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Overweight recruit

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BlackRose101
BlackRose101 Posts: 117 Member
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Hey, i'll be playing tennis in college. I was recruited for it yet i'll still have to do tryouts for it against 11 to 13ish other girls. I'm overweight and all the other girls are slim and seem fit, some have played sports since forever all I ever did was cheer, play tennis and swim.
I'm honestly scared. Please give me some advice, I work out at the gym, lift weights, play tennis about 2x to 3x a week. I have issues with ball control and speed. I'm not the fastest, but I can serve well and I play with strategy.

Any advice would be nice :)

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  • LowcarbNY
    LowcarbNY Posts: 546 Member
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    Not giving us much to work on here. How much match play experience do you have? Any USTA tournaments? Do you have a ranking? Lacking any of that info what would your USTA rating be?

    Will you be playing doubles or singles? Will the tryouts be based on singles only or singles and doubles or what?

    If you don't have good stamina you might be better off trying for a doubles spot.

    I recently played one of my doubles partners who is much younger and faster than I. My strength against him is that I'm more accurate and consistent than he. My strategy was to serve wide on both sides, opening up the court then hit cross court to get him running using moderate pace. As soon as I got a short ball I'd hit a strong approach shot and close to net. This strategy worked because I knew that the rally would rarely last more than 4 or 5 shots.

    If he had been a grubber who just got everything back without much pace then that strategy would not have worked. Against that type of player I'd want to end the point early rather than hitting 20 shots and running all day. I'd have to take a risk and try coming in against one of their high rollers and cutting it off with a mid court volley.
  • BlackRose101
    BlackRose101 Posts: 117 Member
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    Sorry, there's not much to go on. haha

    I'm a newb to competing, but i've played on and off since I was 5 (I left it for cheer and swimming).
    I'm going to a D3 school (it has a not so amazing tennis program, but all the girls have played some sort of running sport before). I'm not ranked. I'll be playing both singles and doubles. I'm increasing in stamina though.
  • mjpTennis
    mjpTennis Posts: 6,165 Member
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    Fitness ideas - you should focus your energies on the cardio side of things as it sounds like that is a concern for you. I would do a lot of interval training to simulate the flow of the tennis matches. Set a baseline for yourself and then try to improve that by 5 to 10 percent each week.

    Tennis ideas - keep up the match play, dial in on that serve, that can really win a lot of matches for you.

    Good luck.
  • hairsprayhon
    hairsprayhon Posts: 334 Member
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    I could have written much of this post when I started college (except cheering was not a sport back in the day) you need to play tennis more frequently can you find someone for hitting sessions to work on specific shots?
    You need to improve your fitness, with every pound I lose I win another point.
    You say you were recruited, contact the coach about a fitness regime. I remember my coach told me that I should not use tennis to get in shape I should get in shape to play tennis.
    It sounds like you have raw talent and hopefully your coach will help you maximize it.
    If Serena can come back from the brink of death and win Wimbledon, singles and doubles, anything is possible.
    Unfortunately I have experience playing tennis as an unfit person, the key is to get the other person moving, and they will try drop shots, you need to be able to be aggressive at the net to finish those points early.
    You will be amazed how your game improves as your fitness does.
  • Creiche
    Creiche Posts: 264 Member
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    I'd also suggest paying attention to and working on your footwork. I think we've all had the experience of getting tired in a match and overreaching for a shot or not taking those last couple of steps to make sure you're in the proper place for a solid shot. Fitness and cardio health are a part of making sure you have enough energy to keep your feet moving, but if you have someone to hit with, you can set up cones along the baseline and practice sidestepping/running out and around the cones after each shot.
  • Annie_ga
    Annie_ga Posts: 72
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    Hi. Glad you love your serve and use your mind well! I'm jealous!

    Here are my top of mind ideas for you: 1) Gain confidence. Play some matches in any local league at your level or below your level and start believing in yourself. You won't win any tough matches without self-belief. Also, long singles matches are the best way of helping your groundies and increasing your ball control. Lastly, long singles matches can help you anticipate better which will make you faster 2) Go see a speed and agility trainer. There are lots of ways to get faster. 3) Use a ball machine for added ball control practice. Hit a bunch of forehands and backhands and get a rhythm (this will help confidence) 4) Have fun!
  • BlackRose101
    BlackRose101 Posts: 117 Member
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    You're all amazing. Thank you.
    I do have people to train with and I do so every time I play. I asked my coach for some training packets and he emailed me a LOT of stuff which does include footwork, which I actually enjoy doing :D

    My training includes mile jogs, I do intervals at the gym on an elliptical machine, and I practice different types of hits with my summer coach aka Dad (toughest coach a kid could have, seriously).

    Thanks for all the advice, i'm feeling better about playing for my school already :)

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