The initial article on showing the logo dealt primarily with groundstrokes.  The essence of the concept was to keep your hands and racquet still as you moved to the ball.  Once you have determined the pace, depth, and spin of the approaching ball then and only then do you actually begin a backswing.  In some instances, there is virtually no time to take the racquet back farther, so the stroke is actually a block or a half-volley, with the power coming from a full weight transfer and follow-through only.  On balls hit with less pace and bouncing farther in front of you, you might have more time to take a bigger, more measured backswing.  The critical point is that you find the ball first and then determine how big a swing, if any, to take.

This same notion of being patient, waiting until the last instant before committing to a forward movement toward the ball, can be applied to other tennis strokes as well.  Two examples of this are the volley and the overhead.

Showing the logo on the volley is very similar to showing the logo on a groundstroke.  On the forehand volley there is a slight shoulder turn coincident with a laying back of the wrist to achieve a racquet face that is parallel to the net.  Once the racquet is parallel to the net, the next movement is to get the racquet face in line with the on-coming ball. On the backhand volley, again just set the racquet parallel to the net by means of a shoulder turn and slight pivot of the feet.  The hands and arms are very still.  Once square to the net, just move your body and arms to line up and meet the oncoming ball.  Step with the front foot toward the ball and lean into the shot as you make contact.

Showing the logo on an overhead is similar to showing the logo on the volley.  The first movement is a slight shoulder turn away from the net, with both hands and racquet raised slightly and still in front of the body, about in line with the hitting shoulder. The racquet face is about parallel to the net.  While in this position, move your feet to get under the ball. All of this is finding the ball.  Once you have determined the angle and pace of the descending ball, you can then prepare a small compact backswing.   This is accomplished efficiently by separating and raising both arms. The raised left arm can help keep you sideways to the net, while tracking the final descent of the ball.  The right arm moves back slightly in order to prepare the racquet for the swing at the ball.  The positioning here is similar to the end of the backswing on the serve.  There is no need in this shot, however, to drop the racquet deep behind the back.  The ball already has pace.  You need only to reach up, make good contact, and get your weight behind the shot.

You'll notice in both of the volley and the overhead, that the initial movement of the racquet and arms is minimal.  A slight shoulder turn away from the net is enough to put the racquet in the ball finding position.  Unlike the groundstrokes, the racquet is raised higher while finding the ball on the volley and the overhead.  For most volleys, there will be no backswing at all, only a connecting of the racquet with the ball and a shift of the weight into the ball.  On the overhead, the backswing is compact and minimized, certainly not like a serve, with the racquet dropped deeply behind the back.

Most errors on the volley and the overhead are a result of failing to show the logo.  This usually leads to taking too big of a swing at the ball.  On a volley, a big swing is generally fatal.  Once you show the logo and have lined up with the oncoming ball, simply thrust forward with the racquet and body weight. On an overhead, the big swing (e.g., early and excessive racquet drop behind the back) usually results in letting the ball fall to low, swinging late, or opening up the shoulders too early.

A good motto for both of these shots is "less is more."  Less swing will result in more success.

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