Tennis Metronome – anticipation, reaction, movement, timing

Tennis Metronome – anticipation, reaction, movement, timing training for tennis Device that simulates conditions of tennis play. Device consists of a set of lights and a speaker and controller unit – Iphone or Itouch. Various speeds of tennis rally can be simulated by programming the interval of lights and sounds. Player has stations set up with the cones or hitting on his/her side of the court. The device is set up at the net or at the baseline on the other side of the court. Metronome sounds simulate the shot of the opponent and the player at the established time rate. There are 6 light embodiments that can produce one of the 3 colors of display: red, yellow and blue. Each color signifies the direction that the player has to run to hit the simulated ball. Yellow is to the left, blue is in the center, red is to the right. Lights are arranged in 3 rows: 3 lights at the top, 2 lights in the middle and 1 light at the bottom. 3 top lights correspond to groundstrokes behind the baseline, middle row correspond to shots inside the baseline and the bottom light corresponds to approach shot and volleys. The lights flash every other sound of the metronome which signifies the opponent’s strike. At that moment player should make a split step and based on the light color make decision about the direction of movement and the swing. Settings allow to set the number of lights to be engaged and number of directions of movement. Each large cone or hitting stand is equipped with the sensor allowing precisely measuring the timing of the stroke and comparing it with the metronome output. Sensors send the signal wirelessly to the device controller. The system will be able to show how fast the player is able to get to specific locations on the court. System will be able to show in a graphical form on the iphone or itouch the timing of arrivals to the shot location (too late, too early, on time). System will also allow manipulating metronome for different shots in the sequence. So for example metronome will accelerate when player has to respond to volleys.