former nationally ranked junior and #1 player at Cornell University;
competed on USTA and ITF professional circuit;
studied under Lluis Bruguera (former Spanish Davis Cup coach), Pato Alvarez (former top 10 player and Spanish coach) and Gilad Bloom (former Israeli ATP player and elite junior coach)
Certified USTA High Performance Coach and former nationally ranked junior player, Chris Lewit, considers the serve to be the most difficult shot to teach in the game of tennis. Despite the degree of difficulty, Coach Lewit has become a master at instructing the serve, and has included the important concepts, technical aspects and myth busting you need to become a great server in this video. You'll learn Coach Lewit's four favorite drills for teaching the serve in addition to seeing them put into action during two live serving lessons.
Technical Reference Points and Drills
To perfect the serve, you must first understand the mechanics that are behind it. Coach Lewit breaks down the stance and grip that are commonly used, and points out the "L shape" position that players need to be in after they've tossed the ball. Every phase of the serve is covered step-by-step, from the initial stance to the landing after hitting the ball, to ensure that athletes can pinpoint which steps they need to work on to make improvements.
Once every step has been explained, Coach Lewit goes into his four favorite drills for developing the serve: the L Shape Drill, the 5-5-5 Drill, Toss & Check and Jumping Drills. The drills will help you or your athletes improve muscle memory, rhythm of the toss, movement without the ball, balance, coordination, stability and body awareness.
Serve Lessons
Coach Lewit instructs a young boy and a young girl through two separate individual serving lessons. In the first lesson, the player works on driving the back leg and landing after the serve. The second lesson focuses on loading the back leg and trying to get full body extension so that more power can be produced.
No matter what level of athlete he's coaching, Coach Lewit believes in refining the technique until it's as perfect as possible. By introducing simple methods and exercises and treating the serve as a biomechanical movement, you'll quickly be able to teach your students to serve well.
This video is a great resource for a coach or athlete who wants to learn every step of the serve. Coach Lewit's instruction is easy to follow and perfect for all skill levels.
58 minutes. 2016.