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Tennis, for beginners, looks easy until you get on the court. Then it seems impossible. Controlling your shots and serves takes a lot of practice, but there are things you can do to crunch the learning curve and have fun as you improve your game.

Get the Proper Equipment
Don’t think too much about getting the right tennis racquets for beginners. If you’re an adult, make sure that the racquet is an adult size, 26” or 27”, and that you have the correct size grip. You know the grip is the correct size when you wrap your hand around it and your thumb reaches the first knuckle of your middle finger. If it goes past the first knuckle, the grip is too small; if your finger doesn’t reach, the grip is probably too big. Whatever you do, don’t break out the racquet you found in your grandparents’ attic. If it’s made out of wood or aluminum, donate it to the nearest museum. Your wrists and elbows will thank you.

Nice Shoes
Proper tennis shoes are required. They give support and comfort out on the tennis court, with support being the main thing. Running shoes, soccer shoes, hiking boots, etc. are not going to cut it. Without proper court shoes, the risk for turning an ankle or suffering other serious foot injuries rises.

Look Good
Wear the proper tennis attire. A nice pair of tennis shorts and tennis shirt go a long way toward making you respectable to fellow players. Cutoff jeans and a Def Lepard t-shirt aren’t the right attire. Many clubs have strict dress codes when it comes to tennis wear. Wearing all white and collared tennis shirts are the norm at many high-end clubs. You don’t have to wear all white and look like a player from 1920s Wimbledon, but when playing on your local public courts, at least try and look like you know what you’re doing.

Be Respectful
Most beginners aren’t hip to the basics when playing next to other players. There’s nothing more annoying than playing next to inexperienced tennis players with no grasp of etiquette. If you’re walking out onto a court and you have to pass another court while people are playing, stop and wait until their point is over or until they stop hitting, then you may pass. Chances are they’ll notice you there and tell you to go. Whatever you do, don’t just walk on through; you can get hurt and it’s disrespectful. Don’t shout or scream while you’re playing next to others, as this can be very distracting. If a ball wanders into your court from another game, it’s considered polite to toss it back during a break in play. The same rule applies if one of your balls strays into another court; wait for play on that court to stop before you try to retreive it.

Learn from the Experienced
Take some lessons or play with someone more experienced than yourself. Learning the correct technique, either from a friend, a tennis pro or from a class at a local community college, pays immediate dividends. It also makes the misery of learning a new sport a little more tolerable. Taking a group lesson is highly recommended. You’re in a group, at the same level, which  gives you an opportunity to learn from watching others. It also gives you an opportunity to meet other players you can practice with. Finding someone to hit with can be difficult at times, so take advantage of a group lesson if you can.

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The modern forehand is one of the most spectacular and devastating shots in the game.

With modern technology and techniques, today’s players can use it to hit winners from almost any position on the court.

Starting from the ready position, drive off from the legs and look to get to the ball as soon as possible.

As you push off, prepare by turning both your hands towards the ball.

This will rotate the shoulders and upper body away from the ball, storing up energy that will soon be used to create power.

Look to bring the racquet head back in a loop.

Think of a circular type movement as you lift it up as you bring it back then drop it lower as you start to accelerate forwards.

The key to producing real power is to fire all your different muscles into the shot in sequence.

Start from the legs, then the hips, your shoulder, arm and finally your wrist.

If timed right all these different muscle groups will combine to produce huge racquet head speed that will send the ball flying.

The forward swing of the racquet should be from low to high.

You should be looking to make contact with the ball at around waist height.

As you get more confident, have a go meeting it slightly higher.

This will enable you to get more power into the shot and get further into the court which will put your opponent under even more pressure.

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A Few Quick Soccer Tips

Communicate

When you move into the professional level it becomes even more important to communicate on the field. Simple directions or alerts, such as ‘man on’ and ‘turn’ or ‘you have time’ make playing so much easier and become more important as the game speeds up at higher levels.
Give it and get the ball – play the ball quickly with one and two touches. You should also be prepared to receive the ball at all times, and want the ball! This kind of energy, wanting to always be involved in the play, puts the other team that much more on their heels. So play simple soccer, get the ball and play it. Look to go forward.

Try to attack the space when you have the ball. See if you can draw a defender in, and then release the ball just when they’re about to close you down or get the ball.

Shielding

A simple and great exercise is to dribble in a small square and have an opponent try to take the ball from you. Use your body to shield the ball from the defender. Always keep your body between you and the defender. Tell your friend or the person who is acting as the defender to fight for the ball with a game like intensity, pushing you and playing so hard they are almost fouling you. You can add more players and if the defender wins the ball you switch roles. This game can eventually build into a possession game that focuses on shielding. You can call out to stop play now and again which ever team doesn’t have the ball has to do push-ups or a few sprints.

When you can, carry the ball into the open space – all the while shielding the ball from the defender. Carrying the ball with the inside of your foot, this is the where you will get the most control, kind of dragging the ball along as the defender pushes against you. Make sure to bend your knees and have a strong sense about you that this person is not going to get the ball from you. Then, try to work on cutting the ball back and forth. Practice shielding the ball using all parts of both of your feet.

Try shielding the ball for a few yards with the inside of your right foot and playing it to your left and carrying it in the other direction. Next, you can use the sole of your foot to turn or switch directions. Try to use all the different surfaces of your foot without letting the defender get a touch on the ball. Chop and cut the ball back with the inside and outside of both feet. Keep the defense honest by turning and taking the defender on from time to time.

Freeze the Defender

Fake like you’re going to make a long pass or about to take a shot, before receiving the ball – this will freeze the defender who is rushing towards you and give you more time. Simply pull your leg back as if you’re going to play the ball down the field, or, get more animated with it, and throw your shoulders and whole body into selling the fake kick. Either way, this simple move will freeze the on rushing defender. Again, just before you receive the ball (and control it), fake like you’re going to shoot or make a pass by drawing your leg back in the shooting or kicking motion to momentarily freeze the defender.

Switch Play

As a team keep the game flowing by ball swinging the ball from one side to the other to find the best ratio of numbers and the most space. Release pressure by switching the ball.

The Quick Switch – Blind Pass

Dribble to the right with your right foot and then swing a ball to the left, send almost a blind pass. Do the same for the left. Dribble to the left side of the field and swing a ball back to the right side of the field with your left foot. The defender on the other side will not expect the pass. Hopefully you will catch the opposing team sleeping. You are selling the idea that you’re going to the side you’re dribbling towards when in fact you are swinging the ball over to the opposite side. Team mates will adjust to the expectation that a switch is always coming.

Sometimes you can dribble a few times in the opposite direction you really want to play the ball – to throw the defense off – then you swing the ball to the other side of the field. It doesn’t have to be a long switch, just a quick cut back to the other direction can buy you time.

Get the Cross In

As a rule almost, when you have the opportunity, swing in the cross. Do this the next two or three times. Then the fourth time, or when you see the opening, you can take that player on the dribble, beat him or her down the line and cut the ball back to a teammate. Of course, you can always go to goal yourself if the opening is there.

Play with Older Players

Try to find the best game possible near where you live when you are training. To become a great player you should push yourself, and there is no better way to do this than to play with more experienced players.

You can pick up all of their tricks and skills that they have learned over the years. This kind of mentoring process is a huge part of improving your game and often you won’t even realize what subtle skills you’ll pick up, just by watching and playing with better and more experienced players.

Challenge yourself by playing with experienced players when you can. It will speed up your play, make you play stronger, and you will learn from their experience – where to play the ball, when, and where to make runs.

Slow Down

Essentially this is making the easy pass to the open player. It doesn’t mean necessarily slowing down your speed of play, rather it’s letting the ball do the work, and not forcing the play. Keep your mind moving fast and focused. If there is an open player play them the ball. Then when they get closed down they play the ball back to you.

As a young player one of the difficult things to learn is patience. This means things like letting the ball do the work through one and two touch play. Each time you make a pass the defense changes their position and new things open up at different angles on the field – new spaces to run into, dribble, and pass are created when you move the ball.

Quick Decisions

As a professional or collegiate player you won’t have time to dribble or think after getting the ball. Try to know what you are going to do with the ball before you get it. Eventually, playing simple soccer will become automatic when you are involved in the rhythm of the game, wanting and always asking for the ball trying to find the player in the most advantageous position. Two or three short simple passes can lead to someone who is open in a position to make that goal scoring pass or score themselves.

You will need to use your body to shield the ball. Play simple give and goes with your teammates to get out of pressure. Be aware of where you can move or how you can position yourself to help out your teammates. Using your body means dribbling with your left when there is a defender on your right and dribbling and shielding the ball with your right foot when there is a defender on your on your left. If you don’t know you can turn or have time, keep your body between the ball and the defense and get your head up and take a look around. You should always try to know where you are on the field by taking quick looks before you receive the ball.

Hold the ball for a second while I get open or in a better position where I will have more time and can see the field better. This is one of the greatest aspects of the game of soccer, where you work with your teammates to ping the ball around the other team and through the other team, where they can’t even get a touch on the ball before you score a goal.

The Half Turn

When you are in the midfield you should position your body so you can connect with the forwards. You can accomplish this by not having your back to the forwards, that is usually their role, midfielders should try to be half-turned and facing one of the sidelines. This way you can view both the back line, if they are trying to make a pass to you, and the forwards to see where they are making a run.

When you play on the wing or in a position along the touchline you should open yourself to the field – in a position to see the whole field and receive the ball. Again instead of having your back facing the forwards you can turn your shoulder towards the outside touchline in this way you are open to the field.

More Soccer Training Tips:

• Ideal Performance State
• Soccer Positional Running
• Controlling the Soccer Ball

1. Mix up serves of different length and spin. Some examples of advanced serves include medium-long, deep, short, down-the-line, pure spin, pure speed, etc. Serves to the elbow tend to be very effective, since the receiver must quickly decide (and often does not in time) to use a forehand or backhand.
2. Develop a third-ball attack. This is where you serve, the receiver receives, and you nail one in for a winner. An example is a short backspin serve, followed by a long push, then a powerful loop.
3. Attack whenever you can, primarily on a long serve. It has been proven that the player to open the offense most often usually wins point, set, and match.
4. Keep your eyes mostly on the opponent’s racket when receiving a serve.If you have ever seen World Champion Jan-Ove Waldner play, you can see that he makes a quick glimpse at how high the ball is tossed, then watches back down to the racket. If you keep your eyes on the ball, the server will baffle you with his deceptions.
5. Mix up your returns when receiving. Most players too often tend to push, allowing their opponents to start the offense. Mixing up loops, drives, pushes, chops, etc. provides for excellent variation and a bewildered opponent.
6. Choose your equipment wisely. If you are ready for professional equipment, begin with a medium-fast blade (rather than fast). A medium-fast blade allows you to rely more on technique than on equipment to get the ball over the net. It will also provide optimum control. The most important consideration for a blade, however, is that it provides good “feeling.” As for rubber try to get the “beginner” kinds for the beginning. The reason for this is because beginner rubbers are designed with less spin and speed, and this translates into easier returns of spinny balls. Trying to return a sidespin serve will be a hair-pulling experience for a beginner if he/she uses an overly spinny rubber.
7. Forehands are the way to go. To hit forehands wherever you are on the table, you will need to develop good side-to-side footwork. But it never hurts to work extra on your backhand so that your opponent won’t know what hit him/her when you blast that down the line backhand smash! The best players are always two-winged, or being able to attack almost equally well on both hands.
8. Find some cool serves to experiment with. Examples include a high, heavy backspin serve that bounces on your side near the net, on the opponent’s side near the net, and goes back over to your side. Or you can go about 20 feet to the side of the table and, standing sideways, nail the ball on the side so that it arcs back to the table and opponent. Not only is it a heck of a lot of fun, trying these serves also promotes the development of ‘touch’ and spin.
9. Control your temper. When you are losing in a match, or have missed several shots in a row, don’t get mad, get even. Ask yourself what needs to be done in order to beat the problem that is plaguing your game. Then try the solution. If it doesn’t work, do it again. Until the match is over, you should never give up. If it is your turn to serve, then you are allotted a reasonable amount of time per serve to wait and think things over before you toss the ball. Take advantage of it.

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Video Golf Tip | Definitions: Open & Closed

by Ed Ibarguen

One of the things that PGA Professionals do when we get together is we try to talk about our lessons and what are some of the things that are working and being effective. One of the things that comes up a lot is terminology. We will often use golf terms that we understand but that the student is often confused about what we mean. Anytime there is confusion between the student and the instructor there is going to be problems. I would like to go over a couple of terms that you probably heard and I want to make sure that you understand what the meaning of those words are. The first one is open. If a clubface is open that means that it is aimed to the right of the target. If it is closed it is aimed to the left of the target. That seems pretty simple but here is what is confusing. When you are talking about the body open has a different meaning, in fact the opposite meaning. If I am lined up to the target in a square or parallel position and I open my body to the target now I am aiming to the left. So open in terms of the target is aiming to the left. Closed in terms of the body to the target means my body is Closed to the target and I tis aiming to the right. Be careful when an instructor says open make sure whether they are talking about the clubface or the body because it will make a difference.

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Pool Games Tips & Tricks

Here you can find some useful tips and tricks that will help you become a better pool player. The tips and tricks listed here can help you succeed in executing long shots, hitting combination shots, avoiding miscues and deal with other challenges in 8-ball, 9-ball or in any other pool game of your choice.

Pool Tip No. 1

How to Succeed in Long Shots

1. Put your forward hand on the table in the most stable way as you can.

2. Mark the target point of the cue ball by putting the cue tip on the designated pocket in a way that it would go over the exact center of the ball you intend to pocket. Your target point, where the cue tip would stroke the cue ball, is the place where the outer edge of the ball and the cue stick meets.

3. Have your eyes fully focused on the cue ball.

4. When you shoot, move from the shoulder and try to keep your arm closer to the body and your elbow at a 90 degrees angle from your body.

5. Use the minimum force required to execute the shot.

Pool Tip No. 2

How to Hit Combination Shot

Combination shot is a shot in which you hit a numbered ball in order to pocket another object ball. Here are some tips and tricks to help you hit combination shots in the best way:

1. Hit combination shot only if you have no other options at the table.

2. Imagine the table as if the numbered ball is the cue stick, which is about to hit the cue ball.

3. Mark an imaginary spot of the object ball in your mind.

4. Pay attention to the cue ball instead of thinking about the pocket.

5. Strike as usual but bare in mind the picture of your object ball as a target ball.

Pool Tip No. 3

How to Avoid Miscues

Miscue is one of the biggest fears of pool players of all skill levels. A miscue can occur as a result of an intensive english, which causes the leathery part of the cue stick to hit the edge of the cue ball. In order to avoid miscue, the starting point of the shoot should be less than 21.5 mm from the center of the ball.

Pool Tip No. 4

How to Bounce a Ball off another Ball

1. Try to imagine your shot backwards: from the pocketing of the table to the decision of an object ball that will strike another ball.

2. Note that causing an object ball to hit another ball is different from causing the cue ball to strike an object ball.

3. Think about the predicted circumstances of the stroked ball after the stroke; it is often bounces back to the path of the object ball.

4. Verify that the cue ball won’t scratch as a result of the strike.

5. Plan beforehand the way in which the cue ball will strike the object ball.

6. Perform a light stroke; if you miss, at least the ball would remain near the pocket.

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Tips on Ball Passing
Chest Pass – The chest pass is the most efficient way to throw the ball. Use it in order to get the ball to a teammate quickly when there is no defender in the way. You should step forward when you do this pass because you lose power by not stepping. However, passing without stepping is quicker. So just use your judgment to decide in each situation whether quickness or accuracy is more important.
Bounce Pass - If you are in trouble with the ball and need to slip a pass by the defender to a teammate who can score, the bounce pass is the best option. It forces the defender to unnaturally tilt his torso in order to reach the ball as it is whizzing by, which makes it harder to intercept. It may look pretty cool to throw a bounce pass with fancy spinning, but that often brings a turnover instead of a good play. So unless you are Kobe Bryant or Chauncey Billups, try to resist the temptation and keep it simple.

Overhead Pass – The overhead pass is the best way to pass the ball when the defense is in your face. You should also use it to feed the inside players and to get off an outlet pass after a rebound. Just remember that the pass is meant to be caught at chin level or above, so the receiver won’t have to decide whether he should catch the ball with thumbs up or thumbs down. If the ball bears in on the receiver’s waist, it basically handcuffs him.

Side Pass – When there’s a defender in front of you and another one bustling toward you, it is very difficult to throw a two-hand pass. What you need to do is getting around your defender and dumping the ball quickly with one hand. Decide whether you are throwing above or below your defender’s arm, and fake the other way. When his arm goes down, pass the ball over it. When his arm goes up, slips a one-hand bounce pass under it.

Behind-The-Back Pass – Although the key to perfect passing is simplicity, there are rare times when a behind-the-back pass could be effective. Coaches usually approve it in two-on-one, fast-break situations. So try to do it right or don’t do it at all. Keep in mind that when you do this pass, the power should come from your arm and fingers, NOT from turning your shoulders If you turn your shoulder, you basically give away that you’re throwing a behind-the-back pass, and by the time the ball gets around your body, the defense would have cut in front of your target.

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