The overhead and clear
Technique · Advanced
Explanation
openThe overhead is your tool for all high Speeders. You hit above your head, in a movement very similar to the tennis serve — and the whip from the last module is its engine.
Here's how the movement goes: you stand side-on to the target, the free arm points to the incoming Speeder, the weight rests at first on the back leg. Then you stretch upward and hit the Speeder as high as possible, slightly in front of your body. At the moment of contact the forearm rotates in and the wrist snaps — the same whip as on the drive, only overhead.
You play the overhead in two variants. The defensive clear you hit high and far: it buys you time when you're under pressure and forces your opponent deep to the back. The offensive clear you hit flatter and faster: it plays over an opponent standing too far forward, before they can get back.
The high contact point is like picking an apple from the top branch — you stretch fully, hit at the highest point of your reach. Whoever lets the Speeder drop and only hits at head height loses height, pace and control.
The high contact point is half the battle. Everything about the overhead stands or falls on hitting early and high.
Exercise
openHit high and early
Goal
Hit the overhead at the highest point, with a side-on stance and the whip.
How to do it
- Stand side-on to the target, free arm pointing up to the imagined Speeder, weight on the back leg.
- First practice the movement without a Speeder: stretch, hit high, rotate the forearm in, snap the wrist.
- Then toss the Speeder up to yourself or have it thrown to you and hit it as high as possible, slightly in front of your body.
- First play a few defensive, high clears, then a few flatter, offensive ones.
- Return to the central position after every stroke.
Progression
Have Speeders thrown to different heights and depths, so that you first have to move to the ball before hitting high.
Self-check
Do you really hit the Speeder above your head and in front of your body, or does the contact point slip down and behind you? A contact point that's too low is the most common mistake — then it's usually the footwork that isn't right yet, the footwork that gets you under the Speeder in time.
Wrap-up
The overhead opens the door to the smash — it's the movement the attacking stroke grows out of.
Classification
- Playing goals
- Length and depth control, Pace and power control, Answer to attackers
- Prerequisites
- The wrist snap: the whip