Volley with your Shoulders

In order for your players to simultaneously gain more control over their forehand volleys while adding power, they must learn to volley with their trunk, rather than just the arm.

American teaching pros are still teaching players to “punch” the ball, demonstrating an arm swing that has the trunk stationery while the arm moves forward. A moving arm and often leads to a moving wrist on the volley leads to too many mishits, frame shots, ball volleyed into the bottom of the net, etc.

Hold a tennis ball in front of a tennis racquet and look at the difference in size. If you get your large racquet in front of the small, incoming ball, how could you possibly miss? Because when the racquet is moving sideways or down the physics dictate that the ball will somewhat, as well.

Good players only use the arm and wrist on the forehand volley when the ball is so far wide they have no choice.

In most instances, when a top player sees a ball coming toward them when they are at the net, they immediately set the racquet in front of their shoulders. Now, if they don’t move, the ball has to hit the racquet and go over. THEY CAN’T MISS!

Try it, have someone feed your balls from the baseline while you set your racquet in front of the incoming ball. Don’t move the racquet, and see what happens. The ball pops back over the other side of the net, and you did nothing!

To get added power on the forehand volley, good players “wiggle” the shoulders into the shot. The elbow stays close to the body, with the arm moving little, if at all.

Try this now. Place your elbow close to your side and place your hand up as if you were hitting a forehand volley without moving your arm. Pretend your arm is tied to your body. You should feel your pectoral muscle (under the breast) doing the work.

This is the most efficient way to hit a forehand volley, producing both control (because the racquet is not sliding around) and power (because you are volleying with a larger part of your body).

Help your players learn this with a simple progression drill.

Step #1 — Have players warm up forehand volleys at the net, receiving balls fed from the baseline. Have them practice crosscourt and down-the-line volleys, both short and deep.

Step #2 — Discuss with players the new technique of setting the racquet, then volleying only with the shoulders, rather than the arm. Use the analogy of the arm being tied to the body with a bungee chord, rope, etc.

Step #3 — Have players attempt to set their racquets in front of them before the ball (fed from the baseline) gets to them, so that their racquet is slightly in front of them and stationery when the ball hits its. They should begin to see every ball go over the net, albeit with a drop volley or weak volley. They should understand that if they get the racquet in front of an incoming ball and keep it there, it’s impossible to miss. Make sure they keep the racquet head up.

Step #4 — Have players tuck a ball in between their arm and their body, slightly above the elbow. Have them practice making forehand volleys without the ball coming out from under their arm. Feed easy balls right to the players and have them move the shoulders, not the arm, for power and placement.

Step #5 — After players begin to feel this new volley technique, have them remove the ball from under their arm and begin practicing hitting volleys with their shoulders, rather than their arms.

Players will soon be amazed at how much more power and control the have on the forehand volley.