adamvann said:
I would like to get some feedback please. I've started playing again after a long lay-off and have been working with my serve by myself, (although I'm taking a serve clinic next weekend) and I'm getting the ball in consistently on my kick serve but I'm experiencing some shoulder pain. I'm not serving hard at all because I am focusing on getting it in. The pain feels like it may be in my joint area. I'm in my early 30's an in excellent condition (physical & cardio). I figure it must be in my execution somehow, because it doesn't hurt when I hit groundstrokes. I've got a bucket of balls and have easily hit a few hundred serves the past couple of days. But this started on the 1st day after the first few balls and a couple days rest. Thanks in advance for any input.
It's the location of your shoulder at contact. When you meet the ball late, or your shoulder and arm isn't in front of your body, the shoulder is put in a bad position, as all the weight and stress is focused there.
Besides simply hitting it late, shoulder injuries also happen sometimes when you completely "arm" the serve. Rather than focusing on the racquet and the arm, just turn the shoulderls into the ball. Try to sort of swing the shoulders into their, instead of the arm. The elbow, wrist, and racquet will follow, and not only will you have a much lower chance of injury, you'll be getting more pace and spin.
As you said, it seems it doesn't happen for normal serves. It happens for kick serves. That's because, as many people have told you that the toss is supposed to land slightly behind you. You're taking this more as a late contact issue, and could be arming it.
This is where it's so important to arch your back. Don't feel you have to do it as much as possible, but arch your back as much as is comfortable. This gives your arm more distance to travel to the ball, and allows the shoulders to rotate fully with the ball at the different location. It also lets you fully see the ball.
And definitely no overhead smashes.
