Throughout the years, a good number of
instructional articles have appeared in ACE and HANDBALL
Magazines. These articles have addressed various facets of
the game of four-wall handball. Often the techniques and
strategies have been relevant to one-wall as well.
However, there never have been instructionals directed to
one-wall play. The material that follows is the first of a
series of instructionals directed to one-wall. In some
instances they will have applicability to four-wall pay.
It should be noted that some of the philosophies of play
presented are subjective and are open to debate.
PREPARATION FOR THE SERVE
Hitting an effective serve starts with the preparation
to hit the serve. This involves being as physically strong
and as mentally ready as possible. There is a process that
accomplishes both ends that has worked for me throughout
the years. That is to pause for six to eight seconds once
given the ball in the service box. What this does is allow
me to partially recover from the anaerobic exertions of
the previous point (catch your breath'), and to decide
definitively on the choice of service for the situation.
Before adopting the 8-second pause, which,
incidentally, was suggested to me by Jim Jacobs, I found
that I frequently would change my mind about either the
hook, the depth, or the direction while in the middle of
my service motion. In one-wall, such "horse
changing" in midstream often has an instant adverse
result, i.e., serving the ball out of bounds and losing
the service. In four-wall, the resultant serve may go
straighter or deeper than intended, providing the
defensive player with a set-up.
CHOICE OF SERVE - GENERAL PHILOSOPHY
The choice of serve depends upon a number of factors,
including the particular abilities of the server, e.g.,
ability to hit serves low and just over the short line, to
hit angles, and to hit hooks. Also, the defensive
capabilities of the receiver should come into play, e.g.,
speed, off-hand, ability to return a hook, etc. Finally,
the situation must be taken into consideration, e.g.,
fault or no fault, condition of the server and receiver,
success of the previous sequence of serves.
Note that there was no mention of the score as a factor
in the selection of the serve. It is my firm contention
that there is an optimal shot for a particular situation,
regardless of score, and the serve is no exception.
Deception can be of value, but is probably the most
overrated, and frequently counter-productive ploy in
handball. Attempting to hit the ball one way while the
feet, arm or head are positioned the other way can result
in a weak or missed shot, or worse, an injury. The element
of surprise on the serve is far less important than
hitting a serve that works. If a serve has been effective
two or three times in succession, there is not any special
need to change that serve! Hitting the same serve over and
over again can put one in a "groove." The serve
is hit from the same position, at the same height, with
the same swing, to the same spot on the court. If the
serve is a great serve, it is either not going to be
returned or elicit a weak return. Changing the serve for
deception may result in losing the groove.
Eventually an opponent may overplay the serve and
obtain the offensive advantage. The basic philosophy is
that you do what works until it doesn't work. While going
with the same serve once too often can result in the
server being put out, changing an effective serve can
result in not running a string of anywhere from two to 21
points.
POSITION OF THE SERVER
Disregarding hooks, simple principles of physics and
trigonometry (angle of incidence equals angle of
reflection) show that a serve hit from the short line 16
feet from the front wall will reach a point at the long
line (34 feet from the front wall) over a lateral range of
31 feet, although the width of the court is just 20 feet.
The closer the server is to a side line, the greater the
possible angle to the opposite side line and the lesser
the angle becomes to the near side line. For a receiver to
bisect the possible range of a ball served from one side
line or the other, he has to stand five feet from the
opposite side line. While taking such a position optimizes
the receiver's opportunity to reach and return the serve,
it can leave the receiver's off-hand vulnerable to
covering a wide expanse of court, either on the service
return or the second shot. Considering most players'
greater ability to hit angles to the opposite side of the
court (righty from right to left and vice versa), and the
fact that one's body legally blocks the ball, the most
effective service position for a right-hander is within a
foot of the right side line and for left-handers within a
foot of the left side line. Of course, this assumes
control great enough to place the ball in the one foot
alley between the server's body and the side line. If a
player does not possess such control, it is necessary for
him to move towards the center of the court, leaving more
space between him and the near side line.
LOCATION AND HOOKS
In one-wall, serves hit low, near the short line, or
deep, near the long line, are the most difficult to
retrieve. The preferred choices are thus a low angle to
the far side line, a low serve down the near side line, or
deep serves to the left, center or right.
Any serve can be made more effective by application of
a natural or reverse hook. This is especially true in the
case of deep serves since the receiver has less time to
react to the hook. A natural hook hit by a right-hander,
serving from right to left, or hit by a left-hander,
serving from left to right, will have the effect of a
greater angle. The same holds true for a right-hander
serving reverses to the right or a left-hander serving
reverses to the left.
Hitting a serve that hooks opposite to the direction of
the ball, e.g., right-hander serves a reverse from the
right to the center or left side of the court, while
partially offsetting the effect of the angle, can cause an
opponent to overrun the ball, especially if he is not able
to "read" hooks.
HEIGHT AND VELOCITY
It is my devout belief that the harder you hit the
serve (all other things being equal), the harder it is to
return. The height at which a serve is hit should be
determined by the minimum height at which a serve can be
hit parallel to the ground and still pass the short line.
The quintessential "low server" was Kenny
Davidoff, who sometimes would scrape his fingers on the
concrete while hitting the lowest, hardest serve of all
time. Although deception was minimized earlier, it is
valuable to hit low and deep serves from the same height.
This prevents an opponent from either moving forward or
backward once the height of the swing "tips off"
the depth of the serve. In order to hit a deep serve from
a low position, it suffices to hit the ball in an upward
trajectory. Depth of the serve can be controlled by
hitting the ball higher on the front wall.
MECHANICS
In Australian three-wall, a server can run all the way
to the front wall in executing a service. One-wall players
don't have quite that luxury, but the "notch,"
nine feet behind the short line, provides an opportunity
for gaining momentum and getting the whole body into the
swing not available to four-wallers. The key to exploiting
this facility is to start at the notch, bounce the ball
forward and advance to the short line while striking the
ball.
Within the guidelines of sufficient back swing, proper
point of contact, and smooth follow through, all of which
have been expounded upon in other instructionals, the
service stroke is a very individual thing. A player's
height, maneuverability, ball-throwing habits and other
idiosyncrasies affect the way he swings at a ball. It is
this swing which may, in the long run, determine absolute
potential. But consideration of the points suggested here
may help in developing that potential.
