As a lawyer/strategic communication consultant/wordsmith and future tennis coach (my hobby) toss and arm mechanics could not be clearer. Very well done and please keep it up as there are too many amateurs coaches online either giving the incorrect advice, or being unable to explain it.
Hi @Iron Will Tennis, Can you make a video about different stances (open, semi-open, closed, neutral stance) and what would be the ideal situation to use a specific stance? Also, are contact points different for each stance? Thanks!
WELL DONE, Will 👏👏..Thank you for a very well thought and superbly articulated break down and analysis of the ball toss. This video is THE first of its kind on the subject. Bravo!!!
And with that information... comes a lot of people's shattered perceptions, mine included, thinkin' we could get away with just mastering a toss in isolation...superb breakdown again re 'inputs/outputs', thanks Will. My checkpoint summary just got bigger!!
Great stuff, coach! Can you make a video how to hit forehand with full force and still the ball to go in from the baseline. When I try to go full force on the ball it goes out, the ball becomes really flat.
Great discussion of a significant component I haven't found broken down before. I've viewed slow motion video (without analysis or comment) of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic serves and noticed how still they keep most of the rest of their bodies until the ball leaves their hands to minimize inputs. Another extreme example is Sofia Kenin. She doesn't even raise her head or eyes to look at the ball until the ball leaves her hand. Of course adopting this means changing your entire loading, coiling, acceleration timing. Easier said than done for most of us recreational players!
Will! My man, Will! Friend, you keep dropping mad tips that are WORKING for my serve! ❤️ First it was the slice trick using the flat serve, now this thumb thing for the toss. Wow! These tips are STILL working. Thanks so much. ❤️ Your channel is on fiyah!
Just what I needed. No nonsense great details clearly deliver. I don’t put lot of times practicing on the serve . When it comes down to the game time with opponent. Definitely out of rack rusty slow becomes jelly beans serve . Not going have a good start when you don’t have a service game. 😢😢
Another great video Will! Just repeating what’s been said in the comments, this is the first time I’ve heard the toss being explained this way, especially the point on how bending the knees affects the toss. For years, I practiced just tossing the ball into bucket and thought I’d cracked it, only to find that when I added my knee bend the toss was not in the right place. I was serving with no knee bend or coil at one point but lost a ton of power this way. Now, I’m incorporating the knee bend and the coil into my serve and focusing on getting that shoulder over shoulder/cartwheel motion correct! Thanks Will, you’re or the best man!
Many thanks for the clear and useful lesson. I've found "rolling" the ball off the fingers (6:25) to cause a spinning ball and inconsistency, so instead I try for no rotation. Are there some advantages I'm missing? Also, can you please also cover the tossing arm post-toss? (1) Almost all pros seem to have a fixation on getting the tossing arm straight up to the sky or even farther back and raising the shoulder (though not all). (2) Any tips on not dropping the tossing arm early? Thanks!
This is interesting Will. Thanks for sharing. I will try this. Will be stoked if this helps solve an ongoing frustration I’ve had for so many years to the point my toss reduced me to tears.
Will. You asked me to let you know how it went. Before I played my match tonight, I watched this video again. Perhaps not ideal to test the theory in a match situation. But hey - if it stands up in a match, its solid right! In theory, there is merit to your logic i.e., counter inputs/inputs. Realistically, I could only hold 1 thought in my mind whilst serving. So, I focused on starting the ball toss as I felt my knees drop/bend. I did not toss anywhere near as many balls way over my left shoulder like before. A relief. My toss went to the right (1 - 2 O'clock) more and toss height felt lower. At times, it felt a bit mechanical. But overall, it feels a good progression. I'm going to keep focusing on this to see if consistently better. As to results. Tonight, I played the same guy I lost to in a 3rd set tiebreaker a month ago. Better result, I won 6-1, 6-1. Double faults=4. No aces. But feeling happier.
I’ll repeat a previous comment I made … these are the best tennis lessons on the internet! Great toss breakdown. The only thing I would add is practice the toss many times to build the muscle memory. It’s taken me several months to get my toss after having some nerve issues repaired. I wished I had seen this prior to help me realize the details and focus on each specifically.
The only aspect I didn’t see is different options to hold the ball. I’ve found I like the ice cream cone hold to be my preference and keeps my from making some errors on my toss.
another great video, very useful indeed. I asked before but let me try again. About the weight distribution when tossing, how much weight do you put on your front foot vs your back foot when you release the ball? I feel more natural to release the ball when I have a pretty much even distribution but at the same time, harder to put the ball inside the court.
