Hi, my name is Gene Molina. I make my home in New Jersey, USA.
I played baseball, basketball and soccer competitively and in recreation. I began playing tennis when I was 14 years old and I instantly fell in love with it. I never took enough lessons to become a great player but I relied on my speed and coordination to get me through many matches.
I had always played tennis with tension in my muscles. I hurt my arm and got some form of tennis elbow and that was the catalyst towards learning to play much looser with my body.
I began working on my game when I started teaching for a living. I’ve had my ups and downs and am still learning quite a bit. My game has been transformed from my high school and college days where I played Division III tennis.
The journey has been great and frustrating at the same time. I’ve been on the verge of quitting and on the other side, thinking I’m at my best. Once I realized that I need to be between those two places and trying to play like I can, not Federer or any other pro, I really started making progress.
We all need to play to our own body and it’s strengths and weaknesses. Becoming aware of what you can and can’t do will get you to the best level of your tennis.
Take this journey with me to discover your best tennis. It will not be easy. Your patience will be tested. You may get frustrated but I’m assuming you’re already at that point with your current situation. My take on this is, if you can find a way to hit a tennis ball with tension in your muscles then you should be able to hit a tennis ball with no tension in your muscles. The human body is an amazing thing. It can adjust to almost anything. Your brain is the real hurdle. We will work on making playing tennis more of an instinct rather than trying to remember how to swing at a ball. The best example I can think of is when you put your hand on a hot stove, your hand comes right off of the hot surface but did you really take your hand off? Your survival instinct kicked in and made your hand come off the hot stove. You didn’t consciously pull your hand off because the thought process from your brain to your hand would have been to slow to avert damage. This is how you need to be on the court. Relying on instinct and letting your body react rather than trying to use your mind to think. There are many ways to get there but our first step is letting go of tension and feeling how to swing at a tennis ball naturally. I’m ready, are you?
Good luck and stay loose!
My Gear for those curious about what I use to play with and what I wear:
Racket – Wilson Pro Staff RF 97, grip size 4 3/8
Strings (at the moment, subject to change) – Solinco Hyper-G
Over grip – Wilson Pro Over Grip
Clothing – Adidas
Shoes – Adidas Barricades 2015
Tennis Balls – Penn Titanium Heavy Duty
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I'm a professional tennis instructor with years of experience. My goal is to teach you how to play tennis the natural way by keeping your mind calm and letting your body do the work.
