Doubles Hand Signals

[Sherlock]

I am wondering what people on these boards use for hand signals. I am generally quite passive and let my partner decide what hand signals to use, and because of that I've used almost every possible combination there is.

[spot]

Keep it simple. Open means "Im going no matter what".

[AR15]

Open or closed.

[Sherlock]

Of course the standard signals are open, closed, or one finger (an appropriate one). To clarify I'm asking which signal you like to associate with which motion.

[SlapShot]

Closed - staying (place the serve where you want to)
Open - poaching (serve up the middle if at all possible)
Finger - faking (serve where you want to, works best if you go out wide)

My usual dubs partner and I don't call poaches, rather the net man signals serve location (closed for up the middle, single finger for out wide). Just knowing the location allows us to be more aggressive at the net.

[JRstriker12]

Open or closed.

I prefer to talk though. Sometimes I get so wrapped in concentrating on my serve that I forget to look for the signal.

[LuckyR]

Originally Posted by Sherlock

I am wondering what people on these boards use for hand signals. I am generally quite passive and let my partner decide what hand signals to use, and because of that I've used almost every possible combination there is.

Since you don't play with the same partner all of the time, you are going to have to compromise with the partner of the day regardless of what you want or don't want to use. Just keep doing what you are doing.

[86golf]

If we use signals, there are always two. Serve location with finger and poach (open hand) or no poach (fist).

The server makes the calls with yep, yep. or no, yep, yep


Recently I played with a guy that called poaches with the fist, saying that an open hand was the signal for stop. I was confused all day.

[Ripper014]

I used to use open, closed, 1 finger or 2 fingers... and a signal for service location. As long as I signal whether I go or not my partner didn't need to know if I was going to incorporate a fake as well.

[OrangePower]

I've used all the signals mentioned in this thread at one time or another, but for the last couple of seasons have stuck with just stay (fist) / poach (open hand).

Signaling a fake did not add much value, at least for me - as the server, I was not doing anything different to what I would do for stay, so why bother.

Signaling serve location has maybe a small benefit but not enough to warrant the additional complexity and possible confusion. As the server, I already have a pretty good idea of where I want to serve based on stay / poach, and so should my net player.

On a poach, I will serve down the T maybe 70% of the time, and hard to the body maybe 20%. The net player would play them both the same way anyway, so no real need to communicate it. And maybe 10% on a poach I will serve wide, but I go for a little extra on my serve on these occasions.

Keeping it simple helps when you play with multiple partners.

[dcgator]

Just started using hand signals with my doublespartner a few matches ago. It took some getting used to and our results have plundered. I don't want to blame the hand signals as I like the communication and knowledge of where the serve is going to go; but for whatever benefits it has brought to the table we no longer play as loose and I find out anticipation has not been as good.

Its almost like because we know where the serve is going to go (most of the time) there is very little inventiveness in how we play. We seem surprised by shots and styles of play that we weren't before we incorporated the hand signals.


Does this make the least bit of sense to anyone?

[Sherlock]

This is all fine. I know the pros and cons of hand signals. I pretty much just wanted to confirm what I was thinking to myself. That a fist for stay and open hand for poach is the most common pair of signals.

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by 86golf

If we use signals, there are always two. Serve location with finger and poach (open hand) or no poach (fist).

The server makes the calls with yep, yep. or no, yep, yep


Recently I played with a guy that called poaches with the fist, saying that an open hand was the signal for stop. I was confused all day.

Yea, my partner and I use fist for poach. We originally called it "fist of fury", so that just makes sense to me.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by 86golf

Recently I played with a guy that called poaches with the fist, saying that an open hand was the signal for stop. I was confused all day.

I think those signals are more intuitive. Open palm is the international signal for "Stop." A fist is powerful -- that's a poach.

Since no one else does it that way, I've had to adapt. Now I just remember that an open hand is an appeal directly to God to help me on this poach.

Oh, and I don't like signaling serve location, as server or net player. Few servers at my level have that kind of pinpoint control over where their serve goes. If I signal poach, hit a serve that will make life easy for me, 'kay?

I also dislike when my partner insists that I not signal for second serve (either because I will always stay or because the signal applies for first and second0. Why give the opponent a free pass on a second serve? Also, I feel like if I started to poach but the first serve was out, the receiver may have noticed my poach and will be ready for it on second serve. I'd like the option to change the call.

[Geezer Guy]

Fist (no fingers) = I'm holding my position on both serves.
1 finger = I'm poaching on your first serve (only).
2 fingers = I'm poaching on your second serve (only).
3 fingers = I'm poaching on both your first and second serve (my favorite).

With this, the netman is free to fake as much as he likes. The netman, even if holding, is free to take anything he thinks he can get to. The other thing I like is that these signals work just as well in both the regular or Ausie formations, and continue to work even if the netman lines up in different formations on different serves. It doesn't work as well for the I formation, and when doing that the netman will just point which way he's going.

[Geezer Guy]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Oh, and I don't like signaling serve location, as server or net player. Few servers at my level have that kind of pinpoint control over where their serve goes.

I hear that. I can usually put the ball more or less where I want it, as long as I'm not "calling my shot" ahead of time. When my partner tells me to serve to a certain location, there's no telling where the ball will go.

[Larrysümmers]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

I think those signals are more intuitive. Open palm is the international signal for "Stop." A fist is powerful -- that's a poach.

Since no one else does it that way, I've had to adapt. Now I just remember that an open hand is an appeal directly to God to help me on this poach.

Oh, and I don't like signaling serve location, as server or net player. Few servers at my level have that kind of pinpoint control over where their serve goes. If I signal poach, hit a serve that will make life easy for me, 'kay?

I also dislike when my partner insists that I not signal for second serve (either because I will always stay or because the signal applies for first and second0. Why give the opponent a free pass on a second serve? Also, I feel like if I started to poach but the first serve was out, the receiver may have noticed my poach and will be ready for it on second serve. I'd like the option to change the call.

when do you start to go on a poach and how far do you go?

[hfmf]

In high school my doubles partner and I would yell out a meal.

If it started with a meat or protein, we were going.
If it started with the side dish, we were staying.

You'd think you'd figure this out, BUT if we thought the other doubles team was catching on, we would say "TO GO" at the end, and it meant the opposite.

For example, before serving, the net person would say "chicken cordon bleu with asparagus and rice." And that meant GO.

Eventually our coach told us it was distracting and getting everyone hungry listening to our menus day after day.

I would stick with
Open - going agressive, but not crossing
Closed - staying
Scissor fingers - Agressive cross, cover my line.

[Steady Eddy]

Maybe use hand signals to get an edge on a tie-breaker, but all match long! Sounds like it would slow it down too much and there's already too many slow players.

[Turbo]

Originally Posted by hfmf

In high school my doubles partner and I would yell out a meal.

If it started with a meat or protein, we were going.
If it started with the side dish, we were staying.

You'd think you'd figure this out, BUT if we thought the other doubles team was catching on, we would say "TO GO" at the end, and it meant the opposite.

For example, before serving, the net person would say "chicken cordon bleu with asparagus and rice." And that meant GO.

Eventually our coach told us it was distracting and getting everyone hungry listening to our menus day after day.

I would stick with
Open - going agressive, but not crossing
Closed - staying
Scissor fingers - Agressive cross, cover my line.

haha that's pretty good - and maybe incentive for team dinners?