I recently recorded a podcast for my show, Prodigy Maker, in which I discussed the subject of moonballing, especially in junior tennis. The subject received a lot of comments online and I wanted to share some reflections from the show with the readership of the Long Island Tennis Magazine, and my experience of coaching of many world class juniors.
Moonballing is a legitimate strategy
In the regional and nationals of “Little Mo”, there has been some controversy on moon children and if it should be authorized, or if the tournament should try to limit this strategy. The controversy unfortunately broke out online in a ugly way between certain parents. From my point of view, people have to stop complaining about players who hit the ball in the air. It is a legitimate strategy, just like hitting the very low ball is a legitimate strategy. Parents – Post the complaint. Students – Stop complain. Coaches – Post the complaint. Stop whining and start to learn to win. It is difficult and painful to see a child losing against a moon runner – or a pusher – for that. It is a painful lesson, but this child must learn to manage different types of tactics.
Many players, especially young people, do not like to receive high bullets above the shoulder. It is stupid to penalize and / or criticize a child to exploit this fact. Players who hit moon balls have developed a legal and intelligent tactic. It may not be the best approach for their own long -term development – and I will discuss below – but hit the ball at the top or put pressure on the ball can be a very intelligent game to win.
Do not complain – to improve your brain!
The players showing that the moon ball show that they have a good brain. They demonstrate that their tactical computer is on and children complaining about it should try to improve their own brain. They must learn to manage this approach and learn to alleviate and counter a high lob; More about it later. Generally, players who lose against the counter-courses do not have a great tactical spirit and have not learned to solve problems.
The pretty technique does not win the games
Some parents, coaches and players seem to think that a pretty technique should win the victory – as a tennis match is a beauty contest. It’s not. A tennis match is much more like a cage or a street fight. The sooner a child understands this, the better. In a cage struggle, there are limited rules. In a street fight, there are no rules. Tennis has limited rules. There is no rule, for example, which limits the height to which you are allowed to strike the ball. You can hit it as high or as low as you want. Of course, you cannot hit obstructions like the roof. Exploring the rules of the rules is a good problem solving. If your opponent does not like tall balls, hit them, hit them more. If your opponent does not like low balls, give them more. If your opponent is slow, give them short balls like drops of drop. It’s just common sense and a good strategic game. But for many people, lobbing someone is seen negatively, frowned upon, criticized and even vilinery.
The cousins of the moon ball: pushing and drophes
The same opprobrium is reserved for children who use too many drops or children who “push” the ball. I call by pushing gunshots and deposits the cousins of the lob or moon ball. Contrary to what you may have heard, slowly hitting the ball is also a legitimate strategy. Some people do not like sweet balls because they can disturb the pace and timing of many players. Dropshots are also a wonderful strategy against players at all levels, especially those who are not fast or who have trouble with their physical form or their movement. If you want to return yourself or your stupid players on the field, limit by all the shots allowed to be affected instead of exploring the variety of photos of tennis. It is essential to develop the tactical spirit of a young child and to experience different effects on the ball is part of a good tactical learning and problem solving.
Winning without power in Spain is a badge of courage
Sometimes I think it’s funny when I hear people complain about how pushers, dropshotters and counterbalances win so many games and tournaments. They earn a lot of trophies, but they don’t play “real tennis”. What is real tennis anyway? Tennis blows can be slow or fast. The features can be pretty or ugly. With a few warnings, what matters is that holds the trophy at the end. There is stigma in the United States attached to winning without being able. In Spain, where I studied intensively, this stigma does not exist. There, the players who run, fuel, lob, dropshot, etc. are rented for their grain and intelligence. But not here. Here in the United States, we laughed and diffam these types of players – it’s crazy. In Spain, if a player is solid and consistent and wins with endurance, he is greeted, not castigated.
If the push and the moon ball gain so much, how is it in the United States, we do not teach that as a strategy?
If these slower ball tactics earn so many tournaments, why would we not want our children to use them. After all, the goal is to win tournaments, not pretty, right? I am absolutely to teach power and acceleration. In Spain, coaches are also obsessed with acceleration, but they also appreciate grinding and soft shots. Toni Nadal has a great saying about the importance of power and touch: “Velocidad y enablidad”, he likes. I want my players to have large powerful weapons, but sometimes a small knife can be just a mortal as a pistol in a street fight. A glass of glass in well -formed hands can be as fatal as an assault rifle. I want my players to have a variety of weapons and tools to win a match – not just power. A player who wins with all the available tools shows cunning and ingenuity, which features we want to develop, right?
How I teach players to use high balls on the attack
First of all, it is important to explain to children the different options at their disposal during the attack on their opponent over the shoulder. For me, a moon ball is really high. It is a very high lob with little rotation. My friend likes to call them cloud touches – Homs that touch the sky. In general, I prefer that my players use spin to hit a heavy toppin ball over the shoulders. Topspin Lourdes attacks are high ball attacks with a speed of rotation and racket. This is my favorite strategy to teach players. Online, it is sometimes called the Spanish armada game. Spanish players love playing loud and heavy with a whip and a rotation. If my players reach a touch of occasional cloud as a change of rhythm, I agree with that, but I don’t really want them to occur to the supernatural of this super high ball strategy. I want this heavy ball, and for that, the players must have a good technique, a good acceleration and a good game of legs and a balance. These are the main technical areas that I want my players to develop. If they send too many touches of high and slow clouds, I fear that they are not sufficiently developing their leg game, their technique and their racket speed. I don’t want my players to slap the ball in heaven and develop bad habits. It’s a red line for me. But at the end of the day, I respect a child to understand that a high ball can earn points and disturb the game of his opponent.
How to treat strategically with a moon coulier
The best way to face a moon birch is to stay calm and remove the ball from the air with a flight of topspin. Be patient and don’t leave the ball too high above your shoulders. Other alternative strategies consist in taking the ball on the plan or returning to the bottom of the field and playing a heavy topspin to the opponent. I teach these three strategies to my players so that they are ready for any moon color!
Conclusion – Long -term development
Remember that hitting high bullets is something we want young players tactically. Encourage children to do so. It is better that their long -term development learns to do it using the Spanish Armada style than the cloud keys. In this way, players promote better technique, leg game and balance and acceleration. My longtime mentor, the legendary Spanish coach, Luis Bruguera, likes to say: “Do not destroy your opponent – disturb him.” When players experience the shot of tall bullets, they learn to do that exactly. They learn to disrupt and win without being able. This is an important lesson to learn on the junior path. The key is to learn this tactical lesson without developing bad technical habits along the way.
