Topic: Monster

[monstertruck]

Good to hear!  I am really curious about your rating now.  You really need to come to Ohio so we can settle this the right way.   

I've been thinkin' the same thing dude!  Tonight, after hitting singles with a 5.0 master, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a great 4.5 player with a 100 lb. weight strapped to his back!!!   The buzz at the club is if the fat guy in the orange shirt could drop 50lbs he'd be ripping off heads and crapping in the hole.

[OSU Buckeye]

Good to hear!  I am really curious about your rating now.  You really need to come to Ohio so we can settle this the right way.   

I've been thinkin' the same thing dude!  Tonight, after hitting singles with a 5.0 master, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a great 4.5 player with a 100 lb. weight strapped to his back!!!   The buzz at the club is if the fat guy in the orange shirt could drop 50lbs he'd be ripping off heads and crapping in the hole.

I am starting to think you may be right near us here!  Decent 4.5 maybe.  Here is a good question:  how do you do when the pressure is really on:  low volleys where you are expecting the net man to be moving, deep flat groundies when you expect the net man to poach your reply, when the net man moves and you must go behind him.  If you can return these kinds of shots and keep you and your partner in the point then that is solid. 

[monstertruck]

Good to hear!  I am really curious about your rating now.  You really need to come to Ohio so we can settle this the right way.   

I've been thinkin' the same thing dude!  Tonight, after hitting singles with a 5.0 master, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a great 4.5 player with a 100 lb. weight strapped to his back!!!   The buzz at the club is if the fat guy in the orange shirt could drop 50lbs he'd be ripping off heads and crapping in the hole.

I am starting to think you may be right near us here!  Decent 4.5 maybe.  Here is a good question:  how do you do when the pressure is really on:  low volleys where you are expecting the net man to be moving, deep flat groundies when you expect the net man to poach your reply, when the net man moves and you must go behind him.  If you can return these kinds of shots and keep you and your partner in the point then that is solid. 

That is when I'm lovin' the game!  I think I'm just shy of doing that consistently because of my movement issues, other than that, I've got a "whale" of a game, so to speak.

[monstertruck]

Good to hear!  I am really curious about your rating now.  You really need to come to Ohio so we can settle this the right way.   

I've been thinkin' the same thing dude!  Tonight, after hitting singles with a 5.0 master, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a great 4.5 player with a 100 lb. weight strapped to his back!!!   The buzz at the club is if the fat guy in the orange shirt could drop 50lbs he'd be ripping off heads and crapping in the hole.

I am starting to think you may be right near us here!  Decent 4.5 maybe.  Here is a good question:  how do you do when the pressure is really on:  low volleys where you are expecting the net man to be moving, deep flat groundies when you expect the net man to poach your reply, when the net man moves and you must go behind him.  If you can return these kinds of shots and keep you and your partner in the point then that is solid. 

[monstertruck]

I played singles and dubs against some great 5.0 players last night, what a wakeup call that was for me.  Although I didn't play my best (mind/body disconnected???), these fellows showed me how far I have to go in the movement department!  The only time I was able to dictate play in singles was on my serve.  I managed to hold twice in 2 sets ( I think he threw me a bone!)  with some very solid S&V tennis.  But I had to play each shot to perfection or else he was able to end the point from anywhere on the court.  I did manage to break him once at the end of the second set, but I'm sure he was saving some gas for the upcoming doubles.   What I learned from this outing reenforced what I already knew, my physical condition is the weakest part of my game at this point.  I was constantly out of position and completely unable to neutralize any of his shots.  Even at the end of the 2nd set when he was serving exclusively to my forehand I was unable to dictate play.  Part of that was because I was a bit off, but 95% was poor movement/positioning.  Now for the good news....

No pain in the groin area and I played hard for nearly 4 hours!

In the dubs, with my poor movement being restricted to just part of the court I fared a bit better.  In the final set of the night, my partner and I managed to take the other duo to a TB but couldn't close it out.  Still it was a good fight and there were many fine points and shots by both teams.  Looking forward to next Thursday and more playing with "the big boys"!

On a side note, I had the opportunity to drive a Beemer 540i yesterday!  What a nice ride!  Also had a chance to hit some balls with a former body builder turned tennis player who used to hold the squat record for the U.S. in his weight class.  Man is that guy in shape!  A bit too muscular for the tennis court, but quite a specimen nonetheless.

[OSU Buckeye]

Good to hear about no pain!  Sweet tennis! 

[monstertruck]

Played some crappy tennis again today against some relatively weak competition.
Overhitting and getting tight.   Also the mind/body disconnect syndrome continues.
I definitely need to get more sleep.

Looking forward to some hits with the D Man tomorrow a.m.  Rumor has it there may be some video involved......

[OSU Buckeye]

Played some crappy tennis again today against some relatively weak competition.
Overhitting and getting tight.   Also the mind/body disconnect syndrome continues.
I definitely need to get more sleep.

Looking forward to some hits with the D Man tomorrow a.m.  Rumor has it there may be some video involved......

Sweet!  Hopefully we will get to see the video.   

[monstertruck]

Got some dubs in with DMast this a.m.  Less than stellar play from all players involved was the norm.  Consequently, it seemed like a real rollercoaster ride no matter who my partner was.  I failed to serve well yet again, and am still searching for the fluidity I briefly had 2 months ago.  Need to make some time to work on that instead of playing so much! 
DM cracked some nice serves early on with good consistency.  My partner at the time was quite impressed!  DM also cranked out some scorching returns off of a few of my good serves!   Any more of that nonsense and he may not get an invite to come again!   He also hit 2 inside out backhand volleys which were sharply angled for winners.  Those sure were sweet!
We finished the morning with some vids of our strokes.  I didn't get to see my FH or BH, but did get a look at my serve.  No wonder I can't hit with control and pace consistently, my dang toss is all over the place!  I knew it wasn't great but seeing it in action it is nasty.  Also, I think a bit more knee bend is in order, but that may have to wait a few months until I shrink a bit.
All in all an o.k. day.  Anytime I'm on the court, it's better than being just about anywhere else!

[monstertruck]

I got the call today to sub in a Wed. afternoon group that's been meeting for nearly 30 years straight!  Some fine playas in that group including 3 of the club pros.  Of course that doesn't mean much out here in the Boondocks!
Still, it's a good group of players and a nice place to hook up with the better females for mixed.  That'll mean I'm playing 3 days in a row this week and by next Sunday 8 out of 11 days.  wooooohoooo, I am soooo lucky!

[dmastous]

Got some dubs in with DMast this a.m.  Less than stellar play from all players involved was the norm.  Consequently, it seemed like a real rollercoaster ride no matter who my partner was.  I failed to serve well yet again, and am still searching for the fluidity I briefly had 2 months ago.  Need to make some time to work on that instead of playing so much! 
DM cracked some nice serves early on with good consistency.  My partner at the time was quite impressed!  DM also cranked out some scorching returns off of a few of my good serves!   Any more of that nonsense and he may not get an invite to come again!   He also hit 2 inside out backhand volleys which were sharply angled for winners.  Those sure were sweet!
We finished the morning with some vids of our strokes.  I didn't get to see my FH or BH, but did get a look at my serve.  No wonder I can't hit with control and pace consistently, my dang toss is all over the place!  I knew it wasn't great but seeing it in action it is nasty.  Also, I think a bit more knee bend is in order, but that may have to wait a few months until I shrink a bit.
All in all an o.k. day.  Anytime I'm on the court, it's better than being just about anywhere else!

I started out serving pretty well, but overall it was an average day for me. I didn't volley very well, IMO, but I did play decent tennis. Some good returns offset the poor net play. However I was on the losing team all three sets, so that doesn't bode well.
I haven't seen any of the video yet, but I realised on my way into work that you didn't hit any forehands, just backhands. We seem to have skipped your forehand.
Sorry about that chief...
I think you can definitly hit better backhands than you hit on the video, just from the point of view of feeding. You weren't nearly as on point as I've seen you hitting them in the past. But I guess we'll have to wait until I get the video compiled to see more.
I agree though anytime playing tennis is pretty special given the limited time on court I get. Once I get tennis lined up, I'm giddy and in anticipation until the time comes.
It's almost like when I was a kid and my parents told me we were going to Disenyland on Saturday or something.

[OSU Buckeye]

Good stuff guys!  Great way to start a Sunday morning.................my religion!   

[monstertruck]

Got some dubs in with DMast this a.m.  Less than stellar play from all players involved was the norm.  Consequently, it seemed like a real rollercoaster ride no matter who my partner was.  I failed to serve well yet again, and am still searching for the fluidity I briefly had 2 months ago.  Need to make some time to work on that instead of playing so much! 
DM cracked some nice serves early on with good consistency.  My partner at the time was quite impressed!  DM also cranked out some scorching returns off of a few of my good serves!   Any more of that nonsense and he may not get an invite to come again!   He also hit 2 inside out backhand volleys which were sharply angled for winners.  Those sure were sweet!
We finished the morning with some vids of our strokes.  I didn't get to see my FH or BH, but did get a look at my serve.  No wonder I can't hit with control and pace consistently, my dang toss is all over the place!  I knew it wasn't great but seeing it in action it is nasty.  Also, I think a bit more knee bend is in order, but that may have to wait a few months until I shrink a bit.
All in all an o.k. day.  Anytime I'm on the court, it's better than being just about anywhere else!

I started out serving pretty well, but overall it was an average day for me. I didn't volley very well, IMO, but I did play decent tennis. Some good returns offset the poor net play. However I was on the losing team all three sets, so that doesn't bode well.
I haven't seen any of the video yet, but I realised on my way into work that you didn't hit any forehands, just backhands. We seem to have skipped your forehand.
Sorry about that chief...
I think you can definitly hit better backhands than you hit on the video, just from the point of view of feeding. You weren't nearly as on point as I've seen you hitting them in the past. But I guess we'll have to wait until I get the video compiled to see more.
I agree though anytime playing tennis is pretty special given the limited time on court I get. Once I get tennis lined up, I'm giddy and in anticipation until the time comes.
It's almost like when I was a kid and my parents told me we were going to Disenyland on Saturday or something.

About the FH, zzzallright, no worries.
I thought I hit a couple of nice slice BH's and a couple good topspins crosscourt.
After 15 or 20 I was spent working hard to recover and then prepare for the next ball!  You were feeding a pretty good clip for a workout , but it may not have been so great for stroke analysis.  Although that would show any breakdown under pressure....  If you get a chance send the clips along or post them here if you like.  Thanks for the hits and doing the vids!

[dmastous]

About the FH, zzzallright, no worries.
I thought I hit a couple of nice slice BH's and a couple good topspins crosscourt.
After 15 or 20 I was spent working hard to recover and then prepare for the next ball!  You were feeding a pretty good clip for a workout , but it may not have been so great for stroke analysis.  Although that would show any breakdown under pressure....  If you get a chance send the clips along or post them here if you like.  Thanks for the hits and doing the vids!

You did hit some good slices. You hit a lot of good backhands, but not as much as the last time. You are still pretty solid on that side. You were huffing and puffing after the initial set. I was just matching match play speed. When the ball bouced I fed one. But you should let me know if I'm going too fast, or if you need a breather.
I'll be posting them as soon as I have a chance to capture them.

[monstertruck]

About the FH, zzzallright, no worries.
I thought I hit a couple of nice slice BH's and a couple good topspins crosscourt.
After 15 or 20 I was spent working hard to recover and then prepare for the next ball!  You were feeding a pretty good clip for a workout , but it may not have been so great for stroke analysis.  Although that would show any breakdown under pressure....  If you get a chance send the clips along or post them here if you like.  Thanks for the hits and doing the vids!

You did hit some good slices. You hit a lot of good backhands, but not as much as the last time. You are still pretty solid on that side. You were huffing and puffing after the initial set. I was just matching match play speed. When the ball bouced I fed one. But you should let me know if I'm going too fast, or if you need a breather.
I'll be posting them as soon as I have a chance to capture them.

Nah, it was still fun and good practice!
Just that one tip you gave on the slice BH last time has helped noticably, thanks!

[Pacer]

Did you play Scott already or are you posting some other clips?

[dmastous]

Did you play Scott already or are you posting some other clips?

Nope, the big show down with Scooter is going to be awhile. Probably during the Cincy Masters if possible. I drove up to Monsterville from some dubs and video taping.

[Pacer]

Did you play Scott already or are you posting some other clips?

Nope, the big show down with Scooter is going to be awhile. Probably during the Cincy Masters if possible. I drove up to Monsterville from some dubs and video taping.

Oh the build up. I'm telling you you should sell tickets to this blockbuster.

[monstertruck]

Did you play Scott already or are you posting some other clips?

Nope, the big show down with Scooter is going to be awhile. Probably during the Cincy Masters if possible. I drove up to Monsterville from some dubs and video taping.

Oh the build up. I'm telling you you should sell tickets to this blockbuster.

Hopefully DMast can put together of a highlight reel of the singles and the dubs....and of course the ensuing barbeeecue/massacre at OSB's!

[dmastous]

Did you play Scott already or are you posting some other clips?

Nope, the big show down with Scooter is going to be awhile. Probably during the Cincy Masters if possible. I drove up to Monsterville from some dubs and video taping.

Oh the build up. I'm telling you you should sell tickets to this blockbuster.

Hopefully DMast can put together of a highlight reel of the singles and the dubs....and of course the ensuing barbeeecue/massacre at OSB's!

That would be at Freebird's if he's still around (haven't seen him in awhile).
I don't know if the video camera will be rolling, but we'll see.