The footwork of the contact
Students must take that basic or ready position in which they can contact the ball with their underarm most quickly and successfully. The legs are in aslant straddle standing, somewhat farther from each other than a shoulder’s width, the body weight is on both feet, the trunk slightly bends forward, the eyes look ahead, focusing on the coming ball. The arms are approximately parallel to the thighs. The ball contact is longer than at setting, taking advantage of the stretching of the hip and the legs. We can say that the ball contact is good if we can pass the ball that is coming speedily in a correct angle and at proper speed, and with appropriate rotation to the partner. At the instruction students must be made aware that the ball coming to the contact surface will bounce off at the same angle as it arrives at. The parallel hands to the thighs are important for the proper performance, because if the ball is received in front mid-position, it moves on upward or backward. For a shorter distance, the ball is passed at a low curve and with a slightly stretched knee. For a bigger distance, it is not the arm’s impetus that is necessary, but a more powerful stretching of the knee.
The video of underarm contact is available at the link below.
Exercises:
- Every student has a ball, they toss it in front of them, then let it bounce; they try to lift the bouncing ball by an underarm contact into the air again, then let it bounce again, which students hit up into the air again.
- Every student has a ball, the ball tossed arrives on the underarm, and students try to play it upward by bending and stretching the knee several times. This exercise can be extended; the ball is played overhead once by underarm contact, once by setting.
- Students throw the ball a few meters away, and then they run after it and contact it underarm.
- In pairs, one partner throws the ball, the other passes it back to the partner by underarm contact.
- In pairs, one partner plays the ball overhead by setting, and then passes the returning ball to the other partner by underarm contact.
- In pairs, first underarm contact, then setting, and finally passing the ball to the partner by underarm contact.
- In pairs, one member sits on a bench, the other throws the ball to him from 2-3 meters; rising from the bench with a powerful knee stretching, he returns the ball by underarm contact.
- In pairs, continuous underarm contact at the net, whose distance can be continuously increased, then decreased.
- Underarm tennis across benches. Marking off a given court, putting the benches across the center of the court, similarly to tennis, students can forward the ball only by underarm contact, with one contact.
- Underarm tennis over the net, which can be played in pairs. The pairs send the ball at the first contact to the opponent’s court by underarm contact. An extension can be that before sending the ball over, two or three team contacts can also be made. A lighter version of the game is that the ball sent over to the opponent’s court is let bounce, and then it is sent by underarm contact.
- Continuous underarm contact at the wall, first with a bouncing ball, then without a bounce, with a direct contact.
- In pairs, a straight, high (overhand) throw over the net, the partner tries to receive the strong ball arriving from afar with underarm contact.
- In pairs, an underhand, straight serve, the partner receives the ball with underarm contact, and then tries to return it.
3-on-3 play with underarm contact
In a small area (4,5 x 4,5 m) either two or three players play, only with underarm contact. In the game the underhand straight serve can already be used, all other contacts can be made only by the underarm.
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