Watch a club player come to the net and you'll usually see the same thing: a full swing at a ball that never asked for one. The volley looks like a small groundstroke, so people hit it like a small groundstroke — and the ball sails long, or dies in the net, or comes off the frame. Coach Tim Brielmaier's fix is blunt. There is no swing. You step, and your body weight hits the ball.
Basic volley vs swinging volley
There are two volleys, and mixing them up is where the trouble starts. The swinging volley is an aggressive shot you take on a floating ball with time to spare — it's real, but it's the exception. The basic volley is the one you'll hit roughly 90% of the time at net: compact, punched, no backswing. This lesson is about that one, because that's the shot the point actually turns on.
Start with the continental grip
The continental grip — the “hammer” grip — is what lets you hit a forehand and a backhand volley without changing anything in your hand. At the net you don't have time to switch grips; the ball is on you before the thought finishes. One grip for both sides removes a decision you can't afford to make.
Your body weight hits the ball, not your arm
This is the heart of it. Set the racquet out in front, keep the wrist firm, and step into the ball. The forward move of your body is the power source. The arm holds the shape; it doesn't generate the shot. Players who add a swing on top of that are fighting their own body weight, which is why their volleys spray.
Gentle push or sharp push
Once the swing is gone, you control the volley by how hard you push through it. A gentle push produces the drop volley that dies short and drags your opponent forward. A sharp push drives it deep and keeps them pinned at the baseline. Same stroke, same grip — only the firmness of the push changes. That's a much easier thing to control under pressure than two different swings.
Move your feet, not your racquet
When a ball comes at an awkward height or off to the side, the instinct is to reach — to solve the problem with the racquet. That's the habit this lesson is named after. Reaching changes your contact point every time, so nothing repeats. Moving your feet keeps the contact point in the same place relative to your body, and a contact point that doesn't move is one you can groove. Your feet do the adjusting; the racquet just holds its shape and waits.
Pulled wide? The bullfighter
When you're running wide, or the ball is hit straight at your body, Coach Tim teaches the bullfighter move — you get your body out of the way and let the ball come past you, the way a matador clears the bull. Jammed volleys are lost because the body is in the path of the racquet. Clear the body and you have room to punch.
Why the backhand volley is easier than you think
Most players dread the backhand volley, and it's usually their better side once they try it. Getting your body out of the way on the backhand is a natural motion — your shoulder is already turning away from the ball, so the path is clear. On the forehand side you have to work at it. If your backhand volley feels awkward now, it's more often the grip or the swing than the side itself.
How to practice this on your own
You don't need a partner. Stand a few feet from a wall with a continental grip and punch short volleys into it — close enough that there's no room to swing even if you wanted to. The wall gives you fast, honest feedback: if you swung, the ball gets away from you. Then take a step in on every ball so stepping becomes the reflex rather than reaching. Coach Tim's wall practice lesson covers the spacing and balance side of this, and weight control and spacing explains the body-weight push that the volley depends on.
Get a lesson to build on it
Volleys are one of the fastest things to improve with a coach standing next to you, because the errors happen quicker than you can see them yourself — you feel the mishit but you don't know whether it was the grip, the swing, or your feet. Coach Tim is a mobile coach across Florida's Space Coast and Treasure Coast and comes to your court. See lessons and pricing, or read what to expect in your first lesson. Not local? Ask about online coaching— send a video of your volleys and get Coach Tim's eyes on them.