UpsideDownCarl,
Would your criticism still apply to this video?
or this one:
But it doesn't seem to interfere with his ability to take the third ball. And he is really playing great in this video.
I don't know if it is a criticism. And you are right. I only got to look at a bit of the first video but the internet connection where I am right now is not so good. But, what I did see: when WHenzell is farther towards the FH side as he hooks around the outside of the ball, his body rotates and most of the time, that brings him into position with little or none of what I am talking about.
I also saw one serve where he was all the way to the BH side setting up his FH and it was very smooth.
But, what I am talking about is movement analysis which may not be relevant because, as I said, the slight bit of extra tension when he has to stop momentum and change directions slightly, may be causing him to tense a bit as he sets up. But it is NOT interfering with him setting up for the third ball and it is definitely not interfering with his ability to take a high quality third ball.
The motion just has a bit of a hitch to it when he changes directions. Whereas, someone like WLQ often looks like a graceful dancer as he follows through on his serve and ends up in a set position as a result of the follow-through. The results may not be any better or worse in terms of effectiveness. But the follow-through on the pendulum, done well is effortless to the point of being graceful. Whereas, even when more effective, the motion of transitioning from follow-through to set position is not quite as effortless or graceful with they type of serve WHenzell is using.
Here, let me see if I can use a story to explain where I am actually coming from. I used to be a professional ramp skater. My wife is a dancer. When we first met I was showing my wife some videos of all the best skateboarders at the time. This is still some of my favorite vert footage ever.
My wife was watching and she said to me: "I don't like any of them. They are all stiff. They all move like boys who want to be athletes." I thought: "yeah, well?.....What's wrong with that?" What she meant was they were creating a bit too much unnecessary tension.
Then this one guy came on the ramp and she said: "Oh no, this guy is good. He is better than everyone else. I like how he skates." That was Tony Hawk. He might not have been as powerful as the other guys but there was a gracefulness in his skating that wasn't there for the other guys. More efficient movements and more gracefulness.
If you look, you can see where there is a bit more tension than he needs for the transition from serve to set. Not always. But the serve does not always move him right into a set position without the extra effort. Sometimes it does. And he does seem better at setting after that type of serve than most people.
And the end result, when it is there, the hitch I am talking about does not make his third ball less effective.
I would like to see what his setup would look like against guys like FZD, ZJK or Dima who would make him have to set up considerably faster because of what there return of serve would be. So I will search for that later. But he really does well in these matches. And when the return of serve picks up the pace and varies the pace more, he may very well be fine.
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