6 Ways to improve & develop your high serve

Serve, Singles

It isn’t all about technique?

What do you think are the critical parts to a Badminton High Serve?

Many players serve without thinking about how to use it as a weapon

or they use a technique that can come apart when placed under pressure

High Serving is far more than just starting a rally

It’s an aggressive serve

Plus it’s a power stroke

I know it’s a lift and could be hit down by your opponent. However, at a younger age group, this service can be aggressive and give you an advantage.

As you develop, its effectiveness will alter, but there are some elements that can give you an advantage.

When coaching it with younger players keep in mind that it’s a ‘power’ stroke. Sending the shuttle high UP into the rear court requires controlled power. The aggressive thoughts help with mental preparation (intention) and the production of power.

I’d prefer the player to start all rallies with a positive intent, ok, maybe you think that being ‘aggressive’ is taking it too far. I don’t.

Starting the preparation with an intent to ‘win’ the rally

and to send that shuttle ‘High’ is essential

Please don’t think that the High service is a ‘passive serve’.

I’ve seen far too many of these. Flat and long with no intention to stress the opponents or to hit it high in order to keep it in.

Please keep your eyes open for service actions that send the shuttle flat’ish towards the back of the court. If serves are hit ‘out’ the back at crucial times, then check how the serving action compares to the information in the post below.

Technical aspects

Most coaching manuals will give you tips and advice on the High Serve

BWF Level 1 Coaching manual lists these technical aspects – Grip, Stance, Short Backswing, Body Bending slightly forward.

I’m not sure I agree with all the points, but if you are selective as to when you coach them, then they will apply at different times.

When I thought about how to phrase the tips below, I decided to give you an insight into the ones I use and have been taught.

All of them are applicable at times, but do not just repeat them all and expect development. Try to be selective and experiment to find which ones work best for that player in front of you.

Full or Part stroke

Do you want a High Serve played with a ‘part or full’ racket swing?

I’m not sure what you think about this statement.

Do you think it matters?

Are you aware that players use different hitting actions when High Serving, each has a different starting preparation position?

BWF recommend that players can start with a part racket swing, racket pointing down and backwards. They then suggest that the player progresses to a full swing as they develop.

I agree with this, but worry that too many players stay with using the part swing and don’t progress to the full, more powerful action.

Not only is the full stroke more powerful, but power can also be easier to achieve. The full swing also encourages the shuttle to go upwards but only if the follow-through is like that described below, with the arm over the shoulder.

I coach and encourage a full swing actions from a very early stage

Watch this video to see how this young player started, and look out for

.. the ‘toe off the court’

.. the high starting racket position

.. the power (aggressive) action

.. the finishing racket position, the follow-through

Preparation

Take a look at these images

These are the preparation positions I like.

You don’t have to coach exactly the same style. Remember that eventually, the players will decide exactly how to prepare and what shape to start in.

If, after reading the tip above concerning ‘ Full or Part racket movement’ you decide to coach /play with a ‘part’ movement then the preparation will not look like the ones above.

It may look more like the one on the right, or with a slightly lower racket starting position,

Whichever preparation you choose, remember is more about your thoughts,

your intention, your readiness to serve and play the point.

Around the world

This advice was first given to me by Roger Mills (professional coach/mentor). It’s a way of describing how your two arms move during the stroke.

Stand up now and imagine doing a FULL High Serve action.

Be aware that if your start preparation isn’t like the pictures and advice above, then this advice won’t work.

Imagine moving both arms at the same time so that you draw a large circle with them (“as if to draw the World”).

Doing this will encourage the start of a Power stroke and help with positioning the shuttle slightly ‘out in front of you, and to the side a little’. There are a variety of ways to place the shuttle but most involve a small toss forwards & upwards or a ‘letting go’ whilst the arm moves upwards.

Crescendo

An easy one. The Google definition (verb) is “Gradually increase in loudness or intensity.

If the players understand this musical term then you go ahead and try asking them to imagine hitting with power using the thought of ending in a ‘Crescendo’.

All it means is that the stroke starts slowly but rapidly increases in power towards the end. It’s this increase that is very important.

Too many players hit the High Serve slowly with no rapid increase that will help gain height and depth.

Toe up

As part of the preparation stance, why not try encouraging players to lift their front toe off the court during the initial preparation. This helps bend the back leg ready for the full powerful serve action.

Coach players to incorporate the toe off the court, a sideways stance and racket preparation, all within their serving ritual. Jump to no.5 now to read more.

I think this is a great coaching cue and one that delivers successes as well as prevents some possible technical errors. Try it next time you are coaching a young player during the early stages of developing their High Serve.

Arm over shoulder

I recommend that the racket should finish the stroke by pointing over the player’s non-racket shoulder (left shoulder for right-handed players).

I’ve seen lots of players finish their stroke with the racket still pointing forwards after striking. Or, worse still, with their racket pointing upwards on their racket side so that they could look into their hand.

Asking or showing players to finish over their shoulder will allow for a smoother more powerful, yet controllable, stroke.

Sometimes I emphasise that at the end of the stroke you could try and look past your arm towards the opponent. Get up now if you are reading this and try to replicate this finishing position. Can you ‘look past your arm’ and see the other court?

Have you seen players finishing the stroke with these two racket positions?

– Racket under their armpit. Players with this follow-through often serve flat and long, rather than HIGH.

– Racket pointing upwards but to the racket side of their body.

Players with this follow-through could serve high but have difficulty in serving from the right-hand court (if they are right-handers)

When and How to start

Start against the wall

Progress during Wallwork : look out for a post all about using the wall to develop early hitting skills. Then transition onto the court for practice, mini-games and eventually competition.

I believe that players should start High Serving as soon as they play matches.

The service doesn’t have to be extremely high, just high over the opponents and landing in the centre of the rear tramlines.

Some coaches and manuals advise that players use the low serve, even the backhand low serve. I wonder if this is because the trend in Coaching Manuals at this time is to teach the Backhand Low serve first.

What do you coach or advise?

How do your players serve in singles matches if they are beginners and developing players?

Young Players serving with a Backhand has limitations

Do you see any problems if players use a Backhand low serve when they first play singles?

If you were 9-12 yrs old and someone low served to you what would you think?

Would you be excited to try and exploit this situation to your advantage?

I hope you would flick deep past them, especially if they served slightly wide. I’m sure you could put them in all sorts of trouble.

Please don’t advise the use of the backhand low serve in singles

before the player can move backwards quickly and is able to return from the deep/rear court

How to practice

Lots of coaches have told me that High Serving practice is boring and not motivational. What do you think?

If they mean standing still and hitting 30 shuttles towards the backline then I would agree with them.

If there was a target to aim for then maybe I could start to get interested.

However, there are ways to practice the serve with lots of repetition yet still be motivated, challenged and hopefully improve.

Here are 3 ways to practice high serving.

The choice depends on your experience, the reason why you are practising and what challenges you would like. It’s up to you to decide which to use and how to amend or change the practice to suit you and your players.

Against the wall

This is a great way to encourage very young players to practice High Serves in a controllable, repetitive, yet challenging way.

Take up a position about 2.5m from the wall. Prepare for a High Serve, remembering to use your ritual, then hit it UP.

The aim is to see if the shuttle travels high over your head and lands on your backhand side. You should be able to catch it without moving far as you should have lots of time to move. Remember always to encourage and reward players who use a Ritual.

If it bounces back off the wall and hits you,

then there is something wrong with your technique!

Fun games: make it interesting and competitive

Here are a few very quick ideas for players to try when first starting out High Serving. I have outlined the general idea, it’s up to you to add extras and explain to the group.

in pairs, each player has 10 shuttles to hit high over the opponent to try and see how many shuttles land in the back serving lines.
Individually, each player aims to serve between two targets positioned 1m apart in the middle of the rear tramlines. What is your score out of 10 shuttles?
in pairs, one player high serves, the other stands in the centre of the rear trams, 3 points if they can ‘head’ the shuttle, 2 pts if they reach out to catch, 1 pt if they need to single step to catch. It’s the first pair to 12 points.

Conditioned Games

I think the best way to practice High Serving is within games, using different Conditioned Games.

The benefit of hitting 30 High Serves at the start of every session isn’t great in terms of what happens when you need to serve in at say 18-17 in the 3rd game.

It also allows for and encourages the use of your serving Ritual.

If you want to read more about using Conditioned Games click on the image.

Be parepared to test your convictions and take into account

maturity, technical skill level, tactical desire, and physical condition

Create a ritual

It starts when you pick up the shuttle

In nearly all occasions, you will have won the previous rally so start your ritual off with a positive thought.

The reason for the ritual is to prepare YOU in a way that makes YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE and READY to play. For this reason, it has to be your ritual, created, trusted and practised by you.

Find a routine, a sequence of things you do every time.

The number of steps can be low or high, it depends on you. The time taken will also vary. Be careful not to take too long and upset the umpire. However, if it’s very fast, then it may not have the effect you desire.

I recommend that the sequence starts either as the previous rally ends or as you pick up the shuttle.

It must be repeatable. This is very important.

Too many steps or complex sequences of movements may not work or be difficult to remember. Does it contain a positive thought or some type of self-talk?

You may decide to reduce the number of steps. If you do, always include a positive thought or section that you associate with a positive intent.

Go and find a YouTube video of Carolina Marin and see if you can spot her ‘talking’ to herself. Also, watch clips of Viktor Axelson, he has a very good example of a ritual that involves a few definable steps.

Read this post about Low Serving in Singles. I will include much more information about creating and using your Preparation Ritual.

Think about increasing receiver tension

Have you thought that you could affect your opponent by

the way you prepare and deliver your High Serve?

It certainly is possible

Lots of players have the capability to upset themselves (inside their head) if you create the right situation or use the conditions to help you.

This is not cheating in any way. I am not talking about upsetting them with words or looks.

It’s about creating the conditions that allow the receiver to make an incorrect choice or feel emotional

It’s this emotion that can affect their decision-making or their ability to play the next shot with accuracy and effective technique.

Do you recognise any of these that may affect the opponent

Very High Serve – Hit high into the roof as this type of service can give your opponent a little more time to “talk” to themselves and maybe change their mind over their next shot. Please don’t underestimate the influence a Very High Serve has on your opponent.

Drift – Some halls have ‘windy’ conditions often caused by air conditioning or drafts from ventilation. Make use of these if you know that they are there. Serve high so that the shuttle does not fall vertically, but drifts slightly as it falls. The higher you strike it the more change that the drift will take effect. It’s not always easy to hit a drifting shuttle. I’ve seen many players have trouble both technically and mentally controlling drift when receiving a high serve.

Lights – Have you ever thought about deliberately serving into the light above the court. Often there are lights over part of the court and you could decide if you wanted to, to serve into them. Your opponent will have to adjust as the shuttle disappears for a moment into and out of the light.

Your Ritual or Action – Having a long or different ritual could also increase the Receiver Tension. It’s your ritual, but strangely, it can affect your opponent.

Remember that not all these things above will increase the Receiver Tension in every opponent you face. However, some will, and you should be aware of this throughout the match.

Send me a question

I’m always grateful if you have read this far.

If there is anything that you have read that has helped or that you disagree with, then please send me an email.

I promise to read all your comments

It would be great to hear from you contact@badmintonandy.com

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