Serve and Volley: Implementation Drills

[gzhpcu]

A video on why serve and volley died out in Wimbledon...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3SmrwGg1gE

Nothing new, but a nice summary...

[stotty]

Stotty,

Stich was an interesting player. If you really want to see him in the zone, you should youtube his '96 French Open semi with Marc Rosset.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Thanks, I'll dig it out and take a look.

[klacr]

I think the crossover gives a player composure more immediately once the ball has been struck. I am not sure whether it gets a player to the net any quicker or not. I am guessing no. I certainly like the smoothness of it when done well.

As far as getting to the net quicker, it really depends on the players natural ability and quickness. The stances all have pros and cons and there is not one that is the clear favorite. As for the smoothness of the serve, it just comes down to aesthetics and our own personal tastes. Technical relevance and genius out the window, There is one player whose serve was god like that that many people respect and wax poetic about, but I'm not a fan of their motion. Then there are some motions people would criticize that I happen to love. Not from a technical side, but just pure naked eye attractiveness. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Cross over

A related question is whether a crossover step is better for serve and volley in that the transition is better. Landing on the front foot instead of the back foot, though most players today land on the back foot. In the old days, since one foot had to stay in contact with the ground, you landed on the front foot, crossing over. Yes, I know McEnroe didn't crossover...

I think the crossover gives a player composure more immediately once the ball has been struck. I am not sure whether it gets a player to the net any quicker or not. I am guessing no. I certainly like the smoothness of it when done well.

[gzhpcu]

A related question is whether a crossover step is better for serve and volley in that the transition is better. Landing on the front foot instead of the back foot, though most players today land on the back foot. In the old days, since one foot had to stay in contact with the ground, you landed on the front foot, crossing over. Yes, I know McEnroe didn't crossover...

[klacr]

10splayer,

thanks for clearing that up. Lateral pinpoint for sure with Stich. Should have clarified in my earlier post. Stotty way too quick and observant and called me on it.

Stotty,

Stich was an interesting player. If you really want to see him in the zone, you should youtube his '96 French Open semi with Marc Rosset.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

LC, here in the states, we generally refer to that as a lateral pinpoint. Seen some good ones before, but can be problematic, if a player doesn't rotate the torso back, even as the hips are "opening". IF done right though, can create a tremendous differential angle between lower body and upper body..

Thanks for clearing that one up. Lateral pinpoint seems not so common these days. It was used a lot years ago. Newcombe used it. Nastase simply crossed his right leg through almost with the motion of the serve. He landed on the right foot too.

However, I feel it must involve different mechanics to the standard pinpoint stance. The drive up cannot be the same...as Newcombe, Nastase and Stich all land on their right foot and not their left.

[10splayer]

Serve Doctor's Simplified Spring-loaded Serve Technique - YouTube


Here's something you might find interesting on point.

[10splayer]

I wouldn't say Michael Stich uses a pinpoint stance as the back foot doesn't move up to meet the front foot; it moves to a position alongside the front foot. Stich has a kind of crossover style which strictly speaking is neither platform nor pinpoint. It certainly doesn't have the drive up of a pinpoint...and he lands on right foot, not the left as most servers do.

I like Stich's serve a lot. It's one of my favourites. It's a really interesting serve.

LC, here in the states, we generally refer to that as a lateral pinpoint. Seen some good ones before, but can be problematic, if a player doesn't rotate the torso back, even as the hips are "opening". IF done right though, can create a tremendous differential angle between lower body and upper body..

[stotty]

Stich

I wouldn't say Michael Stich uses a pinpoint stance as the back foot doesn't move up to meet the front foot; it moves to a position alongside the front foot. Stich has a kind of crossover style which strictly speaking is neither platform nor pinpoint. It certainly doesn't have the drive up of a pinpoint...and he lands on right foot, not the left as most servers do.

I like Stich's serve a lot. It's one of my favourites. It's a really interesting serve.

[klacr]

What are your thoughts on the serve stance to play serve and volley? I would think the forward motion from the pinpoint stance is better, coupled with a toss well into the court...

Phil,

Opening up a can of worms with the polariazing "Pinpoint or platform stance" question. Very fair question though. Certainly arguments and examples can be made for both. When playing, I personally use a pinpoint stance and although I'd like to say it undoubtedly benefits the serve and volleyer my reasoning for implementing it in my game was from watching the likes of Krajicek, Edberg and Stich . Did I mention Krajicek. What a service specimen he is huh?

John has done some great articles on the stances. Here are two of my favorites.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...nt_stance.html

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/..._12_01_06.html

Having worked with many players and having observed service motions ad nauseum from this site and others simply out of natural curiosity it's impossible for me to say that one stance trumps the other. Since I use the pinpoint I'm afraid I would be a bit bias in my answer. Although I have begun to use the platform in my teachings and hitting with a few of my more advanced players just to make things interesting in my own game I really cant tell a huge difference. In order for us to find the correct answer we would probably have to erase the muscle memory of numerous players and have them learn both the platform and pinpoint and measure and record results from there.

Serve and volleyers have come from both stances. Sampras, Taylor Dent and Henman with a platform. Edberg, Rafter, Krajicek with a pinpoint. What would be interesting is to ponder what Sampras would be with a pinpoint or what Edberg would be with a platform. But we'll never know.

I'd love to hear John chime in on your question Phil but I'd be surprised if he sided with one stance as an undisputed serve and volley king over the other given the amount of players he's filmed and styles he's seen.

My advice to you Phil if you are looking to add serve and volley into your game is that when it comes to serve stance just take after me...become 6'6" and 210 lbs and any serving seems a bit easier. Good luck with that.

All kidding aside, great question Phil and thanks for contributing to the thread.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

What are your thoughts on the serve stance to play serve and volley? I would think the forward motion from the pinpoint stance is better, coupled with a toss well into the court...

[klacr]

Thanks klacr for some real practical food for thought. A huge part of the challenge of accomplishing serve and volley tactics is organization. The organization must be so thoroughly rehearsed, thought out and practiced in order that the most of spontaneous of acrobatic responses come naturally. A logical process requires definitive objectives...particularly at the onset of the learning process. I think it is difficult to truly understand what a difficult process this is unless you have some experience in this particular activity. tennis_chiro has written of this arduous task in the past. It's no cake walk and not something that will be learned by accident.

How to begin to train a tennis student to go down such a long and arduous road must begin...at the beginning. It is always the best place to start.

The drills that you have described here are rather simple, practical and easy to understand from both the perspective of your student and your teacher. Of course any good tennis coach knows how to ramp it up a notch as your student progresses.

Thanks for reading and your input don_budge. Organization is crucial for any sort of endeavor. So many players practice their serve and they practice their volleys. But so few if any truly practice serve and volley.

Get ready for next month's, drills become a bit more advanced and intense for a true serve and volley animal. .

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Practical Food for Thought...Serve and Volley drills

Let's get your thoughts on Kyle LaCroix's latest, "Serve and Volley: Implementation Drills"

Thanks klacr for some real practical food for thought. A huge part of the challenge of accomplishing serve and volley tactics is organization. The organization must be so thoroughly rehearsed, thought out and practiced in order that the most of spontaneous of acrobatic responses come naturally. A logical process requires definitive objectives...particularly at the onset of the learning process. I think it is difficult to truly understand what a difficult process this is unless you have some experience in this particular activity. tennis_chiro has written of this arduous task in the past. It's no cake walk and not something that will be learned by accident.

How to begin to train a tennis student to go down such a long and arduous road must begin...at the beginning. It is always the best place to start.

The drills that you have described here are rather simple, practical and easy to understand from both the perspective of your student and your teacher. Of course any good tennis coach knows how to ramp it up a notch as your student progresses.

[gzhpcu]

Phil,

That's a beautiful club. And yes, I'm serious. You are a great contributor to this forum so it would be a pleasure. I'm sincere in my comments. I have added "Tennis with gzhcpu" on my bucket list. If I don't have time this year, I will make plans for next year. It is a mission.

And Yes, Stroke can join as well.

Same goes for John and Giancarlo, although I'm just trying get those two to visit me in Boca Raton.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

That would be great! (In the meantime, I'll work more on my volleys since it seems you are lining up a doubles...