Monday, August 14, 2006

The Exercise from HELL

That's what I've decided to dub a certain tennis drill Coach likes to put us through. Usually practice consists of: warm-up drill, 2 forehand drills followed by 2 backhand drills carried out from the baseline. We usually end with practicing the serve in the last five minutes of our time.
It was after the last backhand drill during the part where we pick up the scattered balls when the thought just randomly came to mind. "Gee, I sure am glad Coach hasn't pulled her favorite exercise on us in a while." It was true. Both the fact that it was her favorite drill and the fact that she hadn't made us do it in awhile.. at least a month. I was seriously thinking the coach was really being 'ma7tarama' with us. That was when I looked up at the clock. 13:21 The big digital on the gym wall read. Practice ends at 1:30. Today it was more like 12:34 when we started so unless the whole basketball team came in and sat on the benches giving us those glaring eyes that scream "GET OFF OUR COURT" (the gym court has markings for tennis, basketball, volleyball and something else I'm not familiar with and in the summer when it's too hot for us tennis ppl to practice on the outside court we practice in the gym) and seriously effect one's concentration in mid-serve then it was most likely that we still had at least 10- 14 mins. Damn. I look at the coach trying to figure the chances of her dropping the E.F.H. bomb on us. She was staring at the clock, couldn't read the expression on her face. My last thought was that we were safe since I wasn't going to be suggesting any time eating drills! Sheesh, was I ever wrong!
Ha, with that evil grin on her face and the devil's twinkle in her eye she sure did drop that EFH. Other than the fact that I now know the coach is a mind reader I discovered something else new.
The sound of the ball being hit with the middle of the racket.
Since the time I learnt where the 'sweet' part of the bat was in baseball and how it affected the ball when the two met, I've been more or less obsessed with the sound. The sound the ball and bat would make as they made solid connection.
I've read on various sites about the tennis racket having a 'sweet' spot as well. Afterwards I tried to connect with the ball in that spot. No matter how much I tried it never happened. Everytime I go to practice that has been my goal - subconsciously. The main goal of aiming for the red plastic cones makes something like sweet parts of the racket and the sound of balls seem rather trivial.
Today, though, purely by mistake the ball found that sweet spot. The sound was amazing! (We won't mention the fact that the ball sailed off in the opposite direction of the cones...) Unfortunately that was a one time lucky shot. Even so, I've resolved to do it again - and this time direct it at the cones!
Barring the EFH and coach's sporadic black mood swings, practice now holds a new shade of 'fun' in the form of a fresh challenge...
I readily accept.

1 comment:

Bookworm said...

Aw, c'mon girl, that exercise wasn't so bad. I must admit that I kind of like it >.<
That running, skipping drill she had us do last thing was weird tho. I've seen her make it into a game for my bros and the kids (almost felt insulted).
Gambatte with that challenge o' yours!