Seeing the Ball

“Be the ball; you're not being the ball, Danny.” Remember Chevy Chase in Caddyshack trying to teach his protégé a Zen-like disassociation from the physical world in order to improve his golf game (which, for Danny, ended with the ball kerplunking into the water hazard)? Dr. Robert Soloway takes a slightly different tack for tennis, teaching viewers to “see the ball,” and thereby improve their game. Noting that many coaches advise students to watch the ball all the way to the strings of the racquet--a task easier said than done when you're trying to sync several moving objects at the same time: your head, eyes, racquet, and the speeding ball--Soloway's technique includes meeting the ball as far forward as possible, which reduces the amount of head-jerking and takes advantage of weight transfer to add power to the stroke. In addition, Soloway teaches visualization techniques that help players anticipate ball trajectory, using what he calls the “v” method, which removes much of the guesswork from determining ball arc and direction. Sure to be popular, especially with summer sports just around the corner, this is recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)