DIET | DETECTIVE^®

The brain sends specific electrical signals to the muscles for different tennis strokes.

Research suggests that you would be wise to set the ball machine to hit very slow balls when trying to develop a new stroke. It appears that the human neural system can sense the small changes being made when the action is done slowly. The machine can be set for very slow balls that will allow you to close your eyes after the bounce, and still hit the ball while swinging slowly and feeling the different muscle contractions. After the new action is perfected, then it's time to speed up the machine in increments. I use the Playmate Ball Machine and the speed increments are easily changed from extremely slow to pro style play.

I'll often watch players using the ball machine to perfect a new stroke while the machine is spitting out very fast balls. Unless the stroke had been previously perfected while hitting slow balls, there are normally few, or no changes, being made. In some cases, the player's stroke has gotten worse.

My Playmate Machine, as are others, is designed to hit a variety of shots at various speeds. The problem here is that often the player learns the pattern of the programmed machine and starts running early. This is not what happens in a tennis match and one should be practicing as one is expected to perform. Thus, the player often arrives early with very little effort. What should happen is that the player should position himself/herself in such a manner that he/she is placed under the same stress to reach the ball as in actual match play.

The bottom line is that a ball machine, if used properly, can be used to learn a new stroke pattern, to maintain a successful stroke pattern, to have fun and to simulate actual game conditions. You won't ever play a ball machine at Wimbledon, but a ball machine, used properly, can help you get into the tournament.

Bookmark:

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed