The LAST Ball Toss Lesson You Ever Need To Watch
Summary
TLDRThis tennis lesson focuses on mastering the ball toss, a crucial element for an effective serve. The instructor discusses various techniques for holding the ball, the importance of tempo and angle during the toss, and the ideal release point. They advocate for a higher ball toss to allow time for proper swing execution and offer drills to improve consistency. The goal is to achieve a consistent ball placement that facilitates a powerful and accurate serve.
Takeaways
- πΎ Perfecting the ball toss is crucial for improving your serve, as it is the center of the serving technique.
- π€² There are two common ways to hold the ball: palm up style and palm side style, with the latter being preferred for better control and less spin.
- π The ball should be released at a consistent height, generally near the top of the head, to ensure a consistent contact point.
- π Use your eyes to help release the ball in the right area by focusing on the point of release until the ball is seen.
- π Maintain a smooth and gradual tempo when lifting and releasing the ball, avoiding abrupt movements for better control.
- πͺ The entire tossing movement should come from the shoulder, ensuring a controlled and balanced release.
- π― Aim for a 45Β° angle with the tossing arm when releasing the ball, which helps with alignment, shoulder rotation, and ball placement.
- π« Avoid the 'J toss' as it does not allow for a good trophy position and can lead to inconsistent ball placement.
- π Practice with a routine that establishes a consistent tempo and feel for the ball toss, using a fence or other reference point for height.
- π Experiment with different ball toss heights to find the ideal height that allows for a full range of motion and consistent timing.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the lesson in the transcript?
-The main focus of the lesson is improving the tennis serve by perfecting the ball toss, which is considered the center of a good serve.
How can a consistent ball toss improve a tennis player's serve?
-A consistent ball toss can improve a player's serve by ensuring the ball is at the perfect height, location, and timing, which leads to better accuracy and control during the serve.
What are the two common ways to hold the ball for a serve?
-The two common ways to hold the ball are the palm up style and the palm side style.
What is the advantage of the palm side style over the palm up style?
-The palm side style allows for a smoother release of the ball with less spin, which can lead to better control and accuracy in the ball toss.
How does the tempo of entering into the serve affect the ball toss?
-The tempo of entering into the serve helps establish a consistent rhythm and speed, which contributes to better control and accuracy in the ball toss.
What is the recommended angle for the tossing arm when releasing the ball?
-The recommended angle for the tossing arm is a 45Β° angle from the baseline, which helps maintain good alignment and allows for a straight-up ball placement.
Why is it important to avoid the 'J toss'?
-The 'J toss' can lead to a loss of control and does not allow the player to get into a good trophy position, which is necessary for an effective serve.
Where should the ball be released from the hand for optimal serve performance?
-The ball should be released near or approximately at the top of the head, which serves as a good point of reference for most players.
What is the ideal height for the ball toss in relation to the player's body?
-The ideal height for the ball toss is between the shoulder and the ear, which allows for the best contact point and power in the serve.
How can a player determine if their ball toss is in the right area?
-A player can use their hand as a marker to gauge the accuracy of the ball toss. If the ball is in an area near the hand, it is considered playable.
What is the benefit of practicing ball toss with a consistent routine?
-Practicing with a consistent routine helps build muscle memory and coordination, leading to more consistent and accurate ball tosses during actual serves.
Outlines
πΎ Ball Toss Mastery
This paragraph introduces the importance of mastering the ball toss in tennis. It emphasizes that perfecting the ball toss can significantly improve one's serve. The speaker discusses various aspects of the ball toss, including the ideal height, location, and timing. The lesson aims to provide insights and drills to help players improve their ball placement, ultimately enhancing their serve.
π€² Holding the Ball
The speaker explains two common ways to hold the ball for a serve: the palm up style and the palm side style. The palm up style is more common in recreational tennis, but it can lead to issues with accuracy due to hinging at the elbow or wrist. The palm side style, which mimics holding an ice cream or a cup, is preferred for its smoother release and reduced spin. The speaker advocates for practicing both styles to find the most comfortable and effective method for each player.
π Body Movement and Weight Shift
This section discusses the body's role during the ball toss, emphasizing the importance of staying still to maintain control. The speaker advises against active movements during the toss, as they can disrupt the ball's trajectory. The paragraph also touches on the importance of weight distribution, suggesting that shifting weight back slightly can help counterbalance the energy of the rising arm.
π Ideal Ball Toss Angle and Release Point
The speaker explains the ideal angle for the tossing arm (45Β° from the baseline) and the release point (near or at the top of the head). The 45Β° angle allows for good alignment and shoulder rotation, while the top of the head serves as a reference point for consistent ball placement. The paragraph also cautions against the 'J toss,' which can lead to an incorrect trophy position and reduced control over the ball.
π Ball Toss Height and Consistency
The speaker advocates for a higher ball toss, arguing that it provides more time to execute the serve and allows for better timing. The paragraph discusses the challenges of a low toss, such as committing to the swing before the ball is in the right position and the tendency for the toss to lower when nervous. The speaker suggests using a fence as a visual reference for practicing the ideal ball toss height.
π― Achieving Consistent Ball Placement
The speaker emphasizes the goal of placing the ball in the optimal area for serving, which is between the shoulder and the ear. This position allows for maximum power and control. The paragraph also discusses the importance of having a consistent ball placement to improve serve consistency. The speaker provides a drill for practicing ball placement, focusing on setting up a routine that ensures the ball returns to the hand, and suggests practicing with a frozen pose to work on balance and ball placement simultaneously.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Ball Toss
π‘Serve
π‘Palm Up Style
π‘Palm Side Style
π‘Tossing Arm
π‘Tossing Angle
π‘Release Point
π‘Ball Toss Height
π‘Contact Point
π‘Practice Drills
Highlights
The lesson focuses on improving tennis serve through perfecting the ball toss.
A perfect ball toss can immediately improve your serve.
There are two common ways to hold the ball: palm up and palm side styles.
The palm side style is recommended for better ball control and less spin.
Establishing a meaningful routine is crucial for maintaining tempo and speed during the serve.
Weight should shift back and the heel should stay down during the toss phase for balance.
The tossing arm should rise at a 45Β° angle for optimal alignment and shoulder rotation.
Avoid the J toss as it does not allow for a good trophy position.
The ball should be released near or at the top of the head for most players.
Using the eyes to focus on the point of release helps in consistently placing the ball.
The ball toss should be smooth, with the ball floating out of the hand.
Controlling the tossing shoulder is essential for a consistent ball toss.
A higher ball toss is generally preferred as it allows more time for the serve.
The ideal ball toss height is just above the fence for most players, around 12 feet.
The contact point for the serve should be between the shoulder and the ear.
Practicing with a consistent ball toss height and point of release leads to improved serve consistency.
Transcripts
lesson for you today is really going to
help your serve it's all about the ball
toss and I think we all struggle with
the Ball Toss at one time or another but
really that is the center of your serve
and if you can perfect your Ball Toss
you can improve your serve right away so
we're going to break down everything
every detail about the ball toss and
give you some great Insight on how to
improve your toss and ultimately your
serve so I often ask my students what if
you could place the ball perfectly every
time whether you tried to or not the
ball was at the perfect height in the
perfect location and the perfect timing
every single time what would happen to
your serve well of course they
automatically go wow my serve would
improve right away and it just would get
better and better and better so use this
as motivation to really work on your
ball placement in today's lesson we're
going to go through a lot of different
skill development ideas that are going
to help you give you some knowledge
maybe you've never heard before and then
some drills to help practice your ball
placement and it's going to really lead
you towards serving better right away so
we're going to get right into it here
and the the first thing we're going to
work on is how to hold the ball and
there's a couple of different ways to
hold the ball there's a palm Up Style
and then there's a palm side style and
the Palm up is probably more common we
see that more often in recreational
tennis where we have the Palm facing the
sky okay the benefit to this is it just
feels comfortable and sort of natural in
a way the idea here is that all five
fingers are holding the ball make sure
that if you in a palm up you're holding
the ball on the pads of your fingers we
don't want the ball in the palm we don't
want the ball on the tips we want to
find that balance where it's being
controlled by all five fingers on the
pads the last section of the fingers
Palm is up we want to make this movement
from the shoulder and then we want to
release the ball up and release and go
now the problem or the challenge with
this style is that it tends to allow you
to hinge at the elbow or the wrists so
we often times see players who will be
flipping the wrists or they'll come up
and they'll stall and they'll flip at
the elbow and both of those were a
little bit extreme but any subtle
movement or any subtle hinging in the
middle of this rise of the arm will
definitely influence your accuracy on
the toss so for me I prefer the Palm
side and the Palm side I think about
holding an ice cream or a cup and I'm
going to hold it this way okay so I've
got now I've got my palm on the side
I've got my thumb on the side here I'm
holding the ball again this time I'm
really not holding with all five I'm
kind of holding with three and what I do
is I come up to release the ball and my
fing just expand away from the ball and
the ball tends to float out of the hand
very smoothly and this type of release
and and movement pattern tends to have
the ball spin less so if you're a palm
up more often the ball is going to be
rolling off of your hand this way if you
just open your fingers it takes the spin
away and it really purifies the release
of the ball and controls it so I'm
definitely an advocate or in favor of
having the Palm side style but again
it's it's up to you you got to practice
it and see what is more comfortable for
you
next up we're going to work on how to
enter into your serve with the right
Tempo so that you can control your ball
toss and then also how that contributes
to how you actually raise the arm and
control the ball so specifically what I
mean and you see this with different
styles from different players and if we
look back at say Andy rodic he had a
very rapid you know movement here and
that really led to a very rapid entrance
into a serve other other players they
have a very methodical slow movement
here and what I'm really trying TOA here
is the tempo that I'm naturally
comfortable with and I'm pretty slow
here I don't like to go fast and abrupt
I like to go slow okay and then when I'm
ready to go and I reset here I make sure
that the ball is in my hand with the
same feel I want to have when I release
it so sometimes we see players that will
be holding the ball in sort of an
awkward way and then they have to find
the comfortable position on the ball
while they're raising the arm and then
they can't control it so for me I do my
my routine nice easy Tempo reset and
when I put the ball for me inside the
throat of the racket I'm holding exactly
the same way that I want to hold it when
I separate the hands away and I place
the ball up so there's no awkward or
weird manipulation things going on
during that phase key though here is do
a routine that's meaningful that
establishes the tempo and the speed of
your entrance into the serve so as an
example from a side view my speed here
as I move into the routine and I'll do
it again the speed
here is designed to match the speed here
see that so that helps me get the feel
of how I enter my serve with Tempo and
feel and Rhythm and that's really really
important to your Ball Toss control the
next key element to controlling your
Ball Toss is what your body is going to
be doing while the tosing arm is rising
and if you watch almost every
professional player after they do their
preserve routine
they will shift their weight back and
put their heel down and the heel will
stay down during the tossing phase and
what's really happening here is there's
just a little bit of a weight shift back
to counterbalance the energy that's in
the rising arm in front of you and
that's really really important and I
think that when your tossing arm is
rising before the ball leaves your hand
you should stay as still as possible if
we're active in this phase here well
clearly we're going to lose control of
the ball so if you watch most servers
they're here and they'll come back and
they'll stay dead still to let the ball
go and that will give you consistency in
your body position it's your your
movement with your left arm is isolated
everything else is quiet and still and
that's going to help you with your ball
placement another key part to this you
might have seen as well is that when I'm
releasing the ball and this kind of goes
back to Old School coaching and teaching
tennis and teaching the serve in
particular one of the most common
phrases was arms down together up
together but uh that's very disruptive
for a lot of reasons and it doesn't help
your ball placement either so if you
watch most players most high performance
players now they have the idea that
they're going to place the ball first
and swing the racket second and you'll
see more players with the racket down in
this area somewhere in here when the
ball's leaving and then they'll bring it
up to get in position to serve okay so
when you're when you're doing your your
movement here you want to isolate your
tossing arm with your weight slightly
back just like this and leave this alone
the tossing arm will go up in front and
The Swinging arm racket arm will go up
naturally because it has to you don't
even have to think about that next up is
the all important angle that your
tossing arm Rises as it releases the
ball so I'm going to get set up in my
position to serve here good and sideways
to my Target and for me I like my
tossing arm to extend right out over my
toe so it's on a 45Β° angle from the
Baseline this angle does a couple things
for me it keeps me in a really good
alignment it helps me rotate my
shoulders away from my Target and get me
into a good strong
coil okay and it allows me to place the
ball virtually almost straight up so I
don't have to see a ball that's floating
around or coming back to me okay most
players WTA ATP 45Β° angle occasionally a
player will go 90Β° like Roger feder now
Roger feder's arm went out over the
Baseline and came back and what happened
was his ball arked back to him and as it
arked back to him he had to actually he
actually had to measure when to time it
it was a very tricky thing but actually
it was very much an advantage but it's a
very difficult thing to try and do it's
much easier to measure up on a ball
that's descending straight down than one
that is floating across on an arc so I
would be careful about that what you
don't want to do is a couple things you
don't want to do you don't want your
tossing arm going straight towards your
Target because that's not going to
initiate any shoulder turn and that
occurrence probably happens if you have
a for for hand grip which is a different
topic but we don't want to be facing our
Target and we don't want to be tossing
forward the other one that I don't like
that's a kind of an extreme the other
direction is the is the J toss the J
toss does not allow you to get into a
good trophy position so what happens a j
toss is where your tossing arm comes
back and it goes let's imagine this is
the Baseline here it's going to go back
beyond the Baseline and create this sort
of a j or this hooking effect and when
you see players do this most of the time
to get the hand to go back they'll drop
the left shoulder down and they'll be
like this and this is the opposite of a
trophy position so when you when you
raise the arm properly the way I like to
do it in the modern way and you lift it
first it angles you the other way into
your 45Β° angle here when you do a j toss
it tends to make you do this okay so I
would I would steer away from the J toss
I would go for the 45Β° angle right here
because it it Blends together all these
combinations of things that you you want
to achieve on your ball toss so now that
we've established how we want to hold
the ball and the tempo we want to have
when we're placing the ball up the angle
now we're going to identify exactly
where the ball should be released from
your hand and for the most part for most
players that's going to be near or
approximately at the top of the head
some players will toss a little bit
lower for various reasons depending on
their style uh some a little bit later
but in general the top of your head is
going to be a good point of reference
for where you want to release the ball
so when you're placing the ball up you
don't want to just be guessing you want
to know exactly where you want to let it
go and then you want to use something
special to help you with that skill so
you'll see most players will do this
Roger feder does this Novak jokovic does
this most of the players are doing this
but it happens so quickly you don't
quite see it but they do their
routine they take one last look at the
at the court and then they shift into
their serve and then their eyes shift to
the point of release and the eyes wait
right here until we see the ball so you
shift back your eyes shift from the
court to the point of release wait to
see the ball and there it is so my eyes
are helping me to release the ball in
the right area when I see that see the
ball get there my fingers open up away
here we are again there it is again I
release it and there she goes so I use
my eyes to really help me release the
ball in the right area so that
combination of tempo angle balance point
of release all those factors are going
to lead you to placing the ball in the
ideal location which we're going to get
to a little bit later in the video next
up we're going to take all these
elements and we're going to try to apply
them to a very very
smooth lift and release of the ball so
you know when you watch good servers
it's it almost looks like the ball
floats out of their hand because it does
it floats out of the hand so what we
want to do is we want to create this
Tempo and we want to make sure that this
is a smooth movement and what I mean by
smooth is that the speed that I need to
get to the ball the height I want is a
very gradual speed it's not abrupt it's
not quick but it's smooth and then when
I release the ball of course the ball
and the hand are moving at almost the
exact same speed so it looks like the
ball just floats out of the hand okay
very very important that you have this
sort of lofty feel that you have enough
momentum to lift it and Loft it up and
it just looks like it floats away from
the hand with total control what I don't
want you to think about is tossing it I
want you to think about
placing it tossing hey toss me the ball
it's kind of like a throw think more
like a delicate placement and the speed
the tempo the release point the way the
fingers expand away from the ball all
those contribute to a nice floaty ball
placement that becomes more and more
consistent and controlling the toss is
all about controlling the tossing
shoulder so very important that the
entire tossing movement comes from the
shoulder and then after you release the
ball you want to control the arm in the
shoulder see that often times we'll see
we'll see players that'll toss the ball
and they'll not have control of the
shoulder and the arm will just go
flicking okay it'll go flying away okay
but after I release I just want my hand
to sit right under the ball right there
perfect so when I release it the ball's
gone I don't need to increase my speed
and throw my hand I use this I get the
speed I need to the point of release and
then the hand stays right under the ball
and that will help you quite a bit we
don't want the shoulder to be out of
control or flipping we want it to be in
control all the way to the end until
you're reaching up underneath the ball
next up is the controversial but all
important Ball Toss height and of course
there's a lot of different styles and a
number of different theories about Ball
Toss height and we're going to go
through that here and we're going to try
to maybe help you identify what would be
the ideal height for you before we get
started I will say that I'm more of an
advocate of getting the ball a little
higher because I think you need time to
do the things we need going to do on the
serve um I think having a low toss is a
little more complicated now there are
coaches and theories that say that the
low toss is easier to place maybe if
it's lower to your hand and I think
that's there's some truth to that and
there's also the theory that there's
more time to hit the ball because
theoretically I guess the ball stops at
the top but it really doesn't um but
it's certainly moving slower than a ball
that's a little bit higher but my
argument is is that as tennis players we
hit balls that are in motion all the
time we get more and more skilled at it
so if your toss is in a is consistent
height even if it's a little bit above
your contact point it's pretty easy to
time you're going to catch on to that
pretty quickly okay low ball tosses
problem I have with low ball tosses is
that if I'm going to toss the ball low I
have to commit to my swing before I even
toss the ball so I can hit it so it
really makes it difficult for you to
really even know if your Ball Toss is in
the right area or not before you're
committing to your swing the other
challenge you have with a low toss is
then when we get nervous and we're
playing matches our toss tend to get
lower so if you are if you're trying to
hit the ball right at the peak of your
reach at the Apex when you're nervous
it's probably going to come down and
it's going to weaken your surve so it
really doesn't help you to have a low
toss in terms of being able to control
the height of the contact point and also
the tempo of your swing okay argument
for low Ball Toss is you don't have time
to think you toss the ball you go
through your motion it's continuous
motion and in some cases it's very
natural if we look at Players like Nick
curios it really works for him but he's
the exception he's not the rule on tour
so he's got his own unique style and
he's amazingly skilled athlete but for
most players we need to get the ball up
in the air measure it go through a full
range of motion and then play it um and
I think you need that time you need that
time to get loaded into your balance see
that the ball's in the right area just
measure onto it and then go get it and
time it okay and again if your Ball Toss
is a consistent height then your timing
is going to get dialed in even if your
ball placement is higher than your
contact point so I'm definitely in favor
of a higher Ball Toss you need to
experiment with that and find out what
your style is but I would initially
start by getting the ball up a little
higher and I'm going to show you a drill
now that'll help you with that so I like
to use the fence as a reference for Ball
Toss height and I'm almost 6 ft tall and
this fence is 12T high so if you look at
it initially it looks like it's really
quite high but if I come up to the fence
here and I get set up my distance is
comfortable so that I can you know raise
my tossing arm and not hit the fence and
I place the ball up I'm almost getting
up to the fence there and there it is
okay now does that ball look too high
the top of the fence or does it look
like it's just perfect for me to attack
so it's kind of an optical illusion when
you look at the fence it looks like it's
a mile high but when you get over here
and you start working on the toss you
realize that 12 ft really isn't that
high it's not like the ball is diving
fast at that point it's actually
floating down to me so I would use this
as a point of reference and depending on
your height and depending on your tempo
of your swing and your serving style you
definitely got to get it over this
windscreen I don't see how you can do
this and be consistent that's kind of
really difficult to do I don't know how
you can hit that ball at the
Apex like that and and be consistent
with your serve and get through the
range of motion with a with a nice
balance loading the legs and a spring up
get all those El into your serve and get
to the top I don't think you could do
that with a toss that you're trying to
play at the Apex for most players so use
the fence as your point of reference and
your guideline for working on your your
height and that's going to help you
figure out where you need to be then
come up to the Baseline take that height
that you've practiced there that you
feel come up to the Baseline and start
practicing your serve with that height
now that we have reviewed all these
different features of the ball placement
and the different skills you want to
develop the ultimate goal is to place
the ball in the right area so where is
the right area for most serves and this
is a little bit controversial as well
but in modern serving in modern tennis
ideally we're trying to get that contact
so it's between the shoulder and the ear
right in here okay we want to get in
this area where the arm is literally
straight up from the shoulder and the
contact is inside okay now if you're
outside the shoulder you can slice the
ball but you can't get the same level of
power because you can't use your long
axis rotation that you can right through
the top okay so if you look at most high
performance servers in today's game
they're placing the ball inside and
they're coming up the wet slightly
inside the hand right here and the
shoulders rotating through on the flat
serve even the slice serve they're
coming in they're attacking the ball
right inside and going through it if
you're going to if you're going to hit a
Top Spin serve the ball could be a
little bit more to the left for a
right-handed player but I want that
variation to be so subtle that it
doesn't look so obvious to your opponent
who's receiving your serve and as you
get more and more skillful you'll be
able to start to get different effects
on the ball without drastic changes in
your ball placement so from a front view
we're looking right inside the shoulder
here right inside the shoulder and from
a side view we want to be on a slight
angle inside here and coming into the
contact so we want to be in front you
can notice also my head's in front of my
shoulder we don't want to be this way uh
I go through all that later in a
different subject matter but here's my
contact rackets literally above my hand
and I'm in this position leaning in okay
so that's where your contact point is
that you're trying to get to and that's
what you're trying to use all these
different skills to achieve is a
consistent ball that's right in that
place at the same height every single
time if you're like most tennis players
you're probably guilty of swinging and
tosses that you shouldn't even play and
that happens so frequently and what I
want to show you now is how you can
identify a good placement from a poor
placement and then you know choose to
not play the ball at all and that's
another reason why I like to have a
little bit more time in lead with the
left hand so that when I do my my serve
and it get set up here and I'm ready to
serve and I place the ball up and I get
it up in the air a little bit right here
I can say yes or no because either the
ball's in an area I can see that's
nearby my hand or it's not okay and I
use my hand right here as a as a marker
for Ball Toss accuracy and that one was
perfect okay so if you if you if you
really quick here you don't even have
time to think about that you're just
hitting the ball you could be chasing
the ball all over the place but if you
get the ball up a little higher and
stretch that left arm up which helps you
get into a good strong position you can
sell right away whether the ball's
playable or not and next up we're I'm
going to take you through a series of
different practice exercises to help you
tie all of this together and improve
your ball placement right away and the
first thing I want you to do is just
practice setting up and doing a routine
where you get your tempo right so the
ball keeps coming back to your hand
you're controlling it back to your hand
here and then you can reset your hands
shift to your back foot and just stay
dead still and practice a skill of
raising your tossing arm while
everything else is still and your eyes
are just sitting there waiting for the
ball to get there and this is really
useful because it's building the muscle
and getting the coordination in the and
the and the tossing muscle here from
your shoulder and what I do is I hold
the weight of my arm in here I don't go
up and then release it so it helps me
build that muscle up and you can do this
here
one
2
3 4 come here again and then go five oh
so you can really relate the practice of
the ball placement with the movement
that you were making that's going to
help you immediately right away and you
can take this to the next step where you
actually do your
routine set up do your ball placement
and freeze and either the ball's going
to come back to your hand or it's not if
it doesn't come back to my hand I'm
going to sit in my balance until I hear
the ball bounce so this one's not going
to come back to my
hand I know I'm working on my ball
placement and my balance together and
you can do this every 10 seconds so if
you spend 5 minutes a day doing this you
can do this 30 times in 5 minutes and if
you do it for 30 days you've done it 900
times so with the information you've got
in this lesson today combined with this
this practice drill you would think that
after 30 days you start to feel pretty
confident that you know how to place
that ball up and get it to come right
back into that area it needs to come
into virtually every single time thanks
so much for watching today's lesson and
I hope that you'll take these concepts
of the court and really work on your
ball placement and improve your serve
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)