The Reverse Hop will straighten out down the left sidewall for a right-handed reverse, and bounce towards the right sidewall when hit down the right from a right-handed reverse.

We discussed 6 keys to an effective reverse hop:
1. Keep your hand very loose and tension free. The looser your hand, the more spin you can create on the ball. Think of Luis Moreno
2. Drop the ball slightly behind you, towards you right knee if you are hitting a reverse with your right hand
3. Drop the ball fairly low so you can make contact just below the knee
4. Swing at 50-60%. Much like a curveball, taking speed off of your swing will generate more spin because the ball with stay on your hand longer
5. Turn your wrist like you are opening a door at contact (with a tension free hand and wrist)
6. Concentrate on hitting the top half of the ball

The Natural Hop will break towards the left sidewall when hit down the left with a right-handed reverse, and straighten out down the right sidewall when hit down the right with a right-handed Natural.

The steps for The Natural Hop differ in steps 5 and 6:
1. Keep your hand very loose and tension free. The looser your hand, the more spin you can create on the ball. Think of Luis Moreno
2. Drop the ball slightly behind you, towards you right knee if you are hitting a reverse with your right hand
3. Drop the ball fairly low so you can make contact just below the knee
4. Swing at 50-60%. Much like a curveball, taking speed off of your swing will generate more spin because the ball with stay on your hand longer
5. Think about slicing under the ball by leading with your elbow, and "cutting" the bottom half of the ball

The reason both hops work more effectively when hitting the ball slightly behind you is very similar to golfer spinning their wedges from the fairway. Golfers put the ball slightly back in their stance when spinning their wedges from the fairway to allow them to hit down on the ball, thus compressing the ball at impact, and causing the ball to roll up the clubface, imparting backspin on the ball. Hitting the ball slightly behind yourself allows the handball to stay on your hand longer, creating more spin off your hand, thus a bigger hop when the ball hits the floor.

These tips may teach you how to hop the ball, or they may improve your existing hop. Remember, this is a very fun shot that can make your opponent look very stupid, and earn you a lot of free points and setups.

"I prefer a dump kill shot rather than a full blown hard re-kill.  The reason being is that the shot is effortless and effective.  After watching countless hours of elders play at my club, the shot entered into my arsenal.  There are a couple varieties of the dump re-kill such as the side wall front wall which I prefer and then the down the line dump.  With the right technique and practice both can be very useful and effective.  The key to hitting this shot is patience.  If you rush the shot, you can over hit the ball and set the opponent up.  Second, your knees have to be bent otherwise the ball will skip into the floor.  Lastly, the most important is to have your body relaxed. 

"My objective before every match is to try to neutralize my opponent shot-after-shot. To me, the most important thing is the serve, and also being able to keep your opponent off balance.  I am able to accomplish that sometimes by hooking the ball both ways. The result you get after doing that is a BIG FAT SET-UP. That’s pretty much all you need to be able to win a match."

 
Stories From Legends Past:

Albert Apuzzi remembers:

"Larry Kadish had bought the Hirschman YMCA on Surf Avenue & W. 35th Street in Brooklyn, NY because it had two indoor regulation 1-wall courts. Owning the facility meant that his crew could play whenever they liked. Larry's son Howie also played. Since they lived out on Long Island, and I worked within a mile of the "Y", I wound up with a set of keys in case of an emergency (which quite often turned out to be someone forgetting their wallet, CD player, etc.).

"The birth of professional handball"

by Stuffy Singer

"Handball players like most athletes of today have always tried to figure out a way to be able to capitalize on their unique abilities.  My involvement with handball began at the very end of 1960 when I began playing, moved to the national scene in 1963 when I became a player of note.  In the beginning, handball was supposed to be purely amateur, just playing for the love of the game and the feeling of accomplishment and well-being.  

In the early 70s professional handball became more and more of interest to the top players of the day as professional sports in general became more of a focus, probably caused by increased television coverage and media in general.  There were a couple of the ill-fated starts and stops, one that was spearheaded by Hall of Famer Paul Haber which involved a large franchisor in Canada, and another spearheaded by yours truly, both of which were quashed by the USHA in general and Bob Kendler President of the USHA specifically.  You see at that time, Mr. Kendler was the face, conscience and pocketbook of the USHA and professionalism was just not in his vocabulary. 

With all due respect to Mr. Kendler, I believe he had two masters that he was trying to serve, the first being handball which he loved with all of his heart, and the second being his desire to get handball into the Olympics, a lifelong dream.  Because of his connection with the US Olympic Committee through his relationship with Avery Brundage the head of the international Olympic Committee, I truly believe that Bob felt that handball should be and could be an Olympic sport.  So while on one side of the coin he wanted to see handball grow and prosper, professionalism very well could prevent his Olympic dreams from being achieved.  There is much detail and history that could be placed in this article but that is probably better suited for another time. 

Now fast forward to either 1972 or 1973 when the USHA sponsored the first National Invitational singles tournament otherwise known as the Sweet 16.  The top 16 players in the country all gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota for this elite of the elite tournaments.  You see since there was no pro tour, the only time all the top ballplayers got together was at the national tournament, one time per year.  Here for the first time we had the stage all to ourselves, no doubles, no age group, no women just us.

Every top player of the era, including but not limited to Haber; Lewis; Russo; Muck; Graybill; August; Yambrick; Pfeiffer; Singer; Decatur; Neaveu; Jacobs; and others which right now I just can't remember comprised the greatest array of players ever seen at one time.  The media in St. Paul went crazy as did the crowds and we the ballplayers realized that we did have a salable commodity if we could just figure out how to get paid. 

The next thing that happened was that there was the first national invitational doubles tournament (doubles only) no conflict of singles.  Skip McDowell asked if I would write an article for the tournament program which I agreed to do.  The article basically explored the fact that I just read about a $100,000 miniature golf tournament and why if they could put up that kind of prize money for miniature golf were we, arguably some of the greatest athletes around, not also able to capitalize on our unique abilities?  In this article I went back through old Ace and handball magazines and drew out quotes from Mr. Kendler regarding his objectives and what happened to date etc. etc. etc..  Bob did not take kindly to public criticism and our relationship which had been good, was never the same.  However, that same article did create lots of interest and lots of excitement and for the first time a commonality of purpose among the ballplayers which was to reach its peak at the 1973 national championships held in Austin, Texas.

Now I need to give you a little history lesson in order to set the stage correctly; the ballplayers wanted pro-handball; the administration did not. Unlike today, they're used to be two banquets at the national tournament, one called a business meeting where elections were held which was held on a Tuesday; and the second, more or less an awards banquet held on Thursday (I might have my days wrong).  One of the business items at the business meeting was to elect a Board of Directors, and there was always a statement by the national Commissioner which at the time was Ken Schneider asking if there were any nominations from the floor? So we the ballplayers decided that we were going to nominate three of our players, Dave Graybill, Gordy Pfeiffer, and me, Stuffy Singer.  When Ken asked the audience if there were any nominations for the floor, we piped up and said yes we want to nominate the three aforementioned individuals and we were summarily informed that nominations from the floor had to be submitted 24 hours in advance of the meeting and therefore we would have to wait until next year.  Needless to say, we were not happy, but at the same time not surprised as the board of directors was really nothing more than camouflage since Mr. Kendler made all of the decisions.  Remember, it was his ball, his rules and his game and while it was frustrating for the players, handball would've never emerged to the position that it held without Mr. Kendler, I guess you could call him a benevolent dictator. 

This business meeting banquet was being held the night before the quarterfinals of the national championships, and all eight of the players held a very quick meeting and decided that we were going to threaten the USHA with a strike, meaning, that the quarterfinals would not be played unless we got to nominate our three people for the Board of Directors.  We realized that this would not be taken kindly, so we tried to pick one of the calmest least threatening players of the group to explain this to the national Commissioner, our choice was Terry Muck.

We asked if we could speak with Ken Schneider the national Commissioner and Terry explained to them that we were not going to play the quarterfinals unless we could at least have our nominations entered into the election.  We felt that Ken, as a former national champion and Hall of Fame member would understand our plight, but we didn't take into account that Ken was employed by Mr. Kendler.  However, he took our statement to the head table which consisted of about 15 people sitting at the head table onstage looking down on the rest of us.  In unison, the head table rose as one and left the room, only to return to her three minutes later, Mr. Kendler red-faced. Ken came back to our group and tried to reason with us.  Terry very quietly said "I don't think you understand, we're not going to play your quarterfinals".  Ken went back to the head table once again, and once again they rose in unison only to return three minutes later with Mr. Kendler not only red-faced, but I believe steam coming out of his ears.  This time they had national Junior Commissioner Joe Ardito come down and try to reason with us and again Terry very quietly said "Joe, I don't think you understand, we are not going to play your quarterfinals".  Joe went back to the head table and once again, in unison they got up, left the room only to return three minutes later only this time Mr. Kendler was drained of all the blood in his face, they decided they were going to negotiate as they realized we were serious.  The compromise was that we could have two of our three choices nominated from the floor, Graybill and Pfeiffer, but not that SOB Singer.  We agreed, we had made headway, we realized that we actually had some power and within six months the first professional handball tournament was held in St. Paul, Minnesota.

If you have any questions about any of the sidebars, side meetings etc. etc., please contact Dave Vincent and we will try to get them answered for you.  I hope you find this story interesting and amusing."

#8 World Ranked Pro, Dave Fink, shares the "fly-kill:

"The Fly Kill is the most effective shot in Handball to apply pressure, and to dictate the play against your opponent. By taking the ball out of the air, you are eliminating your opponents time to react, and to setup for his next shot. The most effective time to execute the Fly Kill is on your opponents return of serve. When you hit an effective serve, you should be anticipating a return that you can take out of the air. A serve that drops deep into the corners or runs straight down the sidewalls will generally yield a fly kill opportunity. With your opponent behind you, you have a huge advantage taking the ball out of the air, and shooting it into the corners, or killing it off the front wall. When you sense your opponent is anticipating your fly kills into the corners or straight off the front wall, hit a few v passes (front wall-sidewall), and he will not be able to rush forward to retrieve your kills. This play also keeps the points short, saving your energy, and helps to establish a great rhythm for you while disrupting any rhythm for your opponent."

Z Serve

By Dave Fink

Why the Z Serve:

The Z Serve is the highly effective, safe, and energy-efficient serve that can bewilder and confuse any opponent when hit properly

The Z Serve provides enough margin for error that it can be hit aggressively for a second serve, as opposed to a Power Serve or Lob Serve, which require a very small margin for error to be hit successfully. 

How to hit the Successful Z Serve:

The Z serve is primarily hit to the deep left corner of the court to the opponent's off-hand. Therefore, the server will stand anywhere from the middle of the service box to the left sidewall. 

Generally, the server will stand several feet from the left sidewall

The Z serve can be hit with a sidearm motion or an overhand motion

The Z serve has to be hit with the proper angle so the ball hits the front wall, right sidewall, the floor, the left sidewall, then runs parallel to the backwall

When to hit the Z Serve:

The Z Serve should be used for every second serve, and can be used as a first serve if proven to be effective 

In the rare instances the Z Serve proves to be completely ineffective, abandon it as a second serve

Many opponents struggle with the left hand return between waist and shoulder height, and the Z Serve is very effective in isolating this weakness, and providing weak service returns as a result

Z Serve Drills:

1. Serve 10 successful sidearm Z Serves that bounce into the left sidewall and run parallel to the backwall

2. Serve successful 10 overhand Z serves that bounce into the left sidewall and run parallel to the backwall

*The sidearm Z serve and the overhand Z serve provide a different height and slightly different angle for the returner, and can be used together to disrupt the rhythm of the returner.

The Fly Kill:

By Dave Fink

Why the Fly Kill:

The Fly Kill is the most devastating shot in the game because it takes time away from your opponent while executing an offensive shot with him behind you

The Fly Kill puts tremendous pressure on your opponent's return of serve

The Fly Kill disrupts the rhythm of your opponent, and eliminates their ability to retrieve 

How to hit the Fly Kill:

You have to first recognize and anticipate the Fly Kill Opportunity 

Footwork is the most important ingredient to a successful Fly Kill

-More than any other shot, the footwork must be perfect to execute a high percentage of successful fly kills. 

-This requires short and quick "baby steps" or "adjustment steps"--*see demonstration 

Aim your shoulders, feet, and hips parallel to your target

Let the ball drop into your "strike zone"

-the "strike zone" for the fly kill should be no higher than your waist, and as low as your shoestrings

*I recommend a contact point of knee level to execute the Fly Kill

Extend your swing to the target

Opportunities to hit The Fly Kill:

1. Following a well placed serve, your opponent's return will typically produce a Fly Kill opportunity 

2. After hitting a pass shot with your opponent in the front court, there is a good chance your opponent with give you a fly kill opportunity 

3. A well placed ceiling shot into the off hand corner with generally yield a fly kill opportunity 

Types of Fly Kills:

1. The "down the line" kill-driving the ball straight down the walls

2. The "pinch corner kill" 

3. The "cross-corner paddle" 

4. The "punch fist" 1 wall fly pass

5. The dump

Drills:

Standing on the service line, toss the ball 10-15 feet high on the front wall underhand and execute the 5 types of Fly Kills 10 times each will both hands

This time consuming drill with build your endurance, sharpen your footwork, improve your timing, and elevate your game

*The Fly Kill makes an average player a good player, and a good player a great player. The Fly Kill will make a B an A, and A an Open. 

The Fly Kill separates the pros from the top pros, and is crucial to every player's game.

Corner Kills

By Dave Fink

Why the corner kill:

This is a low risk, high reward rally-ending shot that does not require the precision or the nerve of a straight in front wall kill

The corner provides a much higher margin for error than a straight in kill

How to hit the corner kill:

Aim your shoulders, feet, and hips to the spot on the sidewall you are aiming

Extend your swing to your target

Let the ball drop to your "strike zone"

-the strike zone is slightly different for every player, but should be no higher than the waist, and can be as low as your shoestrings

-I recommend a contact point near knee level

Be aggressive with your swing

The Successful Corner Kill:

The ball must bounce at least twice before bouncing into the sidewall, and should not hit the sidewall more than 1 foot high

-If you hit the right corner, the ball should bounce twice before hitting the left sidewall

-The ball will not bounce twice if the ball hits the sidewall more than 1 foot high

-If the ball bounces once into the sidewall, your opponent is left with a very easy setup

When to hit a corner kill:

The timing of the corner kill is crucial, and depends mostly on the court positioning of your opponent 

The corner kill is effective with your opponent behind you, but very ineffective with your opponent in front of you

The corner should be used to angle the ball away from your opponent:

-if your opponent is on your right hip, and you have a setup with your right hand, hit the right corner to run the ball away from him

-if you have a backwall setup, and your opponent is charging to cover the straight in kill down the right wall, hit the right corner, and "pinch" the ball away from him

The Speciality Corner Kills:

Wide Angle vs. Tight Angle

Cross-Court "Paddle" vs. Full Swing Pinch

*See on-court demonstration 

Drills:

1. The Dead-Ball Corner Kill: Standing in between the service line and restraining line, drop the ball or toss the ball in the air, and execute 10 Successful Corner Kills in both corner kills with both hands

2. The Fly-Kill Corner Kill: Standing on the service line, underhand toss the ball 10-14 feet high on the front wall, and fly-kill 10 Successful Corner Kills into the left corner with your left hand and 10 Successful Corner Kills into the right corner with your right hand

3. The Backwall Corner Kill: Standing on the restraining line, overhand throw the ball down the middle of the court, leaving yourself a backwall setup in between the restraining line and the service line, and execute 10 Successful Corner Kills with your left hand into the left corner, and 10 Successful Corner Kills with your right hand into the right corner

*These drills will be difficult in the beginning, but you will be amazed at how quickly you are able to master this shot, and take it from the practice court to match play.

The Open Hand 3 Wall Shot

By Dave Fink

Why The Open Hand 3 Wall Shot:

The 3 Wall Shot is a relatively simple shot to execute, and can be used to effectively neutralize a rally your opponent is controlling 

The 3 Wall Shot provides more margin for error than a ceiling shot, and will allow you the time to assume front-court position while removing your opponent from his front-court position 

How to hit The Open Hand 3 Wall Shot:

Aim your shoulders, hips, and feet to the spot on the sidewall you are aiming

Extend your swing to the target

The contact point for The Open Hand 3 Wall Shot in between the waist the chest

-This is not an overhand stroke, and not necessarily a sidearm stroke. This stroke is in between the 2

Be aggressive with your swing

The Successful Open Hand 3 Wall Shot:

The Right Hand Open Hand 3 Wall Shot hits the right sidewall first followed by the frontwall, left sidewall, floor, right sidewall, then backwall. The Left Hand is the opposite

The shot must be hit with the proper angle on the sidewall so when the ball hits the floor after hitting the 3rd wall, the ball then bounces into the sidewall, not the backwall. After bouncing into the sidewall, the ball should run parallel with the backwall 

*See demonstration 

When to hit the Open Hand 3 Wall Shot:

The return of a Z Serve, Cross-Court Lob Serve, or Power Serve that hits the sidewall

When your opponent hits a 2 wall pass you are scrambling to return

When your opponent hit you a 3 wall shot

Varying the Angle of the Open Hand 3 Wall Shot:

When to float a wide-angle 3 Wall Shot vs. a Sharp Pinch 3 Wall Shot

Drills:

1. Standing in between the restraining line and the backwall, bounce the ball in between your waist and chest slightly out in front of you, and hit 10 Successful Open Hand 3 Wall Shots with both hands

2. Rally Open Hand 3 Wall Shots with yourself--set goals for yourself to see how many Successful 3 Wall Shots you can execute without missing

*This is a fun shot that will improve your game, strengthen your off-hand, and provide a great "get-out-of-trouble" shot.