The Serve: Probation!

[bottle]

Some people are more visual, others more verbal. I have always been more visual, which is also why my,posts are usually short.

What I like and sometimes can only aspire to is language that is full of visual imagery.

[gzhpcu]

Brian, after the probation point, when you initiate the racket drop, does it occur naturally, or should you help it by supinating the forearm? Thanks

[bottle]

The Man in Black?

This poem may be a great one (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe...dreadful-night). But does it describe either Brian Gordon or Johnny Cash? I don't think so. Well, maybe Cash a little more at his blackest. He did come close to the edge, right? I think his daughter Roseanne has said something along those lines.

[gzhpcu]

Some people are more visual, others more verbal. I have always been more visual, which is also why my,posts are usually short.

[bottle]

Video is better than text. As John has said with his “Visual Tennis” book.

don_budge is a better tennis player than bottle. That doesn't mean we both don't have our virtues.

[gzhpcu]

Video is better than text. As John has said with his “Visual Tennis” book.

[klacr]

The complexity of the service motion is very high. Natural talents like Gonzales, Sampras, Federer are to be envied.

You forgot LaCroix. Just kidding!

In all seriousness, when I first learned thatBrian was doing a serve series on video I was very excited and knew it would be great. It has exceeded my expectations. The learning and discussion it provokes is highly beneficial for all subscribers.

You rock Brian! Keep it up.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The tricky part is to make sure that the racket grip and arm are loose at this point. It is so easy to force into this position and then try to muscle it in the box.

I tried a drill (I should have filmed it!) with my daughter. She throws one ball, one probation serve and one regular serve. This seems to really loosen up the arm and create a nice rhythm. There is one thing I found harder when I served using a probation method.I had a hard time hitting a kick serve.

Somehow it seemed flatter. Has anyone else found this to be true? That it is harder to hit a kick serve if we start at the trophy.

Absolutely key. No friction...absolutely not. Tension is friction. I think it was in an earlier video Brian makes this point about inertia. No muscling at this point or you just kill the motion. Watching Gustav hit from this position I noticed that he seemed to be hitting a flatter ball when he got the rhythm correct. I'm certain that you could learn to spin the ball from here...but it takes practice. Brian says you are on probation and you don't get off probation until you can prove to him that the move is synched correctly.

Another important point is creating width in the backswing and not racing through the hesitation point. You don't want the racquet tied up behind your ear. Pete Sampras created tremendous width into his backswing.

[arturohernandez]

That hesitation point is critical. To get the rollercoaster car up the hill with just enough inertia to get it over the top of the hill where it falls. It will almost hesitate you would swear. Does it actually? I don't think so but you sure as hell don't want to go rushing through that position. Once I looked Gustav's swing over going back and forth from "Probation" to the full motion I realised how fast he goes racing through that point. Excellent video. Excellent food for thought. Thanks for sharing! Did I already say that...well ok, thanks again.

The tricky part is to make sure that the racket grip and arm are loose at this point. It is so easy to force into this position and then try to muscle it in the box.

I tried a drill (I should have filmed it!) with my daughter. She throws one ball, one probation serve and one regular serve. This seems to really loosen up the arm and create a nice rhythm. There is one thing I found harder when I served using a probation method.I had a hard time hitting a kick serve.

Somehow it seemed flatter. Has anyone else found this to be true? That it is harder to hit a kick serve if we start at the trophy.

[don_budge]

Great video! I served like this for a while about 8 years ago. It was a great step in helping my serve to improve.

One can feel the absolute acceleration needed to produce a serve.

It also helps one to realize how little things up to this point matter.

Before the trophy and the subsequent acceleration there is no real need for extreme effort.

Thanks!

What an interesting video. To capture the moment of truth. I took my protege Gustav on for an hour of practice and at the end of the hour we worked on this for ten minutes. He's on Probation now Brian...thanks to you. The Man in Black. You are too cool for school. As stroke says of Nick Kyrgios. Thanks for sharing man!

Gustav and I talked a bit about serving and his impending adventure to travel to Berlin to seek a means of staying afloat there for a while. He's taking his tennis racquet, camera and video stuff. Of course I recommend getting himself imbedded in the tennis scene and his idea is to explore the music clubs as a photographer or video for hire. It's just the greatest thing in the world to have a student like this young man. He's all ears when we practice. He has a different idea about life. I gave him the book "The Razor's Edge" sometime during his tennis development. He has become some version of that Larry character in real life. Interesting isn't it...afterall Fyodor Dostoyevsky warns "that the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits that he has acquired in the first half". Be careful that you don't get stuck in your ways...along the way.

When I play tennis...it's admittedly been a while...I remember being able to instantly get the rhythm in my service motion. That's because it is perfect as I have outlined in the "Rollercoaster Serve Motion". Based entirely on gravity and inertia. But I remember always telling myself two things or using two cues to get my serve on track if I hadn't played in a while. Number one is trusting my backswing to get me to what Brian refers to as the hesitation point and then just as the racquet begins to fall behind is when the action starts to thrust. It all seems to be a gradual "depression of the accelerator". You don't have to jam it down...just take it gradual and let the motion make the racquet head speed. Number two is getting the toss in the right place...then the ball just gets in the way of the car. I mean racquet.

That hesitation point is critical. To get the rollercoaster car up the hill with just enough inertia to get it over the top of the hill where it falls. It will almost hesitate you would swear. Does it actually? I don't think so but you sure as hell don't want to go rushing through that position. Once I looked Gustav's swing over going back and forth from "Probation" to the full motion I realised how fast he goes racing through that point. Excellent video. Excellent food for thought. Thanks for sharing! Did I already say that...well ok, thanks again.

[arturohernandez]

Great video! I served like this for a while about 8 years ago. It was a great step in helping my serve to improve.

One can feel the absolute acceleration needed to produce a serve.

It also helps one to realize how little things up to this point matter.

Before the trophy and the subsequent acceleration there is no real need for extreme effort.

Thanks!

[don_budge]

That Man in Black...Brian Gordon

Another man in black...Johnny Cash (1971)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t51MHUENlAQ

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black

Now I am going to finish watching the video. Thanks for sharing. Probation...Johnny Cash. Somehow a connection.

[stotty]

This is a fascinating video. In terms of coach education it's as good as it gets.

It's great to have Brian demonstrating how the method is coached and achieved using a live demonstration with a student. It explains so much. I have been struggling like mad to teach from the hesitation point but now it's much clearer. I was also expecting a much quicker fix for my students but clearly, as Brian points out, probation can last a while. I need to be patient as do my students.

Oddly enough, two boys I teach have leg drive that is too early. When I film them at 300fps you can visibly see their bodies lowering too soon before they strike the ball, and they often contact the ball near the top of the frame. I have a number of girls who drive late. I am assuming teaching from the hesitation point can cure either evil?

[don_budge]

The complexity of the service motion is very high. Natural talents like Gonzales, Sampras, Federer are to be envied.

Not to mention two my favourites...John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and Don Budge.

https://www.tennisplayer.net/public/new_issue/2019/february/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u1zH11yqFQ

Work away today...work away tomorrow
Never comes the day for my love and me
I feel her gently sighing as the evening slips away

[gzhpcu]

The complexity of the service motion is very high. Natural talents like Gonzales, Sampras, Federer are to be envied.