Tennis: Drop it where you want

DESCRIPTION

The player stands at the net. Cones are set in the middle, on the deuce and ad side. The coach feeds balls to forehand side and the player executes stop-volleys, hitting into different target every time.

COACHING POINTS

Stop-volley is a necessary skill in these days. Modern tennis players are great in moving laterally so it is not a problem for them to chase deep volleys and hit effective passing shots anymore. Knowing that it is smart to use different tactics, hit more volleys short to force typical baseliners to move outside of their comfort zone and check their passing skills while reaching for the ball with slice. This strategy can be also used in doubles where most of the deep shots are covered by 2 players so hitting stop-volleys while poaching is a better option to win the point at the net.

In this drill, the player works on stop-volley. Different targets forces player to change racquet angle according to the direction he wants to hit. This ability is helpful not only while playing volleys but in the overall tennis development e.g serving with different spins, attacking with different trajectory etc. The coach should make sure that player hits the ball up to be able to place the ball really close to the net. Opening the racquet at the point of contact will add spin that can even cause the ball to come back on our side after the shot. To make it really competitive, the coach can give points for hitting each target or get the target out after it is hit.