Player Profile: Jimmy!

 One of the joys of this game is that it is fun to watch.  If you are interested in getting better than doing some watching is useful.  I thought I would talk about some of the players at the Downs and point out the good shots they have, comment a bit on how they work and what to look for if you get to watch them play.  I'm going to start with Jimmy.  He has a very good all around game and is a joy to watch and play with.  He is a bit difficult to play against however, but that's not his problem!  Here is my take on Jimmy's game.

I wanted to talk about Jimmy's game for a moment.  He plays quite well and in my opinion plays four shots with extremely well.  I wanted to talk about his shots and why I think they work well.

The shots are overheads, third shot drops, service returns, and fly swatter hits at the net.

Jimmy's background is in badminton, and that has provided him with a great overhead.  I've seen few misses and he delivers then with accuracy and power.  I have no comments on how he does it.  I'm comfortable with my overheads, so I've not spent a lot of time analyzing his.  But they are worth the watch if you are struggling.

Third shot drops are a particular strength.  He hits the ball well above the net and here is a key point, the spin he uses is more side spin than top or slice spin.  The shots are very effective and consistent.  I'm finding the use of a side spin shot to be more useful than I thought before.  Note also that the paddle is not used to scoop the ball, but there is a nice angle between arm and paddle.  I think this is very important for shot control.

Service returns look a lot like Jimmy's drop shots.  They clear the net easily and carry fairly deep into the court.  They usually have some slice spin on them.  He doesn't hit this shot hard.  A softer, higher shot gives him more time to get to the kitchen line.  His depth and modest slice spin provides a more difficult shot to return.  Jimmy looks unhurried as he advances, which is true, since he has the additional time to advance.

At the net Jimmy has very fast hands and can hit an accurate put away.  His stroke on those is more of a fly swatter hit than a swing and there is usually some of the side spin on the shots.  The side spin makes the ball fly flat and he doesn't need to lift the ball as much as a top spin shot would require.  A slap shot instead of a swing takes less time to hit and creates a ball fast enough to be effective.

Jimmy and I have talked about his game and he would like to hit serves harder.  I don't think that's necessary, as good players are going to return a faster serve just as well as a softer one.  I think it's more important that the serves be somewhat deep and land in the court.   I'd rather have a partner get the serves in than miss 10% and have some outright winners.

If you get a chance spend some time watching Jimmy.  He plays a very nice game, oriented to rallies and net points.  Have I mentioned he is fast on his feet?  Well, he has that going for him too.

Thanks Jimmy, for permission to talk about your game.