Why CamAssist Was Invented

My family has been involved in tennis for a number of years. Both my wife and I are active in tennis leagues and my son has been active in USTA juniors tennis. Tennis is played year round here in South Florida and my son usually plays 15-20 tournaments a year.

I learned early on that my son appreciated advice and comments from his tennis coach a lot more than he did from his Dad. Therefore I decided to video tape his matches so that he could decide if he was moving his feet or not. After seeing his first tape he said "Hey, I'm not moving my feet!".

I soon discovered that taping a tennis match is difficult at best. Usually, the only place that you can shoot from is from the side of the court and that can only be done if the court is not buried between other courts. Also, if you shoot from the side of the court, you can only shoot one side of the court at a time. I tried using a tripod and it provided stability but mostly it provided something for other spectators to trip over. There goes my expensive camcorder....

What I really wanted was the same view that you see on T.V. The only way that I could get this view, it seemed, was to sit on the top of the fence at the end of the court.....not very practical.

There was no product on the market would allow me to hang the camcorder where I wanted it to be so I decided to make one. What started out to be a 1-2 month project turned into 1-2 years of development and refining (not to mention thousands of dollars, most of which went to patent attorneys).

As I built models and used prototypes at tennis events, other parents would ask if they could buy one. Of course I said yes and over time the product evolved to its' final form. Thus the CamAssist was born.

The results have been worth the effort. We have sold hundreds of CamAssist to tennis coaches and pro's, junior parents, and to players who get a kick out of seeing themselves and their friends on tape.

CamAssist allows you to easily tape lessons and matches for review and analysis. The visual impact of seeing your own stroke production, footwork and shot selection is phenomenal. One picture is literally worth a thousand words when it comes to sports training. In the next newsletter I'll describe just how you can use CamAssist to improve your tennis and save a lot of money at the same time.

By the way, my son started moving his feet and became a Florida State High School singles champion, team champion, and second in the state in doubles. This stuff works!

- Tom Kennedy

  President, Kennedy Products & Services