My thoughts...On the Volley. To tennislearningforlife or to whom it may concern.

[don_budge]

So did I get right?

1) use more easter grip for slice and volley for both side. Slightly more toward countinental right?

2) Flatter contact is better volley-ball will run more. So I assume you teach volley to be more straight forward and not cutting down.


If it is not too much to ask, if you could help me how you teach stroke will be very much appreciated thank you so much again

Nice of you to ask...I would be honored.

[don_budge]

Modern Volleys...

1) When you teach kid under spin do you teach them with countinental grip?

I think that is the best question you asked so far tennislearningforlife..and you have asked a bunch.

No, I don't teach the continental grip for underspin. With the amount of overspin being generated from the other side of the court in todays game it is not so necessary to use less than a slightly weakened eastern grip. Continental grips only exasperate the problem of volleying the dipping bullets that are the passing shots in todays game. One must negate the overspin as opposed to applying underspin in many cases. I find that the volleys that are most effective today are flatter than the traditional volley with the continental grip. The ball must scoot through the surface of the court and todays courts are substantially more abrasive and therefore excessive underspin allows the ball to sit up rather than lay down. So the modern volleyer makes a slight grip change to accommodate the changes in the modern game.

Volleying on the backhand side with a continental grip is slightly more effective than on the forehand side and it is often advantageous to use extreme backspin off of the backhand volley as in a shot that may even come back on the volleyers side of the court or at least backup...but even so I teach a stronger than continental grip on the backhand side as well. Backhand volleys are more easily produced due to the relationship of the shoulder to the body. Backhand volleys have more of a range from crisp to touch than the forehand which should in general be attacking and penetrating.

[don_budge]

The Spin of the Volley....

So did I get right?

1) use more easter grip for slice and volley for both side. Slightly more toward countinental right?

2) Flatter contact is better volley-ball will run more. So I assume you teach volley to be more straight forward and not cutting down.

You sure did get it right tennislearningforlife. That is pretty much exactly what I think about the volley. The racquet head is very much moving forward (as is the volleyer)...and it is descending at the same rate as the leg and the body sink into the front foot. Not a cutting motion at all...but slightly downward and descending to impart the desired amount of underspin. The backhand motion can be more easily "cut" with excessive spin particularly if you are "caught" with the weaker forehand grip in a quick exchange.

One idea that I introduce to a prospective volleyer right from the beginning is "Mr. Wall"...coincidentally he appears to have been Boris Becker's mentor as well. I introduce Mr. Wall as the best volleyer in the world and I tell the student to carefully observe the technique that he uses. After drilling about forty volleys into the wall (slowly at first then dramatically picking up the pace until it is too fast to continue) I ask the student what the wall did. They sometimes look a bit perplexed...but the answer is of course simple...the wall did absolutely nothing. Except to be a wall and never miss.

Another idea that I emphasis immediately after this demonstration is the fact that placement of the ball is much more important than generating more speed on your return shot. You cannot over emphasize the need for a shorter swing. The ball is approaching you and you are approaching the ball...when you collide there will be plenty of energy in the collision but the trick is to control the placement, the speed and the spin...with a short swing or no swing and with a nice rotation of the ball backwards.

The earth is a ball...a ball in the game. In a game where the object of the game...is to learn the rules.

So the task is somewhat to build a wall out of the student...a living and breathing very portable wall that is somewhat flexible. You must fit the wall to the approaching ball.

[don_budge]

Step 1...Catching the ball.

It may sound overly simplistic but step one is to teach the student to catch a ball using volley footwork and turning the shoulders in the direction of the ball. The student has some very specific tasks to accomplish in learning how to correctly catch the ball for a forehand volley and to meet it with the back of the hand for a backhand volley. Particularly with the footwork which is also preparing them for the groundstroke footwork.

In the beginning it is simply throwing the ball to the student and they must step somewhat diagonally across and catch the ball with their forearm at approximately a 45 degree angle. Stepping not only diagonally but forwards as well. Hand even with the front hip. Catching the ball as the foot meets the earth.

Set the student up in a ready position with right hand at chin level and the left forefinger and left thumb holding onto the right thumb. When the student turns to go to the ball with their right hand the left hand follows and extends somewhat towards the net. This turns the shoulders toward the ball.

After catching the ball the student swings the arm back and stepping with the left foot throws the ball underhand to my hand. Get them to aim every time they throw taking the throwing hand to the target and finishing opposite shoulder high. You are also introducing the forehand groundstroke.

Practice throwing to the student while they are in a somewhat stationary position and get them to go towards the ball with their hand while the ball is coming towards them. After they get the idea that in order to catch the ball the hand must receive it start to move them a bit. Try to impress upon them the importance of going forwards to the ball to meet it and not to let the ball "play" them.

Once they get the hang of catching the ball...get them to lean on their front foot after catching it. Get them to press their weight down on the front foot.

On the backhand side...instead of catching the ball we are going to have the student go forward and meet the ball with the back of their hand. Again have them lean on their front foot when they make contact with the ball. In the ready position the left forefinger and thumb again clasp the right thumb and they release the thumb just before they make contact with the ball.

As you may of noticed I have "borrowed" some ideas from a number of different sources and combined them with my own...do you recognize anyone? Oscar Wegner?

[don_budge]

Step 2...The Door...Go Forwards!!!

Uh oh...now it gets interesting. An article on the forehand volley at the same time I am stumbling through my message to teachingtennisforlife. I promise not to cheat. I promise not to read Paul Cohen until I finish. Chances are there will be something in his article that I will borrow too.

But anyways...after training the student in the catching drills for some minutes its back to the service line where I position them just behind the line facing the net. The service line, I say to them, represents a wall that extends upwards. They are standing in front of a door way and when the ball comes to them to volley or to catch on either side of them, they must step through that doorway and not reach back with their backswing or else they will banging that nice shiny tennis racquet into the wall.

The backswing is initially a forward swing, as from ready position with the opposite hand providing substantial support to control the racquet head and getting it into position to meet the ball. The volleyer surges forward to meet the ball with the racquet head going directly to the ball and slightly above it. In the motion forward...with the opposite hand on the racquet the volleyer is turning the opposite shoulder to the ball and that shoulder turn should place the limits on the backswing at this point. Because of the short nature of the stroke the shoulders are controlling the length or rather the width of the stroke or swing.

On the forehand side I like to see a rather abbreviated stroke with the shoulders turning somewhere between 40 and 60 degrees...depending upon the speed or difficulty of the volley they will attempt to play. Because of the difference in the shoulders between the forehand and the backhand it seems that the on the backhand volley it is a bit easier to make a bigger shoulder turn and therefore accommodate a bigger backswing if contact with the ball is maintained significantly in front of the front hip. At the same time it is easier to play a ball with little shoulder turn on the backhand side. To me...the backhand volley is perhaps the easiest and most latent powerful shot in the tennis players repertoire.

The forward swing of the volley is accomplished and controlled by the rotation of the shoulders back to the ball. Impact on the forehand side is relative to the inside shoulder meeting the ball via the racquet head, whereas impact on the backhand side is felt by laying the front shoulder on the ball. Arm motion is minimal...but again it seems that the backhand volley can swing a bit freer than the forehand. If the backswing is to be limited in the volley the follow through is even more limited. The whole concept of the volley is this...the volley is to be executed with control in mind and not power. The point that is being contested with a volley is one that should have an emphasis on placement and spin and not necessarily outright speed. I teach my students to leave their strings at the target. Of course this is virtually impossible but it seems to help them in limiting their follow throughs and it gives them an idea about how to aim the stroke and therefore place the ball.

The ball is coming at you. You are approaching the ball. It is a collision of sorts and hopefully it is a controlled collision on your part. The single most important aspect of volleying is meeting the ball in the center of the strings. Precise placement is the order of the shot. The more difficult the shot, the less you should attempt to do. Just like Mr. Wall.

[tennislearningforlife]

Thank you very much

thank you very much Mr don-budge

These information are very valuable. I print out and will go into my tennis bible.

thank you very much again. Nothing can beat the years of experience and that's what i trust the most.

The reason why ask so many question is i do understand now more and more

how you learn or how I got volley may not apply to my students... and believe or not most case isn't Most important thing is make sure students get it right with easy way. Not me.

[don_budge]

Step 3...The 3 components of the volley swing.

Finally in conclusion...the pressure is on before I am tempted to peek at Paul Cohen's version of the forehand volley. The temptation is mounting. Focus old boy...focus.

Fundamentally speaking there are three major components of the volley. At impact there are three independent motions working together to accomplish the task of hitting a tennis ball out of the air. They are:

1. The arm, hand and racquet motion. This is the most difficult component to get the student to understand but once they begin to grasp the other two it makes more sense to them. The racquet head must be delivered to the ball with a forward motion to it with a slightly descending angle. How much angle? Well that sort of depends upon how much spin you are trying to apply. When learning how to volley that spin is somewhat minimal therefore the arm, hand and racquet motion is strictly short and abbreviated. But the whole unit is all moving as a unit. No sense in getting "handsy" or "wristy" on a ball that is traveling roughly twice as fast through the air as it would be after bouncing.

2. The shoulder rotation to the ball is the second component. On the forehand side as I mentioned the volleyer should have the sensation of meeting the ball with the right or inside shoulder. This shoulder rotation should work together in perfect synchronicity with the arm, hand and racquet motion to give a nice solid impact on the ball. Such impact used to be referred to as "crisp" volleying. Crisp as in succinct and directly to the point. No extra furbelows or wasted motion. No extra trimmings. The shoulders are doing the yeoman's portion of the work. Less is better when talking about good, sound and efficient volleying.

3. The placement of the front foot is the third component. Just before or just as the racquet head is meeting the ball the front foot is meeting the earth. Just as the foot is meeting the earth the body is rotating the shoulders into the ball. With the weight of the body sinking into the front foot the racquet head is sinking into the ball as a knife into soft butter. There is a food simile for you klacr. When the three components of the volley are all performed simultaneously on the ball you have the striking sensation that you have hit a perfectly effortless volley with the optimum of placement, the desired spin and the necessary speed that is needed to win a point played from the net. I tell my students that when volleying they are to "lean" on the ball through the head of their racquet.

I am going to conclude my discussion of my thoughts on volleying here. This little composition is of course geared to teaching the volley and probably not how the shot evolves in a professionals repertoire. That being said...with a majority of the professionals it probably wouldn't hurt to go back to the fundamentals because there does not appear to be any accomplished volleyers out there today. Even Federer does not look comfortable at the net...at least not in the sense that John McEnroe or Pete Sampras made themselves at home there. At least not in the singles matches that we see on television. But I will bet you the farm if you go out on the back courts where the doubles has been delegated you will see some really good volleyers.

It's a shame that this part of the game has gone dead to the tennis world. One is left to wonder why. Conventional wisdom will speak of the new modern game and engineered tennis...the racquets, the courts, the strings and etc. But I also wonder if the coaching world didn't take a wrong turn at some point and virtually neglect this aspect of the game. While it may be true that the professional game is void of net play...there really isn't any good reason why the tennis population shouldn't be using some net tactics as part of a winning strategy.

Now I can go and read Paul Cohen's article. Am I nervous? Not really. Curious? Absolutely!

[tennislearningforlife]

Volley can be everything for high school tennis

Thank you.

Well, I think Volley is everything for high school players.
I mean majority of high school players do play doubles.
Usually singles spots are taken by tournament players.
therefore you end up playing doubles in order to stay in varsity level
And those who know how to volley can make huge different from others.
Biggest problem is their poor technique. Well, at least my students have poor technique and have to admit that i need put more work on that department.

This is the order i teach now

1) volley
2) Serve
3) Slice
4) stroke-stoke is probably easier and most people do spend time on but to me stoke you can get practice at anytime, you can hit wall or with friends,

[klacr]

don_budge,

Great info! I hope one day I get to see those volleys in action if you make a trip down to South Florida.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The Key to "The Door"...the grip

I sort of left out a detail as I wrote this thread in haste...once I realized Paul was writing on the volley I wanted to finish this before I read his article. I thought it was rather startling to see how many of the same points that we touched upon. But when you think of it in hindsight...both of us were obviously raised on some of the same influences so in the end it makes all kinds of sense.

One thing that I picked up on in our two pieces that are just a tiny bit different was the issue of the grip. Stotty has picked up on this as well...the need for a good strong solid grip. I wrote a little about my thoughts on the grip and felt that I would just like to clarify my feelings a little on this important aspect of the volley.

Grips have become a hot topic of their own in the modern game of tennis. Perhaps it is because of the limited number of options that the modern day singles tennis player uses in his repertoire in order to play a match of tennis. Basically it boils down to a game of forehand and two hand backhand. When it was all-court tennis the hand was probably moving more around the racquet as the grip had to accommodate many more types of different shots and spins. The volley grip is barely even discussed these days as the art of volleying has fallen by the wayside. That's alright...we are here to resurrect it. In life I try my best to view a vacuum as an opportunity to fill something up.

The one thing that I felt that I omitted in my little series of posts here (without pictures, videos or other props) where I have attempted to paint a picture with my words and my ideas is this key to "The Door" and I am referring to the grip here. Once I am introducing my concept of the initial move to the ball to the student it is time to get them to have an idea about how their hand "fits" to the racquet. In fact it is not just how the hand fits to the racquet it is how the student fits to the racquet.

To fit the student to their racquet and thereby establish a comfortable position to meet or hit the tennis ball in the air, I first of all take their racquet away from them and arrange their whole package to an optimum position from which to hit a volley. Arranging them from the ready position cheating just a bit so that their wrist is already in the cozy 45 degree angle that Paul also advocates I have them turn the shoulders in a unit turn and then step comfortably forwards and somewhat across the line of their other foot and place their hand in position where they will be when they are meeting the ball. At this point I put the racquet in their open hand and voila...it is the volley grip. Is it continental or eastern...more than likely it is some point in between probably a little to the side of "weak" eastern. I do the same thing on the backhand side.

Fitting the key to the door. Many thanks for your question teachingtennisforlife and thanks for the comment Kyle...I really appreciate that.

[don_budge]

To Kyle and tennislearningforlife...and the rest!

The following posts were from last year...it seems like eons ago. Another lifetime. A different dimension. To all of the brothers and the apparently lone sister at tennisplayer.net.

The forum at large is what it is. It seems to be a living thing. Because we give it life. The owner...the provider...the genius behind the curtain. John Yandel. The music videos are an eclectic clue. A clue to as what's inside the man. But it is only a clue mind you. Every man is an island. You can never know for sure...like the future. Like peering into the mist.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/music_videos/winning_edge/winning_edge_mcenroe_lendl_volleys_large.html

This collection of McEnroe and Lendl videos are tennis art. They evolved from a very special era in tennis. From the classic to the modern. 1984. Orwellian. These were pioneers on the cusp...traversing the razor's edge like a snail crawling along the edge. Mad genius. Crazy isn't it? It's evolution baby!!! It's engineering baby!!!

[don_budge]

Music Video...John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl: Volleys

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/music_videos/winning_edge/winning_edge_mcenroe_lendl_volleys_large.html

By now all readers of Tennisplayer.net are well aware of my admiration for the series of McEnroe and Lendl tennis music videos produced, created and conceived by John Yandell. Using tennis, music and video for the higher expression of tennis as an art form, surely must have of been some kind of ecstatic surge of inspiration. Divine? I remember John writing in one of his comments that it was one of his first works and if that is so...talk about lightning in a bottle, talk about divine inspiration! Do you believe?

If you have not already done so...John, please put all of this work together in one piece, perhaps in the form of some avant gar-de and revolutionary tennis documentary (please consider me for any voice over, my voice will not disappoint you), maybe you have a couple of comments from the boys on tape from back then...get a couple of comments from the boys now that they are so much older on the piece as an introduction, and submit this work of art at some film medium venue for consideration of some kind of prize or recognition. This work taken in its entirety, given the participants and their relationship to tennis history, their relationship as adversaries...and at a time when tennis was being engineered away from the classical mode to the present day modern version, is worthy of some serious consideration. It is...an original.

The truly beautiful thing about these videos is this...on top of their intrinsic value as a work of art, there lies within a truly valuable tennis lesson in each segment. The true masters of the game are able to elevate their talents to an art form...to be perceived as such by true connoisseurs. As a master of your craft...you have done the same. You have done the game a great justice with this body of work alone...not to mention the rest.

By the way...perhaps adding to the Federer classic, “Forehand not Gone”, with all of the different strokes of his game set to some rock classics, might be another gem...in the rough. What the heck...in addition, get Nadal together with Federer to produce another “lightning strike” in a separate series to showcase their rivalry. Modern tennis' answer to the classic righty vs. lefty matchup. It could end up being timeless and priceless...as your McEnroe and Lendl series are.

Volley commentary by yours truly...ala McEnroe and Lendl

The Forehand Volley-McEnroe style

The footwork of "Johnny Boy" is uncanny...and catlike, the manner in which he places his feet so delicately in place as he is moving forward and diagonally towards the ball is the first thing that strikes me as I am watching him volley. By planting the front foot so delicately yet firmly, he is easing his weight into his shot and he has created a virtual wall of his entire structure...his foot base and legs, his body and shoulders, along with his arm, wrist and racquet unit...for the ball to rebound against with a maximum of control and placement. The combination of delicacy and firmness is what gives the volley of McEnroe it's distinctive genius. Power in volleying is not the deal breaker...placement and crisp contact is. Synchronizing the descending movement of his racquet head with the planting of his front foot and the movement of his body, particularly with the almost gentle rotation of the shoulders, is what makes his volley so special, so brilliant. So touchy, feely. McEnroe’s head and his chest appear to me to be more centered on the ball than does that of Lendl’s technique...an indication of a more superior and more subtle weight transfer.

The racquet head take back of McEnroe actually has a slightly forward emphasis. I use that expression from theworldsbestcoach vernacular...because it looks to me that his first move to the ball as it comes to him is to go forward to meet it. McEnroe sets the racquet head above and behind the ball, using only his shoulders and body to push the racquet and his arm back, and in one movement...without any discernible “help” from his wrist, he delivers the racquet head down and through the ball, leaving the racquet head down through the ball. Just as he has taken the racquet back into position with his shoulders, notice how he has delivered the racquet head to the ball with a subtle movement and rotation of his shoulders. His arm and wrist are virtually stationary and moved only by the shifting of his shoulders. After he completes his volley, the racquet head is only moving back to ready position...his shot has been completed before the racquet is coming back, but it may appear that this movement has been blended into his follow through. I can see where his volley has finished and he has left his racquet down into the ball...it is much easier to see on the backhand side.

The Forehand Volley-Lendl style

The footwork of "Ivan the Terrible" on the forehand side is a little suspect to say the least...just short of being terrible. Ivan’s move to the ball appears to be from a rather upright position and he is moving directly to the sideline, instead of diagonally to intercept the ball early towards the net. The front foot, in his case, has not yet been planted by the time he is making contact with the ball. To attempt to volley without having both feet on the ground from a stationary position indicates there are going to be some issues once he is really on the move to volley a speeding ball in the air...to say nothing of the lack of use, or missing... of the truly smooth weight transfer.

My eye also tells me that Lendl’s use of the racquet head leaves something to be desired. His backswing, in contrast to McEnroe’s, appears to be more of a movement with his arm, independent of his shoulders and body, and it doesn’t appear to me that he truly completes turning his shoulders which is indicated by the way his left hand is left waving at the camera. When Lendl makes his move on the ball it looks as if it is with a noticeable action attributed mainly to the motion of his arm...and finished with a bit of a flourish from his wrist...notice that after he has made contact with the ball he is making a visible lifting motion with the racquet head upward. One may want to use this technique on a lower volley as a means of lifting the ball up over the net, but this kind of action is unnecessary when the ball is above the net and the player has the opportunity to hit down on the ball...crisply. I see that motion on many of the junior players that I have inherited from other coaches and it seems to be a carryover from their playing strictly from the backcourt and learning to follow through above the ball on every shot. Also, from the action of his racquet head we can see that Lendl correctly starts his volley swing with the racquet head higher than his hand but by the time he makes contact with the ball the racquet head is level with his hand...an indication of too much wrist action common to many mediocre volleyers. Lendl had a larger reputation of carrying out his game plan from the backcourt as opposed to being a natural volleyer. He more or less made his living from the baseline.

Lendl’s overall posture at the net looks to be less committed to his shots than that of McEnroe’s as well. He is more upright and it doesn’t appear that his head and chest are as close to the ball as McEnroe’s, which is also an indication that he will not see the ball as clearly, because his eyes will not be as close to the ball. By not turning his shoulders to the ball initially Lendl’s action is lacking the subtle shoulder rotation that is so fundamental to great volleyers...like McEnroe.

Backhand analysis to follow.

[don_budge]

The Backhand Volley...ala McEnroe and Lendl

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/music_videos/winning_edge/winning_edge_mcenroe_lendl_volleys_large.html

The Backhand Volley- McEnroe style

The technique of John McEnroe when he is performing the backhand volley is that of a virtuoso, with the lethal consequences of a matador’s final stab. One sweet ole! The Bad One’s simple technique is apropos for arguably the simplest shot in tennis...the backhand volley. Tony Roche...the ancient Australian had the reputation of possessing the backhand volley of all time but I think that McEnroe may even of surpassed him as the standard for this shot. He was a true artist at the net with this shot and he used his racquet as a razor sharp stiletto or dagger...thrusting it with deadly consequences into the heart of his opponents.

The first move that McEnroe makes when he recognizes that the shot to be played is a backhand volley is to simply turn his body sideways to form a wall to the oncoming ball and to place his racquet in position with the help of his right hand...in one simple motion. Once he has himself in position, his move to the ball is a very simple one and a beautiful model for anyone attempting to hit the ball in the air on the backhand side. With his instant shoulder turn and racquet position he does what he does best...he gets his feet into position and goes forward. With his weight transfer sinking onto his front foot he is virtually sinking the racquet head into the ball to give it just enough underspin to control his shot and to hit it just hard enough to put it out of reach of his opponent. With such perfect control of his racquet head and the simultaneous placement of body and feet he is left with a number of options for his shot...leaving his opponent to guess where he was going as their own hapless option. Coupled with Johnny’s unpredictable nature in general...the whole ball of wax had the tendency to leave his opponent’s mystified, off balance and somewhat frustrated. He was so capable of hitting any point on the court, deep or short, straight or angled, that he was impossible to read. His ability to anticipate and quickly close on the net is what made him a lethal force. He set you up to have limited feasible options.

The Backhand Volley- Lendl style.

Ivan looks very comfortable hitting his backhand volley...compared to his forehand volley. Even so, his technique looks very polite to me, that is, he doesn’t look to be so aggressive in going forward when compared to a McEnroe. Ivan takes full advantage of the simplicity of this shot to give himself the appearance of some comfort when he is playing a backhand volley.

That being said, he still has the appearance of being a trifle upright when a bit more crouched stance is advantageous in terms of balance and providing the lower center of gravity that is needed when moving around at the net trying to stab at speeding bullets that are passing shots. Somehow he doesn’t look as comfortable with his grip on this shot and his move on the ball is perhaps too much arm oriented as opposed to the McEnroe method of utilizing his shoulders, body and feet together with the racquet head.

Approach Shots...Getting there

If a tennis player is intent on hitting the ball in the air...first he must get himself in position to do so and this involves hitting an effective approach shot that puts his opponent off balance or out of position by a combination of three elements for hitting a shot with pace, spin and placement. Much of the McEnroe artistry is attributed to his genius for playing such shots and moving in behind them. His ability to hit the ball early and on the rise, while moving forward and controlling the three elements of approach shots is in large degree the key to his productivity at the net. His service motion was also conductive to serve and volley tennis as his motion was designed to propel him into the court to land with his feet churning their way to the net. His anticipation of passing shots was second to none.

Lendl on the other hand struggled with the concept of the approach shot and finishing volley. His service motion did not seem particularly conducive to volley tactics either. He made his living controlling play from the baseline...and it was considerable. He tried in vain throughout his career, particularly later on, to retool himself as a serve and volley player in order that he might capture the elusive Wimbledon title to his resume but it was not to be. He was a bit of a fish out of water when it came to playing grass court tactics...the all court game. This lack of comfort is barely noticeable to the untrained eye in the music videos but this subtle defect in his game is noticeable as he appears to be dancing ever so slightly out of step to the music...of The Cars.

Johnny Boy, on the other hand, looks as if he is capable to dancing to any tune, rhythm or beat...around the net. He's got "Twinkle Toes". Aggressive feet...which frequently found their way into his aggressive mouth.

Their Rivalry and Relative Status in the History of the Game...

Lendl ended up with a 21-15 winning record head to head against McEnroe. He finished with nine victories in the last ten matches that they played, perhaps an indication of better physical conditioning...and a tougher and more stable mental capacity. On the other hand, Lendl defeated Jimmy Connors the last 17 times that they played...just to give you an idea about what a hard nosed competitor Lendl was.

Both players had long and productive careers over virtually the same span of time. But if you are asked who was more successful the nod must go to Ivan Lendl. His career record included a 1,071 win and 239 loss match count, 94 career titles and and an astounding 21,262,417 dollar prize money take! John McEnroe may have had some singularly more brilliant moments but his career record is only a bit less impressive with a 875 win and 198 loss match record, 77 titles (not including his 71 doubles titles) and his comparably paltry 12,552,132 dollar prize money.

Their countenance on the court were as dissimilar as night and day...McEnroe the mad genius and rascal while Lendl had the reputation of being a bit of a humorless Darth Vader. The dour Czech. In fact, both of these men are very interesting characters with their own individual sense of humor which had a lot to say given their relative experiences and parallel existence. The music videos do the whole story a wonderful justice...as an image of a moment in time. 1984 interestingly enough.

[don_budge]

Hey blake_b...I am over here! Thanks for you question!

Hi Don_Budge,

In your post above you make the following statement "much of it lies in the lack of tactics in the approach game and much of that lies in the lack of touch"

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on approach tactics, since I enjoy playing an all court game, and I realize how important the approach is to successful volleys.

Thanks,
Blake

I also said this:

But much of this absence now can be attributed to the approach tactics as well as the engineering of the game. Subtle approaches used to be a hallmark of the game but the strong grips of the modern game leave little room for subtlety...because of its one dimensional mindset. The one dimensional aspect leaves little to the imagination. So perhaps our coaching techniques have been hijacked as well...and the younger coaches are clueless in this regard without any appreciation for the history of the game. McEnroe was a master of getting his opponents to hit up to him as he cruised forward for his coup de gras volley. So were Sampras, Becker, Edberg, Gonzales and so on.

Thanks for engaging me in that pearl of a question blake_b. I notice that you are from Tucson, Arizona where I served my apprenticeship to an old Apache shaman years ago. Magical place.

Speaking of magic...your question is about where all of the magic used to happen on the tennis court. The mid-court magic. The McMagic. The McAttack. It used to be the transition game before the era of big racquets, hi-tech string and hyper abrasive court services including beefed up hybrid grass.

How can one write about the betwixt and between...unless your name is Carlos Castenadas or Lewis Carroll. Even Tilden was hard pressed to write about the half volley...instead letting the student figure it out by trial and error, fully confident that if they mastered the volley stroke and the ground stroke eventually they would come to the conclusion that the answer lay somewhere in between.

Before talking about any specifics please consider these drills...use your imagination!

1. Both players start at the baseline and one of the players advances hitting balls with a rallying partner who keeps the ball going. The advancing player gets all the way to the net and then retreats all the way BEHIND the baseline...where he immediately advances to the net again. Up and back, over and over. He should complete the whole trip to the net and to the baseline hitting a maximum of six shots. Here you can throw up a lob when the approaching player reaches the net for some overhead practice.

2. One player starts at the net and the other starts at the baseline. The one at the net starts retreating as the rally commences and the baseline player advances to the net. One player is retreating as the other advances...up and back. Working in tandem. Control the rally, work together.

3. Both players start at the net. Both players retreat to the baseline together and once they reach the baseline they both advance to the net together until they are close enough to shake hands...or kiss if they are of the opposite sex. Or if they are both girls...just kidding.

You get the picture. To advance to the net you are in effect hitting approach shots. The approach game of yesteryear was the "cat and mouse" element of the game of tennis. This missing element robs the game of its integrity. What remains is a "pseudo" form of tennis. Be that as it may...the loss of technique and tactics is largely a product of engineering and not some devolving of the human species or more specifically...tennis players. Coaching on the other hand just may of devolved with the influence of engineering...hard to say. Or not.

By practicing these three drills you will arrive at a couple of conclusions. Working up and back is much harder work than moving side to side. Volleying is as much a process as it is a technique. Do these three drills for an hour combined with playing points serve and volley with only one serve. Let me know about the relative energy consumption with other tennis workouts.

When playing balls in the mid-court and forecourt it is imperative that the weight is forwards and preferably on the front foot but as Meatloaf laments...not necessarily so. The mid-court game may be a parallel with the in between game and the short game in golf where the strokes are performed with the weight already positioned forwards and not shifted from front to back to front.

When retreating from the net and playing balls while moving backwards you begin to see how this really works. If you can get the weight going into your shots while moving backwards you really understand the principle. Stopping your momentum backwards in order to lean on the ball. Play around with this drill. When moving in stay low with the level of the ball and work on hitting different spins on your approaches and half-volleys. Underspin, topspin and sidespin. Work on controlling your depth of shot...vary it. By doing so, keep in mind that what you are really practicing is upsetting your opponents balance.

Surge forwards when the ball is in the air to get as close to the net as possible when you meet the ball...when your paths collide. The shorter the stroke the crisper the contact. The shorter the stroke the better chance of using the "sweet spot" of the strings...better control and better placement is the order of the day. Practicing the volley in this manner is the proper way to practice volleying. Why practice balls standing at the net when in reality you never get that opportunity in a game? Except maybe in doubles.

Cat and mouse. The more possibilities that you possess in your approach game the better chance that you can play the role of the cat...cat usually eats mouse. But when approaching the net conventional wisdom says to play the approach down the line. When playing an approach down the line you can vary your approach in depth, spin and speed. I recommend using underspin and sidespin on lots of approaches because the change in speed and variety of shots is often enough to get the opponent off balance for an instant as you get yourself in position to make the kill or setup volley. By gaging your approach shots perhaps you learn to eliminate some parts of the court that you must cover.

Besides conventional wisdom there are other possibilities after you have established the down the line effectively. Now you have opened up the rest of the court for the element of surprise. The sharply angled dink or drop shot is very effective on a player that has been set up to expect the slice deep in the corner. The deep ball into the other corner becomes a more viable possibility as well especially if they have dealt with a couple of short sliding balls down the line.

Play in the mid-court should have the element of surprise in the attack. The opponent should never or rarely be played to be beaten outright with speed alone but with a combination of speed, subtlety and guile. This seems to be a high order of business at the top levels of tennis today, the way it is currently being played but even there many times the top pros reveal their ineptness and even inexperience when they use topspin or hit crosscourt in the wrong situation only to their shot sit up and their opponents are ripping passing shots by them...fractions of millimeters from the lines at millions of mph.

Mardy Fish and Roger Federer are two pros that approach a bit more often than the rest of the clan but they too show deficiencies in their repertoires. Both use topspin and crosscourt too often. Approaches are set up shots and should be played to the weaker aspects of the opponents games. Strong gripped players like the ball high...why give them a shot that they like to hit? Another aspect of the modern game is speed...a softer approach buys you an instant of time if properly played...that moment may just be enough for you to seal the deal.

Try these drills on for size blake_b. Use your imagination. Next time you are out by Fort Bowie near the Chiricahua Mountains shout out to the twilight...three times...Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo. I did this and it helped my approach game...my approach to life that is. Let me know what you think. Let me know what happens. Someday I will tell you what happened to me. Life will never be the same.

But back to the point...blake_b, when I was playing competitive tennis this is how I liked to workout. Recently I have been over emphasizing this type of work with my students along with Mark's conditioning exercises. I find that they leave the court panting for breath...which I really like. And they are very amused as well. The game is so boring as it is played today. Dreadfully boring. Why not spice it up a bit? Beef up your service motion and tactics while you are at it.

tennis_chiro...can you add anything to those drills above. Once you mentioned that you had another variation. East coast tennis_chiro...do you copy!!!

[klacr]

The following posts were from last year...it seems like eons ago. Another lifetime. A different dimension. To all of the brothers and the apparently lone sister at tennisplayer.net.

The forum at large is what it is. It seems to be a living thing. Because we give it life. The owner...the provider...the genius behind the curtain. John Yandel. The music videos are an eclectic clue. A clue to as what's inside the man. But it is only a clue mind you. Every man is an island. You can never know for sure...like the future. Like peering into the mist.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/music_videos/winning_edge/winning_edge_mcenroe_lendl_volleys_large.html

This collection of McEnroe and Lendl videos are tennis art. They evolved from a very special era in tennis. From the classic to the modern. 1984. Orwellian. These were pioneers on the cusp...traversing the razor's edge like a snail crawling along the edge. Mad genius. Crazy isn't it? It's evolution baby!!! It's engineering baby!!!

don_budge,

I'm well aware of these videos and some of the older posts. I've been a member of this site for years but under the USPTA deal John had so my screen name was some random 10 digit number or something to that affect. I'm on this site in one form or another at least once a day. This site is great and this volley thread alone is worth the price of admission.

I'll only let you and a few others in on a little secret of mine...

I dream of volleys in my sleep.

This forum is a living creature. One whose company I enjoy and I try my best to pay attention to it. So much great information from so many great contributors. We all grow and we all learn. It's a win-win-win-win-win-win situation. Ok, gotta get back to work. (This tennis job is in the way of my tennisplayer.net forum posting career. )

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton