Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-22

OF P0SISE SERuS
TENNIS SHOULD NOT BE PLAYED
UNLESS PLAYER is IN HUMOR
Habit Of Stopping When There Is Still a
Desire Left for More Of It Held
Good One to Form.

| explains why yOuHSSteT ucNCLOpS
faster in all-year-round climate. like
that of California. He is ENABLED to
| play more continuous tennis when his
game is at the constructive stage.
pressions as I look back a few years
to that time. Primarily I had un-
bounded love and enthusiasm for the
game. / felt, and still do, in fact. that
1t was the greatest trs Of t all
BOYS will. Disbursements? l should
say SO. Once I was convinced that I
/ stood stock-still in my game for two
i taken. for Improvement had been
| working silently. The greatest factor
| that carried me over such obstacles
was that my enthusiasm for the game
never slackened never ceased to
enjoy playing, although at the time !
was positive l had ceased improving
forever.
! should say that it was about the
time began winning some of the tour
naments among the boys that my am
bition was born to become a real play
er. BY these boyish tournaments I
was gradually educated up to regular
tournament play; consequently l Cal
not recall any severe case of stage
fright. Naturally my first match
against a f1rst-class player in open
tournament is very clearly defined in
my memory, however: and in recalling
that match ! do not find myself the
! most composed youth in the world. I
remember more keenly that the great
southern player, Bell, looked as big as
mountain over on the other side OF
the net
Careful About Resting.
During tournament season I am all
ways careful in regard to rest, averag-
ing between eight and nine hours
sleep. Between all matches I am a
T. ,,k<> rA1o 7
rise between and and have a fairly
hearty lunch about two hours before
am going to play. During tournament
week I do not swim or take any other
firing outside exercise. In preference. l
drive, walk and loaf. / keep away from
too much tennis talk and think of other
things. Sometimes I do little motoring
or motor boating also. or ramble along
the sea shore.
l have no rigid rules for keeping in
tennis shape, either before or during
tournament The best rule is to be nat
ural and simple. in one's tastes. On the
average, during a hard season, muscular
relaxation is easier to acquire than
mental. Yet one Is just as essential as
the other Therefore, 1t Is we'll, when
the strain has been continuous, to occa-
sionally seek an environment utterly
foreign to tennis yet in no way injurious
to it, BY this method you obtain
mental as we'll as physical relaxation
and rest.
NV study of an opponent is for the
most part confined to the actual prog
ress of the match. / endeayor to adapt
mystelf as quickly as possible to his
game. ferreting out his principal points
OF strength and weakness. Once these
Impressions are formed and rooted in
regard to certain player, he is cata-
logued in the mind. and upon meeting
him again not nearly the same amount
Of study of his methods is required.
Therefore, it appears that the greatest
amount of study of an opponent comes
when he is player you have never met
before.
Never was this borne in upon me more
keen1y than when / played in the Eng
lish championships. There every oppo,
each day I had to adapt myself to a
new style--quite trying test. as any
player who has been through similar
mill will testify. AS to tennis sports
for the sake of the sport. Always play
the game as you would have the other
fellow play it.
1t is pretty hard to define in just so
many words what the true tennis MS form a
necessarily mean hxed standardized
style. for two totally different styles
may be equally true to form. To pos
the ability to make all his shots with
natural ease. a full free. easy
swing: and, above all. make his shots
from the correct position. BY that !
mean the feet should be SO placed and
the body weight SO distributed that
every shot is q perfectly natural one
and carries with it no awkwardness
or cramping OF swing gnr ~, " S course. .n IN
every shot. I make exceptions in the
case of strokes from your opponent
that force you completely out of posi-
ton. A player with true tennis form
is always a graceful one and makes
his strokes with apparently no effort.
Our present national champion. Will
liams tennis is played in almost per-
Try for Good Form.
BY all means should one try to learn
good form before getting into match
play / know of several players who
developed faults In form that became
ingrained and spoiled their future as
cracks. These men were invariably
those that never have given any
thought or time to the subject of form
as applied to their own strokes: The
drive or effect to his game. and never
gets past the ''parlor' stage, more
often lacks either the mental ability or
In some cases he may be hampered by
the lack of physical stamina. but such
instances are greatly in the minority.
SO many players are careless, and, IN
not being closer students OF them
selves, allow some flaw to become IN
grained. can remember distinctly,
when developing my forehand drive,
that / suddenly came to the realization
that / had been taking the ball too
close to my body. thus cramping my
swing and not getting the benefit OF
the full sweep of the arm and racket.
had been doing this for so long that
1t was only after the greatest amount
OF application that succeeded in cor
recting .he faulty tendency.
Undoubtedly II would be harder for
men Who began playing later in life to
eradicate eccentricities than for young
sters. Most emphatically youngsters
should strive to get perfect form. In
the very early stages of my game some
of the boys around me sneeringly re-
ferred to Mclaughlin" as trying to
play fancy" But l knew in my own
mind that my efforts were not for the
purpose of acquiring a pretty effect.
but to attain the correct method of hit
ting the ball.
At the start / should not advocate
spending a long time .practicing one
stroke and then taking up another, as
this would be another factor tending to
eliminate the element of interest and
r;oo To- t. To-