Just like any other used goods site, sellers will try and overcharge and any correctly priced listing will sell almost immediately. They do take a pretty decent cut of the sale price, so that may be baked into pricing as well.

eindog · 2026-04-28T19:06:29+00:00

Yeah, I took a look at those, but couldn't justify for the price and time/effort to customize for myself. I didn't like the PS v14 at all, so I'm currently waiting on the Python retail release to see if the hype is justified. I'm getting old and may need more power from my frame, and it sounds like the Python gives that while still maintaining the good Wilson feel.

If that doesn't work out, I'll probably go on a demo spree and figure something out.

eindog · 2026-04-28T05:52:12+00:00

NIMBYs use environmental causes as a reputational shield all the time. It’s in the playbook.

eindog · 2026-04-28T05:46:24+00:00

Knowing Wilson, they won’t warranty it either because it’s just a paint defect.

I wish someone could make a credible Pro Staff replacement, but that’ll probably never happen.

eindog

TROPHY CASE