Just in case you were wondering BHAD stands for: both hands are deadly.
Sincerely
Tim
Introduction
Round net (Commonly know as spike ball)
Spike ball is a non-contact sport played on a round net (round net is the original name) that is 36 inches wide and 36 inches long .Usually there are two teams of two that oppose each other although there are varations where it is three against three ,three against two, two against one and one against one. The goal of the game is to hit the ball off the net to a position where it is not posible for the other team to return it.The game was created in 1989 by Jeff Knurek but never really took off untill 2008 when Chris Ruder(a long time roundnet player and current ceo of spikeball) started his spikeball company.The game grew rapidly in popularity and now there are over 125,000 players and 578 registered teams .
The move I will be focusing on is the cut serve.
Task
The essentail skills needed for the cut serve:
1: Hand eye coordination.
2:Timing
3: Wrist snap
Process
Spike ball how to:
The cut serve
Once you are in your comfortable serving position(I recomend the BHAD position) with the spike ball net set up and the ball in your hand you then throw the ball up and out towards you serving hand at the same time you will swing your arm towards where the ball will end up.Hold your hand back a bit to create a whiping motion with your arm.Begin to snap your wrist about an inch or so from the ball so that when there is contact it will create the spin you need.Once you contact the ball keep snaping your wrist as much as you can. As a beginer, do not hit the ball too hard as it will just miss the net.Start softly and slowly build up power as you better yourself. Hit the ball mainly with the pinky, index, and middle fingers.Hold them mostly straight but bent slightly at the top joint.Once you have mastered the serve(the ball should cut away hard once it has hit the net), you can begin to use your ring finger to put a bit of top spin on.This will make it a little bit harder to serve but it is worth it.
Evaluation
What it should look like:
After you have hit the ball it should head straight towards the net curving slightly when it gets close.When it hits the net it should suddenly cut off to one side.This is why it is called the cut serve. There are a few common mistakes that will cause you frustration. One:Hitting the ball with the wrong part of your hand. If you hit the ball with your palm it will shoot off to nowhere and not spin. Two:Not snaping your wrist enough.This is what puts spin on the ball and if you do not snap your wrist enough the ball will not spin. Three:Throwing the ball too far.This will make you take a step forwards and you will not get enough arm movement. Four:Hitting a pocket(these are areas on the net which make the ball take a funny jump).If you hit a pocket the ball cannot cut the way you want it to. Five: Having a over inflated ball.This will make it hard to put spin on it because the ball will just bounce off your hand before you can put spin on it. Six: Having a net that is too tight.This will also make it hard to put spin on the ball because the ball will just spin on top of the net instead of dropping in and grabbing the net.
Conclusion
If you are intrested in the cut serve there is a video which will give you better information than I have.
Although the cut serve is intresting and fun it is just a small part of spike ball.There are lots of other parts of the game and there are compititions like the Spikeball Roundnet World Championship.This is a very open tournament (despite the name) and anyone is welcome to enter regardless of their skills or playing styles; just pick a partener, register, and show up.The championship is being held in Belgium this year. Regisration is $100 a team.