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Serve and Volley Points

Follow your serve to the net and choose where to put the first volley.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Serve wide or at the body.

Core: Two. Beat your own best out of 10.

Ages
14 and up
Time
15 min
Players
You and a partner
Space
Gym or court
Bring
Racket, balls, court, partner
Level · skill
Advanced · Game IQ

The steps

How it works

  1. Serve wide or at the body.
  2. Move in and split as the returner hits.
  3. Volley to the open side or deep middle.
  4. Play 12 points and note what worked.

Coaching point

Serve, split, open court.

Safety: Keep your racket up in front of your face at the net, and only take feeds from a partner who feeds gently.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Court-smarts game: a partner feeds balls to different spots, and you call “short” or “deep” before they land. The pair counts right calls.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (one call), Core (two), More (call the spot too). Beat your own best out of 10.

Story

You are a detective reading where the ball will go.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own best out of 10. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

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