Scenario

Tim and mary Callahan are a middle-aged couple living in suburban samta barbara, california. Both have played tennis sporadically over the years but in the last few months have begun to play regularly. They are enjoying it, but they notice that their game is underdevoloped compared to that of the couples who have been playing all their lives and the youngsters who are taking lessons in school or at their club.

Tim and mary have decided to spend their summer vacation at a tennis college in a canyon about fifty miles south of los angeles. They will stay in the model next to college and go through five-day course. They check in one Sunday night in june, and the next morning after breakfast, in their tennis togs and carrying their racquets, they join the group of about fifty other people who are milling around meeting one another on the deck outside the lecture room. Someone mentions that a film is being shown in the lecture room, so they file inside to watch a film short of the world championship final of the year before.

The course begins with a brisk lecture on its purpose. The emphasi, they are told, will be on “shot-making.” They will learn how to hit top-spin shots, primarily. Forehands , and backhands from the baseline, approach shots, volleys, oveerhead, serves, and lobs. There will be some attention to strategy, but making the shot will be given the greatest attention. A young instructor at the front of the lecture room then demonstate how to hit a top-spin forehand and backhand. Players see a film demonstrating how the racquet should meet the ball and the kind of overspin it should impart to it. Another film shows how body weight changes throught the stroke. Three of four more short film demonstrate the shot and explain its principles.

They are then divided up into groups, and tim and mary join a group in the ball machine lanes. These lanes are fanned out in a carousel. Each person has a pie-shaped lane with green canvas lining the sides of the lane. Aball machine shoots balls up each lane –six to nine hundred balls an hour , they are told , will come their way. For forty minutes they pratice hitting forehands and backhands against the ball machine. For each six students a coach walks up and down behind the lanes. He helps them hold the racquet correctly, turn and prepare for the shot, and demonstrates.

Targets are provided at the front of the lane, and they learn to aim at the target, hitting shot after shot. They are taught to hit the ball higher than they are accustomed to because the top spin will bring it down into the court on the other side. ‘’avoid net skimmers,’’says one of the coaches.’’don’t hit the ball flat; hit up under the ball and make it spin. The spin will bring it down. ‘’hit away from your body.’’ ‘’tum and make your backswing before the ball gets there.’’ ‘’your backswing is too ioose, sally. Just bring the racquet back parallel to your body. You’re overswinging, Tim . your backhand should end with your knuckles facing the target. Don’t swing the racquet all the way around.”

They practice and practice. After a ten-minute break in which they all suck on oranges and ice, they move to another court. Here two ball machines shoot balls across the net, and the six players continue to practice their forehands and backhands, each taking tums hitting five shots a piece.

“Let’s go inside for a minute, ‘’says the coach, and they troop into a small viewing room where to their surprise they find that they have been videotaped for the last fifteen minutes. They are shown the televised tapes of their performance, and the coach analyzes good and poor performance. He is very cheerful’ and positive: ’’Attack girl, sally,”he says.’’ That was good backswingand your body was turned. Then you swing all the way around your body. Look at this one. There you’re getting it you didn’t overswing.’’