Related videos: Hit through the volley: ua-cam.com/video/J7oc8LCxjaQ/v-deo.html Volley slow-motion: ua-cam.com/video/hXpLBoZW_WY/v-deo.html Role of the wrist on the volley: ua-cam.com/video/p4rU3dM3Rus/v-deo.html
Excellent pointers on the volley, Nick! I believe many of the volley problems arise because we instinctively use groundstroke mechanics on this stroke. And I think the reason for this is that many or most players learn the groundstrokes first and that creates a technique priority for these strokes. I wonder if it wouldn't be better if the standard instruction protocol called for learning how to volley first. The volley, it seems to me, is a mechanically simpler shot. Also, it doesn't require as much learning for footwork, judging ball bounce height, spin and backswing/forward swing timing. I think it is far easier to confuse the groundstroke mechanics in the volley rather than volley mechanics for the groundstrokes.
George Oberlander A great warm up drill . Start with one player at the net (4-5 feet from net) and one player in middle of one half of service box who drops and feeds the ball to the net player. This is a control drill with the idea to keep ball going. 5 shots to forehand volley, 5 shots to back hand volley. Players switch volley and drop and hit . It takes racquet feel and skill to keep the ball going. I use this drill with my high school players and adult students. I learned this drill when I was going for my USPTR certification back in 1989.
Nick thanks for an important but misunderstood way to volley. I like the way you explain the various tennis strokes in your videos- they give understanding to the way a stroke should be hit. Keep up the good work. The best
Very good video, a few months ago I started using a 5 foot length of PVC pipe instead of a broom stick for g/strokes and volleys. I used a thin piece of rope to hang the 1/2 inch PVC pipe around the neck of the student. Adjusting the length of rope was challenging. One day I forgot the PVC pipe at home, that day I asked the students to use their left hand across their mid section with the back of the hand supporting the right arm just on the lower tricep. Racquet stays out front for fh, BH volleys and g/strokes.
Yup! You’re spot on my man! Excessive turning (no no)! Keep elbow and arm out front! I apply a “small” push outward and forward to prevent tucking the elbows in.
Love your comment about the forehand volley being more complex than the backhand volley. Just about everyone I know, including instructors, thinks the reverse of that. I try to explain to them that it's easier anatomically/ergonomically to produce a linear motion through the ball on the backhand side (with one-handed backhand volley). They never buy it though.
@@IntuitiveTennis I am another example of that. The backhand volley is a relatively easy, consistent shot for me. The forehand volley is a mystery. All attempts to fix it by me and by the pros I've gone to have failed. I am quite sure that my tendency is to make contact too late and the result is I can't see the ball and many mishits. I am going to try the broomstick. Great idea!
Excellent video about not overly turning 👍🏻 The amount of club players that jump with too much footwork about but keep their elbows tucked into their shorts too 🤦🏻♂️
Great point about the challenges of a forehand volley and a big reason, the tucked elbow. Why to you think the instinct is to keep the elbow in and so freeze its function? Is it weak core, a strategy for late positioning or something else? Thanks for posting!
Thanks Nick, amazing instruction as usual! I've been focussing on keeping my elbows out in front I it's really helped me simplify my volleys, will keep practicing!
Thank you ❣️I’ll be careful to keep the elbows separated… ; I’ve always used to do singles (recreational) and now doubles so I’m not that good with volleys… some are great, and others tragic, especially when the ball comes in straight direction of my body…
Nic - i've seen some online coaches advocating a slight slice on all volleys (Partick Mouratoglu for one) but I've never seen it explained in any detail. Have you got any videos on correct volley techniques e.g. punching, flat, high, low, feel, angle, slicing the ball or not? Feel like there's nothing out there really covering this at a 4.5-5.0 level but some players seem to have excellent control and angles on volleys - they don't look like they are hitting the ball flat to me, what are they doing?
Another great video from you. My tennis has improved a lot since i started following your videos. BH Volley is one of my weakest points and my main weakness is with the racquet path after contact. The racquet falls vertically down on contact and i am unable to fix this issue. It will be a great help if you can make a video on this as well. Thanks in advance
Sir, Should we use backspin on the volley or try to hit them more flat to control it, what's your take on it, because that completely changes the follow through directly on volleys
Simple and clear instruction to fix common problems on volleys. Easy to use on court and surely very helpful. Thanks Nick, great video! All the best, Jörg
A visual cue that I use when teaching and coaching the volley is : Think you are in a sword fight. Always keep your sword ( racquet) in front of your body. I coach high school tennis and teach USTA 10 and under tennis. They relate to this idea. Sometimes I will have a mock word fight and pull my racquet way back so my student can run me through and win. All kidding aside I like do feed multiple balls in quick succession so that students do not have time to take the racquet back. Drills help condition reactions. I also emphasize moving forward, closing in and hitting down at your opponents feet so they have to hit up. Two on one volley drills are good for teaching the single player to start the drill with a low feed and moving in to hit their volley down at their opponents feet and control the point.
Very nice video Nick as usual..I have one question regarding the grip.Is your grip tension of your normal volley (not the drop volley) has the same grip tension on your ground strokes?I think I am too wristy on my forehand volley thats why i am erratic on that side.Do you think adding the tension on my grip will minimized the movement of my wrist during forehand volley..Regarding my backhand volley i think its far better than my forehand volley..
Hi Nick, Is it enough to turn just your shoulders a little bit or do you also have to turn your hips just a little as well on a volley, especially on a forehand volley? Greetings, Joern
Thanks for the great video... I am using Continental grip but the volley feels very weak on both sides. The grip really feels weak. Of course I can shift the grip but I want to learn single grip. Should I turn a bit more to get more strength. Help please! :-(
Do You swing on volley or just not move your racket? I’ve noticed that the racket opens up (facing sky) after contact. Is it bcuz you twist your shoulder? Thanxs
How so relax and mentally slow down the ball coming at me. I feel like I never have enough time to prepare and the anxiety always causes me to be too late or illprepared
Unless the incoming ball is really slow you need to generate some extra power, I can't see any benefit for a recreational player to "lag" the racquet head on either side, or for any player. Players would need great timing in order to hit volleys with a "lag"
That's not exactly what Nick said. He said you can use lag for additional power, but did not dwell on it. If you use his two fundamental tips, adequate lag (for the rec player) will happen automatically and you don't have to think about it.
@@darellfeldmiller2890 How would you explain adequate lag to a recreational player? Players need to judge the speed,spin and trajectory of the ball and being able to consistently hit the ball within the hitting zone will be challenging.
@@MatchPointTennis good question. I can only speak for myself (a rec player) and I have to keep things real simple or I get confused. The best way for me to learn is work on one or two fundamentals until develop a feeling for the shot. In the case of FH or BH volly, if someone teaches me the proper basics, and I develop a proper stroke, why spend unnecessary time talking about something that will happen automatically, I.E. lag? In my opinion, you have to be real careful with words like lag, pronation, rotation, etc. because what they mean to you can be totally different than what they mean to me and are a constant source of confusion. The fewer words to make the point, the better. Once I have that feeling, then it's on to repetition (hitting several thousand shots with proper fundamentals ) to establish muscle memory. During that process, things like spin, speed, positioning, trajectory, sort of take care of themselves and I don't have to think about them as much. If I had to keep all that in my head, and I have tried, I would (and have been) become so overwhelmed which quickly leads to frustration. I wish my brain worked fast enough to consciously process multiple thought at a time, but it does not. Maybe other players can handle it...I can't. That's why I think I respond to Nick's instruction so well...he explains the fundamentals of a particular stroke in a very simple manner without going into excess. Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to know why steps a, b, c, d... and so on lead to a good stroke, but I can't think that way during the heat of the battle. It has to come from feel that then gives me the confidence that I can pull off the shot with the minimum of thought.
I'm a female who is good at net. In mixed doubles my partner is serving to male opponent. There are a few men who blast the ball to me and I get my racket on the ball but I don't send it back... it drops into the net. What is the best way to counter that power shot?
My problem on the fh volley is that all other tennis strokes have to be super loose and whippy like the serve and forehand. Then when I try to fh volley my hand and arm goes limp naturally to stay loose but this makes it very floppy and not clean and crisp. A firm grip just seems so foreign to me. Anyone have the same issue? Or have a fix?
This is dangerous advice. On reaction volleys you are correct. But a floating ball or when you have time you should try to get to the side so you can get your weight forward
Related videos:
Hit through the volley: ua-cam.com/video/J7oc8LCxjaQ/v-deo.html
Volley slow-motion: ua-cam.com/video/hXpLBoZW_WY/v-deo.html
Role of the wrist on the volley: ua-cam.com/video/p4rU3dM3Rus/v-deo.html
Guys please support his UA-cam channel, very interesting video. Thanks
Lets support each other so that we can upload more videos. Thank you guys.
easy .. volleying. eye level. that's all you need to know
I like that you give reasons for playing with a particular technique. Makes it more logical to follow the advice. Thanks.
Excellent pointers on the volley, Nick! I believe many of the volley problems arise because we instinctively use groundstroke mechanics on this stroke. And I think the reason for this is that many or most players learn the groundstrokes first and that creates a technique priority for these strokes. I wonder if it wouldn't be better if the standard instruction protocol called for learning how to volley first. The volley, it seems to me, is a mechanically simpler shot. Also, it doesn't require as much learning for footwork, judging ball bounce height, spin and backswing/forward swing timing. I think it is far easier to confuse the groundstroke mechanics in the volley rather than volley mechanics for the groundstrokes.
George Oberlander A great warm up drill . Start with one player at the net (4-5 feet from net) and one player in middle of one half of service box who drops and feeds the ball to the net player. This is a control drill with the idea to keep ball going. 5 shots to forehand volley, 5 shots to back hand volley. Players switch volley and drop and hit . It takes racquet feel and skill to keep the ball going. I use this drill with my high school players and adult students. I learned this drill when I was going for my USPTR certification back in 1989.
That’s very intuitive.
Intuitiveness!!!
I so much like to see your videos again and again. 2-3 years after first watch.
Thank you. I love when old content is still getting views
If I carry my broom stick out unto the court someone will expect me to sweep before I leave.
Simple, easy and clear. Thk u
Nick thanks for an important but misunderstood way to volley. I like the way you explain the various tennis strokes in your videos- they give understanding to the way a stroke should be hit. Keep up the good work. The best
Thank you.
Very good video, a few months ago I started using a 5 foot length of PVC pipe instead of a broom stick for g/strokes and volleys. I used a thin piece of rope to hang the 1/2 inch PVC pipe around the neck of the student. Adjusting the length of rope was challenging. One day I forgot the PVC pipe at home, that day I asked the students to use their left hand across their mid section with the back of the hand supporting the right arm just on the lower tricep. Racquet stays out front for fh, BH volleys and g/strokes.
Learning from you every day 🙏🎾
Thank you!
Excellent tip. Thanks.
Hi,Nick.!Very useful tips again.
Thanks ,all the best !
Great explanation as usual!
So true! I butcher the forehand volley's especially the floaters...
Yup! You’re spot on my man! Excessive turning (no no)! Keep elbow and arm out front! I apply a “small” push outward and forward to prevent tucking the elbows in.
Well said Lord
I'll try to practice volley avoiding this mistakes. To dominate the volley is extremely difficult (at least for me).
Thanks for this clear and perceptive advice.
Great volley instructions. Gracias
Amazing explanation. Tks a lot !!
The broomstick is a great idea!!Thanks!!
That's true
Another great video Nick !!!! Time to break out the broom stick :)
Dear Nikola, I’m always amazed how very on point are your videos.?Truly the best on YT. Great job👍🏻Thank you🙏
🙏🙏 thank you
Very original....broomstick prop was epic!
A top Video with fantastic explainations!!!!!!!
Love your comment about the forehand volley being more complex than the backhand volley. Just about everyone I know, including instructors, thinks the reverse of that. I try to explain to them that it's easier anatomically/ergonomically to produce a linear motion through the ball on the backhand side (with one-handed backhand volley). They never buy it though.
You are right Joe, backhand volley much more intuitive
@@IntuitiveTennis I am another example of that. The backhand volley is a relatively easy, consistent shot for me. The forehand volley is a mystery. All attempts to fix it by me and by the pros I've gone to have failed. I am quite sure that my tendency is to make contact too late and the result is I can't see the ball and many mishits. I am going to try the broomstick. Great idea!
@@donaldallen1771 I can relate to that. Try really to have a tight grip most of the time when playing the volley. Hope this helps.
Magnifica idea de mostrar la volea, cada vez nos enseña formas diferentes para facilitar el aprendizaje, Gracias Maestro¡¡
🙏
Nick, this video is significant! Thank you!
Thanks Natachi 🙏
Very good!!! Thank You!!! You helped me to teach my clients with that stick trick :)
Thanks sir for giving good information
Coach awesome pointers!
I am going to use the broom stick tip)
Great idea
Excellent video about not overly turning 👍🏻
The amount of club players that jump with too much footwork about but keep their elbows tucked into their shorts too 🤦🏻♂️
The second tip was awesome. The first one was a bit tricky, but also valuable.
Broomstick = great practical advice. Thanks.
평소 발리를 잘못했는데 내게 정말 큰 도움이 되었어요. 고맙습니다!
Great point about the challenges of a forehand volley and a big reason, the tucked elbow. Why to you think the instinct is to keep the elbow in and so freeze its function? Is it weak core, a strategy for late positioning or something else? Thanks for posting!
Thanks Nick, amazing instruction as usual! I've been focussing on keeping my elbows out in front I it's really helped me simplify my volleys, will keep practicing!
Thanks for this, now I'm aware of my mistakes and gotta improve my volley next time playing
🙌🙌
Nick, can you also please teach us how to lag the racket behind to get additional power ?
Sure will
Great video.
Thank you ❣️I’ll be careful to keep the elbows separated… ; I’ve always used to do singles (recreational) and now doubles so I’m not that good with volleys… some are great, and others tragic, especially when the ball comes in straight direction of my body…
Keep going 🔥
Great video. Another item I use to teach are exercise bands. A little less awkward and less likely to bruise
Thank you coach, I still
have prob of elbow tucking on forehand volley even at 4.5 level. This broom stick is amazing
Nic - i've seen some online coaches advocating a slight slice on all volleys (Partick Mouratoglu for one) but I've never seen it explained in any detail. Have you got any videos on correct volley techniques e.g. punching, flat, high, low, feel, angle, slicing the ball or not? Feel like there's nothing out there really covering this at a 4.5-5.0 level but some players seem to have excellent control and angles on volleys - they don't look like they are hitting the ball flat to me, what are they doing?
Good job, so simple. I'm better already.
Another great video from you. My tennis has improved a lot since i started following your videos. BH Volley is one of my weakest points and my main weakness is with the racquet path after contact. The racquet falls vertically down on contact and i am unable to fix this issue. It will be a great help if you can make a video on this as well. Thanks in advance
The broomstick is a neat idea. I'll try it. Thanks.
Totally agree. The broomstick method is great to stabilise and keep upper movement minimal while using the legs 👍
Thanks for your fast response.
Good video thanks a lot
Thank you very much
Thank you very much coach. The best tips on tennis volley. Lots of love and happy day 🌞🌛🌎
good job
Sir, Should we use backspin on the volley or try to hit them more flat to control it, what's your take on it, because that completely changes the follow through directly on volleys
Simple and clear instruction to fix common problems on volleys. Easy to use on court and surely very helpful. Thanks Nick, great video! All the best, Jörg
So wise.
Omg now I know why,,, great great thnx!! Does Babolat make broomstick??^^
That broomstick tip could be useful :)
This is amazing
Again, thank you coach!
Great Videos, you rock 🙂
A visual cue that I use when teaching and coaching the volley is : Think you are in a sword fight. Always keep your sword ( racquet) in front of your body. I coach high school tennis and teach USTA 10 and under tennis. They relate to this idea. Sometimes I will have a mock word fight and pull my racquet way back so my student can run me through and win. All kidding aside I like do feed multiple balls in quick succession so that students do not have time to take the racquet back. Drills help condition reactions. I also emphasize moving forward, closing in and hitting down at your opponents feet so they have to hit up. Two on one volley drills are good for teaching the single player to start the drill with a low feed and moving in to hit their volley down at their opponents feet and control the point.
Nikola, I think this video is good exercises for volley. But you should better give more volley in slow motion.
ua-cam.com/video/hXpLBoZW_WY/v-deo.html
Gotta try the broomstick
Very nice video Nick as usual..I have one question regarding the grip.Is your grip tension of your normal volley (not the drop volley) has the same grip tension on your ground strokes?I think I am too wristy on my forehand volley thats why i am erratic on that side.Do you think adding the tension on my grip will minimized the movement of my wrist during forehand volley..Regarding my backhand volley i think its far better than my forehand volley..
Yes hold it firm on volley
Very good points, thanks. -Johnny, 4.0
I’ll be one of those people holding a broomstick at the court one of these days
Hi Nick, Is it enough to turn just your shoulders a little bit or do you also have to turn your hips just a little as well on a volley, especially on a forehand volley? Greetings, Joern
Thanks for the great video... I am using Continental grip but the volley feels very weak on both sides. The grip really feels weak. Of course I can shift the grip but I want to learn single grip. Should I turn a bit more to get more strength. Help please! :-(
Hi Raul, lagging the racquet behind can help.
Hello, on your channel, I couldn't find a video about half valley technics. Did I miss it? Thank you.
Don’t have half volley yet...
Do You swing on volley or just not move your racket? I’ve noticed that the racket opens up (facing sky) after contact. Is it bcuz you twist your shoulder? Thanxs
Gonna cover that in separate video
What grip do you suggest when playing volley?
Continental
Is the split step on volley same as baseline, as in perform the split as ball reaches your opponent's strings?
I will keep broomstick in my bag from now onwards.
great video
Thanks!
How so relax and mentally slow down the ball coming at me. I feel like I never have enough time to prepare and the anxiety always causes me to be too late or illprepared
Are you located in the Atlanta Georgia area for lessons?
I’m in Palm Beach County FL
backhand volley safer than forehand? never heard or seen this. For most rec players its same, but some have better forehand volleys including myself.
Alexander out of my experience I do agree with Nick‘s statement. Backhand is more easy and natural for most of the players I know.
Unless the incoming ball is really slow you need to generate some extra power, I can't see any benefit for a recreational player to "lag" the racquet head on either side, or for any player. Players would need great timing in order to hit volleys with a "lag"
That's not exactly what Nick said. He said you can use lag for additional power, but did not dwell on it. If you use his two fundamental tips, adequate lag (for the rec player) will happen automatically and you don't have to think about it.
@@darellfeldmiller2890 How would you explain adequate lag to a recreational player? Players need to judge the speed,spin and trajectory of the ball and being able to consistently hit the ball within the hitting zone will be challenging.
@@MatchPointTennis good question. I can only speak for myself (a rec player) and I have to keep things real simple or I get confused. The best way for me to learn is work on one or two fundamentals until develop a feeling for the shot. In the case of FH or BH volly, if someone teaches me the proper basics, and I develop a proper stroke, why spend unnecessary time talking about something that will happen automatically, I.E. lag? In my opinion, you have to be real careful with words like lag, pronation, rotation, etc. because what they mean to you can be totally different than what they mean to me and are a constant source of confusion. The fewer words to make the point, the better.
Once I have that feeling, then it's on to repetition (hitting several thousand shots with proper fundamentals ) to establish muscle memory. During that process, things like spin, speed, positioning, trajectory, sort of take care of themselves and I don't have to think about them as much. If I had to keep all that in my head, and I have tried, I would (and have been) become so overwhelmed which quickly leads to frustration. I wish my brain worked fast enough to consciously process multiple thought at a time, but it does not. Maybe other players can handle it...I can't.
That's why I think I respond to Nick's instruction so well...he explains the fundamentals of a particular stroke in a very simple manner without going into excess. Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to know why steps a, b, c, d... and so on lead to a good stroke, but I can't think that way during the heat of the battle. It has to come from feel that then gives me the confidence that I can pull off the shot with the minimum of thought.
Thanks but if you could do the video with the net in front of you, it would be so much clearer as to how much of a turn is good or bad...
I'm a female who is good at net. In mixed doubles my partner is serving to male opponent. There are a few men who blast the ball to me and I get my racket on the ball but I don't send it back... it drops into the net.
What is the best way to counter that power shot?
I talk about it here ua-cam.com/video/nsyQqSxJYcY/v-deo.htmlsi=XT1tME3HK9TDYTZW
My problem on the fh volley is that all other tennis strokes have to be super loose and whippy like the serve and forehand. Then when I try to fh volley my hand and arm goes limp naturally to stay loose but this makes it very floppy and not clean and crisp. A firm grip just seems so foreign to me. Anyone have the same issue? Or have a fix?
Pro Tip: If you're a witch put on some ankle weights to prevent takeoff. 🧹
😂😂
I really like the first tip, i have noticed When i turn my body too much can’t hit a clean volley.
And so the takeaway here is to "stick" with proper mechanics on the volley?
i will now take the broom stick to my local park
Basically watch the last 10s of the video
This is dangerous advice. On reaction volleys you are correct. But a floating ball or when you have time you should try to get to the side so you can get your weight forward
Respectfully, does the coach sound like Cristopher walken to anyone else?
Moin