Carmel Valley Ranch Play The Clay Event

5-02-09
Once again we dodged the bullet on the weather. The day was a bit overcast at the start but got better and better as the time wore on. There were 8 for the clinic and round robin – two of which had participated the previous day. Clark, Tim and I ran the group through a series of warm up drills where we were able to emphasize sliding and movement, drop shots, angles, inside-out forehands and patience. We then talked strategy, played out singles and doubles points and finished by playing a little up the ladder down the ladder doubles.

One of the highlights of the day for me was getting to meet the great Jean Harris. Not a familiar name? I recognized her from the minute she walked on the court as I have seen her picture and read about her in magazines and on the tennis channel. She owns 16 gold balls. That’s right – 16. She continues to play in the 90’s age division and participates in both singles and doubles. She cannot run and serves underhand but has exceptional hands and about the wickedest drop shot I have ever seen. I think she could have taught the clinic on that shot!

I got to play with Jean as my partner for one set which was lots of fun. Jean is a member at Carmel Valley Ranch and needless to say is rather a celebrity. She has played with and against nearly all the greats of her day at one time or another, men and women as she plays mixed as well. She has had a knee replacement, rotator cuff surgery and a few others but it does not seem to bother her. She is very modest, soft-spoken and engaging. Oh yes, and she was heading to LA Tennis Club next week to play one of the senior nationals on their two new HydroCourts – singles and doubles – and continuing on to La Jolla after that to play the hard courts. She is an inspiration!

After the clinic Dave Houston showed up. Dave is about as well connected in tennis in NorCal as anyone I know. He absolutely loves the game of tennis, is active in the tennis community, grew up in Monterey and taught and coached for many years. He currently provides clubs and tennis facilities with an assortment of products from windscreens to Playmate ball machines. His company is called DH Distribution.

Dave drove down from Half Moon Bay to join us with one of his ball machines on the chance we had any juniors for the afternoon clinic. First we ate lunch together at Earthbound Farms farm stand and café which is just a short, convenient drive from the Ranch. If you buy organic vegetables you have heard of Earthbound Farms and they had one of the best selections of healthful, organic and natural food that I have ever seen for a stand that size and much of it was straight from their fields.

Back at the Ranch we did not have any juniors come out but we did get to try out the latest innovation in ball machines. Playmate has adapted the use of a footswitch pad and a series of indicator lights that will greatly augment training and practice, particularly as it relates to the serve and volley. It is fabulous! There is a footpad that acts as a switch and connects wirelessly with the ball machine. For serve and volley practice, a player steps onto the pad with a ball and lines up to serve. The moment the player comes off the pad the ball machine is triggered to feed a ball to a predetermined location, which for serve and volley purposes can be at the T for singles or to one side or the other for doubles. The feed can be followed up with additional shots to programmed locations, including lobs to replicate the need for closing in and shuffling back for the overhead.

If you have ever used a ball machine, particularly for volleys, coordinating your feet and preparation with the feed of the ball is difficult as you are not quite sure when to split step. This is where the indicator lights come in. Just prior to ball feed a panel of red LED lights that looks almost like a miniature version of what you see in drag racing illuminates in sequence. This is akin to when your opponent would be hitting the ball in a live point, allowing you to learn exactly when to split step. It is a wonderful invention that I think will really help players improve serve and volley and many other skills. We spent about 1 ½ hours drilling on it that afternoon and got just an incredible workout. Dave also set up shot sequences that allowed us to practice poaching and working as a team at the net.

We thought people might be interested in viewing the machine and drills in action so we have placed video on the Lee Tennis YouTube page www.youtube.com/leetenniscourtprod that you can view anytime. I inquired about cost and Dave informed us that this technology will work on ball machines that are less than two years old and both the foot pad and lights together run between $800 and $1,000.

We ended a great day by having dinner with Dave at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch restaurant, a restored mission overlooking where the Carmel River runs into the ocean, and having a few drinks at the Crown and Anchor Pub in Monterey. Tomorrow is the last day. There is a mixed doubles round robin that will be held on the clay courts from 11 AM – 1 PM.