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Tennis balls not launching well (Read 976 times)
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Slinging Rocks!

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Tennis balls not launching well
Feb 25th, 2023 at 4:08am
 
Whenever I sling tennis balls they never fly well, as opposed to rocks, which fly great and feel nice and heavy in the pouch.

To me, tennis balls feel too light, and I'm nowhere near as accurate with them as I am with rocks.

Anyone else have this experience? And does anyone have advice for throwing tennis balls?
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IronGoober
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #1 - Feb 25th, 2023 at 8:20am
 
Yes. Rocks are superior. But you can't throw rocks safely in a park.  But we all have the same trouble. A lighter sling seems to help me with tennis balls when I first started using them.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #2 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 12:29am
 
For tennis balls, a suggestion I've seen is to get a hypodermic and inject water into the tennis ball til you like the weight
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #3 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 12:51am
 
Good idea, reminds me of a video I saw, I think from Jesus Vega. He drilled a hole into a rubber ball and poured sand through it to increase its weight.

Though would that be tournament-legal if you processed the balls like that?
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #4 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 1:03am
 
I would say it'd
1 - depend on the tournament rules etc (is equipment modification allowed)
2 - not hidden or done underhandedly
3 - ideally the tournament referees would be the ones to modify, or at least check/inspect the modifications - are they all modified, are there different classes, etc and are all the modified items done in the same way? I.e. - water injected tennis balls, are they all one brand, all within .1 gram of the measure-mark weight, are any holes sealed the same way (if applicable) and so on.
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AncientCraftwork
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #5 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 2:10am
 
A light and very flexible sling does wonders for tennis balls ( and frankly, for stones too.) 2-3 mm in diameter round braided cords (you can find these in cotton if you want them natural), and a 2mm thin flexible leather aussie pouch, for example. I have given the traditional
thicker and flatter slings so much experimentation because of the popularity, I really tried to understand why and thought of all kinds of reasons, after all, if so many use them, there had to be some reasons. But in the end they all end up in the basket of slings that I never use. I tried all kinds of 'inbuilt' design elements to so called help the performance of the sling, but they all get ditched in the end, and I return to the extremely light and flexible pocket slings I have. I notice a fast improvement in my power and accuracy when going back to these slings that lack any real hard stiffness in the cords and pouch. To give an example, these pouches are so pliable that, when held balanced on your extended pointy finger, they fold/fall around it vertically downwards by itself.  The difference is like night and day between these and those that have stiffer pockets and heavy release lines. My prevailing preference for Greek and Figure 8 probably plays a role in this but so far even Balearic style seem to work well now with these thin and light slings when I don't use my wrist as much during the prerotation.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #6 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 3:52am
 
Great, thanks for sharing that. I use jute to make my slings, it's a pretty light fibre as far as I can tell, though I'm not sure how it compares to something like cotton for density.

I've made a few heavier slings from thicker jute and a few lighter ones, I'll have to test a heavy vs a light sling to see if the lighter works better with tennis balls.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #7 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 4:36am
 
For competition use an unmodified tennis ball must be used, this is for safety reasons. Competitions of pelota (ball) are held in town squares with a light net to catch the balls so that it can be easily seen by passing spectators to promote the sport. Competitions of piedra (stone) are held in safer locations.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #8 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 4:39am
 
Right, I thought as much. Thanks for confirming  Smiley
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #9 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 6:33am
 
Tennis balls are a different beast to stones since they are much much lighter for their size. This can lead to issues with the release cord fouling the shot or excessive spin causing wild curves in flight path. A lighter sling with a very clean releasing pouch is recommended, if you use a heavier sling I would strongly recommend it is tapered otherwise the release cord will become a huge obstacle to push through. It is also important you release cleanly, I say from experience even with a lightweight sling you can put insane curves on the ball if you are careless with your release (such releases barely effect stones in comparison because of their much increased density).
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #10 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 9:43am
 
You can do what I did unintentionally.  I also never liked slinging tennis balls.  One day I got some street hockey balls, and although didn't like them much at first either, I got used to them and thought they were better.  When I finally tried tennis balls again, they felt pretty good to sling.

So get some street hockey balls or something else that's worse (to sling) than a tennis ball.  Then tennis balls don't feel so bad.  Grin


Also +1 to the thought of trying a lighter sling.  Heavier braided slings (like braided paracord) will definitely work.  But the release needs to be very clean or the ball's path will get interfered with.  Which I'm sure you're experiencing.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #11 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 9:45am
 
Given I didn't know which tournament you were talking about, I gave feedback for a generic one, I defer to David's expertise in this.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #12 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 10:28am
 
For me, tennis balls have 3 advantages.
1) Security.
2) Visibility. It's easier to find a tennis ball than a stone in the middle of a field.
3) Ease of use. Outdoor and indoor (gymnasium, hangar and against a wall).

A good ball for practice. Just my experience. But the stone is better for a "real" shot and the feeling.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #13 - Feb 26th, 2023 at 5:31pm
 
Thank you all for the replies, I will indeed try a lighter sling. Also might give hockey balls a try, thanks Joe for sharing that  Smiley

I'm planning on making a new tapered sling, haven't made one before so we'll see how that works out. Hopefully that'll solve the issue of the ball getting deflected by the release cord.
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Re: Tennis balls not launching well
Reply #14 - Feb 28th, 2023 at 1:05am
 
Maybe you’re all just using the wrong sling 🤷‍♂️ I have grown rather fond of shooting tennis balls.  It’s about the only ammo safe enough to sling with children running all over the yard, and if I had to travel to another location I would sling a lot less.

If you can learn to control a tennis ball, then rocks should be no problem, but going the other direction is much more difficult.
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“My final hour is at hand. We face an enemy more numerous and cunning than the world has yet seen. Remember your training, and do not fear the hordes of Judas. I, without sin, shall cast the first stone. That will be your sign to attack! But you shall not fight this unholy enemy with stones. No! RAZOR GLANDES!  Aim for the eyes! May the Lord have mercy, for we shall show none!“  -Jesus the Noodler
 
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