serve and volley

[joshburger]

i wouldnt consider myself a serve and volleyer, but recently i have been coming in on my serve more frequently. on my spin and kick serve, it seems to be a fluid motion after my serve to run in for volleys, overheads, etc... but on my flat serve, my momentum is not heading foreward after i serve, and it takes me a while to reach the spot to volley, and by then the opponent has plenty of time to pass me or hit a good shot. does anyone else have this problem/any suggestions???

 

[Ballinbob]

I'm a big fan of sprints and they've helped me immensely with this. A flat serve is effective to come in behind because you will be getting weak returns, but on the flip side the return will come fast and therefore you need to close in fast. Getting your momentum shifting forward will help but you still need to be able to run fast up to the service line.

I would suggest running 40 yard dashes,100m dashes,and 200m dashes. If you need any exercises with this I'll be glad to give you some. You might be fast for all I know but maybe your serve is the problem, not your fitness. Do you know your times for any running events/sprints?

 

[Mada]

It would not be wise to rush in after a second serve(assuming when you say spin you mean 2nd).

 

[Bagumbawalla]

In general, to hit a fast, flat serve your weight needs to be moving in through the ball which, as a natural result, brings you forward into the court, as well.

So, if you are not doing that, then you have a hitch of some sort in your serve. Why is your spin serve fluid, and your flat serve not? Since we can't see you from here, try to be self-observant and pay attention to what is going on as you serve (not during a game, obviously, but during practice, with a bucket of balls).

And, yes, what you need to do is practice. Slow down the flat serve a bit and try to get the feel of your weight stepping into the court or "falling" into the court as you strike the ball.

Then again, the problem may not actually be what you think it is. The spin/kick serves are slower-- for several reasons-- you hit it a bit less hard, it has spin/frictionwhich slows it down, and it travels in a longer arc which takes more time. All of that gives you more time to scoot your body into the court and get your bearings before the ball comes back.

So, it might be that your spin serves are not more fluid-- you just have more time to get set up-- anyway, that a possibility.

Normally, there are some pretty good players that hang out on the courts. You can ask one (maybe even your opponent) to watch your flat serve and tell you what they see. Or you can post a clip here if you are set up for that.

 

[joshburger]

I'm a big fan of sprints and they've helped me immensely with this. A flat serve is effective to come in behind because you will be getting weak returns, but on the flip side the return will come fast and therefore you need to close in fast. Getting your momentum shifting forward will help but you still need to be able to run fast up to the service line.

I would suggest running 40 yard dashes,100m dashes,and 200m dashes. If you need any exercises with this I'll be glad to give you some. You might be fast for all I know but maybe your serve is the problem, not your fitness. Do you know your times for any running events/sprints?

thanks for your advise, i havnt reaslly dont sprints before, but i think that since i exert more enrgy into my flat serve then spin/kick serve there is more recovery time before i can charge towards the net. but i think that sprints could help bevcause i will be faster coming in towards the net to put away an easy volley

 

[joshburger]

In general, to hit a fast, flat serve your weight needs to be moving in through the ball which, as a natural result, brings you forward into the court, as well.

So, if you are not doing that, then you have a hitch of some sort in your serve. Why is your spin serve fluid, and your flat serve not? Since we can't see you from here, try to be self-observant and pay attention to what is going on as you serve (not during a game, obviously, but during practice, with a bucket of balls).

And, yes, what you need to do is practice. Slow down the flat serve a bit and try to get the feel of your weight stepping into the court or "falling" into the court as you strike the ball.

Then again, the problem may not actually be what you think it is. The spin/kick serves are slower-- for several reasons-- you hit it a bit less hard, it has spin/frictionwhich slows it down, and it travels in a longer arc which takes more time. All of that gives you more time to scoot your body into the court and get your bearings before the ball comes back.

So, it might be that your spin serves are not more fluid-- you just have more time to get set up-- anyway, that a possibility.

Normally, there are some pretty good players that hang out on the courts. You can ask one (maybe even your opponent) to watch your flat serve and tell you what they see. Or you can post a clip here if you are set up for that.

i fall into the court, but it takes me a moment to recover after my flat serve because i jump a little and there is a lot of motion. however on my spin/kick serve i dont jump and i dont have to recover, i can just go right up to the net.

and iv never made a vid, that would require effore of my part in getting the camra set up getting someone to recoord it getting the angle right, but i think that eventually il record a vid of me serving which il post for others to brake down for advise

 

[Ballinbob]

If you think your technique is okay I would work on sprints. Run short sprints (40yd dash,100-200m dash) at about 75-80% of your full effort and do 10-12 of them each day if you can. Results will come if you do this, and you will become noticeably faster which in turn will allow you to reach the net in time.

 

[fuzz nation]

Hard to say what (or even if) you need to adjust without seeing you hit some serves, but as a lifelong serve and volleyer myself, I'll advise you to think over the type of ball that you're looking to follow to the net.

A flat serve that travels relatively quickly can sometimes be the worst ball to move in behind because it's on the way back at you sooner than a slower moving kick serve, right? A smart returner can often just block that ball back at a spot that can put you into some real trouble. If I go forward behind a flat heater, it's usually on a day that I'm landing it especially well and forcing lots of weak returns from perhaps an opponent's backhand.

Yes, as a S&V player you want to crash the net, but unless you own an overwhelming wrecking ball of a serve, you'll need some variety to keep a returner off balance. You can also consider waiting on some service points for a short ball to follow to net - another dimension for your opponent to deal with. Yes, you can only benefit from a better burst forward in terms of your footwork, but in recent history, my pals have convinced me that my spin serves are the ones that give them more trouble, especially when I'm attacking the net. Lots of times, I don't even know how they're going to kick up off the court and they can force lots of weak returns.