Butterflies.

A slow, deliberate walk takes me from the fence to the baseline. I place my leading foot about an inch over the baseline because when I’m finished bouncing the ball (3 or 4 times typically), I pivot that foot about 45 degrees so that it will no longer touch the line. I typically toss the ball a good foot behind me, and a foot in front of me, and with a western grip I snap through the ball to maximize the kick. The amount of force I exert with my legs, and particularly my abs, are the bulk of the reason I get very sore, very fast, when playing matches. Finally, since the serve is the shot that harnesses the most explosive energy, it’s also the one that brutalizes my hand the most and creates the mine-field of calluses. My thumb is in pretty good shape right now, but I’ve bought a box of heavy-duty band-aids for preventative maintenance, just in case I start to get a blister.

I’m still sore from last weekend, actually, so it’ll be interesting to see how the body holds up this weekend. It’s supposed to rain continuously, so I predict massive amounts of wasted time as the tournament coordinators shuffle between running the tournament and letting the club members hoard the majority of time on the indoor courts.

I’ll let you all know how it goes…