By Daron
One of the ongoing expenses for a tennis player is getting his/her rackets restrung. With this in mind, I decided to try and learn how to do it myself. Well…stringing machines can get really expensive, so I decided to go with an entry level machine and see how went. I bought a Gamma X-2.
The reviews I read online were spot on…decent entry level machine, the manual is horrible, clamps kinda suck and have a really sharp edge on them. Luckily we have the intarwebs and there were some cool youtube vids that gave step by step instructions. I have ZERO experience with the concept of stringing a racket and wow did it show! It took two hours to string my first racket…ugh…and my finger tips are really sore…hehe. Anywho….I am glad I learned how to do it and I am sure that my next stringing will take less than two hours…hopefully a lot less!
On a site note, the redesign is almost here. Kels’ friend, mine too, is creating a sweet header for the new site and she’s almost done. You can see some of her work here. She is super talented! 
By Daron
SOMEONE said they don’t read my blog posts if they are about tennis, but if I were to post something about music…well, that SOMEONE just might give it a read. This one is for SOMEONE.
Music IS a big part of my life, but she’s a temperamental gal. Sometimes all I want to do is grab my axe, crank my amp to 11, and jam power chords till my ears bleed. Other times all I want to do sit under a tree and strum away on my acoustic guitar. And still other times, all I want to do is not even think about playing guitar or writing songs…it’s a weird kinda deal.
I found that the best way to handle music in my life, actually almost any situation is life, is to just go with the flow. If I feel like jamming…I jam. If I feel like rollin’ hippie style…I roll. Things get sticky when I disrupt the flow and try to force things. I’ve written some crappy songs that way. For me, it’s best to just let the music flow as it flows, and if it don’t flow, then I don’t flow it.
The good part about looking at it that way is that I am able to create without any pressure, which can be sweet. The bad thing is that sometimes I realize that I have songs that are almost complete or almost ready to be mixed down and released and well, they just kinda sit in limbo until the flow returns. Sure, I could lock myself in the studio and crank out a few songs in a day, but is that going to represent my best work? I dunno. For the mean time, I will resolve myself to my ‘flow philosophy’ and let the music rise when the time is right.
By Daron
One of the 4 billion rackets I have demoed over the past few months was the Yonex S-Fit 1 (picture courtesy of tenniswarehouse.com).
The first thing one notices about this racket is its distinct headshape which is typical of Yonex rackets. This racket met my specs and felt pretty good when I hit with it. It was stable and with its headlight balance, it was easy to generate racket head speed. The weird thing was, is that even though I was swinging the racket easily it was difficult to generate any pace. I don’t know that it makes sense to say that while it was easy to swing, it felt sluggish in the air…weird. The frame is pretty wide as well, perhaps that had something to do with it. So, like many of the rackets I have tried they feel ok, but not ‘perfect’…for me. This might be a good choice for a player with smooth, developed strokes and not a player with a more whippy game.
By Daron
On to the next racket the Prince EXO3 Hybrid 100 (picture courtesy tenniswarehouse.com).
The ‘cool’ thing…I guess…is that during my search, I’ve learned a lot about racket technology and I KNOW what I want…I just have to find it. So what I have done, is chosen rackets that have the specs that are in my ballpark and am quickly approaching the end of my search…YEAH!
I loved the grip shape of the newer Prince rackets! It’s shaped more like a stop sign as opposed to others like Head or Technifibre (my old racket) which is more or less oblong.
Turns out I loathe that shape and it just ain’t conducive to me hitting the ball like I should. I liked almost everything about this racket. Grip shape…awesome, balance…sweet, headsize…good, flex…meh, weight…a little light. Did some drills with it and played a couple of sets…did ok, but I’m gonna need something with not so much flex and a little more weight. This racket has the flex/feel of a players racket with the weight of a tweener. It’s nice…and for under $100, it’s a great deal if it works for you!
By Daron
Sunday morning, 33 degrees…let’s go demo some tennis rackets! A little crazy…perhaps…a little dedication…totally! Here is the view from the court, snow and all.
Actually, it wasn’t so bad, well…except for when the wind blew…and that was all the time! My search continues as another box of rackets came in the mail last week. I hit with 4 different models, but will talk about the:
Wilson BLX Six.One Team (picture courtesy tenniswarehouse.com)
This racket would be considered a ‘tweener’ racket, which is what I am going for. It’s a lighter racket with a 95” frame and a stiffness rating of 61. To be honest, the new BLX’s haven’t really done it for me. They say that their new basalt technology is supposed to provide a greater feel, but for me it seems to give off this high frequency ring when I hit with it…even with a dampener. With that being said, it felt familiar in my hand as I have played with several Wilson rackets over the years. It had a good balance and with its lighter static weight and low swing weight, it was easy to hit with. It’s flex made me feel like I could hit out on the ball without blasting it against the fences. Pretty ok, all in all, but that frequency thing will keep me from buying it.
I’ve got a couple of others to hit with that I will write a review on shortly, including the new Prince EXO3 Hybrid 100 which replaced the Prince O3 Hybrid Hornet Mid-Plus. I will leave you with this…the weirdest thing I have ever seen on a tennis court:
Yes…that’s a catfish!
By Daron
The search continues…
Here’s another racket that I recently play tested. As I narrow down my search, I am realizing some things about my game. I’m not strong enough to handle a “player’s racket” or a “tour” spec racket. What I mean by that is that I can play a set and be fine, but as I get into the second set, my serve starts to lose some pop and my arm gets really tired. Now I’m looking at the “tweener” rackets…lighter and a little more power. Here is one I tested recently;
Wilson K Factor Kobra Team FX (image courtesy of tenniswarehouse.com)
The Kobra Team is light…really light. Generating racket head speed is really easy with this racket and there is an easy access to spin. It has a low flex rating but when playing with it, I didn’t feel the racket flexing too much, perhaps due to the quad shaft technology Wilson uses here. The low swing weight actually caused my timing to be a tad early and it took some getting used to. In the end, while helping me narrow down some of the things I am looking for, this racket was not for me. I can see club and intermediate players hitting well with the Kobra Team.
On my radar are the Wilson BLX Six.One Team, Babolat Pure Drive GT Lite, and Yonex S-Fit 1.
I will post reviews as I hit with them.
By Daron
My breakfast typically consists of a bowl of multi-grain cereal and skim milk. It’s quick, easy, and…semi satisfying. My typical breakfast doesn’t have much staying power either as I am hungry a couple of hours later. Kels turned me on to a new idea for my breakfast…here’s what I ate today:
1/3 Cup Whole Grain Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup Whole Fresh Blueberries
1/2 Cup Oikos Greek Yogurt
1 T Honey
Put everything in a bowl…stir…nom!
You can of course sub the berries or whatever, but this 400 calorie breakfast has good staying power and is surprisingly satisfying. A word about Greek yogurt…it IS different than regular yogurt, but different in a good way. Once I tried Greek yogurt, I knew that regular yogurt leaves something to be desired.
Give it a try!
By Daron
Play testing tennis rackets before buying is a must, and with that in mind I’ll talk about my most recent tests. Tennis Warehouse has a great demo program for those interested. You can order up to 4 different rackets for $20. The rackets arrive in a couple of days, you can keep them for a week, and return shipping is included…not bad! So here is one of the four rackets I tested last week…
Wilson BLX Pro Open (image courtesy of tenniswarehouse.com) –
Wilson tennis rackets are pretty popular and they have introduced a new line of rackets using their new BLX technology. I will spare the tech details and talk about how I liked it. The weight, size, balance, and flex are all in my range, but despite it being a racket I ‘should’ like…I didn’t really like it. It seemed to be less maneuverable than I thought it would be and had a very muted feel. It was difficult for me to generate power on my serve and the racket head speed I typically generate on my groundies took extra effort. Volleys were ok, but the muted feel made it hard to really…’feel’ my shots. Racket preferences are very specific to each player and this one just didn’t do it for me. I will post reviews of the others this week.
The good thing about living in Texas is that it’s possible, although sometimes uncomfortable, to play tennis year round. I am currently playing in a winter doubles league and my match last week was the coldest I think I’ve played in. It was 34 degrees when we got off the court and frost had begun to form on my racket bag…crazy! I mean, it’s nice to be playing in the ‘off season’, but mobility becomes an issue when it’s that cold. All the guys on the court were tight and it really showed in the way we moved…or didn’t move for that matter. Another thing that was interesting was trying to focus on a ball coming at you while your breath is frosting in front of you, no so easy. Still…it’s great to play.
Some music news…I was in the studio this past weekend tweaking a tune called ‘Over My Head’. When you record vocals for a song over several days, the tone of your voice can change…mine did. I recorded the first part of the song, my voice got tired, so I decided to record the last few lines at a later date. After listening to the song this past weekend, I kinda freaked out cuz I thought the parts sounded too different. After conferring with Kels The Producer, she assured me that while the parts do sound different, it’s not so bad since the range is higher…so it’s all good! I will start mixing it this weekend and hope to have it posted soon.
Site re-design…I am still working on a custom header from the very talented Lola. If I can convey to her exactly what it is I want, no small task, I should have it soon.
More later…
By Daron
Been away for a while, but I’ve got some new blog ideas for 2010. I hope to get everything up and running within the next couple of weeks so stay tuned…
Anyone do New Year’s resolutions? I don’t…kinda puts pressure on you, which can be a good thing, but IF you don’t follow through, you have “failed”. I’m really not a fan of that word. So…I set goals. No harm, no foul if they don’t happen, but it’s healthy for me to keep some things on my radar.
Things on my radar for 2010 in no particular order: Tennis, Music, Fitness, Happiness…actually they are all related…funny how that worked out.
By Daron
Looks like victory has its price. I sprained my foot during my singles match last weekend. I was running down a short ball and rolled the outside edge of my left foot. It hurt, but definitely not bad enough to stop playing. After the match I went home and took some Tylenol and took it easy. Come Monday, it was really sore so I went to the doctor and had my foot x-rayed (no fractures!). The doc diagnosed it as a sprain and told me to stay off it and gave me a sweet ortho shoe to wear. It’s feeling better now, but I’m definitely not 100% just yet. A few more days and I will start working out again…slowly.
My mom came to visit for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was great to spend time with her. Kels, Mom, and I headed over to the inlaws for Thanksgiving dinner. Good food, good times, and the obligatory family pix. I made cornbread stuffing which was a big hit…we were hoping to take some leftovers home but it was all gone. Oh well, at least everyone enjoyed it.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Below is a pic of my ortho shoe…sexy!
