By Marc Sophoulis
Are you or a player you coach struggling with a consistent ball too height on the serve? These five drills will help get you on the right path to success.
When analysing a player's development we generally look for things like technique, tactics, physical competencies and mental skills development. When we see an error or a deficiency we intervene with a strategy to overcome the issue.
Always keep in mind however:
- You might need to use an intervention multiple times on multiple days to see results.
- Interventions aren't a ‘one size fits all’ program. Sometimes it is a matter of trialing and seeing which one works or it may be a combination of a few.
- Always test the full stroke after a few repetitions of the intervention to see if it is working and change is occurring.
- Always have an intended outcome and stay to task.
- Making an intervention doesn’t make the change a habit. Change takes time and repetition
The following five tennis drills are hand-picked from The Tennis Menu program to assist coaches in making interventions to a player's ball toss height. They can provide assistance in teaching the player consistency and rhythm on the ball toss, ultimately resulting in correcting any issues a player might have with throwing the ball toss too high or too low on the serve.
These activities are not necessarily intended to be completed in sequence within a single lesson, but rather as options for you depending on your player's development and progression. Each drill can be progressed or regressed, as well as having the repetitions and loads altered to suit your player. A thorough warmup and skills based activities should be completed prior to ensure your player is going to get the most out of these serving activities.
Remember - There isn't a one-size-fits-all path to success, however by understanding why you're doing an activity and when, you can make more informed decisions with your player to fast-track their development.
1. Avoid the Fence Serves (With a Ball)
Description - The player stands with their back against the fence. They will proceed to shadow the first half of their service motion until the trophy position without touching the fence with their racquet. Using a ball the player will also practice a straight ball toss, not allowing it to touch the fence.
When - The player has a habit of taking the racquet behind the body in the take back of the service motion causing a hinging motion as well as an inconsistent ball toss.
Why - Using the fence as a constraint, the player is unable to take the racquet back behind the body. They are also able align the ball toss at a 12 o'clock location.
2. Setting the Toss Height
Description - The player stands on the baseline ready to serve. The coach stands on a chair holding a racquet at the height of the intended ball toss. They will proceed to shadow the first half of their service motion until the trophy position whilst attempting to throw the ball toss to the height of the coache's racquet.
When - The player has a habit of throwing the ball toss either too high or too low.
Why - Using the coaches racquet as a constraint, the player has a target to throw the ball toss at. This gives the ball a clear goal for the height of the ball toss to maintain fluency and rhythm.
3. Land It On the Racquet
Description - The player stands on the baseline ready to serve. The coach stands on a chair holding a racquet at the height of the intended ball toss. The player will proceed to shadow the first half of their service motion until the trophy position whilst attempting the throw the ball toss to land it on top of the coache's racquet.
When - The player has a habit of throwing the ball toss either too high or too low.
Why - Using the coaches racquet as a constraint, the player has a target to throw the ball toss at. This gives the player a clear goal for the height of the ball toss to maintain fluency and rhythm in the serve as well as developing a slight arc on the toss.
4. Serves Off Both Knees
Description - The player kneels on the baseline on both knees and proceeds to serve tennis balls over the net whilst remaining on their knees.
When - The player is working on upper body mechanics on the serve.
Why - Serving on the knees takes away the legs and puts emphasis on the upper body rhythm and fluency and encourages height at impact.
5. One Shadow. One Serve
Description: The player shadows a serve motion followed by throwing up the ball toss and hitting the serve on the second attempt.
When - The player lacks fluency in their serve or they possess a ball toss that is too high.
Why - The continuous motion allows for fluency and correct stroke fundamentals, as well as lowering the ball toss for those who toss it too high.
You can find more information on this an many other technical interventions as part of The Tennis Menu's Result Recipes program, complete with video and detailed information around the best way to utilise the library of over 600 tennis drills.
Visit www.thetennismenu.com/get-the-tennis-menu to get started
Marc Sophoulis is a high performance tennis coach and the co-founder of The Tennis Menu and head coach of the Melbourne International Tennis School.