Once upon a time, I was a member of the PBA. That's right, I was a professional bowler. It never ceases to amaze me that the average person didn't know that bowling truly was a complex sport. Most people thought you rented shoes and picked a ball off the shelf and just tried to get the ball down the lane and hit as many pins as they could. Little did they realize, that when you get into competition, the variables are always changing. In some regards, bowling can be a mysterious world.
Bowling balls are an enigma in themselves. You can buy various types from plastic and urethane to resin and a mixture of various ingredients. Weight blocks can be asymmetric or symmetric. How you drill a ball and how far the pin is from the PAP (Positive Axis Point) can determine how it hooks. Also, how a person delivers the ball all play a role in determining a bowling ball and how to drill it. Then, you have to match the different bowling balls in your arsenal to the varying lane conditions on any given day. Are the lanes oily or dry? Are the lanes oiled with a professional oil pattern that requires extreme accuracy or are they oiled as a block to aid people in achieving higher scores? Why am I telling you all of this on a tennis blog. Simply to prove a point that equipment does matter. In bowling, it is not necessarily the better bowler that wins a tournament. It can be the guy who figures out what bowling ball and how to play the oil pattern the fastest that scores the best.
After launching my tennis racquet stringing business (String Rx, LLC and can be found at www.stringrx.com) in July of this past year (2012), I wanted to give people a place where they could learn more about the game of tennis. Tennis is not just about hitting a tennis ball over the net. It's more than just hitting serves, groundstrokes and volleys. Just like bowling, tennis is complex. What racquet should I chose? What type of string should I use? Is there really a difference in tennis string? How do I know what string will benefit my game? Is one brand better than another?
I had all of these questions and unfortunately, nobody could really provide me the answers I was looking for in my area. I decided to set out on my own and do some research. To my amazement, I found so much information, that it was hard to process it all. There definitely is not a one size fits all answer. Tennis racquets, shoes and string are all subjective. One person could love a certain racquet shoe or string and another hate it. I decided to see if I could find out more about this enigma. Just like bowling, technology is changing the way we play tennis. Racquets are getting more powerful and refined. String comes in so many colors, shapes and materials, it is hard to decide which one is best for your game. Some are single core, some have multi cores, some are just multi-filaments while others have a mix of material and cores.
It is almost impossible to find the exact perfect string right away. Usually it will take multiple string jobs before you find the one that works best for you. Hopefully the combination you eventually choose will be around for awhile. Now that you know it can be challenging, here's the good news. I am here to assist. If you don't live in my area, all you have to do is contact me. Explain your style to me and then upload a video to youtube or dropbox or some other way to share it with me. Once I see you hit the ball and understand your style of play and what you are looking for in a string, I should be able to provide some string choices for you to try. Some of those choices may be string that I carry in my shop or in my online store (www.inspiredstring.com, which is coming soon), or it may be string that I personally don't carry, but I have used it in the past or know someone with a similar style who uses it and it has helped generate success.
I hope my blog will continue to enhance your game and provide you with valuable information to help you take your game to the next level. Allow me to write a custom string prescription FOR YOU and start playing like a pro.
Until next time,
Dan Schank
USRSA Master Racquet Technician
President, String Rx, LLC
