Eye-level contact point!
- Thread starter Curious
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Hmgraphite1
Hall of Fame
He is stretched out quite a bit in these, plus he's fedr
FiReFTW
Legend
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
Hmgraphite1
Hall of Fame
What your coach say though?No Fedr pictures
I'm not sure about this one? I always felt like it's best to keep the head as still as possible when volleying. So you have little disruption when watching the ball, which means more arm movement and less body movement (when the body moves the head moves). Of course, you can't to this all the time.
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
onehandbh
G.O.A.T.
Tip #4: keeping your racquet head at eye level.
For low volleys that are just a few inches above the court, what would be the best way to do this?
One arm handstand volley?
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
the tip i followed, which seems to be a variant of this tip.... "touch your nose to the ball"...
obviously not to be taken literally... but the idea is that in order to accomplish this you need move your feet to "touch your nose"... which hopefully counters most folk's tendency to just reach and swing/swat (with a caveat, that you should keep your back as upright as possible, you'll have to get low with your legs - vs. bend at the waist)
another related tip, "volley with your feet"
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
user92626
G.O.A.T.
Sorry, that's a sucky tip!
It's impossible to do, even if it's necessary (but it's not).
user92626
G.O.A.T.
I like your touch your nose tip!
I can't help but wonder the relevancy of these many tips. Don't you guys have to consider the level of player?
Some tips are truly for newbies, and can be detrimental to higher level players, and some tips are just too advanced for beginners. Just wondering!
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
Sorry, that's a sucky tip!
It's impossible to do, even if it's necessary (but it's not).
but why is is sucky for you?
and tip isn’t a tip unless it’s accompanied with context.
maybe you don’t understand it?
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user92626
G.O.A.T.
As said, it's impossible to see the ball through your strings
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
of course. part of any tip is understanding the context... ie “bend your knees on the fh/bh” doesn’t help with shoulder high balls.
similarly a tip for a beginner might be tartgeting a specific progression/evolution of a stroke (ie eastern fh grip for serve)
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D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
it’s also impossible to “read the logo of the incoming ball”... point is that striving to do so is what makes it a useful tip.
seeing the ball hit your strings is also impossible, on say a 50mph fh,... but trying to do so is helpful
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J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
Sorry, that's a sucky tip!
It's impossible to do, even if it's necessary (but it's not).
Don't be sorry.
J
user92626
G.O.A.T.
It does. You wait for the ball the drop into your strike zone and bend your knees to load more power.
I understand context. I use judgment to consider looking thru string for volley as impossible in most cases. But who knows, someone may take it and interpret it completely different and work wonder for them.
WildVolley
Legend
When facing balls hit at you in doubles, there's no question that keeping your head still and moving your hands as quickly as possible is crucial.
I don't buy this tip. There's no way that I'm going to go into a deep crouch in order to take a volley that would normally be at waist level. I'm going to bend my legs but try to maintain posture and just drop my hands.
user92626
G.O.A.T.
Not necessarily! Worst it can be detrimental when students don't understand and get frustrated by failing to see the logo.
Instead of "read the logo", it can be taught correctly by tips like focus your eyes on the ball, keep head still. Those things are possible. Start with them first.
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
sigh...
not all tips wor for everyone. share yours that work for you?
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D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
i bet no one has ever accused you of reading between the lines.
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Curious
G.O.A.T.
That’s also how I interpreted it and made sense to me. But I see some guys here take it too literally. Don’t forget also that this guy in the video is a very advanced player and knows what he’s talking about.
Keep the head still is the best general tip. I'd much rather keep my head still and move my arm to reach the ball then move my head/body to ball level. Think of volleying as a sword fight, and the racket is your sword.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
No, good volleying is generally about moving your feet first.
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J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Lol. It’s too easy to accidentally hit the post button when typing on a phone as I try to scroll.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
No. I mean yes.
user92626
G.O.A.T.
And I consider that tip not even work for half the people. Imo, a good tip should pass muster with majority (my own threadhold
) Anyway, going back to my earlier post to you about level relevant tips, I still wonder if it's important to consider level.
A tip that I discovered good in the beginning (this is level specifying) was holding the racket fairly firm and (thinking) pressing down on the ball. No abrupt contact or chop or anything. Press is the keyword. The racket path will be miraculously linear, thus good contact. Off centered contact would be good too since racket is held firmly.
Also, aim long with low balls, aim short with high balls.
WildVolley
Legend
McEnroe says just drop the racquet head. Then shake your head and look disgusted if you miss the volley.
WildVolley
Legend
This is too general. Good positioning is good for every shot, even the serve. There's nothing really special about the volley.
If anything, good volleyers have to learn how to control the racquet head when they don't have time to move to the ideal position.
If you're teaching a beginner who is just standing there, then you should drill them on moving their feet. However, if you think you have to move your feet first, you're going to get hit with a lot of balls when playing higher level doubles.
FiReFTW
Legend
Many other fundamentals but never mentioned that you should keep eyes on the same level.
user92626
G.O.A.T.
Well, that's a good tip for beginners. As I progressed, I discovered that fastness is always an advantage in sports, and nothing is still when movement/fastness is involved.
So, when you're done with that tip, then comes the disciplined way of seeing the ball. Once you have that, you can sway, move 10 different ways and still be able to volley. At my level, I can fake-move to trip my opponents or poach xcourt. I'm not worried with net opponents who stand still or assume the leg spread position.
Here's a tip (for new net players I guess: Even when you're not poaching, volleying, ie staying put on your side, because you're new, practice seeing, focusing your eyes on the ball as it zips by the net. That's my said disciplined way above.
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
i'm picturing your methodology of teaching beginner volleys, akin to:
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
And I consider that tip not even work for half the people. Imo, a good tip should pass muster with majority (my own threadhold
.
I knew we had a ttw rating police...
didn’t realize we had a tips police,...
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user92626
G.O.A.T.
Very true. That's why earlier on, I brought up the fact that tips need to be level considered.
I have a partner whose level is low, meaning he's dealing with higher level people, he annoys me no end with his pure guessing and running first to poach the ball. I told him that he cannot do guessing like that. He said for his level, he has to!!!! Problem is he's guessing, opponent is guessing, there's really no advantage for our team.
Good volleyers read the plays well. Play the highest winning percentage.
user92626
G.O.A.T.
Not policing. Just common sense, imo.Without this, practically anyone can give out tips to anyone, but aren't you one of those who are frown on this place having too much noise?
WildVolley
Legend
Yeah, I basically hit a bunch of balls at the face, crotch, and hitting shoulder and they learn never to approach the net again.
and i'd argue that teaching a beginner to move feet first, is the way to staying safe in high level dubs
Honestly, if I'm working with a beginner, I start with the Dave Smith method of showing them continental grips and hand feeding very soft balls which they are supposed to bump back to me. Only once they show a little proficiency with the continental grip volley do I add in footwork. Honestly. I do prefer to step forward, usually with the off side leg if I have time in order to take away time, turn the shoulder, and better position myself to hit the ball.
That sort of footwork definitely should be drilled as part of volley training, but you should also do drills where you are volleying back on forth at close range with someone or do a three or four man drill with one player at the baseline and one player at the net to get practice with changing direction of the volley and reacting quickly. I like the drill with two back and two at net, with the net men at an angle. The players at the baseline hit down the line at the net man and the net players change direction on the ball every hit (either at the opposing net man or at the baseline player). If you can get four good doubles players together, this drill is crazy fun for the people at net.
In higher level doubles keeping the hands up in front, getting in an athletic position and moving the hands very quickly can save you when being targeted. It is always embarrassing when I have to duck a ball because I'm asleep up there.
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Mongolmike
Hall of Fame
If I did that, I'd just chop at the ball. Two handed Ninja style! HAI!
user92626
G.O.A.T.
Curious
G.O.A.T.
Sports cars are quick.Well, if you're too balanced and stable, you lose your quickness.
I disagree, you have to move your feet to get to the ball sometimes but the heads are still and not moving to the level of the ball. What's moving most is their arms. This is what I call sword fighting.
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
FiReFTW
Legend
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Speaking of swords, have you ever fenced before? Being good at fencing is more about good footwork which means moving your feet.
