Building Invincible Volleys Part 2: Two Primary Styles
Chris Lewit
The slice style and the flat style on both sides.
When I look at elite volley technique, I see a fundamental bifurcation - flat style and slice style. Sometimes players use a combination of both depending on the tactical situation.
I call the slice style the "Israeli style" because the nuances were first taught to me by my coach Gilad Bloom, the former Israeli Davis Cup player. In this article let me outline the technical parameters I use when building both invincible flat and slice volleys.
Flat Style and Israeli Style Compared
Both styles of volley are good and valid and both can be used effectively at the high levels of the game. In fact, most players may benefit from learning both styles and I teach both to my students.
The flat style volley is simple and practical. The Israeli style is elegant and more complex.
Chris Lewit, former #1 for Cornell and Pro Circuit player, has coached numerous top 10 nationally ranked juniors and is a leading coach, educator, and author. He has written two best-selling books, The Secrets of Spanish Tennis and The Tennis Technique Bible.
Chris runs a popular high performance summer tennis camp in the beautiful mountains of Vermont and coaches players world-wide through his virtual school, CLTA Online (CLTA.teachable.com).
Chris also produces a weekly high performance tennis video talk show and podcast, The Prodigy Maker Show, which is available on Apple Podcasts and all other podcasting directories. All shows can be accessed at ProdigyMaker.com.
Check out Chris's blog, also at ProdigyMaker.com for free articles on high performance junior development and Spanish training. Learn about his camp at ChrisLewit.com or visit the online academy at CLTA.teachable.com
The Secrets of Spanish Tennis
What makes Spanish tennis so unique and successful? What exactly are those Spanish coaches doing so differently to develop superstars like Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer that other systems are not doing? These and other questions are answered in The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, the culmination of five years of study on the Spanish way of training by USTA High Performance Coach Chris Lewit.
