Half of the group didn't show up for the group tennis lesson tonight, so that meant there were only three of us, plus the instructor and his teenage sidekick high school sensation. That's good news for me, because as I said last week, more feedback helps me a lot, as does repetition. I got a lot of both.
This time, I didn't feel like I sucked. I could feel improvement. The swing is getting more natural, and I'm sending fewer balls into the balcony. Once again, my biggest challenge is to unlearn a lot of what I know from volleyball in terms of hitting mechanics and position relative to the ball. For example, I need to learn where my body has to be relative to the ball, so I can make an optimal swing at it. Lateral movement is fine, but moving forward and backward is hard for me. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, because like volleyball, you want to be in the right place ahead of time, to make the best contact you can.
Serving is a completely new motion for me, and it will take awhile to get that figured out. Poor tossing is already my biggest problem.
We did a little bit of basic king-of-the-court, and it was exactly what I needed to feel like I was getting somewhere. When I have to move to the ball, with something at stake, I don't overthink hitting the ball. Mixing it up with short stuff here and there helps too. The instructor said he was impressed with my speed, though my body is pissed at me now for it. In the prime of my coaching days, speed was often all I had against six-foot teenage girls, but I was in a lot better shape then!
Overall, I left the court a lot happier this time. I'd really like to be competitive within a year or so, and tonight it felt like that was possible. I hope I can stick with it.
And I still need to buy a racquet.
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