VIP coaching review: Coach Herman, I love your coaching style. You are great at recognizing what I need to work on and send me appropriate drills to work on. I did not start playing tennis until I was about 20 years or so. Thought I have played tennis about 20 years or so on and off, I have learned tennis mostly on my own watching YouTube videos, some ladies clinic like group lessons and about 20 private lessons over this many years, and while I hit a lot with my husband regularly, I do not really know good drills to do so we just hit back and forth from baseline mostly. Now that I have drills to work on for foot work, serves, approach shots etc while I hit with him, hitting is much more fun and my husband does compliment that I improved.
One thing I really like about your coaching is that you ask me to try something I would never even think about doing: for example, my backhand volley is two hand backhand volley. After seeing my two hand backhand volley, you suggested me to try one hand backhand volley one and I started to try that. Now whenever I practice volley, I try to practice one hand backhand volley, which I have never try to practice before (never even thought of trying). It helps so much when I have to reach to balls that are away from me with one hand backhand volley than with two hand backhand volley, and I even scored enough times with one hand backhand volley. This one hand backhand volley, for some reasons, also makes me hit more one hand backhand slice also for unknown reasons. My normal backhand ground stroke is two hand backhand stroke, so I do two hand backhand ground strokes mostly, but since I started to try one hand backhand volley, I do more one hand backhand slice ground stroke…I play with more variety now even at baseline since I started to try one hand backhand volley. Now I also want to learn one hand backhand slice properly. Buggy whip shot, as you know, is another thing I would never practiced unless you suggested. This is not the shot I want to hit normally, but it does help me when I am pulled wide etc, and I notice that I do use it on wide shots etc. As you might have noticed, I am baseline player who likes to stay at the baseline and hit ground strokes. I have to be conscious about moving to the net, otherwise, I will not go to the net, but working on transition footwork (lift and land etc) does help me to move to the net.
As I mentioned I am mostly self-taught tennis player, and do not know as many details. What I really like your coaching is that you make me try something I have never thought of trying, and you help me achieve that in small steps. of course, I am aware that I have certain capability, but I may not have certain other capability. I also like you asking me to practice with targets. I have never done that before. Now I realize, when I play match, that I have been serving without thinking where to serve most of the time. Now, I still serve without aiming most of the time, but at least, I am aware, and will try to serve with aim each serve whether I can, or not.
also to answer your question on when to use lift and land, I would use it when ball is hit and land near service line and not too wide so that I can step forward and land to put body weight forward to attach to opponents weaker side. Am I right?
Thank you so much for all the video analysis you have done so far, and working with me patiently!
Chiharu