Connor's Forehand 'BEFORE'

This is the 'Old Connor'... He used to have poor footwork and spacing to the ball. In this photo he set up too far away from the ball and had to close his stance to adjust his spacing. This stepping away from his intended target forced him to use his right arm as his sole means of power and direction. Then notice that the left arm is coming across his body in a hugging motion. This action crunches the shoulders together and restricts the swing.

'AFTER'

His Feet are better here. Notice that with a more open stance Connor can rotate his hips into the ball creating a much more forceful shot with much greater effeciency. We're still working on using the left hand more on the follow through. Connor still has a slight 'hug' but it's almost worked out now. He really has a nice forehand groundstroke...!

I won't be publishing any photos for the next few days but please check back next week...! 

Kathryn Rice is a senior at Angleton High School. She has been taking private lessons from me for a little over a year. She was last year's district girls singles champion but this year Angleton has be realigned into another district and she will be hard pressed to duplicate last year's performance. She is trying to play through a knee injury right now. One thing's for sure, and that is that Kathryn will not go down without giving it her very best effort. She's got one of the best competitive natures of anyone I've coached in a long time. 

Connor Copeland reported that he won his first school tennis match on Thursday. Connor plays for Evangelical Christrian School in Tennessee. He won his first singles match 8-5 and his first doubles match 8-2. He's got s 2-0 lifetime record so far in interscholastic play. Not Bad, Eh...? I'm very proud of Him...! 

Gracie Nagle is the Columbia Lakes Tennis Center Pet of the Month...! She loves to hang out while Joe and Dolphina are practicing. And she watches all their matches very closely. On changeovers she is normally gets a doggy treat so I'm pretty sure that she is one of the few dogs on the planet that knows how to keep score in tennis. I think she still has trouble with tiebreakers, though. 

Vanessa Akins is a Senior at West Columbia High School. She plans to attend Saint Edwards University in Austin in the fall and hopes to play tennis for them. She has worked hard this year and has improved every aspect of her game. Her best shot is her backhand groundstroke. I've enjoyed working with Vanessa this year and predict a very successful college career...! 

Here is Vanessa at the net waiting on a volley during an afternoon workout. 

Soren Gunther plays on the Angleton Junior High Team and participates in Coach Sam's Monday afternoon drills. Here he's using the Kangaroo-pouch method of ball collection which is more commonly used in Australia! 

Trey Gibson is a student at Freeport Junior High. He particpates in the Columbia Lakes Junior Development program on the weekends. His strengths are his groundstrokes. His forehand is his favorite shot. 

Trey Gibson stretches for a forehand at the Junior High Tennis Fun Day held a few weeks ago. 

Matt Mcnicoll helps facillitate the drills in the Friday morning classes. He also helped with my summer program last year. Matt is a very good assistant. He is very dependable, he's a great player, and all the students like and respect him. And not only is 'Coach Matt' a good tennis player, I hear is a very good golfer, too...! 

Jennifer Mcnicoll is an 8th grader in home school. She is a regular participant in the Friday morning homeschool drill and tennis league. Her game has improved tremendously in the past few months. She loves tennis and is very encouraging to the other players in the group. Jennifer is a real leader and one of the best ball collectors in all my classes! 

Amy Mcnicoll is the youngest of the Mcnicoll clan. She has great groundstrokes. Sometimes she gets a little shy around a camera. 

Joe Nagle is one of the greatest tennis enthusiasts at Columbia Lakes. He and his wife Dolfina are avid players. Joe uses the new wilson N-Code Racquet. 

Laura Knaupp stands ready to return a serve in this photo. Laura plays in the home school tennis league held in Nassau Bay on Friday mornings at 10 AM. 

Will Waible plays in the Nassau Bay Home School Friday Morning drill and tennis league. He has the most colorful hair of all the Friday morning participants...! 

Matthew Knaupp plays in my Friday morning Home School program at Nassau Bay. He has improved a lot this year. His serve has become one of his best shots. (when it goes in...!) 

Rebecca Adams is the official Ball Girl at Columbia Lakes Country Club...! She always helps keep the courts tidy during her big brother's tennis lessons. It won't be too long before she starts in her own class. Then we'll see if John Henry will pick up balls for her. Yeah, Right...! 

Ryan Beene displays great concentration as he lines up to hit a forehand groundstroke. Connor Copeland looks on in the background. These photos were taken during Coach Sam's Spring Break Camp. 

Here's Ryan Sebesta of Angleton at a recent Monday afternoon drill at Columbia Lakes Country Club. Ryan has shown tremendous improvement the last few weeks...! 

Austin Christianson of Angleton High School completes a forehand groundstroke in this photo. He attended both days of Coach Sam's Columbia Lakes Spreak Tennis Camp. 

Here's Austin at full extension on his serve. Uh-0hhh.... Did the Mac-Cam detect a foot fault...? It looks like his left foot has just rolled over the line...! 

Here's a great photo of Austin in the middle of his serve. You can clearly see the pronation in his wrist on this spin serve. 

Austin is just completing his serve in this photo. Notice his good balance on the follow through...! 

Conner Christiansen is finishing a forehand here. He's working on trying to use his left hand more. Conner has great footwork and is showing a nice semi-open stance in this photo.