Chapter 21

“Alrighty Danny.” They were standing on the court in the very middle of the whole set of courts. The court of the King. From what Peter had mentioned as they’d made their way to it, this court was usually used for the most exciting and prestigious matches of any tournaments held in the location. For the tournament they were currently taking part int, it was the court Peter got all to himself. “Today, we are going to take your training a little further.”

Even though a tournament was going on, Peter had managed to secure for them a cart full of balls, just like the one at school. Even though this was an unofficial tournament…Peter and the others still had full access to all the facilities of the location. Dan couldn’t help but wonder how much it cost to host an unofficial event such as this. Though there was little doubt in his mind that Peter alone would have no problem covering those costs. If all the players partaking put in money as well, there was likely little problem renting such a place.

“What are we going to do?” Dan had been loathe to leave Sophia after the tournament officially started. He’d wanted to watch her, and cheer her on in her matches. However, Peter had insisted Dan needed to get his practice taken care of before he could have any fun. But, Peter had promised that once he was satisfied they’d accomplished enough training for the day, Peter would be allowing Dan to watch some of the matches, and also introducing him to other individuals at the tournament.

“For the most part, you’ve managed to capture the essence of the Semi-Western Forehand. You’ve got the movement down, and are able to get decent spin on it for your level.” Peter offered him a smile, and demonstrated the swing Dan had been working on for the past few days. “Next, we’re going to get a little more…spice to your swing.”

“Spice?”

“You know. A little pepper. Gonna heat things up.” Peter laughed and tossed a ball towards Dan. “How about I show you?”

“That’s probably for the best.” Dan said softly. While Peter appeared completely laid back, Dan couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. Normally their training sessions involved just Peter and Dan. Currently though, he could count over a dozen or so individuals all crowded around the court. They seemed fearful of actually stepping foot onto the court, but they were clinging to the chain-link fence and watching on.

“Alright, bounce the ball towards me, and try to get it to bounce about waist height. I’ll handle the rest.”

As Peter spoke he crouched forward slightly, holding his racquet in his right hand, while his left hand gently gripped the throat of the racquet. Dan could tell Peter’s right hand was grasping the racquet grip in a Semi-Western manner.

“Here it goes.” Dan tossed the ball towards Peter, watching as the tennis ball bounced off the clay court, jumping from the ground just towards about waist height. As it bounced upwards, Peter shifted his weight slightly and stepped back with his right foot, turning his body as he did, his arm moving backwards in the ‘C’ motion he’d taught Dan to do. Just as the ball seemed to freeze at its peak, Peter’s weight shifted for a split second, loading up all the force on his back right leg. A moment later, his body was moving forward, his leg providing extra power as he literally pushed himself into the swing.

For a hair of a breath, Peter’s entire form seemed to freeze, before suddenly his arm was blurring forward, his racquet head rotating, as all of his power and force were sent into the ball. The racquet connected with the ball about an arm’s length away from Peter’s body, his right arm rotating into the ball, giving it the top spin he’d been drilling into Dan. Then, with impossible speed and force the ball was sent flying over the net. Peter’s forehand launched the ball into a rapid trajectory, the ball climbing over the net with the initial arc, and then his top spin forcing it to nosedive back towards the court. Dan thought it was going to go out, but watched in awe as it smashed directly on top of the baseline, and then shot violently upwards, the force of the forehand and the rapid spin causing the ball to rocket into the fence.

“Now that was a spicy ball.” Peter said with his normal grin. He pointed towards Dan with his racquet, his eyes smiling. “Today, we’re going to combine the basic technique I’ve taught you, with your body. In tennis, power isn’t generated just by how fast you swing, or how hard you can swing your arm. In tennis, power is something you generate with your whole body.”

“Uh huh.” Dan, wasn’t quite sure that was all there was to it. He’d been learning that in tennis, there was a lot more to something than at first glance. After all, as an outsider, he’d assumed it would be pretty easy to just knock a tennis ball back and forth with a racquet. Oh how he’d been mistaken. At the very least, if it came to leg strength, he had that. And he already knew in soccer that you could generate a lot more power into a kick when you utilized your whole body. So…same thing, yeah? Then again, just kicking a soccer ball was a bit different from the complexities of what he’d just seen Peter do.

“Don’t worry man, I believe in you.” Peter laughed and pointed towards the baseline nearest them. Dan knew what that meant, and he walked diligently over to it.

“First thing I want you to do, is stand with your feet shoulder length apart, and crouch slightly like so,” Peter took up the stance he’d done prior to hitting the ball, and Dan mimicked him.

“Now, the trick is positioning yourself right, so that you aren’t over extended, but also don’t get jammed up. If the ball is too far away, you’re going to be off balance, and can’t find your sweet spot. If the ball gets too close, again, off balance, plus harder to get the sweet spot, and you can’t utilize your body to generate power. In tennis, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.”

“You always make it sound so simple.” Dan replied dryly.

“That’s because it is.” Peter laughed and continued. “The trick for now, is learning to recognize where the ball is coming from, where it’s going to land, and how it’s going to bounce. A lot of factors go into this, but over time, you’ll start to get the hang of it. Some things just come from experience ya know. For instance, knowing how much top spin your opponents hit with, recognizing that it’s going to bounce differently on clay courts versus hard courts versus grass courts, and the likes. We can handle all that later though. For now, all you need to recognize is where your body is, and where you need to be to get the perfect swing. And lucky for you, I’m going to make that last part super easy for you.”

He grabbed a ball and tossed it towards Dan. The ball landed about three feet in front of Dan, and then bounced towards him. It hovered at its peak, just about waist height, about an arms-length to the right of Dan, just ahead of him. The perfect spot to hit the ball, according to Peter.

“Every toss is going to be there. What I want you to do, is get your movement down, and practice putting a little force into your swings.” Peter took up his ready position once again. “As the ball lands, you need to be preparing. Hold out your left hand, watching the ball, and step slightly backwards, and to the side, with your right foot.” Peter demonstrated as he spoke.

“As the ball is bouncing towards you, load up your power, put your weight on your back foot, and prepare your swing. Then, as you move your racket forward, rotating it as I showed you, executing your forehand, you’re going to use your right foot to drive your weight forward into the swing. Hitting it in the sweet spot, with your arm extended, out and just in front of you, is going to put a lot more power into the ball.” Peter went through the motions slowly. “And then, remember, push and swing through the ball. I want you to finish like this.” He mimicked where he would have hit the ball, and rotated his wrist more, bringing the racquet all the way across his body, to practically catch the neck of the racquet with his left hand. Then, he was immediately back into his ready position, looking like a tiger primed to pounce.

“Make sense?” The Senior asked as he stood back up fully, his body relaxing immediately.

“Not really.” Dan said honestly. Peter made everything look so smooth and fluid. On the other hand…Dan was pretty sure he was about to embarrass himself in front of a lot of people.

“Eh, you’ll get it. I believe in you.” Peter laughed and grabbed a ball from the basket. “Now, how about we get started.”