Up
The Bump
Volley for Beginners
A
lot of new players feel uncomfortable
when volleying balls out of the air. One
technique I like to use to instruct the
novice is called the “bump up.”
Standing at the kitchen line, I like to
position players with a neutral open-faced paddle.
When hitting volleys, it is important to be able to turn
your paddle either way for forehands or backhands.
That’s why a neutral position (pointing straight ahead)
is preferred by intermediate to advanced players.
Some beginners struggle with a neutral position
and prefer a forehand or backhand dominant grip and
positioning of the paddle. While this might help with
consistency at first, favoring one side over the other
can eventually create holes and targets in your volley
defense.
Opening the paddle face for the bump up is a
non-threatening way for beginners to learn how to
volley from a neutral paddle
position. Here’s how it
works.
Beginning at the kitchen
line, hold your paddle out in
front of you and keep your
knees slightly bent and
your weight balanced. Have
a friend stand on the opposing kitchen line and feed
you a soft volley. Without taking your arm backward,
simply flip open your wrist and hold an open face.
Next, lift and punch the ball back to your practice
partner with a little arc. Again, bend at the knees to
get low…and always return to a neutral ready position
after each volley.
Make sure your paddle head is up each time so
that you can be prepared for the next shot. Beginners
often make the mistake of holding the paddle in a
downward position, thus exposing their chest to
unexpected incoming volley drives. So, keep your
BY DEB HARRISON
paddle head up—somewhere near your nose.
It is important to note that a common beginner’s
mistake is to get stuck hitting volleys too far behind
the body. This often happens because a player is
starting with the paddle positioned in a way that
favors one side, but leaves him/her having to
scramble to get the paddle around to volley on the
other side. A second reason some players wind up
late on volleys is because they are taking long tennis-
like swings, rather than just flipping the wrist and
punching.
After hitting successful bump-up volleys (returning
to a neutral position), decrease your paddle loft and
hit slightly more firm shots. Eventually, your paddle
will be nearly perpendicular to the court and you’ll be
placing firm, deep volleys back in the court.
So get out there practicing with your paddle out in
front of your body. Work on flipping the wrist, rather
than taking your arm
backward. Finally, keep
an open paddle face and
punch upward (don’t
swing) at those volleys.
Pretty soon your paddle
will flatten out and you’ll
be volleying like the pros. •
Make sure your paddle
head is up each time so that
you can be prepared for the
next shot.
Deb Harrison is a
member of the PROLITE
Pro Team. She is a 5.0
player and a teaching
professional. Deb has
medaled in multiple
National tournaments,
most recently at the
Margaritaville USA
National Championships
in Indian Wells, CA. She
brought home two silver
medals and a bronze.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 |
MAGAZINE
25