On Saturday mornings during Little League season, my father dragged my older brother and me away from cartoons to teach us how to throw a baseball. My father insisted we learn the ‘correct’ technique, which meant raising the arm to a perfect 90-degree angle, hand tilted back as if carrying a small coffin. This infuriated our father, and, just as he did inside our home for the smallest of trespasses, he exploded. Through years of teaching forehands, backhands, volleys and serves, I inadvertently learned the sport’s foundational mechanics — especially the importance of the follow-through — and their necessity. While I have tried teaching my son, Macallah, now 12, tennis for years, sometimes it has been frustrating for both of us.
