Amazing Stroke Comparison Engine

Today we’re unveiling our new Stroke Comparison Engine, probably the most powerful and exciting technology we’ve introduced in TennisOne’s ten year history. The Stroke Comparison Engine allows you to see a simultaneous, side-by-side view of our ProStrokes videos. While seeing and playing the strokes from the same view and angle, you can also stop the action in each video, and advance it frame-by-frame to study the exact movement or racquet position of the two players.

Where to Go and What to See

This is truly a tool you have to play with to understand how it works and how much fun it is. First, a few pointers on how to use it. Please note that you have to have QuickTime installed and you have to have Java enabled to view the Stroke Comparison Engine. If not, don’t worry: there are instructions on the pages to tell you where to go and what to do.

Initially, you’ll select two players and a particular stroke (say, Agassi and Roddick backhands as we’re showing above.) to view. You click “View Movies” and you’ll be taken to another page where all the different movies of Agassi and Roddick are loaded into the Comparison Engine.

Then, beneath the videos, you can select the “View,” the “Height” of the view, and which of the different movies in the database to view. You click the “Refresh” button at the bottom of the page to see both videos play simultaneously. The real fun and learning experience, however, is in controlling each video frame-by-frame. You do this in two ways: 1) by clicking on the cursor ball below each video and advancing the video by dragging the ball; 2) by clicking on the video frame and using your arrow keys to advance or retreat frame-by-frame.

• Stroke Comparison Engine
• Sample Analysis by TennisOne Editor, Jim McLennan

The Power of Visualization

In a famous University of Chicago study to measure the power of visualization, three groups were measured in terms of their ability to shoot free throws. The first group practiced their free throws for an hour a day for twenty days. The second group was told to imagine shooting free throws for an hour for twenty days. The third group was told not to practice or think about shooting free throws for this same period. The results were striking: the first group (the one that actually practiced shooting free throws) increased their performance by 24 percent and the second group (the one that just visualized shooting) increased their performance by 23 percent—almost the same performance increase. The third group’s performance was unchanged. The conclusion of this and other studies is that visualization can significantly improve athletic performance.

Besides having fun comparing the strokes of your favorite players, consider our new Stroke Comparison Engine a powerful visualization and learning tool to improve your game. We think the Comparison Engine alone is worth becoming a TennisOne member. But if you need nine other reasons, please check out our new Top Ten Reasons to Become a TennisOne Member page. Over the years, people have often told us, “A ton of great stuff, but how do we use it?” Here are ten good ways.

It’s always great to unveil a new dimension to our service for our members. Now go and play!