This technique, practiced in training by Franco Stupaczuk and his coach Carlos Pozzoni, aims to improve the quality of the forehand volley. It simply involves performing a few repetitions of forehand volleys with the non-dominant arm behind the back.
After practising for a few minutes, the player returns to play forehand volleys in the natural position to encourage the transfer of technique from the previous exercise.
The player positions himself to volley on his preferred side of the court.
The coach stands on the other side of the court with his basket of balls.
First, the player has to play a series of forehand volleys with his non-dominant arm behind his back (left arm if right-handed, right arm if left-handed).
The advantages of this trick for improving both technique and movement efficiency are as follows:
- Optimization of the technical gesture by eliminating the possibility of using the non-dominant arm as a support; the player will be forced to perform a “cleaner” and correct movement with the dominant arm. The back-arm technique helps to assimilate the correct mechanics of the volley gesture.
- Automatic correction of common errors, such as using the body a lot to give speed and/or relying too much on the non-dominant arm to generate power. By reducing its use by putting it in the back, this error corrects itself and reinforces the right gesture with the dominant arm only, and therefore a more precise and compact gesture.
- Better use of the forearm and wrist to generate precision and spin, forcing the player to better “feel the ball”, thus improving ball control.
- Better activation of the abdominal muscles and improved balance, resulting in a more stable position for the player and a more compact shot.
After practicing and feeling the movement, the player then returns to a natural position to play further series of forehand volleys, trying to retain the sensations of the first exercise.