The LAST Ball Toss Lesson You Ever Need To Watch

Performance-Plus Tennis
10 Nov 202321:45

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

  • 🎾 Perfecting the ball toss is crucial for improving your serve, as it is the center of the serving technique.
  • 🀲 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.
  • πŸ“ The ball should be released at a consistent height, generally near the top of the head, to ensure a consistent contact point.
  • πŸ‘€ Use your eyes to help release the ball in the right area by focusing on the point of release until the ball is seen.
  • πŸ† Maintain a smooth and gradual tempo when lifting and releasing the ball, avoiding abrupt movements for better control.
  • πŸ’ͺ The entire tossing movement should come from the shoulder, ensuring a controlled and balanced release.
  • 🎯 Aim for a 45Β° angle with the tossing arm when releasing the ball, which helps with alignment, shoulder rotation, and ball placement.
  • 🚫 Avoid the 'J toss' as it does not allow for a good trophy position and can lead to inconsistent ball placement.
  • πŸ”„ Practice with a routine that establishes a consistent tempo and feel for the ball toss, using a fence or other reference point for height.
  • πŸ“ˆ 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

00:00

🎾 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.

05:00

🀲 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.

10:02

🏐 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.

15:03

πŸ“ 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.

20:03

πŸš€ 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.

🎯 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

πŸ’‘Ball Toss

The act of throwing the tennis ball into the air before serving. It is crucial for a consistent and effective serve, as it determines the timing and placement of the ball. The video emphasizes the importance of perfecting the ball toss to improve serve accuracy and power.

πŸ’‘Serve

A shot in tennis where the player hits the ball before it bounces, aiming to start a point. The serve is a critical part of the game, and the video focuses on how mastering the ball toss can lead to a better serve.

πŸ’‘Palm Up Style

A method of holding the tennis ball for the serve where the palm faces upwards. This style is common in recreational tennis and involves using the pads of the fingers to hold the ball, avoiding the palm or fingertips.

πŸ’‘Palm Side Style

An alternative ball-holding technique where the palm faces the side, similar to holding an ice cream cone. This style is preferred by the instructor as it allows for a smoother release of the ball with less spin.

πŸ’‘Tossing Arm

The arm responsible for throwing the ball into the air during the serve. The movement and control of the tossing arm are essential for a consistent ball toss.

πŸ’‘Tossing Angle

The angle at which the ball is thrown during the serve. A 45Β° angle is recommended as it allows for good alignment, shoulder rotation, and a straight-up ball placement.

πŸ’‘Release Point

The specific location from which the ball is released during the serve. The video suggests that releasing the ball near or at the top of the head is a good reference point for most players.

πŸ’‘Ball Toss Height

The vertical distance the ball is thrown during the serve. The video advocates for a higher toss, arguing that it provides more time for the server to prepare and execute the serve.

πŸ’‘Contact Point

The point in space where the server hits the ball during the serve. The ideal contact point is between the shoulder and the ear, allowing for maximum power and control.

πŸ’‘Practice Drills

Specific exercises designed to improve a player's skills, in this case, the ball toss and serve. The video provides drills to help players develop muscle memory and coordination.

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

play00:00

lesson for you today is really going to

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help your serve it's all about the ball

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toss and I think we all struggle with

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the Ball Toss at one time or another but

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really that is the center of your serve

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and if you can perfect your Ball Toss

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you can improve your serve right away so

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we're going to break down everything

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every detail about the ball toss and

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give you some great Insight on how to

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improve your toss and ultimately your

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serve so I often ask my students what if

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you could place the ball perfectly every

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time whether you tried to or not the

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ball was at the perfect height in the

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perfect location and the perfect timing

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every single time what would happen to

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your serve well of course they

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automatically go wow my serve would

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improve right away and it just would get

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better and better and better so use this

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as motivation to really work on your

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ball placement in today's lesson we're

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going to go through a lot of different

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skill development ideas that are going

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to help you give you some knowledge

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maybe you've never heard before and then

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some drills to help practice your ball

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placement and it's going to really lead

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you towards serving better right away so

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we're going to get right into it here

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and the the first thing we're going to

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work on is how to hold the ball and

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there's a couple of different ways to

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hold the ball there's a palm Up Style

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and then there's a palm side style and

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the Palm up is probably more common we

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see that more often in recreational

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tennis where we have the Palm facing the

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sky okay the benefit to this is it just

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feels comfortable and sort of natural in

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a way the idea here is that all five

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fingers are holding the ball make sure

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that if you in a palm up you're holding

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the ball on the pads of your fingers we

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don't want the ball in the palm we don't

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want the ball on the tips we want to

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find that balance where it's being

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controlled by all five fingers on the

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pads the last section of the fingers

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Palm is up we want to make this movement

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from the shoulder and then we want to

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release the ball up and release and go

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now the problem or the challenge with

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this style is that it tends to allow you

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to hinge at the elbow or the wrists so

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we often times see players who will be

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flipping the wrists or they'll come up

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and they'll stall and they'll flip at

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the elbow and both of those were a

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little bit extreme but any subtle

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movement or any subtle hinging in the

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middle of this rise of the arm will

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definitely influence your accuracy on

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the toss so for me I prefer the Palm

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side and the Palm side I think about

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holding an ice cream or a cup and I'm

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going to hold it this way okay so I've

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got now I've got my palm on the side

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I've got my thumb on the side here I'm

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holding the ball again this time I'm

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really not holding with all five I'm

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kind of holding with three and what I do

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is I come up to release the ball and my

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fing just expand away from the ball and

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the ball tends to float out of the hand

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very smoothly and this type of release

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and and movement pattern tends to have

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the ball spin less so if you're a palm

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up more often the ball is going to be

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rolling off of your hand this way if you

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just open your fingers it takes the spin

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away and it really purifies the release

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of the ball and controls it so I'm

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definitely an advocate or in favor of

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having the Palm side style but again

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it's it's up to you you got to practice

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it and see what is more comfortable for

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you

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next up we're going to work on how to

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enter into your serve with the right

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Tempo so that you can control your ball

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toss and then also how that contributes

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to how you actually raise the arm and

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control the ball so specifically what I

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mean and you see this with different

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styles from different players and if we

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look back at say Andy rodic he had a

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very rapid you know movement here and

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that really led to a very rapid entrance

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into a serve other other players they

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have a very methodical slow movement

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here and what I'm really trying TOA here

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is the tempo that I'm naturally

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comfortable with and I'm pretty slow

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here I don't like to go fast and abrupt

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I like to go slow okay and then when I'm

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ready to go and I reset here I make sure

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that the ball is in my hand with the

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same feel I want to have when I release

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it so sometimes we see players that will

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be holding the ball in sort of an

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awkward way and then they have to find

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the comfortable position on the ball

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while they're raising the arm and then

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they can't control it so for me I do my

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my routine nice easy Tempo reset and

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when I put the ball for me inside the

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throat of the racket I'm holding exactly

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the same way that I want to hold it when

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I separate the hands away and I place

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the ball up so there's no awkward or

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weird manipulation things going on

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during that phase key though here is do

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a routine that's meaningful that

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establishes the tempo and the speed of

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your entrance into the serve so as an

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example from a side view my speed here

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as I move into the routine and I'll do

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it again the speed

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here is designed to match the speed here

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see that so that helps me get the feel

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of how I enter my serve with Tempo and

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feel and Rhythm and that's really really

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important to your Ball Toss control the

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next key element to controlling your

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Ball Toss is what your body is going to

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be doing while the tosing arm is rising

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and if you watch almost every

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professional player after they do their

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preserve routine

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they will shift their weight back and

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put their heel down and the heel will

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stay down during the tossing phase and

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what's really happening here is there's

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just a little bit of a weight shift back

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to counterbalance the energy that's in

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the rising arm in front of you and

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that's really really important and I

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think that when your tossing arm is

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rising before the ball leaves your hand

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you should stay as still as possible if

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we're active in this phase here well

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clearly we're going to lose control of

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the ball so if you watch most servers

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they're here and they'll come back and

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they'll stay dead still to let the ball

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go and that will give you consistency in

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your body position it's your your

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movement with your left arm is isolated

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everything else is quiet and still and

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that's going to help you with your ball

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placement another key part to this you

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might have seen as well is that when I'm

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releasing the ball and this kind of goes

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back to Old School coaching and teaching

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tennis and teaching the serve in

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particular one of the most common

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phrases was arms down together up

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together but uh that's very disruptive

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for a lot of reasons and it doesn't help

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your ball placement either so if you

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watch most players most high performance

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players now they have the idea that

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they're going to place the ball first

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and swing the racket second and you'll

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see more players with the racket down in

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this area somewhere in here when the

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ball's leaving and then they'll bring it

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up to get in position to serve okay so

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when you're when you're doing your your

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movement here you want to isolate your

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tossing arm with your weight slightly

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back just like this and leave this alone

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the tossing arm will go up in front and

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The Swinging arm racket arm will go up

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naturally because it has to you don't

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even have to think about that next up is

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the all important angle that your

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tossing arm Rises as it releases the

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ball so I'm going to get set up in my

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position to serve here good and sideways

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to my Target and for me I like my

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tossing arm to extend right out over my

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toe so it's on a 45Β° angle from the

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Baseline this angle does a couple things

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for me it keeps me in a really good

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alignment it helps me rotate my

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shoulders away from my Target and get me

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into a good strong

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coil okay and it allows me to place the

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ball virtually almost straight up so I

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don't have to see a ball that's floating

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around or coming back to me okay most

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players WTA ATP 45Β° angle occasionally a

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player will go 90Β° like Roger feder now

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Roger feder's arm went out over the

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Baseline and came back and what happened

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was his ball arked back to him and as it

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arked back to him he had to actually he

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actually had to measure when to time it

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it was a very tricky thing but actually

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it was very much an advantage but it's a

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very difficult thing to try and do it's

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much easier to measure up on a ball

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that's descending straight down than one

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that is floating across on an arc so I

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would be careful about that what you

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don't want to do is a couple things you

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don't want to do you don't want your

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tossing arm going straight towards your

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Target because that's not going to

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initiate any shoulder turn and that

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occurrence probably happens if you have

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a for for hand grip which is a different

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topic but we don't want to be facing our

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Target and we don't want to be tossing

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forward the other one that I don't like

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that's a kind of an extreme the other

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direction is the is the J toss the J

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toss does not allow you to get into a

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good trophy position so what happens a j

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toss is where your tossing arm comes

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back and it goes let's imagine this is

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the Baseline here it's going to go back

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beyond the Baseline and create this sort

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of a j or this hooking effect and when

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you see players do this most of the time

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to get the hand to go back they'll drop

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the left shoulder down and they'll be

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like this and this is the opposite of a

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trophy position so when you when you

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raise the arm properly the way I like to

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do it in the modern way and you lift it

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first it angles you the other way into

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your 45Β° angle here when you do a j toss

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it tends to make you do this okay so I

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would I would steer away from the J toss

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I would go for the 45Β° angle right here

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because it it Blends together all these

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combinations of things that you you want

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to achieve on your ball toss so now that

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we've established how we want to hold

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the ball and the tempo we want to have

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when we're placing the ball up the angle

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now we're going to identify exactly

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where the ball should be released from

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your hand and for the most part for most

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players that's going to be near or

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approximately at the top of the head

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some players will toss a little bit

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lower for various reasons depending on

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their style uh some a little bit later

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but in general the top of your head is

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going to be a good point of reference

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for where you want to release the ball

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so when you're placing the ball up you

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don't want to just be guessing you want

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to know exactly where you want to let it

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go and then you want to use something

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special to help you with that skill so

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you'll see most players will do this

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Roger feder does this Novak jokovic does

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this most of the players are doing this

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but it happens so quickly you don't

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quite see it but they do their

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routine they take one last look at the

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at the court and then they shift into

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their serve and then their eyes shift to

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the point of release and the eyes wait

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right here until we see the ball so you

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shift back your eyes shift from the

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court to the point of release wait to

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see the ball and there it is so my eyes

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are helping me to release the ball in

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the right area when I see that see the

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ball get there my fingers open up away

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here we are again there it is again I

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release it and there she goes so I use

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my eyes to really help me release the

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ball in the right area so that

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combination of tempo angle balance point

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of release all those factors are going

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to lead you to placing the ball in the

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ideal location which we're going to get

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to a little bit later in the video next

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up we're going to take all these

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elements and we're going to try to apply

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them to a very very

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smooth lift and release of the ball so

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you know when you watch good servers

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it's it almost looks like the ball

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floats out of their hand because it does

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it floats out of the hand so what we

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want to do is we want to create this

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Tempo and we want to make sure that this

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is a smooth movement and what I mean by

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smooth is that the speed that I need to

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get to the ball the height I want is a

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very gradual speed it's not abrupt it's

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not quick but it's smooth and then when

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I release the ball of course the ball

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and the hand are moving at almost the

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exact same speed so it looks like the

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ball just floats out of the hand okay

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very very important that you have this

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sort of lofty feel that you have enough

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momentum to lift it and Loft it up and

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it just looks like it floats away from

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the hand with total control what I don't

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want you to think about is tossing it I

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want you to think about

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placing it tossing hey toss me the ball

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it's kind of like a throw think more

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like a delicate placement and the speed

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the tempo the release point the way the

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fingers expand away from the ball all

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those contribute to a nice floaty ball

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placement that becomes more and more

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consistent and controlling the toss is

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all about controlling the tossing

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shoulder so very important that the

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entire tossing movement comes from the

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shoulder and then after you release the

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ball you want to control the arm in the

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shoulder see that often times we'll see

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we'll see players that'll toss the ball

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and they'll not have control of the

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shoulder and the arm will just go

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flicking okay it'll go flying away okay

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but after I release I just want my hand

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to sit right under the ball right there

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perfect so when I release it the ball's

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gone I don't need to increase my speed

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and throw my hand I use this I get the

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speed I need to the point of release and

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then the hand stays right under the ball

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and that will help you quite a bit we

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don't want the shoulder to be out of

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control or flipping we want it to be in

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control all the way to the end until

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you're reaching up underneath the ball

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next up is the controversial but all

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important Ball Toss height and of course

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there's a lot of different styles and a

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number of different theories about Ball

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Toss height and we're going to go

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through that here and we're going to try

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to maybe help you identify what would be

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the ideal height for you before we get

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started I will say that I'm more of an

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advocate of getting the ball a little

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higher because I think you need time to

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do the things we need going to do on the

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serve um I think having a low toss is a

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little more complicated now there are

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coaches and theories that say that the

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low toss is easier to place maybe if

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it's lower to your hand and I think

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that's there's some truth to that and

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there's also the theory that there's

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more time to hit the ball because

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theoretically I guess the ball stops at

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the top but it really doesn't um but

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it's certainly moving slower than a ball

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that's a little bit higher but my

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argument is is that as tennis players we

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hit balls that are in motion all the

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time we get more and more skilled at it

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so if your toss is in a is consistent

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height even if it's a little bit above

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your contact point it's pretty easy to

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time you're going to catch on to that

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pretty quickly okay low ball tosses

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problem I have with low ball tosses is

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that if I'm going to toss the ball low I

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have to commit to my swing before I even

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toss the ball so I can hit it so it

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really makes it difficult for you to

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really even know if your Ball Toss is in

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the right area or not before you're

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committing to your swing the other

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challenge you have with a low toss is

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then when we get nervous and we're

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playing matches our toss tend to get

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lower so if you are if you're trying to

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hit the ball right at the peak of your

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reach at the Apex when you're nervous

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it's probably going to come down and

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it's going to weaken your surve so it

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really doesn't help you to have a low

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toss in terms of being able to control

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the height of the contact point and also

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the tempo of your swing okay argument

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for low Ball Toss is you don't have time

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to think you toss the ball you go

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through your motion it's continuous

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motion and in some cases it's very

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natural if we look at Players like Nick

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curios it really works for him but he's

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the exception he's not the rule on tour

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so he's got his own unique style and

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he's amazingly skilled athlete but for

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most players we need to get the ball up

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in the air measure it go through a full

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range of motion and then play it um and

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I think you need that time you need that

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time to get loaded into your balance see

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that the ball's in the right area just

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measure onto it and then go get it and

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time it okay and again if your Ball Toss

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is a consistent height then your timing

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is going to get dialed in even if your

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ball placement is higher than your

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contact point so I'm definitely in favor

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of a higher Ball Toss you need to

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experiment with that and find out what

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your style is but I would initially

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start by getting the ball up a little

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higher and I'm going to show you a drill

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now that'll help you with that so I like

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to use the fence as a reference for Ball

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Toss height and I'm almost 6 ft tall and

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this fence is 12T high so if you look at

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it initially it looks like it's really

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quite high but if I come up to the fence

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here and I get set up my distance is

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comfortable so that I can you know raise

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my tossing arm and not hit the fence and

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I place the ball up I'm almost getting

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up to the fence there and there it is

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okay now does that ball look too high

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the top of the fence or does it look

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like it's just perfect for me to attack

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so it's kind of an optical illusion when

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you look at the fence it looks like it's

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a mile high but when you get over here

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and you start working on the toss you

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realize that 12 ft really isn't that

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high it's not like the ball is diving

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fast at that point it's actually

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floating down to me so I would use this

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as a point of reference and depending on

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your height and depending on your tempo

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of your swing and your serving style you

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definitely got to get it over this

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windscreen I don't see how you can do

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this and be consistent that's kind of

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really difficult to do I don't know how

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you can hit that ball at the

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Apex like that and and be consistent

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with your serve and get through the

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range of motion with a with a nice

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balance loading the legs and a spring up

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get all those El into your serve and get

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to the top I don't think you could do

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that with a toss that you're trying to

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play at the Apex for most players so use

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the fence as your point of reference and

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your guideline for working on your your

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height and that's going to help you

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figure out where you need to be then

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come up to the Baseline take that height

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that you've practiced there that you

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feel come up to the Baseline and start

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practicing your serve with that height

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now that we have reviewed all these

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different features of the ball placement

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and the different skills you want to

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develop the ultimate goal is to place

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the ball in the right area so where is

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the right area for most serves and this

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is a little bit controversial as well

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but in modern serving in modern tennis

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ideally we're trying to get that contact

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so it's between the shoulder and the ear

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right in here okay we want to get in

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this area where the arm is literally

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straight up from the shoulder and the

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contact is inside okay now if you're

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outside the shoulder you can slice the

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ball but you can't get the same level of

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power because you can't use your long

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axis rotation that you can right through

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the top okay so if you look at most high

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performance servers in today's game

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they're placing the ball inside and

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they're coming up the wet slightly

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inside the hand right here and the

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shoulders rotating through on the flat

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serve even the slice serve they're

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coming in they're attacking the ball

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right inside and going through it if

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you're going to if you're going to hit a

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Top Spin serve the ball could be a

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little bit more to the left for a

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right-handed player but I want that

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variation to be so subtle that it

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doesn't look so obvious to your opponent

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who's receiving your serve and as you

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get more and more skillful you'll be

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able to start to get different effects

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on the ball without drastic changes in

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your ball placement so from a front view

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we're looking right inside the shoulder

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here right inside the shoulder and from

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a side view we want to be on a slight

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angle inside here and coming into the

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contact so we want to be in front you

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can notice also my head's in front of my

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shoulder we don't want to be this way uh

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I go through all that later in a

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different subject matter but here's my

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contact rackets literally above my hand

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and I'm in this position leaning in okay

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so that's where your contact point is

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that you're trying to get to and that's

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what you're trying to use all these

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different skills to achieve is a

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consistent ball that's right in that

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place at the same height every single

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time if you're like most tennis players

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you're probably guilty of swinging and

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tosses that you shouldn't even play and

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that happens so frequently and what I

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want to show you now is how you can

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identify a good placement from a poor

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placement and then you know choose to

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not play the ball at all and that's

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another reason why I like to have a

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little bit more time in lead with the

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left hand so that when I do my my serve

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and it get set up here and I'm ready to

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serve and I place the ball up and I get

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it up in the air a little bit right here

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I can say yes or no because either the

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ball's in an area I can see that's

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nearby my hand or it's not okay and I

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use my hand right here as a as a marker

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for Ball Toss accuracy and that one was

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perfect okay so if you if you if you

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really quick here you don't even have

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time to think about that you're just

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hitting the ball you could be chasing

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the ball all over the place but if you

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get the ball up a little higher and

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stretch that left arm up which helps you

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get into a good strong position you can

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sell right away whether the ball's

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playable or not and next up we're I'm

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going to take you through a series of

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different practice exercises to help you

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tie all of this together and improve

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your ball placement right away and the

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first thing I want you to do is just

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practice setting up and doing a routine

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where you get your tempo right so the

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ball keeps coming back to your hand

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you're controlling it back to your hand

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here and then you can reset your hands

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shift to your back foot and just stay

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dead still and practice a skill of

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raising your tossing arm while

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everything else is still and your eyes

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are just sitting there waiting for the

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ball to get there and this is really

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useful because it's building the muscle

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and getting the coordination in the and

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the and the tossing muscle here from

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your shoulder and what I do is I hold

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the weight of my arm in here I don't go

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up and then release it so it helps me

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build that muscle up and you can do this

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here

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one

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2

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3 4 come here again and then go five oh

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so you can really relate the practice of

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the ball placement with the movement

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that you were making that's going to

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help you immediately right away and you

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can take this to the next step where you

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actually do your

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routine set up do your ball placement

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and freeze and either the ball's going

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to come back to your hand or it's not if

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it doesn't come back to my hand I'm

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going to sit in my balance until I hear

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the ball bounce so this one's not going

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to come back to my

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hand I know I'm working on my ball

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placement and my balance together and

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you can do this every 10 seconds so if

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you spend 5 minutes a day doing this you

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can do this 30 times in 5 minutes and if

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you do it for 30 days you've done it 900

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times so with the information you've got

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in this lesson today combined with this

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this practice drill you would think that

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after 30 days you start to feel pretty

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confident that you know how to place

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that ball up and get it to come right

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back into that area it needs to come

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into virtually every single time thanks

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so much for watching today's lesson and

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I hope that you'll take these concepts

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of the court and really work on your

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ball placement and improve your serve

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