Tennis Technology and Training
I am stunned at how dramatically commercial grade ball machines have improved since my playing days of yore. In fact, my personal ball machines that I have been writing about over the past few weeks are generally on par with the commercial machines that I grew up with. More recently, I am enjoying almost unlimited access to a modern commercial grade Playmate Grand Slam ball machine. It is a lot more powerful than the battery powered personal devices that I own.
I have a history of dabbling with assorted ball machines as an adult. Those forays are usually in conjunction with business travel. My general order of precedence when I don’t have a hitting partner available in remote locations is drop-in drills, a backboard, ball machine rental, or a lesson. Most of the time when I rent a ball machine it is a “Playmate” brand. Occasionally a facility will roll out a decrepit Lobster or a Prince cannon that they have probably owned since the Reagan administration. As long as it feeds balls and I can get a workout, I am generally happy.
The Playmate Grand Slam in my life is owned by the Country Club in my home town. I am still mostly living there while tending to the Umpire Who Gave Birth to Me. The Grand Slam can be configured for 7 basic shots that can be arranged for sequence and direction. It is less complicated than it looks and sounds, though I think it takes a little time to get your head wrapped around how it works. Usually when I wheel the machine out to the court, I find that the previous user has it programmed for a single shot to a single location. Occasionally it will be set to rotate between forehands and backhands with a narrow spread. I have no idea what the previous user was trying to do with these settings that I inherited one Sunday morning…
Generally I program the Playmate Grand Slam machine to work on shot and footwork patterns that I anticipate will translate to match play. Over the past weekend, I was working on a point pattern that I was considering for an upcoming tournament match. I discovered that I hit an inordinate number of balls into the net while trying to play that pattern. I may get better at it this week… or at least will be armed with the knowledge that it is a low percentage play going into the match. Either way, it is better to work all that out against the ball machine rather than when my opponent is hanging yet another bagel on me.
Playmate ball machines are priced at the point that is not practical for most consumers. The comparable Playmate current models list for about $10k, though discounts seem to be the norm. This is probably not a unit that players will purchase for personal use.
Next Tuesday I will cap off the series on ball machines by sharing a relatively simple pattern that I frequently use in my ball machine workouts. In the meantime, I highly recommend that serious tennis players consider adding regular sessions with the ball machine to their training rotation. It is an opportunity to fine tune shot mechanics and hit shots that are not polite in cooperative rally play.
Ball machines are one of the best tools in the toolbox for tennis improvement.
