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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | MARCH 2021 | 49 Our Sun Lakes Tennis Club Executive Board is scheduled to meet in April. The Board has suspended annual dues for 2021 for those in good standing in 2020. New Tennis Club members are invited to join at the usual rate of $10 per person. Our next Club event is a Mixer on Sat., March 6: 8:30 am is Skills Session and at 9 am is Mixed Doubles. Players of all skill levels are invited to drop-in to play every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 am supervised by Bill Hendra ($1 per week). Formal Club activities are expected to resume with our Quarterly Meeting on Fri., May 22, including a Pot-Luck Meal. Finally, tennis tips provided by our own former tennis pro, Phil Hazelton, related to playing tennis on a windy day: First – Make sure you determine the wind direction. Second – When the wind is in your face, use "top spin," and add more power to your strokes. Third – When the wind is at your back, use "back spin" to help keep the ball in play. Remember to always keep your eye on the ball and the fun in your game. Info, David Nethercott, Secretary, prairieborn@aol.com or (315) 415-2408. Tennis Hard to believe that winter will be almost over when this edition of Lifestyles is delivered. With vaccines flowing ever more freely, we may hope for better days on the COVID front as well. In any event, the coldest days are soon behind us and we can be more active on the pickleball courts. With that happy thought in mind, here are some tips from the pros about a common challenge, especially for newer players: volleys. In a recent issue of the national magazine, Alice Tym shared her thoughts on improving what ought to be the simplest and easiest of shots: hitting the ball in the air as it comes to you. She points out a problem that many have, the tendency to take a back swing. Alice uses an unlikely sports analogy to illustrate — boxing. A prize fighter jabs, rarely if ever using a roundhouse wallop. Fists in front, on the balls of his (or her) feet, knees bent. Short thrusts, quick punches from in front of the body. Perhaps this can be a visual when you are on the courts if this is an area you want to improve. Picture the classic fight scene. If Sugar Ray had been inclined to take his glove back and start to swing away, he'd been on the canvas. Think of the ball as the other boxer. Don't give it time to jam you. Have your paddle at the ready and punch. If you pause to take the paddle behind you trying to increase your power, you'll get knocked flat. That means the ball will be past you or so close to you that you can't get a good hit on it. A good drill for this technique is readily available on our courts. If a court is open and you have a practice partner, stand with your back almost to the tennis net that divides our four courts. Have your partner hit some balls toward you. With the net behind you, you won't be able to take that pesky back swing. It will help you get the feel for how hard you can return a volley with just a quick forward swing. This will serve you well at the kitchen line as well. Shots are upon you even quicker at the net so you must avoid hesitations in your swing to succeed. It'll be spring soon! See you on the courts. Pickleball Club

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