Are You in Reverse?

One of the most requested lessons that I've given over the last 50+ years is on the serve.

I'm guessing that 30 to 40% of the folks I've coached have come to me looking for more POP or better control on their delivery.

There are numerous and varied components to an advanced-level service stroke, but the one thing that seems to be a common thread in limiting the full development of a reliable and potent weapon is a reverse weight shift.

The reverse weight shift occurs when a player, having visually misinterpreted what really happens inside the service motion, begins to lift the ball up toward the ideal striking position while allowing their body weight to go from front foot to back foot during the tossing motion.

A careful inspection of the ball toss of top-level players reveals that although there is a backward rocking motion that is part of the delivery of the serve, it occurs early in the motion and has been completed before the hand lifts the ball to the hitting spot.

Ideally, the body weight has begun to press forward at the release point, and most great servers are fully shifted forward with the front knee bent as the ball floats off their fingertips.

If your service grip is within the range of correctness and your body alignment is oriented properly in relation to your target, but you are struggling to deliver a potent and well-placed serve, take a moment to determine if you are the victim of that all-to-common and misunderstood component of the advanced level serve and make a commitment to fix it.

Find an experienced coach and let them know what you’d like to correct to boost your effectiveness with that all-important first blow!