Playing tennis, outside the box

You hit the best junk, and I mean that as a compliment.  My friend said that to me on the courts the other day.  And he did mean it as a compliment.  And why do I hit "junk"?  Because variety of shots is a weapon.   There is nothing worse than watching two juniors hitting long baseline rallies, no one getting close to the net for fear of getting passed.  When you get off the baseline and take the ball early, amazing opportunities are available. 

I never really watched Martina Hingis in her prime but she was alleged to see the court differently, and hit shots that no one else hit because she actually came in, or sometimes found out that "no man's land" still afforded some opportunities. 

At my age and size, I can occasionally flatten out a ball (or two) and hit some groundies probably over 60mph.  I would guess many of mine are less than 50.  But when you move into the court and take the ball early, that 48mph approach into the corner, or right up the middle or hitting a 35mph slice into a corner for a clean winner actually happens.  That was a common shot until the mid 70's when POWER became king and people forgot about finesse.  Today grunting is common, touch - not so much.

I am THRILLED when I see a junior that can slice a backhand, not in desperation, but to change tactics and variety.  I am also thrilled when I see it because it's so rare but I also know that this junior also knows how to play the power game, but smartly shifting gears and throw in some unorthodox shots to see how the opponent will handle it.

When I was coaching high school boys back in the 2005-2009 years, one of the first years a boy yelled at me and walked off the court because "nobody hits like you, you're not helping us prepare at all".  What sin had I committed?  When he pounded my backhand, I hit slices back to him which he generally hit wide or dumped into the net.  True, most guys his age didn't hit that shot, but the top 100 players in the state absolutely hit that shot, to great effect.

Variety. It's a good thing.  You wouldn't want to eat your favorite meal every day for a month would you?  Spice up your tennis by moving into the court almost whenever possible.  You will see angles you have never seen before and hit approach shots that will suprisingly go for winners because your opponents time will be cut short.  Do it.  Have some fun out there by trying out some new things, new shots, new strategy.