WELCOME to JR's Corner

Welcome to JR's Tennis Pro Corner. JR is the Tennis Pro for Trilogy at Power Ranch. Here you will find information about him and all of his tips for taking your game to the next level.

Here is what JR offers to the Community and his rates which are extremely reasonable.

JR will provide a private lesson at $25/per hour. A semi lesson is $40/hour ($20/person).

Clinics are also available at $10/person/hour with a maximum of 4 people. Live ball is also $10/person/hour with a minimum of 4 people and a maximum of 6.

JR’s specific programs include:

Correct grip for your type and style of tennis
Forehand ground strokes
Backhand ground strokes
Approach shots
Net play, including forehand & backhand volleys
Overhead
Serve & return of serve
Short game tennis
Strategy in singles and doubles
Ball judgement
Balance and hand-eye coordination
Footwork coordination
Concentration drills and skills
Hitting with the Tennis Coach

JR’s currently will be available on Mondays and Wednesday from 12:00 noon until 3:00. To book an appointment you can email him at jrherrick@mac.com or text him at 480-818-0493. Please make sure to leave your name and let him know you are from Trilogy. Residents are responsible for booking the court.

Check in regularly for helpful tips and tools from JR.

Lessons are only for Trilogy Residents. No guests are permitted to use Trilogy tennis courts for lessons.

Becoming a Better Server

Subject: Your Serve - Do You Chase or Place? Tennis Members, Would you like to improve your serve? Then the next time you serve stop Chasing your ball toss and start Placing your ball toss. Members always ask me for suggestions to help them improve their serve. The #1 thing you can do to improve your serve is to first improve your ball toss. Think about what you do during your serve. Do you follow or Chase the tennis ball up with your eyes and then immediately try to locate the tennis ball to be able to hit your serve? I call this type of serving, Oh there it is. Or do you pick out a spot with your eyes first to correctly toss or Place the tennis ball? The next time you serve see what you do. CHASING THE TENNIS BALL: This is when you follow your hand and ball toss with your eyes needing to now chase the ball up to immediately try and locate it above your head. When you do this doesn’t it feel like it’s a surprise sometimes? Where did I toss it? Oh there it is. How high did I toss the ball? Oh there it is. Did I toss it in front of me or behind me? Oh there it is. Is my toss to the left or right? Oh there it is. Do you get the picture? This is a bad habit that needs to be corrected immediately The problem of chasing the tennis ball up with your eyes continues to facilitate poor ball location. Wouldn’t you love to stop tossing the ball up anywhere and think - Oh there it is. To make my point let’s compare playing Catch with a friend to Serving a tennis ball. When you are playing catch with a friend aren’t you looking at or spotting your friends glove out in front of you? You then try throwing the ball to that spot (glove). You do this to be more successful throwing the ball correctly to your friend. By targeting or spotting where you want to throw the ball you are first picking out a spot (glove), focusing on throwing to that spot (glove), and concentrating on that spot (glove)t to have a successful throw. Why don’t you use the same positive thinking throwing a ball to your friend when you toss your tennis ball up before hitting your serve? Look at the two pictures below. The great Italian Professional tennis player, Giorgi, is first locating a SPOT in front and above her head. Then and only then will she toss or Place the tennis ball to her desired location or Spot. PLACING THE TENNIS BALL: Where is this magical spot to place the tennis ball? Pick out a Spot in front and above your head. Now lift your tennis racquet up with your serving arm fully stretched up or extended high and in front of your body. The magical spot or Place you need to keep your eye on is located just above your fully extended arm and tennis racquet. This is now your Spot to always toss or Place your tennis ball. If you have a high release point around your nose or eyes were the tennis ball leaves your hand then you only have to toss or Place the tennis ball up only 30 to 36 inches. Not a big throw or ball toss is it? It’s only a small distance to toss the tennis ball to help you become a more consistent and better Server. Yes there is a lot more than this to become a good server. Let’s just start with the ball toss to get you on the right track to be a better Server. JR USPTA Professional Look how Giorgi is first looking up to to locate a Spot to toss or Place her tennis ball. Observe her eyes and where she is targeting her Spot. By targeting a Spot with her eyes Giorgi is giving herself a better opportunity to have a consistent and successful ball toss. This then leads to becoming a better server. Giorgi continues her service motion keeping her head & eyes up and locked in at the Spot she wants to Place the tennis ball. If you do this technique I promise you your ball toss will be better and more consistent. A more consistent ball toss will then help promote a better and more consistent serve. You are now on the road to be a better server. Good Luck.

Good Morning

I know some of you might be getting tired of me emphasizing the importance of Proper Breathing when you are playing Tennis. Either you think I’m AB BEE NORMAL or don’t believe in this concept. That’s okay - it’s entirely up to you. All I know is how it helps me to achieve a higher level of Relaxation, Focus & Concentration. All of these benefits helps me Slow the Game Down to Play better Tennis. Hopefully the Medical Article I just read and will try to highlight below will reinforce what I am asking all of you to do on the Tennis Courts.

Remember - Eating is through your Mouth and Breathing is through you Nose.

The National Institutes of Health states: “Self-training in resonance breathing lowers stress, blood pressure and improves mood.” One simple exercise is the KEY - Resonance Breathing. "The exercise couldn’t be simpler — all it involves is “slowing down your breathing — inhaling and exhaling for a count of five.” Inhale by your nose and count to five. Now exhale out your mouth, and count the same. (The article actually said out your Nose but I like out your Mouth when I play sports.) “This will slow your breathing down to the rate of about six breaths per minute and will increase your heart rate variability. There is even research which shows that practicing resonance frequency breathing can reduce your anxiety and improve your cognitive performance,” Dr. Sood said. This is EXACTLY what you should be striving to do on the Tennis Courts

- Stay CALM & CONCENTRATE. Do four or five count breaths in, hold four to five counts, release four to five counts, and then hold four to five counts - Repeat when you feel out of breath, tension or anxiety while playing tennis.

Medically speaking, The benefits of Nasal Breathing through your nose provides your body with Nitric Oxide. Enzymes responsible for nitric oxide production have been demonstrated both in the nose and in the paranasal sinuses. Nitric Oxide is a potent bronchodilator and vasodilator. Therefore, breathing through your nose helps lower blood pressure and significantly increases the lung’s oxygen absorbing capacity.

More benefits of proper breathing - When you improve your heart rate variability, this will activate your parasympathetic nervous system which will help decrease your sleep onset and improve your sleep quality. Call me Crazy or AB BEE NORMAL but who doesn’t want to sleep better and play better tennis? Sign me up!

What some patients have said about Proper Breathing:

"I have been doing the proper breath work, but had no idea of the science behind it."

“I knew the five-five helped but now I know why, thanks!”

“The number one way to improve sleep, just hands down, is resonance frequency breathing. That’s it,”

I hope this helps you.

USPTA

Good Morning,

These past few weeks I have had a least 6 members approach me inquiring about how to hit a drop shot. So I thought there might be more members that would also like to be able to hit a drop shot. Below I have provided two excellent examples from Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie. I tried to capture the correct Racquet Stroke for these right and left handed players. I would also like you to examine their body position hitting a drop shot.

If this is something anyone would like to put into your tennis game I would be happy to provide a Clinic in the near future.

USPTA

Did you know one of Alcarz’s first losses from a very low ranked player was due to Drop Shots. No not from Carlos. It was his lower ranked opponent who dropped shot Carlos 19 times in the match. It stunned Carlos, his Team, the announcers and yes - me. So his opponent took something Carlos is famous for and reversed the play against him. Please look at these 3 pictures showing the correct way to be successful with drop shots. Look at the racquet path. Body positioning. Focus and Concentration. Folks - its FUN to hit and is a wonderful tennis stroke to learn to help your tennis game.

Sent from King of the Serve & Lord of the Return