VALENTINES MEMBER/GUEST MIXER COMING UP!! FEB 14TH 1:00-4:00

Come Join the Fun for our first ever

MEMBER/GUEST VALENTINES TENNIS MIXER

• SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH, 1:00-4:00
• Cost: Free For Guests! $5 for members with a guest, $10 for members w/o a guest.
• Points will accumulate throughout the day, Prizes given to winners.
• Beginner Clinic for spouses or guests that are brand new to the game on 1 court.
• Fondue Party and Wine and Beer Cash Bar!

Saturday with Sam - this Saturday January 17th

There will be another Saturday with Sam clinic/matchplay this Saturday. 11:00-2:00.

11:00am - Noon Clinic Portion
Noon - 2:00 Match Play

$15 for members for all day
$20 for non members for clinic portion, $30 to stay all day!

Come learn some great new techniques and improve your game with Sam Moore!!

3RD ANNUAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS!!

The 3rd Annual Carpetime Club Championships are right around the corner!

They begin next week on the 7th and run through the weekend on the 11th!

We have lowered the prices, they are super affordable, only $10 for singles and $15 for doubles (2 event limit). You may fill out an entry form at the club and leave it on Bri's desk, or email us and we will get you signed up (Please make sure you get an email response confirming your entry, sometimes Bri can be scatterbrained and miss one!)

There will be prizes for winners!

SEE YA SOON. ALSO, CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR THE MOST UPDATED UPCOMING EVENTS SCHEDULE, AND THE BLOG IS NOW GOING TO START FEATURING WEEKLY UPDATES OF CLINICS, EVENTS, ETC FOR THAT WEEK.

SAM'S TENNIS TIPS #2

Watching the Ball – What It Really Means

“Watch the ball” is a phrase that has become so familiar to most people that it doesn’t have much meaning. When they hear an instructor tell them to watch the ball they think, “Yeah, I know. Now what?” But in my opinion the one thing you can do to improve your game the most is to become disciplined about watching the ball and make it your number one priority.

If you think about it the only time that we can influence where the ball goes is when it is on our strings. So all of the stroke techniques, strategies and other things that we’ve learned are meaningless if we don’t hit the ball in the place that will make it go where we want. And that right there is the key. Tennis is not about hitting a target on the other side of the net – it’s about hitting the spot on the ball that will send it to the target on the other side of the net.

So the next time your game goes off a little and you want to start changing things around. First, focus your eyes on the spot on the ball you need to hit in order to get it to go where you want and see what happens

CLUB CHRISTMAS PARTY

CLUB CHRISTMAS PARTY!

When: Friday, December 12th, 5:30-8:30pm
Where: The Club
What: A Tennis Mixer on courts 2-4, and hors'd'ouerves and drinks on court 1
A White Elephant Gift Exchange.
Table Tennis/Ping Pong
Fun Fun Fun
Cost: $10/person
RSVP: By December 8th, at the club, phone, or email us. (or leave a comment on the blog)

SEE YOU HERE!!!

Sam's Tennis Tips...

Hi Junction Indoor Tennis Club members,

This is the first installment of Sam’s Tennis Tips, which will be a regular posting on the JITC blog. My goal with this is to provide information that will help you to improve your tennis game, no matter what level of player you happen to be, by simply looking at the game in a different way. So let’s get started!

Tip #1 – Pace and Height – The Foundation of Tennis

Pace and Height is a concept that is used by successful players from the newest beginners all the way up to Roger and Rafa on the lawns of Wimbledon. The bigger meaning behind these two words is that the highest percentage shot (or most successful) is to return the ball at the same pace that it comes to you and clear the net at the same height as the shot your opponent hit to you. When you do this you are basically neutralizing whatever your opponent is trying to do and keeping the point alive. It’s like saying, “Nice shot… Back at ya’.”

Pace is a combination of the speed and spin of the ball and has a lot to do with how “cleanly” someone hits the ball. So a ball with a lot of spin is going to have more “pace” than a ball with little spin hit at the same speed. Common mistakes that occur in the pace department are when someone is hit a soft shot that they think they should be able to kill (and they do – right into the net), or when someone is hit a hard shot and they try to hit it back soft – only to have their racket wobble on impact and the ball goes flying two courts down.

Hitting the ball back at the same pace is not enough – it also needs to clear the net at the same height as the shot coming to you. This is because the shape of a tennis court is long and narrow, meaning that to be successful you have to hit the ball deep. Common mistakes in this area occur when a player hits a soft shot low over the net, giving their opponent a short ball and control of the point; or when they hit the ball hard and high, making that lovely booming sound as it hits the back wall on the fly.

How to practice Pace and Height:
After I teach a beginner the technique of the forehand and backhand and they become 70% proficient with hitting fed balls, I then teach them the concept of pace and height. Our goal then becomes to hit a ball back and forth 100 times in a row from the baseline, and we devote time to that in each lesson. On that day when we fnally make it to 100 we celebrate - because they have just graduated and are no longer a beginner.

So what you can do is get a friend and pace and height your way to 100. If you can’t get there on the baseline, move up to halfway between the baseline and service line and do it there first. It’s a lot of fun and will remind you of why you love playing tennis.

Keep on the lookout for Tip #2 – Watching The Ball – What It Really Means

Friday Night Mixers.

We are starting a new tradition of Friday Night Drop In Mixers. And we start Friday, November 14th at 5:00pm. This kick off night will only go until 7:00 due to the all club meeting at 7:30.

The format is going to be fun, and allows you to play with many people, play as leisurely or competitively as you like, and will be tons of fun.

The cost is only $5, and balls will be provided.

We hope this becomes a fun tradition here at JITC! So, starting November 14th, every Friday, (holidays, tourneys, etc., excluded) we will be having this drop in Friday Night Mixer.

Thanks, hope to see you there!