Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-25
BY MAURICE E. McLoUGHLIN.

may say Immediately tnat IL is W
no means advisable to favor either one
side or the other in the volley ih'
volley is supposed to block or give
the quietus to all strokes attacking
the player at or within the service
line. The racket E1ust be equally asiie
to get the ball on either side
Whenever possible the volley shoulo
be taken well within the service nhe
If PLAYED too far back the ball comes
to YOUR feet This involves the stoop
for correct position. checking ones run
in There are cases, of course, whet
il is best to volley even then. In
such cases you must make the best o1
it. But by all means do not be causht
back Of the service line if you can pos
sioly help it.
wish to recall to your mind mere
that the net position is OF supreme ihi-
portance in the modern game. NJ
lore, command oil the FolieE is itoso
luteiy essential. .>Iso l would remlhi
you of what I have said in u former
article concerning the 1ollow through
neglected and most important principle
1t calls for agiIity 10 recover positton
tor the next stroke IN a not RAINY, pu.
also it is the only way to make a voiieS
snot truly effective. IL Shouiu De coh-
stantly pIacticed-
Volleying VS.. Baselinc Play.
In America and Australia volleying
has entirely superseded the old-stSie
method of baseline play. Larned was
equally superb in both positions; yet
when he was sitting highest he
was up to the net like cat when the
chance pre- sentet> itself. and at the net
ne camped All the prescnt-day star
dividing, the Australian, was not al
IN, fnl -
stantly Tor this position.
Richard Stev.ans, the famous back
court player in his day, developed the
baseline game to a nlcety. Tie couih
return anything and everything with
such precision that the llnesnen ma"
to be constantly on the alert. NO man
of his time achieved more remarkable
accuracy. Yet the players of his GEN
Grafton smothered stevens game by
moving up to the net, ana ne was
beaten constantly by men whose ac-
curacy could not approach his
On the continent and in England there
are still some very strong basellne
PLAYERS. one OF two that are not only
capable of being champions. out really
are and have been in that class. Ior d
number Of years. l refer in particular
to the great Irish player. Parke. ard
the peer of all German players, Freutz-
helm. The body of the game OF these
two players is composed of offensive
ground strokes. Neither one is KNOWN
However, these two great players are
unusual exceptions and one finds both
in England and on the continent a
great many who possess strong GROUND
strokes and have rested content with
this amount of development, thus,
though they are not exactly back
numbers" on account of it, their ability
il limited to barely first class tennis
Basic Position for Volleying.
There is basic position in the court
for volleying. 1t is the one a player
leaves when jumping to one side or the
other for different shots. 1t might be
described b. students of angle as a
position opposite the angle formed by
the preceding shot, with the length of
the court. The volleyer moves IN TO-
ward the center of this angle.
In the majority of shots this center
is approximately the center of the
court. This Is particularly true when
one takes the net after service. and
that is badly worn. You will notice
on such a court that where service
line and center line meet there is al
ways a bald spot, and you VIII further
usually runs forward to exactly this
position, from which he then changes
his direction to one side or the other
as the case may be.
a
to volley ball the lower it is taken.
a ball coming straight at one, breast
high, puzzles many players to hanile
extensively. But others prefer close
ball. and will move into position IN
which they must take the ball directl!
in front of them, rather than handle il
at one side. The Australians partic-
ulariy are very adept at this volley
method.
AS TO placing the ball. there can be
no definite rules. but l favor mixing
ones volleys considerably. playing
some short, some long and some with
a wide angle. This naturally depends
upon your own Judgment and your
own individual opponent. A low hang
ing chop. for instance. is difficult for
many pll yers to meet. but Parke or
Brookes would make it quite inef
fective-
Under ordinary conditions, for Z nor
NAL volley my own position is between
five and ten feet inside the service line.
AZ have observed many players, some
Of the first Class. it appears to be that
many fail to appreciate the importance
OF what we might term the I'm and OUT
position for volleying. as well as the
ability to move sidewise. Such players
are constantly being forced to make a
high percentage of low volleys which
are admittedly more difficult. whereas
if they would study the proper times to
close in nearer the net their troubles
would vanish.
The volley should not be made fiat
footed. Otherwise every time you move
Two motions will be involved; first the
orc of getting Off your heels and then
the position change Unless the weight
is evenly distributed upon the balls OF
the feet you will he badly handicapped.
As TO the fear Of lobs. overhead work
has always come to me very naturally
and ]. personally. cannot remember any
time when such strokes bothered me;
but every individual player must use
his Judgment as to the risks he can
AFFORD to take. and ii all depends on
how effective the lobs of your oppon-
ent are. IT. he gets you chasing back
and forth. YOU are gone. Better stick
TO the net until you find that he is en-
tirely 100 accurate at putting them in
side court but out of your reach. Then
formulate some opposing campaign.
Various Types of Volleys.
In regard to the various tyres of vol
legs. ] have already dealt with III. stop
volley used SO effectively by Beals
Wright. Karl Behr is an exponent of
another particularly difficult variety;
the drive Volley. ] know OF few other