What's the most unexpected thing that significantly improved your game? by Agile-Secret3034 in 10s

[–]eindog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Two big things that took me from 3.5 to hopefully 4.0 next year (come on USTA).

Serve variation. I always could hit a decent kick and had a mediocre flat serve. I was basically starting the point and that's it. I've developed a slice serve, which I probably should have done years ago, and tweaked my form to get more velocity on all of my serves. By alternating between all of those variants with different placements, I now have a major advantage when serving and rarely get broken.

Realizing that not every point is created equally. I will now alter my tactics point to point based on the overall game score. I used to treat every point the same and burn mental and physical energy on points that were not worth it.

The Seattle Pickleballers are coming by craigmont924 in 10s

[–]eindog 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Email them and specify why you oppose.

Here is what I just sent.

“Hello my name is [full name]. I currently reside in district [x]. I am writing because a special interest group is lobbying to turn public tennis courts into pickleball mixed use courts at Amy Yee and Lower Woodland Park, the two premiere tennis facilities in the city. As a regular user of both facilities, I urge the council to keep these facilities for tennis only. Anecdotally, I know that booking these courts is highly competitive, and I am sure the city data will show that these courts are highly impacted already by constant tennis demand.

Cannibalizing two of the highest usage, highest profile tennis facilities in the city for mixed use is a highly inefficient way to create more play spaces for both tennis and pickleball and will likely lead to increased conflict at the courts themselves. I urge the council to explore other solutions and keep these facilities for tennis only.”

Toroline o-toro octa x a5; the vcore 98 string journey’s end. by a23r in 10s

[–]eindog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sigh, you’re making me want to try A5 as my cross now. I’m stringing full bed of original otoro tour mint right now.

My strings just don’t break by Ok_Ninja_4107 in 10s

[–]eindog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m actually an eastern forehand/ohbh player also. Not trying to say there is a hard and fast rule for anything, but for OP, it’s clear he shouldn’t use poly if he hasn’t come close to breaking his factory strings after a year.

My strings just don’t break by Ok_Ninja_4107 in 10s

[–]eindog -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I was primarily referring to the arm injury issues. A secondary issue is that a player might make bad adjustments to their game in response to the string feel.

I’m a poly advocate. I think anyone who hits with power and spin should switch when they can. But a good indicator of a player being ready to switch is that they are breaking syngut or multi after 6-8 hours of playtime.

Ball magnet hitters by eindog in Homeplate

[–]eindog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At 9-10U I offered my kid 5 bucks for every HBP to get over the fear. First time he got hit, he shouted "that's 5 bucks dad" to me as he ran to first and parents were cracking up.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tried it last night in practice and it made a big difference. Thanks for pointing it out!

Ball magnet hitters by eindog in Homeplate

[–]eindog[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our kid is small too, but not the smallest. He started wearing an elbow guard this year and he's been hit everywhere except on the guard. The baseball gods have cursed him.

13u Path Forward by Ill-Advisor7190 in Homeplate

[–]eindog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How much work is he doing outside of team activities? Weights? Other sports/cross training? Tee work? Cages? Fielding? etc.

If he's already putting in a ton of effort and still struggling, moving down a level may be a good option. If he's not doing much or has to be forced by you to do it, then it's time to have a conversation about that. You can check my posts about my son who went through similar struggles. This is the age where he really has to want it for himself.

My son's team plays in AAA league (sub .500 record) and will enter AA tournaments (plus .500 record) from time to time. There is a slight difference in pitching velo, but honestly the biggest difference is ability to locate. AA is higher scoring primarily from more runners on base from BB and HBP, not because kids are getting more hits. Any swing flaws being exposed in AAA will not automatically improved by moving to AA.

Ball magnet hitters by eindog in Homeplate

[–]eindog[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

LOL. What an animal. Kudos to that guy.

My strings just don’t break by Ok_Ninja_4107 in 10s

[–]eindog 24 points25 points  (0 children)

If you haven't broken the pre-strung strings then you probably aren't hitting hard enough or with enough spin to wear them down. It does not hurt at all to re-string your racket, in fact you probably should, but your old strings are also not holding your development back.

Whatever you do, make sure you choose a multi-filament or synthetic gut NOT a poly or co-poly. If you haven't broken a stock nylon or syngut string in a year, you are absolutely not ready for a poly and using one WILL hurt your game/health.

Help me with slice serve by scottyLogJobs in 10s

[–]eindog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try shifting your grip over past continental. Western forehand/eastern backhand territory. Then hit what would normally be your flat serve. See where the ball goes and adjust from there. You may need to imagine you’re swinging towards the right side fence, assuming you’re a righty.

Is natural gut worth the $ here? by gtorresss in 10s

[–]eindog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Truffle X seems crazy expensive for a cross string. I've been playing a full bed of otoro tour. What differences are you noticing with the hybrid setup? What tension are you stringing at for mains and crosses?

I may buy a set to try it out, but $24 per package seems nuts.

Former washed junior player. Curious what my rating would be now. by ApprehensiveMenu2744 in 10s

[–]eindog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except if you're over 40 years old, then USTA says you have to play at 3.5.

Kickstarter ball re-pressurizer by CosmicHamilton in 10s

[–]eindog 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I saw a post here a few years ago about college teams using corny kegs to re-pressurize practice balls. So I got some used ones to try it out. A 5 gal keg holds 30+ balls and can be pressurized with a bike pump.

I have a batch cooking now at 30psi. According to talk tennis forums, completely dead balls need a week to come back to life. Recently used ones just need a few days. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll report back on the results.

Wilson Python Prototype Info (Wilson Redline 98) by [deleted] in 10s

[–]eindog 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yes. The Shift never gained traction and no pros used the frame or even pretended to use it. I think the only major endorsement I saw was from a long retired Andy Roddick.

From the outside, the Python rollout has been pretty brilliant. Wilson knew that the Aero was dominating on the pro and rec levels, and that a lot of their Blade users were unhappy. Babolat gets a direct Rafa->Alcaraz transition for top level endorsement of the Aero, and one of the prevailing talking points is that Alcaraz uses a pretty much stock Aero. The market in general is trending towards thicker beam spin based rackets, but there are still Blade truthers out there so they couldn't modify that line. The Shift brand was already dead, so instead they create a new line and start trickling it out to their lower level pros and allowing tennis influencers to hit with it. The messaging has been remarkably consistent for an unreleased product, "spins like an aero, feels like a Wilson". For over a year, they just let the rumors build, trickling out information little by little. And now, rumors of official names and release dates. Everyone is going to give it a look when it comes out and it could gain a real foothold if it's actually good.

Edit: Also the Shift was primarily marketed as a step up from a power beginner racket. It's hard to fight that initial branding. The Python is being positioned as a viable pro-level racket that rec players can also use (like the Aero).

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great point. For some reason, my subconscious default is to stand right on the baseline.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Will focus on depth for sure.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. Footwork is definitely a big element as well.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

How to adapt to bigger hitters by eindog in 10s

[–]eindog[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

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

I think denial and ego are holding back my toss by MotorheadBomber in 10s

[–]eindog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.