Serve and Volley:
Drills Part 2

Kyle LaCroix

In the last article we looked at three original drills I developed to incorporate serve and volley into your game (Click Here), part of my comprehensive new series. Now let's follow up with two more!

The Table

One of the biggest challenges in mastering serve and volley is getting a high number of practice repetitions. You need repetitions of the range of first volleys that are required become an accomplished attacking player. The table drill solves this problem in a fabulous way.

I invented the table drill of necessity over 20 years ago. At 12 years old, I was serving and volleying against the wall. But I had to bounce my serve in front of the wall to create a realistic "return."

Overtime this inevitably led to bad service mechanics. So I found a way to do it on the court, by placing a hard table (or two) around the service line in the receiver's service box.

The ball bounces in front of the table, hits it, and then rebounds at unpredictable angles back to the server. This allows the player to serve into the box and then rush the net, hit a realistic volley, and most importantly generate an unlimited number of these repetitions.

One of the great benefits is that the "returns" vary so much depending on exactly where the serve lands, and how hard it strikes the table. You don't need a partner, and the table never misses a return.

The table drill teaches the importance of timing, footwork, and explosiveness to the ball. It allows players to work on the critical placement of the first volley over and over. You can move the table anywhere around the service box for target practice and can adjust the tilt angle of the table top by putting towels or a can or balls or a ball hopper under the legs.

My students love this drill. It's one of the greatest ways I have found to build real confidence in the attacking game.

I have my students play games in which I designate a specific area to hit the first volley. One point if they make the location, one point to the table if they don't. I have them play games or even entire sets.

Two players can also play against each other, taking turns serving to see who be the first to "win" 10 points with the correct placement. Despite it's surprising returning prowess, nobody wants to lose to a table!

3 Variations

It's important for players to realize that playing serve and volley requires dealing with a wide variety of return balls. The volleys you must hit depend on the quality of your serve, the location of your serve, and the ability of returner.

Serve and volley players need to understand that dealing successful with these variations requires patience. Many players I see are pretty good at hitting the first volley, but if the ball comes back they are frustrated and/or not prepared.

You have to understand that one reason serve and volley works is the cumulative pressure it inflicts over the course of a match.

It's important not to allow the returner's defensive skills to upset you. This drill teaches players patience and mental toughness because it requires players to hit three different shots to win a single point: a swinging volley, a regular volley, and an overhead. .

Here is how it works. The server takes a shadow serve and approaches the net. The coach then feeds a high ball high for a swinging volley and plays out the point.

If the attacking player wins the point , he immediately receives a regular volley. If he wins this point, he immediately receive an overhead. If he wins the overhead exchange, he scores one point.

Meanwhile the returner scores a point winning any one of the three exchanges. I like to play until one player wins 15 points. This builds stamina as well as mental and physical skills.

When you first start to work with this drill it's typical for the returner gets off to a big lead. The server learns over time, however, that they simply can't miss makeable volleys, and that it often takes multiple shots to finish a point at the net.

Implementing serve and volley requires the type of controlled situations these drills create. Building high numbers of successful repetitions builds confidence, and ultimately confidence is what allows you to serve and volley successfully in your matches.