THIS IS WHY YOUR PADEL SERVE SUCKS

Summary

In this informative video, Gonzalo, the coach of Rocket Paddle Bristol, identifies and addresses the five most common mistakes in paddle serving. He emphasizes the importance of serving at the correct height, maintaining a fluid motion, adjusting racket positioning for optimal swing, applying the right slice, and finding the balance between aggression and precision in serves. Gonzalo also stresses the value of unpredictability in serving to keep opponents guessing, ultimately enhancing one's paddle game strategy and performance.

Takeaways

• 🎾 Maximize serving height by hitting at the allowed waistline level for better speed and power.
• 🏃‍♂️ Coordinate your serve with a smooth transition into movement, ensuring you focus on both the serve and the initial steps towards the net.
• 🚀 Be mindful of racket positioning; avoid pointing downwards as it may hinder a clean, powerful swing.
• 🔪 Add slice to your serve by striking the ball with an upward motion to make it die upon contact with the court.
• 🎯 Focus on serve placement and the right amount of spin rather than just speed to keep your opponent guessing and on the back foot.
• 💡 Play smart and find the right balance between aggression and control to avoid giving your opponent a comfortable game.
• 🌪️ Introduce unpredictability in your serves by occasionally changing the type, speed, and target area to keep opponents off-balance.
• 🥊 When facing advanced players, prioritize placement and spin over raw speed for a more effective serve.
• 🤔 Adjust your serve strategy based on your own strengths and the capabilities of your opponent to maintain an advantage.
• 🏆 Practice makes perfect; refining your serve through repetition will lead to improved technique and game strategy.
• 📈 Continuously analyze and adapt your serving style to stay ahead and maintain a competitive edge in the game.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is discussing the five most common mistakes made when serving in paddle.

What is the first mistake Gonzalo addresses in serving?

The first mistake is serving the ball when it is too low, which results in a parabolic trajectory and lack of speed.

How can players maximize the height allowed for serving?

Players can maximize the height allowed for serving by dropping the ball from shoulder height, which provides the maximum height for a better speed.

What is the ideal scenario for a player's movement after serving?

The ideal scenario is to start the motion right after hitting the ball and maintain focus on the impact, creating a complete motion.

Why should players avoid pointing the tip of the racket towards the ground when hitting the ball?

Pointing the tip of the racket towards the ground can result in hitting the ball too low and not having enough space to properly swing forward, affecting the speed and power of the serve.

What is the common mistake Gonzalo points out about adding slice to the serve?

A common mistake is players either doing a motion from low to high, which doesn't add any slice, or focusing too much on the slice and going from high to low too quickly, causing the ball to go too high.

How can players add a good slice and length to their serve?

Players should bring the racket above the ball and push forward after hitting to add both slice and length to their serve.

Why is it important to be unpredictable when serving?

Being unpredictable keeps opponents guessing and prevents them from getting comfortable, making it harder for them to return the serve effectively.

What should players consider when deciding on the intensity of their serve?

Players should find the right balance between speed and accuracy, considering their own success rate and the comfort level of their opponents.

What is the special tip Gonzalo gives for serving to the body?

The special tip is to serve to the body occasionally, especially on important points, as it forces opponents to move away and they are not used to it, increasing the chances of a successful serve.

Outlines

00:00

🏓 Common Paddle Serving Mistakes

The first paragraph introduces Gonzalo, the coach from Rocket Paddle Bristol, and sets the stage for discussing the five most common mistakes made in paddle serving. Gonzalo emphasizes the importance of using the serve to gain an advantage from the start of the game. The first mistake discussed is serving when the ball is too low, which results in a parabolic trajectory and less speed. Gonzalo advises hitting the ball at the maximum allowed height for better speed and power. He also mentions the importance of not rushing to the net immediately after serving and instead focusing on the impact of the serve. The paragraph concludes with a teaser about the last mistake, which is crucial yet often forgotten.

05:02

🤾‍♂️ Advanced Serving Techniques

The second paragraph delves into more advanced serving techniques and common errors. Gonzalo addresses the issue of players serving with too much spin, causing the racket tip to point downward and resulting in a low hit with insufficient swing space. He suggests dropping the ball farther away and using the racket tip to feed the ball for better control. The coach also discusses the importance of adding slice to the serve to ensure the ball dies after touching the glass. He corrects the common mistake of players doing a motion from low to high, which doesn't add any slice. Instead, he recommends bringing the racket above the ball and pushing forward after hitting to achieve the desired slice and length. The paragraph concludes with advice on being unpredictable in serving, mixing up the speed and placement to keep opponents guessing.

Highlights

Gonzalo, the coach of Rocket Paddle Bristol, shares tips on common mistakes in paddle serving.

The importance of taking advantage of the maximum height allowed when serving, according to the rules.

The recommendation to hit the ball at waistline height to achieve better speed and trajectory.

The advice against watching the ball too long after serving, which disrupts the flow of motion.

The suggestion to start the motion right after hitting the ball and maintaining focus on the impact.

The common mistake of pointing the racket tip towards the ground when hitting the ball, leading to low serves.

The importance of dropping the ball farther away and using the tip of the racket to feed for better serve control.

The significance of adding slice to the serve to make the ball die after touching the glass.

The mistake of focusing too much on the slice, leading to a high ball that is easily returned.

The recommendation to bring the racket above the ball and push forward after hitting to achieve a good slice and length.

The strategic advice on serving with the right intensity and not always playing with second serve in mind.

The suggestion to decrease serve speed if it often goes out, and to find the right intensity for effective serving.

The strategy of serving with better slice and placement rather than just speed, especially against advanced players.

The importance of unpredictability in serving to keep opponents guessing and maintain an advantage.

The tip to vary serving locations, such as to the glass or the T, to surprise opponents and disrupt their rhythm.

The advice to serve to the body during important points, as it forces opponents to move and disrupts their comfort.

Transcripts

hi pad drivers how you doing I'm Gonzalo

the coach of Rocket paddle Bristol the

biggest paddle center of the UK and

today we're going to be talking about

the five most common mistakes you make

when serving in

paddle and make sure you stay till the

end of the video because the last

mistake is something that many people

forget about it but I feel is super

important let's go with tip number one

by the way guys we wanted to say that we

are super Greatful with all the support

that you are giving us the channel is

growing super fast so if you are new

welcome to the padle driers family and

we hope that you enjoy this content as

much as we

do remember that the surf is one of the

most important shots in paddle so we

need to take advantage from the very

beginning in order to do so we're going

to have to remove all these mistakes

that you make when serving the first one

is that I see many people that they

serve and they hit when the ball is too

low okay remember that according to the

rules I am allowed to serve hitting at

the waistline okay so I want to take

advantage of hitting a little bit higher

and not hitting the ball at this height

why good question because if I hit when

the ball is too low in order to go above

the net I'm doing a parabola okay so I'm

not getting a nice speed however if I

hit when the ball is at this point I can

push way more and I can allow the ball

to have a way better speed so remember

try to take advantage of the maximum

height allowed I'm going to be hitting

right there everybody says that if you

drop the ball from the Soler height you

will be able to hit at the optimum

height however if you play with used

balls you will see that it bounce it

quite low okay but with new balls it

works you drop it in the shoulder height

and you get the maximum height that

you're allowed to hit more

less mistake number two I see a lot of

players that when they are serving they

hit they watch the ball for a little bit

and then they start running of course

this doesn't work like

I also see the Other Extreme like some

of the players that they are too eager

to go to a net that they rust the serf

they do this in a really bad way and

then they are too focused on running so

what's the ideal scenario the real

scenario should be I'm going to try to

start the motion right after I'm hitting

okay but I also have to pay attention at

the impact okay so has to be like one

complete motion

where I'm trying to use the iner of the

serf to take this first step of course

this takes time okay won't work uh in a

straightforward manner at the beginning

but this is what you have to aim

[Music]

for

mistake number three and I see this one

even in very Advanced players is that

when they drop the ball and they hit the

tip of the rocket is pointing to the

ground okay I think they do this because

they try to play with this kind of a

spin but the the thing that happens is

similar to mistake number one I am

hitting way low and also I'm not giving

enough space for myself to properly

swing forward and have a nice speed so

remember I'm going to drop the ball a

little bit farther away okay and I'm

going to feed with the tip of my racket

pointing to that

[Music]

glass M Tak number four this time has to

do with the slice as you remember from

our first video about the surf it's

important that we play with a little bit

of a slice so that the ball dies after

touching the

glass so the first mistake that I see

here is some players do a motion from

low to high so obviously they are not

going to add any slide to the C what's

the other problem that I see in more

advanced players that they are too

focused on the slides and they go from

high to low really quickly so the ball

goes quite High okay they go something

like this and the ball goes a little bit

High

instead remember that if we want to put

some slice into our surf I need to bring

the racket above the ball and after I

hit I want to push forward to give the

surf a good length so I'm going to do a

demo from here above the ball and I push

to get a slice and at the same same time

a good

[Music]

length and the last mistake and most

important one doesn't have to do with

technique but it's about playing clever

and impal is very important that you are

smart on the court so I see this every

single day with so many players that

they play a really aggressive serf and

it goes out nine out of 10 times yes one

time it's going to be an amazing serf

and you're going to put a lot of

pressure but you are always playing with

second serf so this is not worth it but

Gonzalo why is this such a bad thing

good question because if we are always

playing with second serf our opponents

are going to have this feeling of relief

and they're going to be playing really

comfortable so it's important that you

find the right intensity for yourself if

you know that if you play too fast nine

out of 10 times is going out maybe you

need to decrease a little bit the speed

of yourself also think about this if you

serve really fast and the opponent is

able to block it in front of him and

return fast you don't have much time to

get to the net so serving faster isn't

necessarily a good thing if you are

playing against an advanced player you

will find that for him is very easy to

block it when the serve comes very fast

so it's much more effective a surf with

a better slice and a better placement

than a faster surf final tip for this

video guys you have to be a little bit

unpredictable when serving okay doesn't

make sense that I'm all the time serving

exactly the same because my opponent

knows what he getting Instead try to get

some Randomness okay from time to time

I'm going to serve to the glass from

time to time I'm going to serve to a tea

a special tip with whenever you have an

important point you can serve to the

body cuz people have to move away and

they are not used to that and you have

to Bar as well the length the speed the

slice in summary don't become

predictable bury your shes from time to

time and keep your opponents guessing

and that was everything for today's

video battle drivers thank you for

watching and we will see you in the next

one

b