Anybody else experience this non moving for the ball issue with Tennis?

[Curt Leatherbee]

I took up wheelchair Tennis around 3.5 years ago. I was a really good player when I was young (below 23 years old) before my SCI. I gave up Tennis up until 3.5 years ago and everybody was amazed at my strokes, Serve, etc. Even Randy Snow was saying to me at a Clinic in CT a few years back "Where have you been? where have you been?".

Anyhow here is the problem, I find myself not moving for the ball in the chair the way I should be, it is as if I'm trying to engage my legs which of course aint gonna happen. I even find myself just giving up on going to balls that I know I should have been able to return. I think even though it was so long ago it was almost instinctive that I run to the ball rather than push in the chair and it just does not feel natural.

Anybody else deal with this issue and what is a good way to beat this problem? I use to think it was a good thing I'd played so much before my injury as it gave me a edge in having the strokes and the serve, but now I'm starting to think that the players that learned wheelchair Tennis ground up without having played when they they were a/b might have the advantage over me because of this problem. I feel like I'm at a crossroad right now.

[Patrick Madsen]

It's the crossroads that define which road we take Curt. Sounds like you are not anticipating where the ball is going to go and waiting for the ball to be hit. It's all about keeping the momentum going and anticipation of ball placement.

Plus, you're getting old, man lol. As long as you're having fun at it, it's all good.

Do you guys ever have "up and Down" tounaments or play? One partner is a/b the other in a chair. Was really fun.

[wheeliecoach]

I had that issue for a while...and it was just as Patrick said...I was not anticipating where the ball was going to go...I was waiting for it. When I stood I could do that and was quick enough to get to it. Now I have learned to pay attention to my opponent...see which direction his raquet is facing. That helped somewhat because I found myself creeping to that direction.

I still think I can stand up and run to it...but it is getting better...it is now my brain is taking over slowly instead of my (used to be) reflexes.

[baldfatdad]

Try playing with the other hand.
I could give you a long explaination, but give it a shot.

[jheath]

You got to keep moving in WC Tennis. If you can keep your wheels moving, and learn some patterns for moving around the court it gets a lot easier. I have the opposite problem, I can get to the ball, but my strokes are so inconsistent. I hit a lot into the net. I stopped playing because it made me so frustrated.

[jheath]

Oh, and Randy was a good guy. He did a few clinics in Jacksonville FL before he passed away. He and Paul Walker used to work real well together. Paul still does a clinic here every year. He's a great coach. If you can find a clinic that Paul puts on, he can help a lot with mobility.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Thanks all. Ya, I guess the key is just to keep moving, even if going the wrong direction you can change direction a lot faster than if you are just sitting in one spot.

Thanks for the help all. Like Patrick said though, I'm not getting any younger either and that is some of the problem I guess. Today I just bought a fore arm strap to start wearing all the time to reduce the risk of Tennis elbow, I got that last summer and it was no fun, it took months to recover from that.

Thanks for the info Jhealth. I actually work a lot with Dick Lane who is a really good coach. I'm doing a Tennis Clinic @ Harvard in Boston the weekend after next, looking forward to that, it helped me a lot last year.

Like you said it is frusterating sometimes controlling the ball. Especially being down lower makes it harder to consistantly get it over the net if you hit it too low. I guess one of the key shots in wheelchair tennis is the high and deep shot, that way it minimizes the risks of the ball going into the net and makes it real hard for your opponent to get it back unless he/she is setup way in the back of the court as it will bounce over them. If you can combine that shot with a drop shot it can be a nasty combination for your opponent to get back. Maybe that's one reason I get so frusterated with chair movement because the guy I play a lot does the high and deep shot all the time.

[tooley]

good timing on this thread, just got home from a little clinic put on by a local wheelchair sport association.

I thought it was just me (wondering why I'm not instinctually moving toward to ball)because I've been injured less than 3 years, I guess it happens to us all.

Fun stuff.. not so fun nursing the tail-end of a sprained thumb and trying to get the hang of racket control (especially with a cervical injury) lol. Oh well, like pat said as long as we're out there having fun.

First time I tried I used a borrowed basketball chair (that I've never tried) with no dump but used my rugby chest strap to strap in. Without trunk and sitting higher than the wheels I had no mobility due to the limited push I could muster. Frustrated I went to my van and grabbed my rugby chair to use. Way more fun when you can keep moving and get to the ball. Thank goodness for that second-bounce rule. Looks funny playing in a rugby chair but I'll never fall out of it.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Originally Posted by tooley

good timing on this thread, just got home from a little clinic put on by a local wheelchair sport association.

I thought it was just me (wondering why I'm not instinctually moving toward to ball)because I've been injured less than 3 years, I guess it happens to us all.

Fun stuff.. not so fun nursing the tail-end of a sprained thumb and trying to get the hang of racket control (especially with a cervical injury) lol. Oh well, like pat said as long as we're out there having fun.

First time I tried I used a borrowed basketball chair (that I've never tried) with no dump but used my rugby chest strap to strap in. Without trunk and sitting higher than the wheels I had no mobility due to the limited push I could muster. Frustrated I went to my van and grabbed my rugby chair to use. Way more fun when you can keep moving and get to the ball. Thank goodness for that second-bounce rule. Looks funny playing in a rugby chair but I'll never fall out of it.

Good deal, thats fine to play in the rugby chair, whatever works for you and whereas you have the chair might as well use it.

I guess what it comes down to is Wheelchair Tennis is a very tricky sport that takes probably years to master if ever.

I am seriously thinking about starting a Disabled wheelchair tennis camp in Venice Florida where I live and running it just winters. It would be great for people to get away to sunny florida to play and learn tennis.

[eversonsail]

Curt, I agree with most of the comments above. Keep the chair moving. Do you have access to a ball machine. It is a good substitute when there is no coach around. Chair mobility can be practiced on good machine.