Serve and Volley: Implementation Drills

In the last four articles, we have discussed serve and volley inspiration, mentality, tactics, and critical shots. (Click Here.) Now in the next two articles we'll look at a series of original drills I have developed to incorporate serve and volley into your own game. I have found them powerful, effective, and fun. See if you agree! Soft Catch A big issue in serve and volley is touch and feel. It's difficult for players to transition from the kinesthetic feel of hitting a hard serve to a looser grip and the soft hands needed for a controlled volley. Inexperienced players think of the volley as a powerful kill shot, and if the volley is a floater, than that may be the case. When many players think power, they also think strong death grips and tightening of the body In the soft catch drill the player has to use feel to catch and control the ball when moving forward after the serve. But a serve and volley player sees a variety of return speeds and placements over a course of a match, some of which won't be conducive to pounding the volley.. You must be able to relax and develop a...