Practicing volleys alone with a wall

[Turbo-87]

I really need to improve my volleying but I don't always have anyone to just commit to doing drills rather than hitting/playing. There is a nice brick wall and basketball court near my house that I could use for some drills by myself. What are some good things to do? All I can really think of is standing 8 feet from the wall and just keeping the ball moving against the wall without letting it bounce. I guess this will help me with coordination and keeping my eye on the ball with changing motion.

 

[LuckyR]

I really need to improve my volleying but I don't always have anyone to just commit to doing drills rather than hitting/playing. There is a nice brick wall and basketball court near my house that I could use for some drills by myself. What are some good things to do? All I can really think of is standing 8 feet from the wall and just keeping the ball moving against the wall without letting it bounce. I guess this will help me with coordination and keeping my eye on the ball with changing motion.

It really depends if you have a grooved volley stroke mechanic. If you don't, I would not expect a wall to get you there since you will have half the setup time as normal, which would make it extremely unlikely to allow you to hit the ball correctly.

OTOH, if you have a good stroke and you just wnt to work on timing of, say first volleys or half volleys, then I think it is a good idea.

 

[Turbo-87]

Oh yeah, good point. I didn't take into account having half the time to react! My problem lately is that I have been framing a lot of balls which indicates my lack of preparedness and keeping my eye on the ball. I have never been a good volleyer because I always played baseline singles and am just getting into doubles this summer. I feel rather inept at the net.

 

[josofo]

just try to do 15 in a row forehand then 15 in a row backhand.

you should see some improvement

 

[LeeD]

15 in a row with backspin, short swing slice. Take 2 bounces, or 4, don't matter. You have to learn to hit with a continental grip, backspin only.

 

[Netspirit]

A wall practice is good for half-volleys and overheads, OK for volleys, so-so for groundstrokes, bad for serves and absolutely horrible for returns.

 

[Limpinhitter]

I really need to improve my volleying but I don't always have anyone to just commit to doing drills rather than hitting/playing. There is a nice brick wall and basketball court near my house that I could use for some drills by myself. What are some good things to do? All I can really think of is standing 8 feet from the wall and just keeping the ball moving against the wall without letting it bounce. I guess this will help me with coordination and keeping my eye on the ball with changing motion.

Volleying against the wall is good practice, but, very challenging. It forces you to virtually eliminate any backswing (which is good), to stay low and keep your eye on the ball. With practice, you can get to the point that you can hit between 10-20 volleys in a row, on either side, even alternating back and forth. But, a brick wall might not be feasible unless it has a smooth plaster or stucco finish on it. If the wall is uneven and the ball is coming off at unpredictable angles, forget it.

 

[TennisCJC]

I have been doing this drill on wall for years:

1. start about 10-12 feet away from wall and feed ball against wall so it will reach you on the fly
2. move in and hit 1 (ONE) volley WELL - think catch outside of ball and keep stringbed pointing toward intended direction ( in reality the strings pull across and may be slightly offline but keeping the stringbed still behind the shots is one of my keys - just catch the ball with a slightly open racket face with strings pointing where you want it to go -DTL or CC) - slight underspin on ball

It is boring as it is feed and hit one ball. But, I keep a hopper at my side, 2-3 balls in my pocket and 2-3 in my hand so I can keep grabbing the next ball to feed quickly. I will hit about a whole hopper - 60 balls - alternating FH and BH volley. But basically you can work on maintaining good technque. I do occasionally stand closer and work on keeping the ball going for several volleys but I think this is more for reflexes after you have mastered good technique.

I also will stand a bit farther back and feed the ball lower to work on 1/2 volleys.

 

[2ndServe]

Hey LeeD you played with the Thunderbolt OS a long time ago right? How do you like them for volleys? I like it for groundies and serves but reactionary and quick exchanges at the net they are pretty blech. If you still have them let me know. I still prefer that racket for singles.

 

[TENNIS4FUN2]

If you use the low compression balls that are intended for Quickstart tennis (I use the red/yellow ones), they will not rebound as fast and you may get more out of the wall drill. I use these especially with my forehand against the wall and it really helps me.

 

[Steady Eddy]

I did that for a long time. It helped a bit, but mostly I only got better at volleying off a wall. In real conditions you don't have much time, and you've got to learn to not take a backswing on the volley. Against a wall you practice taking too big of a backswing. See if you can have a partner hit balls to you while at the net, or better yet, practice with a ball machine.

 

[shindemac]

The wall is GREAT for volleying.

There's not much you need to do. Just hit 50 in a row forehand, 50 backhands. That's it. Keep doing it a few times a week for a couple months, and you'll notice big improvements. Once you get better, alternate forehand and backhand. You can try to hit spots on the wall. Try to generate more power in your volleys.

 

[LeeD]

Hi 2nd Serve...
Actually, they're Thunderstick Longbody's, 115's. I hit bad groundies, so they volley just fine for me, and returns of serves are superb. First serve doesn't go anywhere fast, that's the problem.
I choke up the handle about 1.5" for volleys and groundies.

 

[sureshs]

You should be able to do this and then you will be an all-right player:

http://tenniscrowd.com/blog/2011/03/30/cara-black-volley-practice-for-doubles-tennis/

 

[gocard]

I remember seeing an awesome youtube vid of someone fluidly hitting a bunch of strokes against a wall - volley, groundstrokes, overhead but no luck in finding it yet.

However, I came across this - Cara Black volleying against a wall. I was mesmerized but it's crazy... I'd probably hit myself in the face on the first one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cThQIhFSZk

 

[sureshs]

Great minds think alike

 

[gocard]

^^ Didn't realize you posted the same one!

 

[goran_ace]

Volleying against a wall is really good for working on keeping the ball in front of you, developing quick eyes/hands, but for working on volleys in singles you really need to find a hitting partner so you can work on getting your feet set and watching the ball come off his racket.