A.S had a one-on-one tennis lesson yesterday here in Hamilton, NZ. Who would have thought that she would get a good deal here in Hamilton. Probably her enthusiasm to play and improve her tennis skill caught the attention of the manager here at the tennis courts.
First time around, she was snapping the court rules on the signboard at the gate. Having noticed that, the manager popped out from his office and asked her in. She got the contacts, details of suggested group lesson she could join and was even invited to join the local badminton club meets nearby. He got to know where she came from, what she was doing in Hamilton and how long she would be here.
At the second time, she popped in straight into the office for Dave. He was so nice to support her fund raising with selling egg tarts.
"How would you like to get a one-on-one tennis lesson for NZD 20?" he suggested.
She was surprised. She interpreted the cost in terms of Malaysian Ringgit. That's equivalent to RM50.
"Seriously? Are you saying one on one? What's the normal fees?" A.S tried to contain her excitement.
"NZD 60. Yes, private lesson. Oh, you know what, in fact, the coach is out there right now. Come with me. I'll talk to him about it."
Cool enough. The coach whom she eventually met agreed.
"When do you want to play? How about tomorrow?"
"One more thing. Will I be able to use a racquet for lesson?"
"Yeap, I have extra you can borrow."
Woo HOO!
So, yesterday, not the next day but a week after that, due to consecutive wet days, A.S finally got her first private tennis lesson and it's here in NZ. Sweet as!!! It was interrupted with rain but it did not put her excitement off. The lesson was good, the coach whom she eventually found out was a Californian and has been residing in NZ for 18 years. Nice, nice, nice.
This blog would see A.S on her road to improvement in the world of tennis!!!
Things she needs to take note of based on corrections/comments in yesterday's first lesson.
Forehand
Go slooowww, don't go too near to the ball, hit earlier by keeping the racquet at the back in ready position earlier, bend knees forward towards the ball, left feet flat on the ground, swing with the aim to lift and bring the ball forward, close racquet(sweep past the ball) at contact point, follow through, right leg step forward after contact with the feet flat on the ground, pause before skipping back to recovery position.
Backhand
Similarly, go slooowww, don't go too near to the ball, keep the racquet in ready position earlier, bend knees forward towards the ball, right feet flat on the ground, similarly, hit the ball then ROLL the racquet to close racquet positon after contact point to keep the ball low, follow through and racquet stay and pause for a while at the end, eyes and body remains toward where the ball was hit, left leg step forward flat on the ground after hit, pause before skipping back to recovery position.
Probably, studying how people play in a video would be better. It helps to keep the motivation going especially when A.S always like to think she could play like them whenever she watches such videos.
After the first publishing of this post, A.S would like to add here. "I noticed the girl in the video is a leftie. So, leg/feet guides in my writing above are the opposite to what you see in this video."
2 comments:
I recently got a tennis coach after 20 yrs away from the game and am really enjoying the workout it provides- it's pretty tough playing in the heat even at 9am. Here in KL I pay rm70 per hour. Bet it's a lot more pleasant to play in NZ though a bit more expensive.
Hi Irish Nomad,
Yeap, yeap, I've always been wanting to take up tennis. Then, I got the opportunity to learn it for my very first time as a audit course at UPM. It was just the fundamentals and then I practised against the wall there. After then, it has been an on and off thing playing with tennis community I found online but still not up to the level where I want to be.
Therefore the excitement of getting back to the game and finally getting my very first one-on-one lesson which I've been thinking of for so long. Yes, in Malaysia, there few I know ranges from RM70 to RM80 per hour which is very expensive. Indeed, it's definitely more expensive here in NZ but I am so lucky to be offered a NZD20/hr deal which comes up to only RM50/hr. ;))))) I've done once and I'm looking for more classes. YES, it's definitely more pleasant play here!!! I really understand what you mean. I can easily fill buckets of sweat too if I were to play in Malaysia but the good thing is I'd feel I've worked out a lot to give my shoulder a pat!
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