Soft Hands

If you watch recreational players hit volleys, especially during doubles matches where more net play develops, you will see many volleys hit into the net.

This is often a result of players trying to direct the volley toward their target by pushing down on the ball, with the racquet head ending up pointing down toward the ground, almost always below the level of the net and/or below the knees.

In order to make a successful volley, players must keep their racquet faces slightly open, and their racquet heads up.

To demonstrate this to your teams, have your top players hit several volleys, and note the position of the racquet head after the volley.

To help your players learn to keep their racquet heads up on the volley, here are several drilling techniques:

Drop Volley
The first move that should be made when attempting a volley is to line up the racquet in front of the incoming ball. This ensures that the player can’t miss the shot. If the player gets his or her racquet directly in front of the incoming ball and keeps it there, the ball will hit the strings and bounce back off it. It is only if the racquet is moving up, down or sideways that the player will hit the frame, whiff or hit the ball into the bottom of the net.

To get more pace on a volley, players simply move their shoulders (not their arms). To get more depth, they open the racquet face.

To demonstrate this, have your players practice setting their racquets in front of an incoming ball and keeping the racquet still (letting the ball hit the racquet) while they are at the net. They will begin to see their balls go back over the net — and see that they have a drop volley!

Step #1 – Have players line up in two single file lines, with two players at the net, and upcoming players on deck at the service line.

Step #2 — From the baseline, feed players three balls each (alternating between the players). Players practice setting their racquets in front of incoming balls to learn this timing. Player move to the end of the opposite line after three volleys.

Step #3 — After players have gone through the line several times, have them begin volleying toward target areas placed deep, short, crosscourt and down the line.

Catch-Hit
In order to further develop good hands and ball control, run the previous drill formation and feeding pattern, but have players try to “catch” and control the ball on their strings. Have players learn to bump an incoming ball, then hit the ball back over the net — this means the player will have to hit the ball twice before it lands. This demands good racquet control and will not allow players to turn the racquet over.