So, my 10 year old son wants a "good" tennis racket

[GagHalfrunt]

GagHalFrunt is a very smart little fellow. He won't be easily fooled nor scammed like some of the posters I've seen. But every once in a while he makes a mistake which makes you wonder if he has his head strung correctly.

Point out where I threatened to break the pros knees or even suggested that the OP threaten to break the pros knees. I dare you to find it.

He's a smart fellow alright, he can even read.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

What do I win? :sneaky:

I might have a Wilson T2000 laying around to send you.

(Never understood how Jimmy Connors played so well with those horrible pieces of vibration producing crap.)

 

[GagHalfrunt]

good gear makes a difference. though at 11? no.

Define "good".

I've tried to explain this on golf, but the same thing holds true for tennis, skiing or any other sport. "Good" or "best" is a relative term. What's "good" for a pro is not good for an amateur. What's good for a strong 18 year old amateur is not good for a 10 year old kid. FIT is what matters. The racket needs to be the right weight and length for a 10 year old, it needs to have a grip of the right diameter for his hands, it needs to be strung at the proper tension to suit his presumably slow swing. A $20 racket from Wal-Mart that fits is plenty for a 10 year old that just bats balls around for fun. A $200 pro level racket not only would not be better for a player of that age and level, it would probably be worse.

 

[disappoint]

Point out where I threatened to break the pros knees or even suggested that the OP threaten to break the pros knees. I dare you to find it.

He's a smart fellow alright, he can even read.

I never said you did. If you can read as well as you say you can, then maybe you should try doing so.

 

[JMapleton]

Tell him to win a tournament to show he's good enough for a quality racket. If he can beat the noobs up and down the court with a sh!t racket, then he earned the sweet one. Make him earn it. Make it a trophy for him.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Tell him to get a job to earn his own racket.

 

[brianmanahan]

Not really seeing a problem with the bats and knees....

it worked for tonya harding

and it'll work for me!

 

[Matthiasa]

He's quit enough sports already. It angers me to be honest. And I have this feeling that if I get him this racket, he'll quit within a few months. My kid wanted gloves and head gear for karate a few years ago. A few months after asking (and me not buying since I know my son at this point) .... he quit. I think my sons attention span for tennis is near it's end. Been doing it for about a year now. This is usually when he quits things.

For some reason he has latched onto tennis and my fear is that he is going to quit. He swears he won't. The thing is, it seems like mostly girls play tennis from what i saw at the tennis club. So I'm thinking that he'd get on the high school team rather easily so I want to encourage it .... to an extent.

Here is the trick. If one doesn't have the equipment to even simply compete one tends to quit. No one likes losing especially if its from missing or sub-par equipment.

With the karate example I'm surprised he was even able to start without equipment. Those were needed for even basic training... several months without equipment was effectively missing several months of lessons. It would be like trying to learn to ride a bike but not being given the wheels to the bike or maybe even the bike itself, effectively pointless and or impossible.

Also, remember that time is perceived very differently when one is young. One year at that age would be like 3-4 for you in terms of percent of memories.

Him quitting sports may very well be him picking up on your reactions to the sports, such as lack of support. By you showing that distaste for a few months he quits because to him it looks like you want him to.

 

[bononos]

.......
BUT. My son says that the better expensive rackets weigh more and the mass helps him hit the ball harder. He swears that he can tell the difference.

So my tennis playing friends. Should any 10 year old kid have a tennis racket that costs $150? Can it actually make a difference to a 10 year old?
......

Heh. When I was his age what I wanted was a lighter racket not a heavier one.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Attach some weights to his current racket with some tape around it... Voila! Now he has a pro racket!

 

[waggy]

Here is the trick. If one doesn't have the equipment to even simply compete one tends to quit. No one likes losing especially if its from missing or sub-par equipment.

With the karate example I'm surprised he was even able to start without equipment. Those were needed for even basic training... several months without equipment was effectively missing several months of lessons. It would be like trying to learn to ride a bike but not being given the wheels to the bike or maybe even the bike itself, effectively pointless and or impossible.

Also, remember that time is perceived very differently when one is young. One year at that age would be like 3-4 for you in terms of percent of memories.

Him quitting sports may very well be him picking up on your reactions to the sports, such as lack of support. By you showing that distaste for a few months he quits because to him it looks like you want him to.

uh..wow.

equipment in kids sports and please remember he is 10! is not about the equipment. sure he needs a glove for baseball, a racket for tennis, gear for football..etc. but that is not the indicator of success. well for very very few kids it is. they just want the equipment.

equipment for karate? all you have to get is a gi and thats not even really needed.

him quitting sports most likely that he just does not enjoy those sports. not all kids enjoy each sport.

 

[sdifox]

uh..wow.

equipment in kids sports and please remember he is 10! is not about the equipment. sure he needs a glove for baseball, a racket for tennis, gear for football..etc. but that is not the indicator of success. well for very very few kids it is. they just want the equipment.

equipment for karate? all you have to get is a gi and thats not even really needed.

him quitting sports most likely that he just does not enjoy those sports. not all kids enjoy each sport.

more like they don't want to put in the effort.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Here is the trick. If one doesn't have the equipment to even simply compete one tends to quit. No one likes losing especially if its from missing or sub-par equipment.

With the karate example I'm surprised he was even able to start without equipment. Those were needed for even basic training... several months without equipment was effectively missing several months of lessons. It would be like trying to learn to ride a bike but not being given the wheels to the bike or maybe even the bike itself, effectively pointless and or impossible.

Also, remember that time is perceived very differently when one is young. One year at that age would be like 3-4 for you in terms of percent of memories.

Him quitting sports may very well be him picking up on your reactions to the sports, such as lack of support. By you showing that distaste for a few months he quits because to him it looks like you want him to.

Some of the best athletes in the world grew up in the slums with little to no equipment at all. If one is dedicated and loves the sport enough, they will continue to play no matter what the situation is. Quitting due to lack of support, or booing from the crowd, or lack of equipment is just stupid if you actually love what you're doing on the field/court/ice/whatever it is you're playing on. It's all part of the game - get used to it and accept it.

 

[waggy]

more like they don't want to put in the effort.

if they don't like the game they won't put in effort. My son loves wrestling and gymnastics. he tried baseball and was bored to death. It was a fight to get him to practice or games.

 

[SunnyD]

Weight of the racket depends on the style of the player.

If he's a baseline player, then yes, a heavier racket, particularly with mass in the head will help. It will give more inertia in the swing along with a bigger sweet spot leading to more powerful strikes on the ball.

If he's more of a serve & volley type, then absolutely avoid a heavier racket. You need something lighter with the mass more toward the bridge/grip in order to have more control over the racket for quick reaction and better placement. Usually it's also a stiffer hit that's compensated by a larger head.

Now, with that little "knowing your play style" lesson out of the way... let's move on to thing number two about rackets:

Stiffness of the frame makes a whole hell of a lot of difference. I hinted to it in the second paragraph. The frame itself will also affect the way you hit the ball. Usually there's a correlation between weight and stiffness (lighter composites are generally stiffer), but you never can tell. Here's the thing with rackets - every single one is going to be different. The combination of weight/stiffness/size/string all makes a difference.

When you shop for a tennis racket, if you're a casual player you're not going to care. If you're actually playing tennis for a reason, you use "demo rackets" until you find one you like, then you buy a brand new one of that racket. Not sure if Dick's still does demo rackets or not. Your country club dude might. But for the love of god don't ever just buy a racket based on "oh, it's heavier, so it'll be good". After all, you don't walk into a car dealership and buy a car just because it has more horsepower, do you? Nope... you test drive it first. Can't tell you how many rackets my dad and I have demo'd over the years.

 

[MongGrel]

it worked for tonya harding

and it'll work for me!

:ninja:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oksana_Baiul

She grew up using sub standard skates, I'm just saying.

 

[disappoint]

Jeez what a racket.

 

[sdifox]

Jeez what a racket.

polite golf clap

 

[CraKaJaX]

Weight of the racket depends on the style of the player.

Lots of good stuff here. I didn't know Dicks ever had a demo Program... Good to know, though I'm pretty sold on my Pro Staffs

 

[brianmanahan]

:ninja:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oksana_Baiul

She grew up using sub standard skates, I'm just saying.

just think how many golds she would have won if she had:

1. expensive skates at 10 years old
2. a boyfriend to break competitor's kneecaps

 

[Sonikku]

Tell him to get a part time job for minors so he can pay for it.

 

[nakedfrog]

My mother was a big fan of using a particular phrase when I came to her with such requests: It's nice to want things.

:lol:
So my kids may have someone to commiserate with about that phrase, eventually.

 

[mvbighead]

Having used $150-200 bats for softball, I would presume there are definitely different qualities in more expensive rackets.

However, you may find a place that sells 'last years models' at a discount. You might be able to score a ~$200 racket for $100 or less:

http://www.tennisexpress.com/head-liquidmetal-8-prestrung-tennis-racquets-3130

http://www.amazon.com/Head-Liquidmetal-8-Tennis-Racquet/dp/B0000AQCU4

No idea if that is a quality racket or not, but if he is using random used gear from the 'pros', buying one on the Internet could save you some coin and still get you a higher quality racket.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Tell him that using the cheap racket is akin to a sprinter running with a weighted vest. He's not as fast with the vest on, but it gets him ready to fly with the vest off. He needs to get really good with the cheap racket so he'll be that much better when he finally gets the expensive one. Getting the good racket too early would only hamper his progression.

That's all BS of course, but you should always lie to your children while they're still young enough to buy it.

 

[Mursilis]

I might have a Wilson T2000 laying around to send you.

(Never understood how Jimmy Connors played so well with those horrible pieces of vibration producing crap.)

Maybe it's Connors I'm thinking about, now that you mentioned him. I remember some well-known pro getting a bit of attention in the 80's-90's(?) for competing with a racket which retailed for ~$40, even though he was a top-10 player and basically could have any racket he wanted for free.

I wonder how much, as a percentage, the racket really matters in tennis, at the elite level?