JOOLA USA

Erick Shahnazari

Age/DOB: 11/September 6, 1996
Home Club: San Gabriel Valley TTC

Equipment

Racket: JOOLA K5

Forehand sponge: JOOLA Mambo GP 2.0

Backhand sponge: JOOLA Mambo GP 2.0

Shoes: JOOLA Bend

Tip Of The Week

There is one serve that will keep you in the point against almost anyone. It is a very short, low serve that you vary between a little underspin, and no spin.  If you can conceal the spin at all well, even world-ranked players will treat it with respect and usually just drop the return back short.

Changing Directions When Blocking
By Larry Hodges, USATT Certified National Coach

What makes blocking unique from other shots is that you have little or no backswing, and you mostly play off the other player's shot. For other shots, where you have more of a backswing and where you have to generate most of the force yourself, a player has to commit to the direction of a shot much earlier, normally in the backswing. You lose a lot of control on most other shots if you try to change directions at the last instant. 

Ask the Pro
Have a coaching question? This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Question: Why should I play in events where I'm a higher seed? If I only play higher events, won't I have a better chance of pulling off upsets and avoiding bad losses?

Coach Larry Hodges: It all depends on whether your goal is to be a Champion or a Spoiler. Champions have a burning desire to win, and enter tournaments with the intent of winning events. Spoilers have a burning desire to pull off a major upset now and then and so gain temporary rating points, and so they avoid the events where they would be seeded.