SUMMER 2010 ISSUE
Green Tennis Club home
Summer camps to begin June 14
G.T.C. is hosting our 22nd year of tennis camps. Our tennis schedule is as following:
SESSION 1, BEG./INT., JUNE 14-18, Ages 10-17
SESSION 2, ELEMENTARY, JUNE 21-25, Ages 5-9
SESSION 3, HIGH SCHOOL, June 28- July 2, Boys and Girls
SESSION 4, BEG./INT.,July 12 –July 16, Ages 10-17
SESSION 5, ELEMENTARY, JULY 19-23, Ages 5-9
SESSION 6, HIGH SCHOOL, JULY 26-30, Boys and Girls
SESSION 7, BEG./INT., Aug. 2-6, Ages 10-17
All sessions, except the Elementary camp, begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. The Elementary camp begins at 9 a.m. and ends at noon. Campers are to bring a sack lunch and water. A pizza party is provided the Friday of each camp. Each camper receives a t-shirt at the completion of camp.
All camps are under the direction of Green Tennis Club professionals USPTA certified Keith Ginnetti, and Russ Wormald, assisted by current and former college and high school players. For more information, please contact Keith at (330) 699-5028 or email keithgreentennis@sbcglobal.net.
A $20 non-refundable deposit reserves a spot in the camp of your choice, and the remaining balance is due the first day of camp. Note: Deadline to receive t-shirt is enforced. You must be registered 10 days prior to the camp’s start.
Two receive Dave Rea scholarships
Congratulations to Julia Ciccolini and David Kozy, recipients of Dave Rea scholarships.
Dave Rea was our Head tennis teaching professional at Green Tennis Club. After his passing in 2006, we established the Dave Rea scholarship.
Every November, we have a sanctioned U.S.T.A junior tournament called the Dave Rea Singles Memorial Tournament. The proceeds go to the scholarship fund for two seniors in high school who are continuing their education.
Seven club teams playing in USTA leagues
G.T.C has seven summer U.S.T.A. leagues for adults. Women’s leagues at Green are rated 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5. Men’s league are rated 3.5 and 4.0. So come out and watch some great tennis during the league. The league schedule is as follows:
- Monday 4.5 ladies and 2 teams of 3.5 ladies
- Tuesday, 4.0 Men's
- Wednesday, 3.5 Men's and 4.0 Women's teams
- Thursday, 3.0 Women’s
Milana missing
Milana Borisev Bukvic will be missed at Green Tennis Club.
We wish Milana and George continued happiness as they wait for the arrival of the new family member in Serbia.
Elementary drills
Every Thursday, we have a great drill for kids 6 to 10 years old. It runs from 5 to 6 p.m. The cost is only $10 for one hour. Popsicles are included in the drills. We have great kids like Rally Rachel Reese, Karate Kid Adam Reese and Rocky Balboa Kevin Reese. So come and enjoy the fun.
Instant improvement
by Dave Forman
Many people would love for their tennis pro to give them that bit of advice that would instantly improve their game. Now no pro is going to do this. How would we keep you coming back for more lessons if we did that! Seriously, there is no one suggestion that can produce this transformation. However, at the risk of losing all my lessons and looking really foolish, I am going to offer two ideas that have the potential of dramatically raising your level of play.
The first bit of advice I have to offer is to raise your level of play by raising the height of the ball, thus giving your shots more clearance over the net. I believe that hitting the ball into the net is the most common error of beginning and intermediate tennis players. Most of these errors could be easily avoided if the player would increase the height of the shot. Raising the height of the shot by only a small amount can significantly reduce the number of errors. A groundstroke that clears the net by four to five feet still stands an excellent chance of landing in the court. In addition, a shot hit higher lands deeper in the opponent’s side of the court, making it more difficult for them to return your shot.
The second bit of advice is to increase the amount of topspin applied to your ground strokes and serves in order to bring your shots back down to earth. I discussed the generation of top spin in a previous article. In that article, I mentioned that there are three things that you need to do to hit with topspin:
- Adopt a low-to-high swing of the racquet.
- Swing harder.
- Tilt the top of the racquet head toward the receiver.
Applying topspin will cause the ball to dip quickly, making it more likely for the ball to land in the court. It also makes it more difficult for your opponent to return your shot because the ball appears to jump after the bounce.
Incorporating these two bits of advice can dramatically reduce your errors, creating instant improvement in your game. Of course, it is easy to say this but can be hard to accomplish. Tennis requires repetition to improve your level of play. Given this, you need to practice raising the height of the ball and increasing the amount of topspin on you shots.
There are two easy ways to incorporate these two principles into your practice:
- Before you begin rallying, move all the balls away from the net so that it is easy to count the number of balls that hit the net and fall back onto your side of the court. Every time you practice, keep track of the number of balls on your side to give yourself a target number for the next session. Work hard to continually reduce this number every time you rally.
- When you rally in practice, institute a penalty for yourself every time you hit a hall into the net. This penalty can be to touch the net or the wall. The point is to do something that is a reminder of the error to motivate you to avoid this in the future.
So there you have it. To instantly improve your tennis game, hit the ball higher and with greater topspin. Now, go out and start practicing.
New courts to be installed July 5-11
G.T.C is looking to install new courts the week of July 5. We will be closed the week of July 5 through July 11, 2010.
Cincinnati tennis trip
We will take our annual trip to Cincinnati to see the Women and Men Professionals. If interested, please talk to Keith or call the club at 330-699-5028 for details.
Beware of the 'wounded bear'
by Keith Ginnetti
Assume you win the first set and the percentages say you will win the match. That happens about 90 percent of the time for the professionals.
Obviously if you lose the first set you have a problems. In spite of this, there’s a reason why the match continues after the first set. You have to win best out of three or five. Winning the first set it doesn’t guarantee victory. Losing the set doesn’t necessarily mean defeat. Winning or losing those first games of set two can dramatically affect the dynamics of what follows.
If you won the opening set, your opponent understands that it’s a long road back to victory. Depending on your opponent’s personality, one of two things happens.
He may be intimidated by the loss of first set. It this happens, great for you. Most times though you have a Wounded Bear on your court. And a Wounded Bear is a dangerous situation. You wounded them by winning the first set. Now your opponent’s focus is sharp and his motivation is high. They are usually prepared to dig in, and fight at the beginning of set two.
My advice is to continue the momentum you’ve created in winning the first set. Do not relax and foolishly assume that set two is there for the taking. Keep you focus and continue to play tough on every point. You want to smash any hopes of tying the match. Your opponent is looking for quick blood. He wants to hurt you fast and turn this thing around. He believes he can do this. Any good competitor believes he or she can turn it around. So puncture those dreams of coming back. Take control of the early games in the second set and your control the Wounded Bear.
A few reminders
by Russell Wormald
Use a practice swing after a miss to put the correct imprint in your brain for the next time you face that shot. Try thinking high to higher on your forehand to keep the ball above the net. You eliminate the net when you strike the ball from a point below the ball to a higher point. Closing the racket face as you complete the stroke keeps the ball on the court. All strokes use a finish beyond the ball. You should be mindful of this and consciously finish. Do not stop at the ball.