Shubert Daily Blog

Written by: Staff on 24th August 2011

Shubert Daily Blog |

Hey everybody!

Anyone keeping a close eye on the US Open Men’s qualifying results?? It’s incredible to see a lot of former and current college players making their way through the first rounds! I recognize some of the names in the draw and am saying to myself, “Man, I’ve played against a bunch of these guys in the juniors and collegiate competitions, and was up a break on a few of them!” We all have different paths to where we’re trying to go, and while it’s my dream to one day be in their position, I am concentrated on finding my way onto the tour. Currently I’m in Westwood, CA at the Westwood Sporting Goods tennis shop, a “mecca” for tennis players and fans. I’ve been coming to this shop for over 12 years now and you truly never know who will walk through the door at a given time. The game’s elite have been known to have their racket customization and stringing done at this shop. It’s a great networking area too, as people from all walks of life come in to take care of their tennis needs.

I’m also on my way up to Santa Barbara to check out a possible training situation for the Fall months. While Orange County offers a multitude of hitting and practicing opportunities, I have coaches and friends in Santa Barbara who are fully committed to helping build a pro-level group of players! This “group” ties into the “spanish” style of training where each person of the group constantly bumps up against bigger and stronger players, thus resulting in constant improvement. To give you an example of the difference I’m talking about, while I was in OC the past two days, I practiced with a junior who’s headed to the US Open junior event, a few futures levels players, and some of the local juniors. I didn’t necessarily feel I was getting any better, I just banged a few balls around as intensely as I could and played a couple sets. Hitting practice doesn’t necessarily make you a better player. There needs to be more emphasis on drills and feeding in order to get players groomed and ready for the rigors of grinding out matches as well as developing big weapons. That’s how the group works, each person watches and does the drills to the best of their ability, each drill is specific to areas of the court and helps to develop the player’s footwork abilities. After all the “spanish” drills (exhausting, trust me) then we move into point play. By the end of the day, you’ve covered your conditioning, drilling, and playing needs, the only thing left to do is stretch, light weights (if you have any energy left), and possibly soak in an ice bath. It’s an intense situation that I’m excited to hopefully be a part of. We’ll see how the meetings go up in Santa Barbara and I will update you all on how the situation plays out! Until then. .

Talk to you soon,

Shubert