What not to do part dos

What not to do over Thanksgiving: eat three plates of turkey. As I am slowly getting back to normal functioning after Thanksgiving, I am thinking of what kiddies on the court shouldn’t do on their serves. Here’s what I came up with:

1. The butt out serve- as if the ball and your butt are polar opposite magnets, one must never toss the ball and then promptly stick out one’s butt. This causes pancake serves, which is when the arm goes at an angle parallel to one’s shoulder and the resulting racquet head looks like said pancake. 

2. The pancake serve- see above. One must always reeeaccch for the ball up, not forwards.

3. The swinger- As if, momentarily, all bodily functions stop as the serve is hit and the person is no longer in control of their body, the swinger serve does not quite stop. Instead, the swinger server contacts the ball, and then swings their racquet past their legs and then again up to their heads. You think I am making this up? Alas, I am not.  

4. I don’t know what to call this one, other than for what it is; a foot fault. One must never cross the line with one’s feet before the contact of the ball is made. This happens more often with the right foot that comes towards the left foot when stepping in, but then awkwardly passes this point, thus stepping over the line. Step towards your foot, not past it. 

5. The dreaded toss. Tossing is hard. You’ll be surprised at how seldom you’ll toss the ball exactly where you want it. For a kick serve, it should be slightly to the left of your head. A flat, right above your head about three inches in front of you. A slice, to the right of your head about a foot in front of you.