Tennis Tips

10 Tips for Faster Serves


After you have learned the basic tennis serve technique and have become quite consistent, it's common to feel the urge to really whack the ball and send a rocket towards your opponent.

You try to hit the ball hard, use all the strength in your body and somehow the serve just doesn’t seem to respond to your efforts.

In fact, it seems that it’s going even slower now.

Here are 10 tips to help you serve faster:

1. Loosen up! Don’t grip the racket so tight, loosen your whole body and swing freely at the ball.

2. Think “fast” instead of “hard.” The tension of your body starts in your mind.

3. Exhale when you serve. That will help you release some of the tension.

4. Make a swooshing sound. Try a few serves without the ball and just listen to the sound. Remember the feel and hit the ball in the same way.

5. Don’t aim! When you are learning how to serve fast, you need to let go. Don’t try to serve fast and at the same time get every ball in.

6. Hit a few balls into the back fence across the whole court. There is an old program running on your brain that tells your arm how fast to move. When you change your target dramatically, you can set yourself free from that program.

7. Throw the racket. Take an old racket, go to a nice lawn and throw the racket as far as you can with a similar motion to serving or throwing a ball.

8. Rotate quickly with your body. The main energy source of your serve is body rotation. Try and consciously rotate your shoulders to increase the racket head speed.

9. Drive with your legs. Legs add only about 10 percent of the racket head speed, but that could mean more than 10 km/h if you take full advantage of the leg drive.

10. Keep a high racket head speed even AFTER the contact. Don’t accelerate only to the ball, instead try and hit through the ball focusing on fast movement for a few inches after the contact.

Cricket News

Pakistan vs England Test Series (11-

12)2nd Test

Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss have experienced much during the 100 occasions they have stood together as England's opening pair, but rarely anything like this - a trial by spin in the desert, an examination against Pakistan's slow bowlers on the world's driest Test ground.

It was all too much for Strauss. He made 11 and was then stuck on the crease, propping half forward suspiciously, when Mohammad Hafeez had him caught off bat and pad at short leg.

Tennis

Roger Federer's serve is one of the most underrated serves in the game.

In fact, Federer is a great model for most players at most levels, much better in many respects than either Sampras or Roddick. By studying his motion you can identify all the basic elements that go into building a high-level technical service motion, a motion that allows players to get the most out of their ability on a consistent basis.

Federer's motion is so smooth and effortless that it doesn't attract the same attention as Pete or Andy. What makes Federer less distinctive is probably what also makes him a better model. It's a simpler, more classical motion with fewer extreme elements.

Federer's Serve: Smooth, effortless, classical.

Roger's serve may not have the m.p.h. or be as dynamic looking as Roddick's. It may not have as much topspin or be as unplayable as Sampras'. But it would be hard to claim it isn't effective, and seamlessly integrated into his all-court game. If you were to pick one service motion from the top players to use as a template for building or improving your serve, my opinion is that it should be Roger's.

Grip: A Mild Eastern Backhand

Like all pro players, Federer uses some version of a backhand grip. You could call it a continental, or a mild eastern backhand. If we look at the position of his hand on the racket bevels, most of the palm of his hand is on the top bevel, or bevel one. His index knuckle appears to be in the center of bevel two. This grip works well for high level players, pro players, college players, ranked juniors, even some advanced club players. But you can develop the same basic swing elements with a slightly less extreme grip as well. You could call that less extreme grip a mild continental. The heel pad slides somewhat more to the right and is positioned somewhat less on bevel one and somewhat more on bevel two. The index knuckle slides somewhat to the right as well, to the edge between bevel one and bevel two. This is an easier grip for lower level junior players and many adults. It worked pretty well at the pro level for John McEnroe as well.

Starting Stance

Federer starts with his weight forward on his front foot, standing up on his back toes. Then he rocks back and stands up as he starts his wind-up. That initial leaning position is not the key to understanding his stance. That a personal ritual, similar to the way Sampras started slightly hunched over, with his front toes up in the air. The real key is to see what happens as he starts his wind-up and stands up so that both feet are flat on the court.

The key to understanding Roger's stance is when both feet are on the court.

What we see at that point is that his front foot is at a slight angle to the baseline, a little less than parallel. This angle is slightly more open in the deuce court compared to the ad. The rear foot is offset to the left of the front foot, with the toe of the back foot roughly in line with the heel of the front foot. The rear foot appears to be just about exactly parallel to the baseline in both courts. But in the ad court it's also set a few inches further back to Roger's left.

Soccer

How to Play Soccer

Soccer fitness is a curious beast. Until the last few decades, one did not have to have an especially athletic build to make it as a pro soccer player. Now, though, players at the top level � and even some semi-pro soccer players � have strict training regimens, and the physiques to match. It's fair to say that in soccer fitness is now more important than ever, so here are some tips to help you get in the right condition for 90 minutes of action.

First of all, you need to know your soccer position, or at least your style of play, so that you know what to Work on the most. Players who operate as soccer wingers will need to be pacy and posses great balance; centre-backs need to work on their aerial abilities, so a jumping skill is an absolute must. Those in the centre of midfield require upper-body strength and an ability to slide in for tackles, while goal-getting strikers need a burst of speed to break free of their marker. Once you know where you should be focusing, you can tailor a soccer fitness regimen to your needs.

That said, there are plenty of important lessons that all soccer players � even goalkeepers � can bear in mind in a bid to stay fit.

First off is basic general aerobic fitness. The pros can cover well in excess of 4.5 miles per game on the field, and although you may not go quite that far, you do need to be ready to go the distance. So, work on aerobics.

Anaerobic fitness is almost as important. This is the 'hardcore' fitness test, and it applies when you're sprinting. So, as well as doing endurance running, do some sprint drills to ensure that you can meet the pace when required.

And, although it doesn't relate precisely to fitness, don't forget some ball work. Practising soccer drills is a great way to break the tedium of running, and if you can combine the two � for example running while dribbling the ball for 50 yards � you'll become a better player, too.

Then, on gameday, always warm up correctly. This is key for fitness as a proper soccer warm-up will decrease the likelihood of injury. To warmup for soccer, start with some basic muscle stretches in all the major groups, and then partake of some sprint drills. Combine these with static turns, especially if you run with the ball a lot, and also do brief runs with a jumping header motion in the middle of them to get your neck ready for action!

Warming down is just as important: not many fans will be able to tell you that, as they've long since left the stadium by the time this takes place. But it's vital that all players at least jog, skip, and stretch. It may be the last thing you want to do after an exhausting (but thrilling) 90 minutes � but you have to if you want to be a fit soccer player long-term. Well, that, and a soccer diet � eat healthily, sleep well, and take on enough carbs before a game to last the distance.

Cricket

High Quality Cricket Goods Is a Must for Ensuring Performance

Cricket as many of us know is a wonderful sporting spectacle. However, at present there are only 12 test playing nations playing cricket from all over the world. The reminder of the countries who participate in very few major events or tournaments are yet to establish themselves as a cricketing nation at the international arena. International Cricket Council (ICC) has structured their organization in such a manner to protect its fraternity and gives lots of opportunities for these underdog nations to develop their cricket and prove their international credentials.

When it all started couple of centuries ago, there were only 3 or 4 teams that were to known to play high quality cricket and they represented International arena. Now we have come a long way where many new teams have been added to the list as ICC looks to expand and take the sport across the globe.

Cricket as a sport has come a long way. It was traditionally played as a gentleman's sport with elegance and style. The appropriate word that could be used to define the way in which the sport was being played would be orthodox with defined patterns. This face was entirely changed by the cricketing God and Master Sir Donald George Bradman. Many think wrongly that it was Sir Viv Richards who revolutionized the sport.

Viv was indeed an aggressive batsman by nature but it was the don who revolutionized the sport. In those days there were hardly any protective goods used for playing the sport. You barely had a cricketing leg guards made out of cotton and had buckles for tying it around your legs. The cricket batting gloves was made out of cotton with soft padding on top of each and every finger. The moment the 5 and half ounce thing of matter struck you in the fingers at quite a rapid pace, you surely bound to break your finger badly. We all know about the ever debatable Bodyline series and the injuries caused because of the intensions and poor quality equipments used back then in 1932-33 series. Helmets were not even in the frame of the portrait until the late 1980's.

You got struck on your head; you are certainly a dead meat until helmets came into the picture. Bert Oldfield got one his forehead during the 1932-33 Ashes series and if not for his cap's pointy forehead he would have died that day.

The quality of the cricket bats back then was also quite poor. They often used to break or incur damage while playing strokes. In fact you ought to season it for at least 6 months to a year before using it in matches. However, this scenario has changed today. Science and Technology has aided a lot and revolutionized cricketing world by several degrees. Today you have high quality Cricket bats being manufactured out of special willows treated with wonderful chemicals such that you can immediately use it the moment you strip off its cover.

Also today you could find leather gloves with wonderful cushioning that incorporates more protection. The cricket bats have become more powerful because of its sturdiness and essentially mistimed shots can lead into the fence with much ease. The weight of the cricket ball being used in the games still remains to be the same. However, their quality has been drastically improved. Today a ball, ca easily last up to 80 odd over's without being disfigured and the leather pronunciations are more predominant and outlasting as well.

Soccer

Famous Football Teams - Facts About Manchester United

Although City fans can taunt their rivals about the fact that United does not actually come from Manchester (Old Trafford is located outside the city limits in the borough of Trafford), United fans are able to more effectively insult Blues fans by pointing out their lack of success. At the Stretford end of Old Trafford, a banner is displayed as a taunt their biggest rivals, Manchester City. The banner displays two words: 34 years. It has indeed been 34 long years since City have won a major trophy.

However, the "tick-tock taunts" now emanating from the City camp indicate the Blues' conviction that time is running out on United's glory days and that Eastlands will soon be the center of the Premier League universe. Money is now no worry for Manchester City since the super rich Abu Dhabi group took over the Eastlands Club in 2008, and the club has reportedly recently spent approximately £200 million on players.

Manchester United is the most valuable football club in the world - worth £1.2billion according to Forbes, however fears of financial meltdown have stalked the dreams of supporters since the Glazer family took their club into private ownership in 2005. Currently carrying debts of almost 700 million pounds, the team now has no money to buy players. Having broken the British transfer record four times in the last 20 years, United is now trying to restore "value" to the market with its emphasis on homegrown players. United's manager, Alex Ferguson recently criticized the 'kamikaze' spending of rival clubs - although he didn't specifically mention City, his target was easy to figure out - but City's manager Roberto Mancini retorted that by throwing money at the top end of the market, his team is only doing what United have done for years. Additionally, the City team that trounced Liverpool recently fielded no less than 6 English players and with so many home-grown players in their playing 11, they can hardly be written off as foreign mercenaries.

Despite all the taunting appears to be no divide within the city of Manchester - there are no pubs or particular areas that are off limits for those wearing the wrong team's colors. Although the ugliness of chants about the Munich disaster - the 1958 air crash that claimed 23 lives, including eight members of United's Busby Babes and Frank Swift, a journalist and former City goalkeeper still lingers about the fringes, United and City continue, fans of both teams continue to co-exist relatively happily within the same community.

The Manchester Derby is the name given to matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. In the 1990s United went unbeaten in Derby matches for an entire decade. More recently the 2007-2008 Derby games were both won by Manchester City, 1-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium on 19 August 2007, and 2-1 at Old Trafford on 10 February, It was the first time since April 1974 that City had beaten United in the league at Old Trafford and the first time they had won both league derby games since the 1969-70 season. United prevented City from winning a third consecutive derby match in the first derby of the 2008-09 season, with Wayne Rooney scoring the game's only goal. Alex Ferguson proclaimed the 2009-10 Manchester derby at Old Trafford as "probably...the best derby of all time". Manchester United won this game 4-3 after Manchester City had equalised three times only for Michael Owen to score the winning goal after 95 minutes. City will host United on November 10 for the first Derby match of this season.

Hockey

4 Hockey Stretching Exercises To Perform Regularly

As you get going with your hockey training, it's important that you pay attention to some of the important hockey stretching exercises that you should be doing. By performing stretching regularly you will help to reduce the amount of post-workout muscle soreness you experience while also ensuring that you can work through a full range of motion in all the weight training for hockey exercises you perform as well.

Stretching really only takes five to ten minutes at the end of each workout or on-ice session, but will make a big difference on your progress overall.

Let's take a quick look at four good hockey stretching exercises that you should be including regularly.

Quad Stretching

The first stretch is the simple quad stretch, which will help to loosen up the legs which often become quite tight after hours of skating.

To perform this one simply bend one leg upwards and grab a hold of the ankle underneath the bum while pulling backward ever so gentle.

You should feel an instant stretch in the quad region upon doing this.

Hip Flexor Stretch

Second, the hip flexors are another area of the body that can get quite tight with regular skating practice so make sure to stretch these as well.

To perform this stretch simply get into a lunge position with the knee and feet on the ground and then shift the body weight forward until you feel it pulling in the hip region.

Don't push so far that you feel sheer pain however - you're just looking for a gentle pull when performing all of these hockey stretching exercises.

Shoulder Stretch

The shoulder stretch is the next one to complete and will help to loosen up the upper body really quickly. Since your shoulder muscles will be constantly contracting as you puck-handle throughout the session, if you're not stretching these out after a game you are very likely to be tight the next day.

To perform a shoulder stretch simply cross one arm over the body and then grasp the forearm with the hand of the other arm. Pull on the crossed arm gently until you feel a slight stretch in the shoulder and then hold for 10-15 seconds. Switch arms and then repeat.

Spinal Column Stretch

Finally, the last of the hockey stretching exercises to perform is the spinal column stretch. Since the chances are high that you will be constantly twisting and turning as you go about your on-ice session, by performing the spinal column stretch you'll help boost your flexibility to ensure you don't suffer from a back injury.

To perform this stretch simply stand upright next to some object that you can grab a hold of and then twist to one side, grabbing the object and gently pulling the body so you feel the stretch along the back.

Once finished with one side, twist to the other to work both sides equally.

So there you have the main hockey stretching exercises that you should be doing daily if possible. Make sure to add any additional stretches you can think of to this that work any given muscle group that's feeling especially sore on that day.