To punch or not to punch.

[hacker_101]

I had a brief lesson with my club pro on volleying. We first started volleying back and forth to see my technique. He said my technique was pretty good. He asked what I do to volley. "I get in the ready position with the racquet out in front of me and then I just put my racquet behind where I think the ball will be" He started laughing. He then told me to put my left hand (non-dominant hand) behind my back. I started volleying better. He wasn't sure why this works.

I then asked my club pro, "What about floater's? Do you swing or punch at these?" "No. I never punch. I use my feet to get in position and by moving my feet put's enough weight transfer into the floater to put it away. Always use the feet first." I then fed my club pro some floaters and sure enough he came in and knocked them off with ease without looking like he swung or punched at them.

So then I got confused: to punch or not to punch the volley. Can I get away with a firm grip/wrist on contact with no punch? Is the punching motion necessary or not? If it is, which direction do you punch (Angle up, angle down or horizontal)? Is my club pro nuts?

Thanks for your help.

 

[maverick66]

volleys hit at high levels are more legs and positioning than anything else. if you look at the top S & V players off the last few years they all had amazing footwork. sure there hands were amazing but they got into great position for volley. the punch method isnt a great one because you dont feel the ball. step into the ball and let your body direct it.

 

[Rickson]

Wack the **** out of those floaters!

 

[Ballinbob]

That's a really good question that I want to know the answer too...

But my pro did the EXACT same thing with having me put my hands behind my back while I volleyed. I volleyed alot better. He said that my non dominant hand was doing weird things and keeping me off balance, and when we took the non dominant arm out of the picture I volleyed alot better

I dont know if that was your problem too, but just thought I'd share. I wish I could help contribute to this question though.. I use the punch method but I know exactly what your saying and you have a point for sure

 

[charliefedererer]

Only a limited amount of any stroke comes from the arms. With the volley the arms contribute even less than in the serve or on groundstrokes.
First you have to get to proper place on the court to volley that incoming shot. Just before the volley, the upper body coils down on the legs with the "unit turn". The "hit" on the volley comes from the uncoiling of the upper body around on the hips and legs.
You probably watched your club pro literally just hold his racquet in place while he hit it with this body twisting motion.
Try doing it now with your racquet to get the sensation of what you are trying to accomplish. That is just hold your racquet up and out in the volley position, and twisting and untwisting your upper body on your hip/legs.
Once you have that sensation down, add in a 45 degree forward step with your left foot (assuming you are right handed) as you finish rotating your trunk back around. Notice how that will let you come out of your twist more forcefully.
Notice also that while doing all this twisting/untwisting you are just holding your racquet without swinging with your arm. But the racquet is moving through space with the proper volley motion.
Later on you will learn to add more pace to your volley with a more rapid twist of the core, deeper knee bend, and more vigorous forward step. You will even add a little jab with your arm.
But if you can get the sensation of volleying by "doing the twist" rather than punching, you will be on your way to learning this "stroke" that isn't really much of a stroke at all.

 

[Rickson]

Bob, how did you volley with both hands behind your back? Did you use your teeth?

 

[Ballinbob]

ohh no woops that was a typo!! I just had my left arm behind my back

My grip is kinda nasty I would not want to bite it lol

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

Hacker (and Ballinbob), the reason your volleys improved with one hand behind your back is probably because doing so forces you to coil your body perpendicular to the net, rather than being lazy and arming the ball with a more open stance.

What your coach showed you is simply a means to an end. Once you get comfortable with this the left arm should grip the throat of the racquet while preparing and extend back behind you on the follow through, similar to the one handed backhand. This helps you stay on balance.

Matt

 

[Ballinbob]

I didn't know your body even coils when you volley, that's the first time I've heard it. So it kinda helps you rotate your body into the shot..?


I need yalls help thogh. I've felt my volleys have went backwards in the past month. If my serve doesn't get me a weak reply, I'm screwed b/c I find myself swining at volleys without knowing why. The going gets tough, and I revert to bad habits. Lately I haven't even been using punch/drive volleys b/c I'm afraid I'll start swinging, so I've just been using touch volleys. I know to get better though I need to learn to volley correctly in match circumstance. And I thought I knew the right technique but this coiling the body thing may be holding me back

So is this left arm behind back drill a good idea for me? And what do you suggest I do? Just keep practicing maybe? What would help you guys the most in order to help me? A video prob? B/c I'm just frustrated right now idk what to do and I want to fix it before it gets worse. I feel like a really 1 dimensional player right now..

 

[maverick66]

on the forehand i used to put my non-hitting hand in front of my body as to insure i turned my body correctly. then step into the ball and put it deep especially on your first volley. on the backhand side grab the throat of the racket but keep it in front of you. the racket should very rarely get behind your head. use your feet to attack the ball.

 

[charliefedererer]

I didn't know your body even coils when you volley, that's the first time I've heard it. So it kinda helps you rotate your body into the shot..?


I need yalls help thogh. I've felt my volleys have went backwards in the past month. If my serve doesn't get me a weak reply, I'm screwed b/c I find myself swining at volleys without knowing why. The going gets tough, and I revert to bad habits. Lately I haven't even been using punch/drive volleys b/c I'm afraid I'll start swinging, so I've just been using touch volleys. I know to get better though I need to learn to volley correctly in match circumstance. And I thought I knew the right technique but this coiling the body thing may be holding me back

So is this left arm behind back drill a good idea for me? And what do you suggest I do? Just keep practicing maybe? What would help you guys the most in order to help me? A video prob? B/c I'm just frustrated right now idk what to do and I want to fix it before it gets worse. I feel like a really 1 dimensional player right now..

Bob read my posting above on how to get the feel of a volley. If you don't have a racquet handy, just stand there with a pen in your hand, holding it like a racquet in the volley position. Twist back and forth. Notice that the pen moves through space without your needing to move your arm. Once you get the feeling of that, finish off the twist back forward with a step of your front foot (left foot for a forehand volley, right foot for a backhand volley, assuming your right handed). If you do this you'll have the feel for what the proper volley motion is. The rest is getting in the proper position on the court, so the racquet meets the ball when the body rotates back forward with that little step.

 

[wihamilton]

So then I got confused: to punch or not to punch the volley. Can I get away with a firm grip/wrist on contact with no punch? Is the punching motion necessary or not? If it is, which direction do you punch (Angle up, angle down or horizontal)? Is my club pro nuts?

Hi hacker. The volleys aren't punches. That's term a lot of coaches use even though it doesn't accurately describe what's happening / what you're supposed to do (I used to be guilty of this). You establish a hitting-arm position just like you do on a groundstroke. Your racket and arm will look similar to a U. Then you swing that entire structure from the shoulder. On the forehand you want to come through the ball, although there is some downward motion to your arm / racket. The backhand volley is very similar to a backhand slice so you'll be swinging down on the ball more than you will on the forehand.

I've linked in two pros volleying in slow motion to illustrate my points --

Andy Murray -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7YJxNvH_mI&fmt=18

Ana Ivanovic -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRM7OnusLo&fmt=18

I should point out that your initial hitting-arm structure -- the U -- can change as you swing. Players often straighten their arms out to reach for wide / low balls. Regardless, you want to start w/the U arm / racket configuration.

 

[Steady Eddy]

Hacker (and Ballinbob), the reason your volleys improved with one hand behind your back is probably because doing so forces you to coil your body perpendicular to the net, rather than being lazy and arming the ball with a more open stance.

What your coach showed you is simply a means to an end. Once you get comfortable with this the left arm should grip the throat of the racquet while preparing and extend back behind you on the follow through, similar to the one handed backhand. This helps you stay on balance.

Matt

Good thread! I'd never heard this before. It makes sense too. I'll have to try it.

 

[charliefedererer]

Hi hacker. The volleys aren't punches. That's term a lot of coaches use even though it doesn't accurately describe what's happening / what you're supposed to do (I used to be guilty of this). You establish a hitting-arm position just like you do on a groundstroke. Your racket and arm will look similar to a U. Then you swing that entire structure from the shoulder. On the forehand you want to come through the ball, although there is some downward motion to your arm / racket. The backhand volley is very similar to a backhand slice so you'll be swinging down on the ball more than you will on the forehand.

I've linked in two pros volleying in slow motion to illustrate my points --

Andy Murray -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7YJxNvH_mI&fmt=18

Ana Ivanovic -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRM7OnusLo&fmt=18

I should point out that your initial hitting-arm structure -- the U -- can change as you swing. Players often straighten their arms out to reach for wide / low balls. Regardless, you want to start w/the U arm / racket configuration.

Nice videos. They illustrate very nicely how to initiate the volley with a unit turn of the upper body, and how the volley is executed with a minimum of arm movement while turning and stepping into the ball.

 

[Nellie]

"Punching" a volley is a bad term. It leads to people with an eastern forehand grip standing with shoulders open to the net and pushing the racquet toward the ball. Really, the advice should be to not swing, but instead, to lock the shoulder and to step in to the shot.

 

[larry10s]

listen to wihamilton. go to his website fuzzyyellowbals.com. you will learn alot and correctly