ira's abs

34 Comments

• #1 by cialis_deal on August 6, 2014 - 4:11 AM

  Quote

  

  Hello!

• #2 by cheapest on July 22, 2014 - 11:20 PM

  Quote

  

  Hello!

• #3 by Johnd993 on May 29, 2014 - 6:42 PM

  Quote

  

  As a Newbie, I am continuously searching online for articles that can aid me. Thank you feaekkkkaked

• #4 by us on May 15, 2014 - 11:59 AM

  Quote

  

  Hello!

• #5 by Willfallerart@yahoo.com on April 15, 2014 - 9:43 AM

  Quote

  

  Ira,
  You are GREAT! We are living in Viet Nam now and probably will for many years. Come and visit some time You are always welcome. Keep your knees loose.
  Love,
  Will Faller

• #6 by balkan roids on October 18, 2013 - 8:16 AM

  Quote

  

  for a healthy and strong body

• #7 by Filly Meunier on September 12, 2013 - 10:35 PM

  Quote

  

  Mike’s story….I like it.

  http://www.happynews.com/news/982013/tennis-program-serves-big-advantage-kids.htm

• #8 by Joe Marshall on January 25, 2013 - 2:38 PM

  Quote

  

  Sorry for the misprints…..I meant John POPPER, not POOPER!
  The thing I meant to say about Nate is that he could juggle three until he was 20, but at 20, he saw some guys in Chicago juggling seven, so he said, “I wanna do that’ It took him five years, but at the same time he was studying music theory, teaching lessons (he is a fine teacher of all his skills and is in demand), and writing, learning new instruments, arranging four albums, and touring…and all the business work that goes with it.

• #9 by Joe Marshall on January 25, 2013 - 2:30 PM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48cmMcIVReY&feature=player_embedded

  This is a video of my son, Nate Marshall. He is a very popular touring singer/songwriter, along with his wife….they are billed as Nate and Kate. Nate is a self-taught musician, plays guitar, harmonica, piano, and banjp, all at a very high level…..to give you an idea…if you’ve ever heard John Pooper’s song “Runaround” with the fabulous harmonica, Nate plays that exactly WHILE he is also playing the guitar part….but his song-writing is terrific, he is known for is sensitive poetry and social comment but he can rock too. But Nate has an alter-ego, NATE THE GREAT….you see he is a world class juggler…he juggles 7 balls at once AS PART OF THE ROUTINE…he has also “qualified” juggling 8 and 9 balls (qualifying means at least 2 full times around for each ball without a drop….so 18 throws and catches qualifies you for 9 balls)…he has “flashed” ten, and has it on film…10 throws, ten catches, without a drop….He learned to juggle 3 as a kid (7 years old)…he ws always a good athlete in baseball, soccer, and schoolyard games….he picked up the guitar at 16, the piano at 21, the harmonica at 18, the banjo after the piano….this video was made when he was about 25….his juggling skills are even better now. He is 30, and works for a very reasonable price….they have a special kids’ show that includes juggling and music….he is a really nice guy, too, (takes after his mom)

• #10 by Joe Marshall on September 11, 2012 - 6:31 PM

  Quote

  

  We moved. I didn’t want to at first, but my wife insisted
  that life would be better if we were closer to the kids and the grand-daughter.
  “But what about my tennis friends?” I wailed.
  “They’ll be plenty of tennis up there,” she insisted. “And you can always come back to visit.”
  Oh well……
  I’ve played a few times, beating the opponents easily with my whacky game. But today I made a classic mistake. I played a guy I had beaten easily in the wind on clay. And today I took the first set on a hard court 6-1. then I started taking it easy a little bit…..Not too different, just being alittel less aggressive, and not moving in between shots……In no time he was up 2-0.
  I said to myself “Better buckle down”…Close game….I lost it….3-0….I got to 3-1, but he won the next two game, adn he EARNED them…..tremendous play….AND movement….he was figuring me out! Down 5-1, I took the next three games. But he hit the line on every serve in the next game and had me set point……he hit me a jamming serve, which I mishit….It bounced twice on the net and dropped over…..From there I won in a tiebreak…..playing one key point where I brought him in and lobbed him FOUR times, and he STILL one the point….but I think I got to his legs on that one, and it cost him the next couple of points…..I’m glad it didn’t get to go to a third set….he seemed a lot fitter than me.
  Playing a lot less tennis, I have been surviving on ping pong. What a great game….The local University has a tremendous ping pong club that is open to the public…..ON a Thursday night at ten PM, it was forty college kids and 57 year old yours truly hacking it out……I could beat most of the hackers, but some of the kids from the team are superb, playing in a stle like the Olympic champs….a couple of young ladies from China were better than all but 2 or 3 of the boys.
  Ping Pong is a lot better for my back and legs…..Singles tennis, especially, can really do a number on your body….stretching is essential.
  My tennis friend said he would recommend me to a group of guys who play more at my level….But he warned me….”They are an insular group, adn if you don’t do well the first time you play them, they won’t invite you back.”
  Talk about pressure! Now I know how Andy Murray felt!
  If I play poorly, I’m in tennis limbo at least until next spring when the local tournament roles around…….Wish me luck!

• #11 by Joe marshall on March 17, 2012 - 4:54 AM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZ-5wELSJM

  Every once in a while they do this……just for fun

• #12 by Joe marshall on March 17, 2012 - 4:51 AM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8IVASo0umU

  Here is a long point in a match at a Mohegan Sun tournament. You don’t see many points like this at the highest international levels (I don’t know what level this is).
  What makes it interesting is that it is shown form three different perspectives. The third being an angle from above.
  The third angle shows how the ball leaps off the table in any of three directions due to spin. You have to be able to read that spin, allow for it in your timing of the stroke, and COUNTERACT the spin becasue it will leap off your paddle in a crazy direction if you don’t! This is what makes the soft paddle game so intriguing.
  The instructor I worked with form the USTTA said that you should try to take slam shots no higher than your shoulder….hence the jumping on the slams….for consistancy and control.

• #13 by Joe marshall on March 16, 2012 - 12:14 AM

  Quote

  

  and finally……
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=858kpMv7hDQ&feature=related

  how bout that Jheng Jike?

• #14 by Joe marshall on March 16, 2012 - 12:04 AM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6BzyN5p4aM

  The last point is something

• #15 by Joe marshall on March 16, 2012 - 12:00 AM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga6zAEB9fOM

  check out this one

• #16 by Joe marshall on March 15, 2012 - 11:56 PM

  Quote

  

  I see you have Marty Resiman interviews posted. I first read about Marty way back….howhe hustled people in ping pong by beating them using books or garbage pail covers…..great self promoter….and player.
  Like Marty, I enjoy the hard paddle (sandpaper or pips-up paddle) more than the sponge, because of the longer rallies. But i have to say, I do love the sponge game as well. It requires a monstrous amount of concentration in order to read the spins of the opponent, especially if they have different grades of rubber on each side of the paddle.
  Back in the 70’s, when the technology allwed for great diversity in the rubber over the latex foam, a Chinese athlete rose to be #2 int he world by using two differnt kinds of rubber and playing defensively, sending back shots with all kinds of different spins that would handcuff the opponent. he would actually flip the racket in his hand between strokes, so you didn’t know which kind of rubber he was returning with……For this reason, it became mandatory to have the two different colors we see today on the racket (usualyy red and black)…so the opponent could at least have a fighting chance of reading the different spins…..some rubbers are extremely sticky, and can create a lot of spin (but are diffcult to control the other player’s spin with), and other rubbers are “DEAD”, take allt he spin off the ball, and just dump it back. I will post some videos that show that all modern day rallies are not that short….by the way, it seems like nowadays they have switched from the 2 out of 3 21 point game format to the 3 out of 5 11 point format….at least on the ESPN shows…..i like it better this new way.

• #17 by Joe Marshall on November 22, 2011 - 1:59 PM

  Quote

  

  How To Hit a Drop Shot
  I told my friend John, a marvelous player who passed away recently, that I thought the most important thing in hitting a drop shot was “Weight”….in other words, get your weight into the shot, so your soft hands are concentrating on taking power off, and directing, the ball. John nodded, seeing my point. But then he topped me.
  ” I think the most important factor in hitting the dropper is HEIGHT”, he said.
  And as usual, he was right.
  A lot of people miss drop shots because they think the most important aspect of the shot is to skim the net with the ball, figuring that the lower the height at which the ball peaks, the more difficult it will be for the opponent to get to it before the second bounce. But think about it. If you hit the ball at a low trajectory (initially dangerous because you may catch the net), the opponent will see that the ball will be short, and will hustle in immediately. Also, the trajectory of the ball will make it bounce low, but forward, perhaps reaching almost to midcourt.
  On the other hand, if you concentrate on lifting the ball higher, peaking maybe THREE OR FOUR FEET ABOVE, BUT WELL IN FRONT OF, the net, the oponent, not realizing that you took the pace off the ball, will initially read a deep shot, and will not immediatley rush the net. This trajectory will also allow the ball to drop much closer to the net, which is the most difficult factor for the opponent, since he has to apply the brakes quickly for fear of running into the net, and must still hit a diffcult, controlled return into a safe spot. Spin, of course is the killer. The best droppers seem to have a mix of side and back spin.
  If you incorporate a slice shot as part of your game, the dropper should look like it was going to be a hard slice. Even after it comes off the racquet, your follow-through combined with the appropriate height above the net will give the impression that it is a deep slice or an approach shot. Drop shots should catch the opponent by surprise.
  They are usually best when struck form inside, or just at, the baseline. They are a great way to break up a long rally, when the opponent is already a little winded or in a groove. Hit them to the opposite side of the court from where the opponent is…..although the inside-out forehand drop is deadly (for those hos have the Jim Courier-type inside out forehand weapon). Follow the dropper in toward the net (in case he drops it back!), stopping just on the net side of the service line, anticipating a ball you can lob-volley (or even lob half-volley) over the charging opponent.
  Drop shots are like body blows. They have a way (especially when combined with lobs) of breaking the opponents spirit, and wearing him out. They earn you invisible points, because they can cause an opponent to lean in every time he hits a short ball, worried about your potential dropper, and mess up his next groundstroke due to poor footwork.
  To summarize, think WEIGHT as you approach a shot you want to drop (GET your weight into the shot, use quick short steps, like you are preparing to hit a drive), think HEIGHT as you stroke the shot, making sure to follow through high and clear the net. Follow the lob in past the service line and anticipate a lob-volley. You can win a point on a poorly executed dropper that clears the net and goes too deep, You lose the point every time if your stroke hits the net and bounce back.

• #18 by Joe Marshall on November 22, 2011 - 1:04 PM

  Quote

  

  No Such Thing
  My friend Frank died on the tennis court of a heart attack. I played with him for 24 years, sometimes 60 times a year or more, and we never had a cross word. He was a great partner, a perfect sport (too generous on line calls), and one of the funniest people I ever knew, with a dry, sarcastic wit.
  Frank knew how to pick his partner up after a bad mistake or a loss of confidence. One of my favorite sayings of his was usually given in response to a missed “sitter” (volley or overhead). If I started to whine about missing an easy “putaway” volley, Frank would cut me off and simply say, “No such thing”.
  And he was right. The putaway shots, volleys and overheads, are the most complex shots, requiring that one deals with a lot of variables, often without a lot of time to think about it. We often feel the pressure to “put it away” because our opponents are in a vulnerable position, and if we don’t finish the point here, they can neutralize the rally, and steal the point. We also don’t want to let our partner down by failing to “finish them off”.
  But there is no defense for a ball you hit into the net, which often happens on putaways. Those misses are heartbreakers and momentum changers. Try to avoid them above all. When approaching a putaway, try to get into position to hit the ball firmly into the area you think it will be best to keep the advantage. Don’t worry about where the opponents are, or you may take your eye off the ball. Get up to the ball, and make a nice firm, safe shot, not going for too much.
  But really concentrate! If you get close to the ball and find something is not right, abandon ship! Suppose their lob had more topspin than you realize, and you are about to contact it lower than the ideal spot. Or their was wind, or sun, or your feet betrayed you….or you have the wrong grip….what then? Just be consistant. Push the ball back if you have to…massage it deep sown the middle….put a little spin on the overhead, like a second serve….drop it back. Anything to keep the point alive……Often the soft ball in this case will work because the opponents were not anticipating it. They were expecting the smash or a firm volley, and are back deep in a defensive position. Even if they get to the ball, they still have to come up with something good. If they neutralize the point, be patient, and restart the point. If they hit a winner, tip you hat to them and begin the next point.
  Another thoughtful tennis friend who won a lot, and died too young, said that he thought the most important thing to think about when hitting an overhead was “Consistency”. Not “power”, not “footwork”, not “placement”…….All those things are important, but if you hustle, and concentrate on completing the shot, in the long run, the odds will be with you.

• #19 by Joe Marshall on November 14, 2011 - 3:01 PM

  Quote

  

  She Did It Again!
  My friend Sally is a wonderful player. She and I were able to win a mixed doubles tournament a few years ago.
  She was the number one singles player in her high school, and went on to coach high school tennis for many years.
  Sally’s game is worthy of analysis. She has a marvelous two-handed backhand that she says she developed by copying her baseball swing. She hits the ball kinda flat, sometimes with a little backspin, sometimes a little top, sometimes a pure knuckleball. Her forehand is usually a slice shot, which she strikes by getting down low and punching the ball with heavy backspin, like a volley. She can also slap the forehand with a wristy flick that can turn into a topspin pass or a flat drive. Her serve is an inside-out twist, which stays low, and skips or stops. She places it well and varies the pace. She also lobs very well off both sides. But she is maddeningly consistent, takes the ball early, recognizes the patterns of her opponents, and disguises her shots until the last second., able to hit cross court or down the line without giving it away.
  And now, she has developed the BLOOP!
  Recently, I played Sally and her partner Ted a couple of times. The first time, they beat us in straight sets. The second time, we were wary of what she was doing, and we squeaked out a close first set, lost the second, and gave up a 2 break 5-2 lead in the third set ( we had to leave the court at 5-5).
  Sally has mastered the BLOOP, and it has taken her already formidable game to a new level. The Bloop is a derivative of the lob volley, the advanced shot that is so handy when all four players are at the net. To hit it, lean into the ball, and volley UP over the opponent’s head into the back of their court, sending them scurrying. The shot requires more power than you might think at first…really lean into it and follow through up by your face or higher.
  The bloop is a lob volley hit from deeper in the court, sometimes off a lob itelf. Let me give an example.
  Say you are serving, staying back, and the opponents lob your net man. Most players in this position will allow the ball to bounce, wait for the high bounce to come down, and then either lob the ball back, or try to drive it down the middle of the court. If the opponents have done the right thing and come in behind their lob, you are in a weak position. An excellent return lob may get you out of it, or a low screamer down the middle, but the percentages are in their favor. Let me give you a third option.
  BLOOP the darn thing. As soon as you see their lob go up, hustle over to the place where the ball is about to bounce, and take it on a fly down by your waist (on the backhand if you served from the deuce court and are moving into the ad), and lob-volley (bloop) it right back where it came from. This maneuver will stop their advance to the net, because once they see you get to the ball quickly, they will realize you may hit an overhead, and your bloop back to three quarter court or deeper will catch them off guard. Follow it into the net, and now you have them pinned with two of you at the net, ready to hit an overhead or aggressive volley.
  Sally has found another place to use the bloop. When I serve and volley from the ad court, she hits a low return, which previously I simply blocked back deep and dared her to pass or lob. Now, after returning my serve, she moves in and catches my volley on a fly, blooping it over my partner’s head, often for a clean winner. When she lobs my partner, and I run behind him to take her ball on the fly and bloop it back to her, she moves up and REBLOOPS it to the other side of the court. She gets me running back and forth, turning my aching legs into jelly, and getting me to grouse at my partner, who keeps charging the net after each bloop, not realizing her devious ways…..OW!
  To hit the bloop, I use a version of the eastern forehand
  grip, whether I am taking it on my forehand or my backhand. I use my legs and hands to supply power and control to the shot. You don’t have to hit it as high as a normal lob, unless you are hitting it over someone’s head, just try to get it deep into the court.
  The summer before last, my partner and I were driving another team crazy in a Har-Tru tournament with lobs and bloops, so they moved into the court and tried the same thing. I remember one rally where one of the opponents and I exchanged about 6 high bloop shots in a row, neither of us allwing the ball to bounce, knowing it would give away the advantage. People on the side were watching, wondering “What kind of tennis is this?” We won the point, and the match…..they ventured into our territory, but we knew the terrain, and out-foxed them.

• #20 by Joe Marshall on November 8, 2011 - 12:41 PM

  Quote

  

  Tennis (and other) Myths
  If anyone saw the movie “Moneyball”, with Brad Pitt, they heard the name of Bill James, a man who was working as a security guard in the 1970’s when he started writing very clever analyses of baseball statistics. He was part of a grass roots movement of stat-head baseball fans, known as SABRmetricians (SABR stands for Society of American Baseball Research), who began to realize that all kinds of “set-in-stone” notions about baseball productivity and statistical analysis were just plain wrong. Bill was probably the most engaging writer of the group, and got published, so his ideas began to spread. George Will spoke of them in his baseball book, MEN AT WORK in the early 90’s.
  It took almost 30 years before Bill was hired by a club (the Red Sox), to help decide who were the most productive players available in winter trades, and how the team could be best configured to maximize success on the field. He was instrumental in helping the Sox kill the Curse of the Bambino, and win thier first World Championship since 1918 in the middle of the first decade of this century.
  Bill wrote early on that in all areas of life, sloppy thinking can get ingrained, and truisms which are not true can proliferate. I think there are some of these things going on in tennis, and I will mention one today that may interest the tennis fan, or the fan of clear thinking.
  The first came up in our match yesterday……IN doubles, if all else is equal, on which court whould the stronger player play defense, the AD or the DEUCE?
  Conventional wisdom has it that the stronger player should play the AD court because this is where all the “Important points” are played (the game points and the break points they mean, I guess). I strongly disagree. The more consistent, stronger player, especially the one with the more consistent return of serve, should play the deuce court.
  The underlying assumption of the conventional wisdom is wrong….the game points are not any more important than any other point that leads to the game point. Brad Gilbert pointed this out in his marvelous tennis treatise WINNING UGLY. He spoke of the “Hidden Ad Points” that occur when you reach a score that could give you the game point on the next point…..30-0, 30-15, 30-30, or Deuce.
  These are the points to play high percentage tennis with extra focus, lifting your game to its best percentage level.
  Once you HAVE the game point the pressure is on the opponent, and your game is already lifted to its highest level. The opponent is more likely to make a mistake with his back to the wall, down game point, than he is when he has the lead or is at deuce. He is less likely to take a risk (such as an aggressive poach) at that point as well.
  Think about doubles. The first point is so important in any game. Why give the opponent a look at your weaker partner’s return to start the game? Why not give them your best return to get an early lead, and put the pressure on them?
  Think about the score 15-40. You have the lead on defense. You have played four points so far, and you have game point. Who do you want to return serve? The stronger player, of course. But if he is in the AD court, he can’t help. If he is in the deuce court, he has returned 3 of the 5 serves, and you win the game. As long as the stronger player wins the point from the deuce court, the weaker player is always returning with the comfort of knowing that he has the lead, and even if he misses, his team is still tied. You don’t want to keep putting the pressure on the weaker player to earn the lead point himself.
  The more you think about it, the more it makes sense…..the weaker player will be able to poach easier off the return (assuming he is right-handed), the stronger player will hit more balls, it is more difficult for the opponent’s net man to poach against the return from the ad side (again, assuming he is a righty), giving the weaker player fewer distractions on return of serve.
  There are arguments against it…..it is easier to hit an overhead from the AD side, balls down the middle are usually taken on the AD man’s forehand……but forehands and overheads down the middle are fairly safe shots, which are the shots you want the weaker player to hit, so he gets his confidence going. And their are exceptions…..ceratin players get used to one side or the other and feel uncomfortable on the other side. Lefties usually have an advantage from the AD side. The wind or sun could be a factor….but all things being equal, the stronger player should play the deuce side.

  P.S. Another tennis truism, which I find to be TRUE is the one that says, “Always change a losing game, never change a winning game.” In doubles, this usually means changing sides after you lose a set…in other words, the ad player should switch to the deuce, and the deuce to the ad. Unless the set was close, or you were making a lot of silly errors, and you see a clear way to make keeping the same sides work, then change….even if it means allowing the weaker partner to play the ad court.
  The reason that this strategy works so well, is that unconsciously, you opponents have gotten into patterns. The are confident hitting certaiin shots in certain situations. They have seen your game and neutralized it.
  But when you change sides, the patterns are all new. Poaches come in places they hadn’t before, safe shots become liabilities, put aways, keep coming back. The opponent will usually try to hit the ball harder and force the old patterns to work again. Your team can gain confidence from playing successfully in the new patterns….and now you have the anicipation advantage.
  So, notice if you opponents change sides, and observe the new pattens that develop.

• #21 by Joe Marshall on November 7, 2011 - 4:10 PM

  Quote

  

  Helping Your Partner Play Better

  Today Ira and I played four sets with two friends of his, Matthew and Ann. I had played with Matt before in doubles and felt I was the better player, beating his team in each set, even when we changed partners. I asked him to play a couple of singles sets, and he cleaned my clock (on Har Tru). He is very quick, and has a terrific forehand, whcih he can hit with accuracy, consistancy, and pace, standing still or on the run. He likes to run around his backhand, so it can seem that there are no safe shots against him…..His backhand is a push shot, but a consistant one with some spin.
  As I was warming up with Ann, I noticed that she too was quick, but she had some trouble adjusting to my spin shots, as a lot of people with western grips do. As the match began, she showed herself to be a person who liked to be aggressive at the net, but she missed a lot of put away volleys, hitting them hard into the net. I think part of the problem was that we were employing a two-back strategy part of the time, which can often make people over-hit at the net, when they (sometimes unconsciously) realize that the volley is not as easy to put away with that position as it is with the one up, one back position.
  Ira and I won two sets 6-2, 6-2. We decided to switch partners. If you had watched the match so far, you would have thuoght that Ann was the weakest of the four players. Her serve was not that strong, she was making a lot of mistakes, and was unsure how to use her quickness.
  When Ann and I began our first set together, I wondered what I could do to help her play better…..the obvious answer of course, is to play well myself, which I did….nothing fancy, just my usual mix of spins, lobs and blocks….but at least I was consistant, and they all said that I served well. I said to her, “If you don’t mind me suggesting, you seem to be a very good net rusher, but you might do better, if you just try to be more consistnant at the net, and not hit every volley so hard…..the threat of the hard one is just as important as the hard one itself….set up to hit the volley hard, but if you have any doubt, just make sure you clear the net with it, and get it in.”
  In the first game,we went to at least 6 or 7 deuces. For a while, we had all the ads, but they kept fighting them off (including one sitter volley I over-massaged into the net). Then we fought off a break point….then they got another…..I went to Ann and conferred…..”Fake a poach, and they will hit it right at you…have your racquet up. ” Sure enough, we got lucky and it worked just as we planned. We held and went on to hold.
  The other strategy we employed was playing two back on offense. This put a lot less pressure on Ann’s serve. She had help covering any great returns, and our opponents would have a hard time putting the ball away with two of us back.
  The amazing thing was how well Ann played. She began to clock her groundstrokes, forehand and bachand, finish off her volleys beatifully, and approach off short balls with aplomb. Several times she whacked groundies right at Ira, curling the ball over the top of the net, and handcuffing the man I call “The Wall” when his net game is on.
  Maybe it’s ego-centric of me to say I helped Ann play better. Maybe she would have played just as well if I didn’t say anything (maybe she would have played even better). I will agree that I am full of myself much of the time…..and can give you many email addresses of people who will agree, but I think, after playing doubles a lot for a while, that helping your partner find a way to maximize what they do well, and minimize their mistakes, is a key to doubles success. And asking them to help you when you are having trouble, can get you to figure it out when things are going wrong. Some people don’t like it at all when you suggest things, and it can be over done (Ira will attest to the fact that I over do it a lot). A good doubles team is always trying to find a strategy that works, and sticking with it until it goes sour.
  After the match we had a lively discussion on what was happening for the two sets Ann and I played together (which we won, 6-1, 6-2). Ira and Matt knew they shoud change strategies, but couldn’t figure out just which one would work. It turned out that they had been playing one up, one back all the time. And never tried coming in behind the return of serve or moving into the two-back position. Ira, whose greatest strength is his net game (he has those ping-pong hands, and no fear), let a couple of good lobs I hit scare him into backing off the net too much, and he wound up getting stuck in no-man’s land a lot. Matt, on the other hand, had been hitting some good returns of serve, but was not following any of them in, allowing me to just float them back with no pace, or hit short slices to bring him in.
  I hope we play again. It will be interesting to see how things turn out after we all try to make adjustments.

• #22 by jojo on November 5, 2011 - 6:33 AM

  Quote

  

  Movement Without the Ball
  Anticipation is the key to success in so many areas of sports (or life, for that matter….not that I know much about success in life….). In the videos I posted there are some great examples of this….check Fabrice Santoro’s amazing point against Roger Federer, where he makes several impossible gets from way off court by simply figuring out where Roger will hit the ball before he hits it. In the Larry Bird video, he takes a shot from the top of the key and while the ball is still up in the air, he tears off to the right baseline, realizing that his shot was slightly off. The ball carroms off the rim, over the heads of several defenders ….right to the moving Larry, who Jumps, catches the ball off the ground, and before coming back to earth, arcs a perfect swish into the basket as his body falls out of bounds…..unbelievable! Andy Murray videos are an absolute lesson in anticipation.
  How does one anticipate where the opponent will hit the ball?
  One way is observation. Before the start of a match, when the opponent is warming up his oveheads, where does he hit the first one? Does he put slice on the ball, or hit it flat? Does he employ an inside out, kick overhead? (those are tricky…and effective) During a match, where does he like to put away his volleys? At the net man’s feet?
  Angled off with touch? Hard down the middle?
  Which ever one he show he can hit successfully, take that one away from him by moving to the spot just before he hits it. If you throw up a short lob, for instance, and your opponent is ready to slam the thing away, remember where he hit the last put away.
  Let’s assume he hit it down the middle of the court. As your next lob goes up, immediatley move out wide (into the doubles alley) as if you are going to try and cover wide shots. The opponent will see you move there, and be confident in going down the middle for his favorite shot. Just before he hits his overhead, when his eyes are on the ball, sprint back to the place where you think the ball is going, anticipating a shot that you can block back (like a volley, not a groundstroke) over his head if he is close to the net, or at his feet if he is back toward mid court. Hold the racquet firmly and try to catch the ball squarely in the middle of the strings for control, leaning in, not worrying about pace…use his pace….just like a poach volley.,, making sure you clear the net by several feet. If your ball hits the court, you have neutralized the point. You will find that if you guess right once or twice, the opponent will begin to take his eyes off the ball, worrying about where you are, and will probably miss an ovehead or two…..Points like these change momentum, and can completely unhinge an opponent’s game. If he can’t finish points off, he loses confidence in his entire offense, and can begin to self-destruct.
  I like to defend on my forehand more than my backhand. In my singles days, I had a very defensive style of play most of the time. If I hit a short lob, I would immediately sprint to a spot on the court well to the ad side of center, giving the opponent the deuce court into which to hit his winning overhead or volley. Knowing that he would see the open court, and most of the time hit his winner there, I commit myself to sprinting to that spot just before he hit it. Believe me, I was rewarded a good percentage of the time with a ball I could handle. If he was clever and hit behind me, I would applaud and tip my hat to him. Next similar situation, I would fake the sprint cross court with a sudden head and step movement (don’t over-fake with more than one step!) and anticipate the ball hit right at me.
  These points then became cat and mouse points that I would sometimes win through hustle and anticipation, rather than sitters that my opponent would chalk up nine tenths of the time. I always like winning that kind of point….my game is not aggressive, but passive-aggressive.

  To summarize…
  Move even more before the opponent hits the ball than after.
  Observe where he like to hit shots in certain situations, and move there in advance of him hitting it.
  Bait him into hitting where you want him to hit the ball by “giving him” that side of the court immediately after you strike the ball, but sprint to the side you WANT him to hit to, just before his stroke.

  Now get out there and play some Dee!

  P.S. It’s no coincidnece that the top 3 players in the tennis world at this time are the best three defensive players, and the fourth (Roger Federer) has declined because of erosion of his defensive (not offensive) skills. Many Anerican coaches are very hard-headed about this….they see the game as a matter of power, power, power (which a large part of the pro game has become) but fail to see that the defensive skills are what separate the men from the boys at the highest levels.

• #23 by JOe Marshall on October 22, 2011 - 1:35 PM

  Quote

  

  Poaching Off The Return of Serve

  Hopefully you understand the idea of poaching at the net when your partner serves. Poaching off the return is a lesser used, but equally important, tactic. To poach off the return, start by taking the normal defensive, one up, one back postion.
  When you, as the short man (the one closer to the net), take your position around the service line, the first thing you are looking to do is to defend, if the opponent’s net man poaches or volleys a ball hit to him. It’s not easy from the mid-court position, but if you take a split step and move in a little as your partner returns, you have a chance. Block the ball into the open part of the court toward the server, keeping it low, or lob-volley (another advance shot) over the short man’s head.
  Most of the time, your partner’s returns will not be successfully intercepted by the net man (if they are bieng intercepted too often, go back to the baseline and play two back), and will return to the server. Once the ball passes the opponent’s net man, quickly move straight ahead and take a split step as the ball bounces, then slant across court and in toward poaching postion, with racquet raised and wrist slightly cocked, anticipating a high volley that you can hit at the short man’s feet. If the server has stayed back, a deep return by your opponent is the best to poach on. If the server has moved in toward the net, a low return at his feet by your partner will be the easiest one to poach on. Treat your return poach just like you did the poach off the serve, hitting it at you opponent’s short man’s feet.
  This summer, in the round robin tournament my partner and I won, there was a key point. We managed to get into the finals by one game (it was a tournament where the finalists were chosen by most games won during the round robin format). I was serving, and coming in behind my serve. I served a good serve from the deuce court, and came in behind it. The returner hit a controlled low return that I was able to take in front of the service line. I tried to volley it deep crosscourt, for what I thought would be a safe shot. Suddenly, the net man, an athletic 20 year old, was putting the ball away. I thought I had volleyed the ball too close to the middle of the court, and reminded myself to get a better angle the next time.
  The next time I serve to the deuce court, the same thing happened. I hit a good serve, came in behind it, took a volley at knee height, and volleyed it deep (this time at a slightly better angle), and once again, the ball was by me by the time I stood up (It takes me a lot longer to stand up than it used to).
  I realized what was happening. My young opponent had mastered the art of poaching aggressively off the return…What to do?! After losing the next point, we were down 15-40, and I had to serve again….to a team of guys whose combined age was less than mine, from the same side of the court that they had just had me for Breakfast AND Lunch. The athletic 20 year old looked like a tiger ready to pounce, his 30 year old partner had inched in, looking calm and confident….neither could wait for the point to begin…..A lot of options ran through my head…..Which one should I choose?
  Now Grasshoppers, think about this one….what are my options? I’m nervous, they’re on their toes. My partner is probably confused…….How can I steal a quick point and change the momentum? I could go boldly into the breach, and try to hit even a BETTER serve, hope for a worse return, and hit even a BETTER volley. I could hit a decent serve, go in and try to volley right at the net man, hoping he was aggressively poaching, and I fool him. I could stay back behind my serve and try to win the point with hard groundstrokes (except I don’t have any). Or….I could think like the monks, and use my opponents’ agressiveness to fool them.
  The first thing I did was TAKE MY TIME, allowing their intensity to wain just a smidge…then I hit a soft serve and stayed back. The returner hit a good deep drive to my forehand and took a step in. The net man closed in, watching me to see where I would hit my groundstroke. My partner closed his eyes and said a prayer to whatever deity he thought might help him that particular day. And what did the monk do?
  I hit my favorite shot. The down the line forehand chip lob….with some side spin. The young net man, locked into aggressive gear stopped moving in, and went tearing back to cover the shot. The returner moved over from his side of the court to hit a backhand. The two almost collided, and the ball never made it back over the net.
  They knew they had screwed up. The momentum had shifted.
  On the next point I got confident (and lucky) and hit the sideline with a serve that ran away off the plastic (remember, we were playing on Har-Tru). Now I was back in the deuce court, but now the score was DEUCE.
  This time I hit a medium paced serve. I watched their short man to see if he would give himself away…charge the net or anticipate lob? He hesitated, but charged…..I lobbed again. Again he ran back to cover it, but this time he was able to lob it back, but my partner and I had come in toward the net behind my lob, and were able to put away an easy overhead becaue they were out of position again.
  On our game point, we kept it simple. I hit a serve, the returner hit a decent return, I blocked it back deep (I knew the net man would not be poaching on his backhand side….he would be playing conservatively after blowing two points), and the returner tried to wail a forehand passed us that wound up in the net. Once again the path of least resistance was the path to clarity……
  To summarize…Poach off the return like you would poach off a serve, by moving in, performing a split step, and angling in, anticipating a ball you can hit at their feet.
  Also, use you opponents’ aggresiveness against them, by taking your time, changing the pattern, and giving them the ball (in this case a lob) that they had not anticipated.
  Now get out there and Fool the pants off them!

• #24 by Joe Marshall on October 17, 2011 - 7:29 PM

  Quote

  

  http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/good-sports/201110/100-year-old-marathoner-runs-late-loved-ones-and-all-us

  Want to be inspired? Check this out.

• #25 by Joe Marshall on October 15, 2011 - 10:10 AM

  Quote

  

  Before I write anything today, I would like to thank Ira for giving me the oppurtunity to write about this passion of mine….doubles tennis…..I don’t know if anyone reading these little tomes gets anything out of them, but it’s been a a Pleasure (and a relief) to write them….when you get such joy out of something, whether it’s cooking or songwriting, running or watching TV……It’s great to have a way of sharing the fun with someone out there who is equally enthusiastic, and maybe allows them to learn a trick or two that will help their game.
  Ok. Here is the question: Based on our discussions so far, what are some reasons that the team with the guy in the black shirt are destroying the other team? It looks like the other team doesn’t have a chance. What strategies would you suggest to the losing team at this point if they were to play anotherer set?
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19mU7eNRgkM

• #26 by Joe Marshall on October 14, 2011 - 2:48 PM

  Quote

  

  The Art of Poaching
  Poachhing, I believe, originally referred to stealing game by hunting on someone else’s property. In tennis, poaching refers to the art, in doubles tennis, of a person leaving the side of the court he is protecting, to slant in to his partner’s side, and steal a point by putting a volley away.
  Most of the time, the partner of the server stands on the alternate side of the court from the server, near the net, covering the opposite side of their half of the court, hoping for a weak, or poorly placed, return of serve, that he can easily put away. In club doubles, the net man rarely poaches unless he has an easy floater. He is so concerned about “covering his side of the court” that he rarely ventures off his real estate, for fear of the embarrassment of the returner hitting the ball right where he HAD been, for an easy winner.
  Let me say something before we go any further……Winning tennis, at all levels, is about playing the percentages……if you ain’t poaching, you ain’t helping. In many cases, you’d be better off back at the baseline with your partner, trying to win the game with groundstrokes and lobs, rather than just sitting there and never poaching. The whole purpose of the net position is to play aggressively. To “boldly go where no man has gone before”, picking off what the returner thought were good returns, making them take their eye off the ball with dramatic, but subtle fakes, putting away overheads, and, in general, making their returning lives miserable.
  In a tournament match, I like to poach on my partner’s first serve of the match. And I mean POACH. Set up in the middle of the service box (middle from side to side, AND from front to back), and SLANT IN QUICKLY, performing a split step as the ball bounces (moving forward and sideways), with your racquet raised high, anticipating a return halfway between the net strap and the sideline.
  Now the big question…..where do you hit the sitter?
  Many volleys are missed because the volleyer hasn’t anticipated what he would do with the volley before he got there. Don’t beat your self up if you miss a few because of this….it comes with experience…..but the best place to anticipate htiing the aggressive poach volley is at the opponent’s feet, assuming they are playing in the one up, one back postion like most teams. You won’t hit the ball wide this way, you won’t hit it long, and even if your opponent makes a great get, they are hitting the ball off the floor with a weak return, and you maintain the advantage. You don’t always have to slam it…the threat of you hitting it hard is often just as effective as hitting it hard.
  Poaching on the first point of the match, successfully or not, sends a message to the opponent….” I POACH, and I poach AGGRESSIVELY….If I GUESS RIGHT, I GOTCHA!”……
  Follow up the next two points with fakes, and watch them take their eye off the ball, or hit a return right at you that you can move toward and hit into the seam (the area between your opponents) or drop shot into the alley (a more advance shot). The rest of the match, that first poach you made will be always in your opponents’ minds, and they will make all kinds of errors because of it. Even if you are losing half the points when you are poaching, keep mixing the poaches in, because you are winning points invisibly by coaxing unforced errors out of your opponents as they worry about your movement.
  When you are serving, encourage your partner to poach. If he misses one, don’t let him get down on himself. Just say, “Good poach, you had ’em….just watch the ball.” Then go over to him and have a private conversation that the opponents see. Inevitably, they will think that you are going to tell you partner to poach, but in reality, tell him to FAKE, and watch the opponents hit it right to him.
  Any time your opponent outguesses you (hitting it where you just moved from). applaud his good shot, but show no disappointment. In the long run, this helps, because you now know they are trying to outguess you, so your fakes will really be effective. Usually, you will win at least three points on their mistakes for every point that they outguess you.
  One last point: Poaching to your forehand side is easier than poaching to your backhand, for most people. Your reach is longer, and it’s easier to see the ball this way. So poach more on your forehand, and fake more on your backhand, but do a lot of both on either side, always trying to oufox your opponent, making them lose concentration.
  Read their faces, think with them, like you see Roger Federer doing. Everybody gives themselves away to some extent. I will have more to say about poaching at a later date, especially poaching off the return of serve….in the meantime, pick a few off and get in their heads…there’s nothing like it!
  P.S. If your opponents poach a lot, you should mix in a lot of lob returns of serve. This will neutralize what they are doing, frustrate them, or at least makes them change their positions. You will get more returns in play this way…..make sure you practice that lob return between matches!

• #27 by Joe Marshall on October 13, 2011 - 5:20 PM

  Quote

  

  Changing Momentum
  Yesterday, I was involved in a third set in an indoor match. We had a break lead, but played a sloppy game, and our opponents evened the score. The set progressed to a tiebreak. They got up 4-2 playing inspired tennis, and were about to serve, when I realized something.
  “Hey, isn’t it time to change sides?” I said.
  “Yeah, but we’re playing indoors,” the server said.
  “Well that’s the side with all the points on it, we want it,” I joked. So we switched.
  Now some may say that the main purpose of the rule that you switch after each 6 points of a tiebreak is to even up any advantages caused by wind or sun. Being indoors, why bother. But the hidden reason to change sides is the momentum change.
  Any time you have the momentum, it is best to play at a nice rhythm, changing as few things as possible in your routine. Any time your opponents are playing confidently, it is to your advantage to slow things down or give them a different look. Nothing accomplishes this better than changing sides. You relax, say a few words, encourage your partner, and give yourselves a fresh start. Our opponents had to move to the opposite side, and think about their lead….not always a good thing to do. We won the last five points and the set. Apparently all the points WERE on that side.
  If my team is ahead in a tiebreak indoors, and I realize it’s time to change, I always say, “Hey, that’s six points, do you want to change?”
  The opponent almost always replies, “Why bother? Just play.” And we stay where we are……Oh well, I gave them a chance……
  Today we were in a third set and we were down 2-5. My partner has a solid game, but his serve is his weakest link. By the third set, the balls had lost their liveliness and our opponents were focused on returning his serve and approching the net, which they both do very well. They had already broken my partners serve. We lost the first point. So what did we do?
  We played two back. “Two back on offense?” you say.
  But think about it. We were actually playing one up and one back (the weakest formation), and our opponents were playing two at the net (the strongest position). We had two options. Either my partner had to come in behind his serve and take the net away from them, which is not his game, or we could try to beat them by playng good defense from the back court, mixing solid groundstrokes with well-place lobs, and coming in behind them.
  The game went to several deuces, but we held, and went on to break back and even the match at 5-5. After that we lost a close game and the set 7-5, but we had them thinking.
  To summarize: use your chageover when you are down in a tiebreak, and some times two back on offense is the right position to try. Always change a losign game, Never change a winning game. Have fun!

• #28 by Joe Marshall on October 11, 2011 - 7:02 PM

  Quote

  

  Thoughts about serving in Doubles
  (Including the 27 different serves)
  The most important thing in a doubles serve is to get the first serve in. Sounds simple, but we all forget it. You can’t serve a double fault if you get the first serve in.
  Opponents are less likely to attack a first serve, because they are expecting something big….they are more likely to hit an aggressive shot on a second serve, when they are expecting something slower and closer to the middle of the box. Your opponent will usually feel more confident poaching on a first serve, as well.
  Assuming you are getting a decent percentage of first serves in, what different kinds of strategies can you try in order to make your serve more effective? The answer requires some thought.
  What SHOULD you be trying to do with your serve, especially your first serve? The anwer is not “trying to knock the racquet out of my opponent’s hand”.
  It should be, “Serving in such a way that my opponent will be likely to hit a return that my partner or I can hit aggressively (or put away).” In other words, “Set up the net man” as much as possible.
  Tell your partner you want him/her to be aggressive. Poach a good percentage of the time (30% sounds about right, depending on the opponents). When he is not poaching, he is faking a poach, or moving forward, or anticipating a lob. Any movement at the net is distracting to the returner, especially when it occasionally leads to a put away. If they beat you down the line once in a while, don’t be upset. Tell your partner, “Good poach,” and encourage them to continue to be aggressive. The next time you serve to that opponent, have your partner fake a poach. See if they don’t get the ball hit right to them or into the net.
  To add to the returners misery, mix up your first serves with different placements, spins, and PACES OF SHOT (in other words, change speeds…just a little is often enough.) This summer I got to play a set of doubles against a gal in her 20’s. She was on the pro tour at one time, and had top 20 potential, until her career was derailed by injury. Now she is a full time pro teacher. I had a good partner, and her partner was no better than I.
  Every time I served and volleyed to her partner in the doubles court, I won the point. Every time I served to her, she took my serve early and wailed it for a wimmer (at my feet, into the doubles alley, handcuffing my partner). I serve it to her backhand, she pounded it. I spun it on the mid line to her forehand, she creamed it. But I was able to stay in the game by winning the points against her partner. I just didn’t have enough pace on my serve to phase her, even on a fast indoor court.
  After the third or fourth deuce, at our 4th game point, I tried an old trick. I wound up like I was going to swat a flat serve right at her as fast as I could (a perfect speed for her to tee off on), but instead of wailing it, I just tapped it about a half to three quarters as fast as normal, and rushed in behind it.
  She saw what I had done, and knew the ball was coming slower, but still, it’s hard to judge the exact speed of a ball when it’s coming right at you, and since it was going slower, it gave me more time to get much closer to the net. She could have lobbed the ball or gently angled it cross court, but instead she did what most people do the first time they see that trick and don’t anticipate it….she hesitated and hit the ball into the bottom of the net, then let out a yell of frustration. Game Us. Beieve me, if it worked against her, it will work against your weekend warrior firends more times than not……use it when your ahead more than when you are behind…..although love-40 is a good time to try it as well.
  To work on a variety of serves, try this. Practice serving with three different grips: eastern forehand, continental, eastern backhand….or whatever grip you want to make up. Learn to hit each flat, or with slice, or kick. Learn to place each out wide, down the middle, or right at the server.
  Learn to hit each serve from the service T, way out wide by the doubles line, or halfway in between. If some feel uncomfortable, abandon them. Three different grips, three different positions, three different spins….3x3x3…that’s 27 serves to choose from….Throw in a changeup for each one, and you have 3x3x3x3=81 different serves….pick the best 5 or 6 and hit them most of the time, but be creative, and invent tricks of your own…..Always try something, and observe the result.
  When serving from the deuce court, it is difficult to get the ball to the returner’s backhand sometimes. If this becomes a liability, serve from the middle of the court, but quickly move to your right out wide after you serve to cover the empty space. I you serve from out wide, you can really pull the opponent completely off the court with a wide slice serve. Remember you are further from the net when you serve from way out there, so make sure you clear the net. Aim for the far corner on a flat serve, then aim in the same place, when hitting a slice shot, and watch it run out wide off the court.

• #29 by Joe Marshall on October 11, 2011 - 6:06 PM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVzLQVs0RdE

  Larry Bird, one of the all time greats in his sport. He dreamed the game.
  No one was more creative, no one hustled more, no one did as much with relatively limited gifts (couldn’t jump, couldn’t run). But he was tall enough to be a great player, he had great hand-eye, amzing anticipation, the best pattern-recognition, and a genius baketball mind.
  I don’t follow basketball that closely, but Larry was an exception….he reinvented the game.

• #30 by Joe Marshall on October 11, 2011 - 5:43 PM

  Quote

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5UtvvK5fMw

  The magician, Fabrice Santoro. He played for 22 years on the pro tour, the only man in the open era to play in four decades. His highest rank in singles was 17, yet he was as high as 37 in his mid-30’s, a year or so before he retired.
  Fabrice beat more #1 players at some point in their career than anyone else (tied with Andre Agassi). He was 3-4 against Pete Sampras, 3-3 against Andre, 8-3 against Marat Safin, 1-0 against Jimmy Connors….he beat a total of eighteen #1’s. It was Pete who named him The Magician.
  No one had more joy on the court, no one had a more original style (his main shot was his two-handed, cross handed, righty forehand slice, which he hit primarily with his left hand! Sound impossible? Watch the video).
  In an age of power and more power, Fabrice hit the ball softly, neutralizing power, and using his opponent’s aggressiveness to confound him…..like Judo the way the monks invented it. He was a showman and a great sport, quick to compliment his opponent on a great shot with a bow or applause.
  He could beat you many different ways….great defense, tricky spins, looped passing shots, dropshots, lobs, sneak attack volleys, and gentle but confusing approach shots….he was afraid of no one. He has the record for the most singles losses in the open era (more than 400), but he won more than he lost (more than 450 matches), and was a great doubles player, winning a couple of grand slam titles. He had the record for the longest match ever (beating Arnaud Clement at the French open in 6 hours and 40 minutes over two days) until it was eclipsed by the famous John Isner-Nicloas Mahut three day affair at Wimbledon. I doubt that they will let him on the senior tour….he would wear them all out…..Enjoy!

• #31 by Joe Marshall on October 8, 2011 - 11:04 AM

  Quote

  

  The Four Choices In Returning A Doubles Tennis Serve

  1) Cross court
  2) Right at the net man (about chest high….not into the alley….don’t overhit it…just a solid stroke….slice shot is OK, too)
  3)Lob the net man
  4)Lob crosscourt (if you know the server doesn’t come in, your partner is playing back at the baseline with you, or you know the server has trouble with overheads and the net man is very aggressive, and goes back for overheads well)
  Nmber 1 can be broken into two kinds of shots…..first, a solid topspin, clearing the net about halfway between the net strap and the doubles sideline, or a low slice, taken early (on a second serve or week first serve) that angles out into the doubles alley…..hit this shot by coming around the outside of the ball with a right forehand in the deuce court. It will bring the server in very quickly follow it with a chip lob over the net man’s head if he moves in, or crosscourt back into the server’s corner.
  Try all of these shots during a match. Variety keeps teh opponents from being too aggressive, and allows you to take the advantage….hit your most consistent return the most often if it works. In club doubles, consistency is key.
  If you are being beaten a lot by players who don’t seem to be as athletic as you, and don’t have as good strokes, try varying your returns of serve, adn see if you don’t start chalking up breaks of serve yourself!

• #32 by Joe Marshall on October 4, 2011 - 4:10 PM

  Quote

  

  How did I forget Larry Bird and Magic Johnson?

• #33 by Joe Marshall on July 11, 2011 - 5:45 PM

  Quote

  

  It was always the mental challenge of sports that appealed to me most. Outfoxing one’s opponent is the ultimate pleasure I find in competing. To analyze, to feint, to recognize the pattern, to buy time, to innovate, to predict the opponent’s next move, and finally, to surprise him with the unexpected….these are the joys in competition and watching comeptition that I appreciate. Even if they are done to me!
  Some of my favorite athletes…….Fran Tarkenton, Dick Fosbury, Dan Quisenberry, Bjorn Borg, Fabrice Santoro, Wayne Gretzky, Martina Hingis…..these were people who said to the established theories of the coaches of their times, “I don’t agree. Here is the way to play.” And made it work.
  I am now 56 years old. For the last 27 years, I have been a tennis hacker. I play a different kind of game. Derived from ping pong, it’s all about slice, placement, lobs and drop shots…..just the things American coaches told us for all those years that were not that important. I rarely hit with power, but I have won a lot more than I have lost, both in recreational matches and at weekend USTA matches. Because I play a different kind of game, I notice different things. Things that might not get you to be number one in the world, but might help you learn the art of club doubles tennis. I concentrate on doubles these days, because my knees aren’t what they used to be. Ira has asked me to pen a comment or two on these pages based on my observations and experiences in playing this wonderful game. I can honestly say that I have had more fun playing tennis than doing just about anything else. And I look forward to another couple fo decades of it. Maybe like my friend Phil, who at 84, still takes sets from people half his age.
  I have also met the most delightful people playing tennis…..Folks whose paths would probably have never crossed mine except for for a shared love of the game.
  They are intelligent people, people who like to compete, but learn to be gracious if they lose. People who enjoy learning the lessons of consistency, humility, perserverance, patience, and teamwork that tennis teaches
  They are all winners in the game of life.
  Stay tuned!

• #34 by Doug Pruden on November 8, 2010 - 9:48 PM

  Quote

  

  In grade school I failed physical education, if 50% is a grade for health. Not great a t team sports. Preferred the individual sports and wanted to still excel at something so I choose what cost little and did not require a gym membership or commuting. No pollution used or driving to the gym or expensive memberships required for me to set over a dozen world records and be entered 4 times into the Guinness world records. Latest is the 2010 book! In there for 1025 one arm push ups in one hour done November 8th 2008 at the Don Wheaton Family YMCA. Have set other records like 1000 fist push ups in 18 minutes and 13 seconds! And get this 1382 one armers in 30 minutes back in 2003. From Edmonton Alberta Canada. Have done street shows and bar demos and spoke in public schools for a number of years and did a bit of youth work in the late 90s.