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How Boomer Took Over the Tennis Courts |
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Top-seeded players don't face their toughest and most intimidating contender in another player. It is not just anybody that has been ranked number one in various international tournaments. Instead, it goes by the moniker Boomer, otherwise known as the "ultimate tennis ball machine."
Boomer is the first ever tennis ball machine that is proficient at not only shooting balls for a number of drills but also going through a complete match. This tennis ball machine enables the user to actually play against it. Boomer can perform both serves and returns. It also calls the lines, makes a score, rates the quality of a shot, yells out comments and can do it at any level of ability -- from a fresh neophyte to a world champion.
University of Georgia's head coach, Jeff Wallace, eagerly communicated with the Boomer creator and robotics expert, Dave Jordan, after reading an article about the tennis ball machine in a magazine. "There is no replica for human competition, but Boomer is a great alternative if someone is absent", he declared as his review.
Boomer also has its own perception of functioning properly. This tennis ball machine can think, talk, and interact to give the player the feel of a true competition. One interesting feature of Boomer is that the player can regulate the desired degree of difficulty. Simply put, this tennis ball machine is versatile. It can ascend to the skills of Pete Sampras or Steffi Graf or go down to the ranks of a beginning player. If a player happens to hit a strong shot, Boomer will send back to the other side a less powerful return. However, if Boomer interprets a weak shot, just be prepared to scamper. Even if Boomer is computer-generated, this tennis ball machine also knows how to give in. Sometimes, it will send shots into the net as unintentional blunders to allow the player to earn more points.
This tennis machine offers a wide selection of exercises such as groundstroke, volley, overhead, net, approach, and serves which can be executed at any scale of 2.0 to 7.0. It gives points from 1 to 9 based on the average depth and width of the shots made.
Boomer is a current favorite of students who have attempted playing against it. "This is better because you can outsmart the tennis ball machine. Humans get frustrated, but you have to make good shots to beat Boomer", said Jarryd Wallace, tennis player attending the University of Georgia. A high school sophomore, Shadisha Robinson, commented that such a tennis ball machine is "helpful for getting a good rhythm on shots."
So no matter if you are an amateur or expert, Boomer, the "ultimate tennis ball machine", is eagerly waiting to have a match-up with you.
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