The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1921-12-02

dinaI Principle of Tennis
TTOW often in every game do we
hear this shouted. In baseball
the batter steps to the plate and
swings wildly at bad ball. Keep
your eye on the ball" yells his coach
er. You'll never hit if you don't look
at it." In football it is the same thing.
Many a forward pass is dropped be-
cause the man receiving it did not
look at the ball. In every game.
cricket, soccer, bowling, hockey,
squash, golf and above all, tennis, the
old cry of Keep your eye on the ball"
is used, and with good reason.
No man can hit any swiftly moving
object with any degree of certainty
unless his eye has followed its fight
from the start until he meets it, not
part of the way, but all the way.
There are men who will tell you
that you cannot conceal your shot or
outguess the other man if you keep
your eye on the ball, since you cannot
tell where he is playing in the court.
This sounds very reasonable, but fails,
for the obvious reason that usually the
man., if he plays correctly, can only
be in n position, that determined by
the length and direction of his shot. If
his shot is short Of slow he will be
back. If his shot is deep and fast he
will be at the net on the general line
of flight of the ball, covering the
straight shot down the line. There
fore, if this is known, why worry
about looking at him? You know
where he ought to be, so play accord
ingly. If he is not there, then his
position is faulty and open to any at
tack.
To learn to keep ones eye on the
ball it is a very good habit to fall into
and also [ follow rth. pail With your
yes from your own racquet face to
your opponents and back to your own
throughout each point without looking
away from the ball once. When De-
ginning this requires concentration at,
all times, but soon becomes secofid ma
ture urrtfl a good tennis player does it
unconsciously.
The Correct Ground Stroke
A correct ground stroke is made up
of three parts in one swing. The first
or that part of the swing made behind
the body, is speed; the second part, on
a line with the body. is direction while
the third and final portion made just
in front of the body, is top" or that
spin which holds a ball in court. Now
the speed does not need your eye-it
is purely a question of physical pow
err; her the ball is met for direction
and the top" put on almost stimuli
t%aneously and both require utmost
concentration of oversight, since that
determines the success or failure of
the shot.
The eye following the ball as il
comes to you is intent on that alone,
but car direct the racquet as soon as
it enters the vision. Thus a perfect ac-
cord between ball and racquet is pos
sible if the eye is kept fixed on the
ball itself. All seemingly impossible
shots made, which sometimes swing
matches and often championships are
not lucky, but the result of the play
er's eye being fixed on the flight of
the ball, and the shot resolves itself
into the physical questions of
whether it can be reached or not.
Many things necessary to tennis
playing depend on this question of
keeping your eye on the ball. Court
position, footwork, and the physically
technique of strokes are virtually use
less unless the eye can follow the
ball up to and including the point of
hitting il. A man cannot play good
tennis without this essential. He
may play well, lacking one of the
others. A notable example of lack of
good footwork is shown in the play
of w. E. Davis, the Californian, who
gets in trouble with his feet in many
of his shots, yet the remainder OF his