Waiter's Technique

[don_budge]

Redux "Waiter's Technique"…The Racquet's Edge…Somerset Maughm

Here is a clip where a coach runs through how to correct the common problem of waiter's technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc4dpfCWGuo

What do you think of his ideas? The against the fence drill and his others?

Let me know your thoughts...and do have your own way of defeating this tricky little problem?

Edgy. This edge and that edge and this edge and that edge. I love it.

I also like the part about serving with three fingers. That really does get the racket tip low, even for a rotorded server.

Edgy. Good call bottle. This is the gist of it. Curing the "Waiter's Technique". It's in the edge of the racquet. Having a lot of success in curing the host of juniors that fall into the "Waiter's Technique". Video highly recommended to all coaches…except for you know who. See video in Stotty's original thread starter post. Great find…Coach Stotty!

I rediscovered this post after some months. It's amazing that it didn't make the impression on me at first that it does now. It's worth a review.

[bottle]

I rediscovered this post after some months. It's amazing that it didn't make the impression on me at first that it does now. It's worth a review.

Yes, second and 90th looks are essential when it comes to understanding any fine point of tennis technique. I don't pretend to have assimilated this specific material the first time either. And see as something that really might produce breakthrough the fence drill that Stotty culled out. Almost like forcing a torrent through a thin sluiceway before it makes its sharp turn.

Did you watch the succeeding videos as well by Tom, the same guy? For us rotorded servers this seems like one of the few true efforts online to address our serious concerns.

An added benefit is that, after watching Tom's second video, one learns how to make a hole in both sides of a tennis ball and thread a stout cord through.

[stotty]

Why I use the “Hiccup” drill.

I appreciate your lack of enthusiasm for breaking everything, especially a service motion, down into pieces ala 1,2, 3, 4. But when I teach the serve, I make the rhythm of the toss and the weight transfer a fundamental and essential critical element. As you point out, sometimes it is necessary to start a student in the trophy position because they can’t get there on their own when they are preoccupied with the coordination challenge of tossing the ball. You can put the racket up in the trophy and make sure it is in the right place and then start the service motion and maintain the synchronization of the forward weight shift and the ball toss from that point, but that means the movement of the racket up to the trophy position is not actually part of the service motion.

So the “hiccup” (so called because it almost seems like an ‘oops’ when you drop the tossing arm back down as you move the weight back to the rear so you can move it forward when you actually toss the ball) was my solution. Getting the racket up to the trophy position is actually part of the service motion and the movement of the weight forward as you move the racket up to the trophy is the same as it will be when you actually incorporate the backswing to the trophy and the weight transfer and toss in a fully developed motion. The student is able to concentrate on getting the racket to the correct trophy position without having to worry about executing the toss correctly. Then when they rock back and drop the tossing arm, they can concentrate on the toss while the racket sits essentially motionless in the correct trophy position. Note: it’s important that the racket stay in that trophy position until the ball leaves the tossing hand. A lot of students make a mistake when they place the racket in a stationary trophy position to start their serve: they allow the racket to begin its drop before the tossing arm releases the ball - big mistake. Remember there is no such position as a “backscratch” in reality.

Bottom line: I am trying to use the “hiccup” drill to correct a poor trophy position and I think it is essential that the player feels the integral relationship between the toss and the weight transfer and also the backswing (relationship is non-existent if the racket just starts up at the trophy position). I don’t insist on it from everyone, but my view of the best possible motion is one that derives the tempo of the backswing and the weight transfer and the toss from the free fall of the racket with gravity. Gravity never changes. If you tie the consistency of the toss to gravity by synchronizing it with the free fall drop of the racket in the backswing, you have created the most consistent toss possible. But that’s a whole other discussion.

Certainly, this is a little more confusing at the beginning and more difficult than just putting the racket up in the trophy position at the start, but in the long run, I am helping them learn to feel the integration of the backswing with the weight transfer even if they are not yet ready to integrate the toss just yet.

don

I get what you mean. It's just I have never had much luck breaking the serve into segments. I have had luck getting students to shadow a correct motion many times over, and with getting students to start from the trophy position, and then linking the two together and using video to see end results. But I do fully understand what you are teaching over there and the value of it and that you have clearly had great success with it.

I may have another crack with your method the next time I bump into a stubborn case. The more tools a coach has in his tool bag the better in my view. What doesn't work with one may work with another...you know how it is.

I also find I don't get too many poor trophy positions with students if the serve is initiated with the arms working together and good initial weight transfer to the back foot. Get the very first bit right and sometimes much of the rest can take of itself.

Talking of ball tosses. I watched Jack Sock today. He uses no leverage at all with his ball toss. He just tosses straight upwards from around the waist (maybe higher). He doesn't lower the tossing arm to the thigh or anywhere near. I don't know how a player can do this and get repeated rhythm. I could simply never do this. I would never get the ball in.