A real treat: hand-pulled noodle 手拉酱面
Muscle memory
6-3, 3-6
The first set, no hold, no doubles. The second set, I held but have two doubles.
Looking at my serves on video, I just want to kick myself: where’s the improvements?
My arm shouldn’t face forward … not pronated!
I tried scratch my back method – cut the up swing motion, place the racket at the back, elbow out, then toss the ball. But somehow, I still manage to change my grip AFTER tossing the ball. How talented am I.
My top and skirt are mostly wet when I start out on the tennis court, because I always go to the pool first, to swim a few laps, to warm up for the game. I towel dry then over to tennis.
Today’s wet is an extreme, and I don’t know why and what has happened, dripping wet.
If you’re trying to copy how a pro does the serve properly, keep watching it in slow motion over and over and try to memorize how it’s done and reply everything you saw when it’s your turn to practice it on the court or even off the court
Split your serve practice session into different separate segments like
Segment 1 – dribble the ball x number times before tossing
Got it perfected, move on to the next
Segment 2 – Work on your toss without hitting with your racket
Check the following:
How high was your toss?
How far away in front and to the side of you?
Put something on the ground where you expect the ball to land . You can use a coin or a piece of paper
Make sure you can land the ball on that target or close to it over and over
Now you’re ready to work with your racket: where it travels to reach the hitting position
Is the racket head all the way up like in the pictures? Whoa that’s usually for the advanced players
Very important to leave your shoulder from tossing hand to stay up before you start you service swing else your serve will most likely hit the net
Point to the ball if you don’t want to look like your serving food or drink
Assuming that you’ve learned the proper positioning of your feet so that there’s no issue bending your knees
Have someone watch you from different angles: from behind you, from the left side, right side to get some feedback
Too many pointers already and getting a headache?
Take a Tylenol and call me in the morning 😜😝😛
An unyielding frog
A small green frog is sitting at the corner of the table. At first, I thought it’s a trinket … No matter what I do, it just won’t budge… till the coach comes. And it goes downhill from there.
Three sets with Matt, Greg and Brad, won 2 lost one.
Two -:( including one that gave the game away, ultimately the set.
Coach said, that my shoulder isn’t turning: just one more thing to include to improve my serve.
Yesterday I swam 1,012 yard in 25 minutes.
Today, it’s a busy day – Dear diary
7am hit the pool. A man I’d played pickelball a couple of times with was two steps ahead of me (buy me a drink I’ll reveal his name wink …) and didn’t hold the door. Matt the pool cleaner was 2 steps behind me. I held the door for him – isn’t this the way suppose to be in a civilized place? (Watched Tucker’s interview of Putin? …) After a brief swim, as I was leaving, a gent came in. Although I was quite distance from the door, he held it for me. Thank you sir.
At tennis court, we’ve a cute but lazy company … Let’s go to the video above
We got to the social hall at 6:58pm, and we were late for 7pm wine tasting. Gush -:) Is it the lure of the wine or the social norm that you get to an event EARLY?
Live music, by a composer himself and my husband of Debussy’s Arabesque 1.
1.2 miles OWS @ Sand Key
My first open water swimming in years, 1.2 miles at Sand Key Park, came in at 59 minutes. My friend Linda did it in 53 min. Water temp is 69°F. Both of us wear 3mm wet suit (my first) – actually most of 167 swimmers wear wet suit. My leisure time in the pool for 1,000 yard is about 25 minutes: a mile is 1,760 yards, 1.2 m = 2,112 yard.
This race has 5km, 2.4mile, 1.2mile and .5mile length. The first two have bus to take them to their starting point. The later two – walk. Lucky we’ve her husband who took our sandals, camera.
The 167 swimmers: two kids under 14, join the 0.5 mile event. One 75-79 man is in 1.2 miles. Two teen and one 60-64 lady swim 5k meter event.
I haven’t done any real swim for nearly two months – swim a bit before and after tennis as warm up and stretch. So today is a test and I feel great. When I get a little tired I switch to frog front crowl.
My friend is a seasoned outdoor person and brought fruits, multiple towels, shampoo n lotion etc … one would think these are so basic but I forgot them all; and also forgot my wallet: paid my lunch with Apple Pay. Maybe it’s the convenience of Apple wallet that I don’t bring my wallet often.
Getting up at 5:30, 5:57 waiting for the car pool outside 7:14, get to the park 8:08, walking toward our 1.2 miles starting point 8:30, race begins 9:28, I’m out of water – made it 10:30, award ceremony It’s a great race. My first time wearing a 3mm wetsuit to swim. Although I haven’t do any serious swim for months, but I didn’t struggle. I’m ok with my time. With some practice, I can improve
Ryan Johansen, 1992
Ryan Johansen (1992-; 2010) is a Canadian ice hockey centre for the Colorado Avalanche – newly traded. He was drafted 4th in 2010, by the Canadian team Columbus Blue Jackets.
A friend’s niece had dated him since college but broke up because of him couldn’t say no to other gfs.
I certainly admire her principle but in reality, there are more girls who will throw themselves at him, a $8m a year player – he signed a 8 year / $64,000,000 contract with the Nashville Predators in 2017.
Ryan Johansen (1992-; 2010)
加拿大瑞恩·约翰森 (Ryan Johansen, 1992 年-; 2010 年) 是科罗拉多雪崩队的冰球中心 – 新交易. 2010年, 他以第四顺位被加拿大球队哥伦布蓝衣队选中.
一个朋友的侄女从大学开始就和他约会, 但因为他无法拒绝其他女友而分手.
我当然钦佩她的原则. 但事实上,有很多女孩会向他投怀送抱 – 年薪$8m 的球员—他在2017年与纳什维尔掠夺者队签订了一份8年/$6,400万美元的合同. 觉得朋友的侄女和他很般配 … 只能叹息
It’s a good serve, coach said
Lesson #2: Is this a good serve??? The coach says so … but why do I still see the waiter’s tray?
Blue Dolphin, we christen it
Finally we’ve our Sea Eagle kayak‘s launching ceremony 下水典礼 at E.G. Simmons and christen it Blue Dolphin.
… more pix n videos on Google Maps
We purchased it in May 2023. Seriously I could NOT believe myself not using it sooner.
Shortly off the kayak launch ramp at E.G. Simmons, we encounter a dolphin or two. It/they followed us for good 10 minutes. I just thought Dolphin would be an appropriate name for our kayak. And Linda added Blue.
So Blue Dolphin it is.
The inflatable Sea Eagle 380x is very solid and spacious. The seats we purchased (not inflatable) are comfortable.
终于 昨天我们的 kayak 小划艇举行了下水典礼 – 去年 5 月买它以来, 说实话, 我不敢相信自己没有早点使用它. 天天在忙啥呀
命名蓝海豚 因为一下水就被海豚追随 – 这个公园多海牛.
… more kayaking trips
- Boca Ciega Bay
- Little Manatee River
- Lake Harmony, PA
- Hudson River, NYC
- Acadia National Park, Maine
Nassau County bars transgender athletes
New York Times: Transgender participation in women’s sports has been restricted in 24 states. Now, by executive order, it has been banned at more than 100 facilities in Nassau County, on Long Island.
Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive and a Republican, signed an executive order barring girls’ and women’s teams that include transgender athletes from using county facilities. It was the latest effort in a nationwide push to limit transgender athletes from competing.
The order, which did not require the approval of the County Legislature, took effect immediately. It was not immediately clear whether Blakeman’s action was legal under the state’s human rights law.
His office said the ban would affect thousands of teams across all levels. Last year, the Big East Conference, which has 11 member universities, held its swimming championship in Nassau County. The Big East did not respond to a request for comment on the ban.
The reaction was immediate. Bobby Hodgson, the director of L.G.B.T.Q. Rights Litigation at the New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement that Blakeman’s order was illegal and that the organization would “consider all options to stop it.”
Jami Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Toledo and an expert on L.G.B.T. politics, told my colleague Claire Fahy that Blakeman had ignored both state law and a Supreme Court ruling, a 1977 case that allowed Renée Richards (1934-) to compete in the women’s draw at the U.S. Open. Richards, now 89, was one of the first openly transgender athletes in professional sports.
Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti, a Democrat who represents parts of Nassau County, said that Blakeman had issued the order to score political points. Blakeman was elected in 2021 after campaigning against mask mandates, which had angered some suburban parents and businesses during the pandemic. He also focused on crime and bail reform.
Blakeman, who signed the order at a news conference, referred to transgender girls who competed on women’s teams outside New York, saying that he wanted to “get ahead of the curve here in Nassau County.” The order does not restrict transgender boys and men from competing on boys’ and men’s teams.
When he was asked how many transgender athletes compete in Nassau County, he said he did not know. He also said, without citing a source, that fewer than 1 percent of the county’s residents identify as transgender and that he was not sure how many, if any, competed at county facilities.
Juli Grey-Owens, the executive director of Gender Equality New York, a group that took part in a protest outside the building where Blakeman’s news conference took place, said there were about 17,000 transgender people in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, which have a combined population of about 2.9 million.
She said the question was how many transgender athletes were even involved in local women’s and girls’ sports.
“Every time that question is asked, they come back with no answer,” she said, referring to proponents of bans like Blakeman’s, “because they have a solution looking for a problem.”
3-6, 3-6 w/ golfer
We lost: 0 to 2.
More bad news: waiter’s tray is still there – it has been months and many double faults. I’m a little discouraged 小崩溃
One fellow player on FB left me this long help note:
Irene, I have to ask exactly what are you after? The post indicates elimination of double faults and frustrations, which in and of themselves are great goals. However, watching your clip I’m struck by the fact that your motion, at least in this clip, is NOT dynamic at any point of the motion. Another observation is that your ball toss is both erratic and has an inconsistent release point. If I was forced to compare your service motion to a professional, past or current, I’d point to Francois Durr. That is not bad, after all she did play professional tennis and did have success BUT …. you have a major relationship with the western grip. Others have already touched on this, but the western grip is not intended for balls above your head. The main reason being is that ANY rotation of your shoulder, bend to your elbow, or rotation at you wrist or change in grip pressure will change the angle of incidence/contact with the ball. A good way to think about the service motion is not so much throwing a football, as that is not a universally understood skill, but rather reaching for an item on a high shelf. Most people when they reach for items on a high shelf move to a position with their hip as close to the shelf as possible to allow them to have a full or complete EXTENSION of their arm and torso to touch and grasp the item. The same is true for the service motion, the more you are reaching for the ball the better the extension, more power, consistency, spin and less frustration. So how to think and train for a better service motion. The simplest manner to train for consistency is to start with the grip. Stand at the service line and put your racket flat against your leg with the bow of the racket touching the ground. grasp the racket handle so that your hand is parallel to your leg, THAT is a continental grip. With this grip firmly in mind move to a fence with a windscreen. Place your non-dominant hip and shoulder against the fence and emulate your service motion toward the apex of the motion, the contact point. You will notice as you do this your body will want to turn into the fence, this is called pronation. This position is where 100% of successful players make contact with the ball, this is what you need to emulate. As you progress and move back to the court this motion will allow you a better angle to the opposite court and as an added bonus when you execute properly it will help your body to embrace proper mechanics and “pull” you into the court as you strike the ball. If you review your clip once you finish your motion you are still behind the baseline. A proper service motion should naturally “pull” you forward, almost making you feel like you are falling into the court. At this point I must emphasize that a step into the court is both natural and important. If you are not stepping into the court after contact your motion is not a complete motion. The next issue you need to address is the ball toss. The term toss is a misnomer, it should be though of as you “placing” the ball at a specific place every time for your motion. Thinking to the service motion process we discussed above you need to place the ball at a consistent height. The best way to think of this is as a formula; Your Height (H) + length of arm above your head level(A) + racket length (R) + gravity (G) = the optimum height to place the ball for a proper service. I will use my specifics as an example: I am 6’2″, the part of my arm above my head is 24″, the length os my racket is “27” and the force of gravity, that is the distance a ball will drop anywhere in the world while I’m swinging to the contact point, is 28″ . (H)74+(A)24+(R)27+(G)28 = 153″ or 12.75 feet high. the next ideal to grasp is that the ball must be placed in a position forward of your body to allow proper pronation into the ball as we trained for against the fence/windscreen. Many instructors speak to some place one racket length ahead of your non-dominant leg, depending upon your range of motion that location can and will change. The best mental picture for this process is to imagine standing in the doorway from a room into a hallway. The ball you are “tossing/lifting” you are placing into the hallway outside of the doorway you are standing in at the moment. Another benefit of this thought process is that it helps to remind you to step/walk through the door into the hallway/court. If all of this seems like so much wet spaghetti the one take away you should focus upon is ball toss and height of toss. Even with your current motion and grip those two alone will greatly improve your results. If you are not going to play competitive tournament tennis seeking radical change may not actually be for you. Just consistent may be what you should be seeking… but only you can make that determination.
… Thank you so much!
Renée Richards, 1934
She was born in New York City as Richard Raskind on August 19, 1934, to David Raskind, an orthopedic surgeon. His mother was one of the first female psychiatrists in the United States, in addition to being a professor at Columbia University. This “nice Jewish boy” grew up in Forest Hills, graduated from Horace Mann School, Yale and University of Rochester Medical Center (1959) specialized in ophthalmology.
At Horace Mann, he excelled as the wide receiver for the football team, the pitcher for the baseball team, and on the tennis and swim teams. New York Yankees Invited him to join he decided to focus on tennis.
He married model Barbara Mole in June 1970, had a son Nicholas in 1972, was divorced in 1975 when he transitioned to a woman.
His fame came in 1976 when he was ousted by TV anchor Richard Carlson, the father of Tucker, now Renée Richards. And her subsequent law suit against US Open, and won. But she lost in the first run in 1977 US Open to Virginia Wade (1945-).
As a men, he first played in US Open in 1953, lost in the first run, so did 1956 and 1960. He made into the second run in 1955 and 1957.
He returned to ophthalmologist, working on Park Avenue in 1980 after quitting tennis circuit.
1934年8月19日, 她出生于纽约市. 原名Richard Raskind. 父亲是整形外科医生David Raskind. 除了是哥伦比亚大学的教授外,他的母亲还是美国第一批女精神病学家之一. 这个“漂亮的犹太男孩”在森林山长大,毕业于霍勒斯曼学校, 耶鲁大学和罗切斯特大学医疗中心(1959年),专攻眼科.
在Horace Mann 霍勒斯曼学校, 他作为足球队的外接手、棒球队的投手以及网球和游泳队的出色表现. 纽约洋基队邀请他加入, 他决定专注于网球.
他于1970年6月与模特Barbara Mole结婚,1972年有一个儿子Nicholas,1975年他过渡到女性时离婚.
他的名声出现在1976年, 当时他被电视主播Richard Carlson赶下台 (Richard Carlson是Tucker的父亲)现在是Renée Richards. 她随后对美国公开赛提起诉讼，并获胜. 但她在1977年美国网球公开赛的第一次比赛中输给了弗吉尼亚·韦德(1945-).
作为一名男子,他于1953年首次参加美国网球公开赛,在第一场比赛中输了, 1956年和1960年也是如此. 他在1955年和1957年打进了第二圈.
1980年在退出网球巡回赛后 他回归眼科医生,诊室在纽约的公园大道上.
