Kim Michael Wittenberg Kim Wittenberg is founder and director of the All Atlanta Junior Tennis Academy in Alpharetta, GA. Coach Kim has specialized in working with juniors for over 30 years. He worked in Europe for 23 years, where he developed many world class players. Among his successes are Wesley Whitehouse, 1997 Junior Wimbledon Champion, Horst Skoff, ATP #20, Marco Born, 2007 NCAA Divsion 1 Doubles Champion, Dustin Brown, currently ATP #450 and many others. View all articles by Kim Michael Wittenberg

When was the last time you went to a junior tournament and watched a player with great volleys? I’m talking about a player that could volley the first ball deep (not swing) into a corner and then close (get within 6-8 feet of the net) and then angle off the second volley. Most of the players we observe today stop just near the service line-and then they get passed! I often hear them say “I’m never going to the net again!” They were never at the net!!!!!

If an attacking player gets 6-8 feet from the net they can cover most of the net with one step. The problem today is that most players try to hit the short ball as hard as they can and because they hit the ball so hard they don’t have enough time to get up within 6-8 feet. Thus the player needs 2-3 steps to cover the court and by that time he or she gets passed. In 2009 the statistic for net points won on the ATP tour is almost 70% on hard and grass courts. Why are most players still staying back and not going to the net as often as they could? Because of a lack of approach shot, volley and overhead expertise. Kids simply spend most of their time practicing on the baseline!

I want my players to develop a comfort zone in the mid court and at the net. I believe that a junior player that reaches at least a good regional level or better should spend 50% of their training time on attacking skills. Have you ever seen Stefan Edberg hit a backhand volley? Boris Becker a forehand volley? Pete Sampras an overhead? All of these players also hit great slice approach shots. They all won Wimbledon. There is a lot more to learn than just hitting a big forehand!!!!!!.