Workshop: Teaching Girls to Serve

The USHSTA received the following e-mail from a member in New York after we published the article, Teaching Girls to Serve. Here is what she had to say about her use of throwing practice as a precursor to improving her girls’ serves…

“Hey Steve. I’ve been using your article on Teaching Girls to Serve with my Girls JV team. The skill level of the team is really quite low (e.g., a forehand and a forehand volley look the same). We’ve been throwing balls into the service box since the first practice on August 20. We’ve been working on developing that mature serving motion one step at a time. And guess what — it’s working. My girls are consistently able to throw the ball into the service box and their serves look pretty good — a nice fluid motion, good racquet movement and deep placement. They’re actually serving better than many of the varsity players. Thanks for your help. Ellen”

I) The Two Basic Styles of Serves

A. “Frying Pan”
B. Loop

II) Improving (not Changing) a “Frying Pan” Serve

A. Depth
B. Direction (two areas/then three)
C. Pace
D. Drills & Practice Routines

III) Developing a Loop Serve

A. The Need for a Mature Throwing Motion
…..i) Developing a Mature Throwing Motion — Drills & Practices

B. Mechanics of a Loop Serve
…..i) Overhead vs. Sidearm Serves
…..ii) Grips
…..iii) Stance
…..iv) Ball Toss Location
…..v) Four Main Components (legs; trunk; arm cock; pronation)
…..vi) Push-Through vs. Pull-Through Motions

C. Physics
…..i) The Three Sweet Spots
…..ii) Hitting Up
…..iii) Ball Toss Location

D. The hips and moment of intertia differences between men and women – relevant?

E. Drills & Practice Routines