Rogerh said:

I wrote in a previous post.

Has anyone any comments on the backhand flick serve, particularly the best way of disguise, and do all backhand low serve styles lend themselves to good flick serves

Paul replied

Great question on backhand flick serves.

 

I visited a club recently for a coaching day. I always say “if I had to choose between a partner with a big smash and one that can serve well, I’d choose the server all the time.”

 

Whilst coaching we did some work on the serve. One player has a nice low serve but cannot flick. Her style is to point her racket almost vertically. Would she change? No. Was she accurate enough with her low serve? No. This is when I question why I should bother. She wants results but isn’t prepared to change what isn’t working well enough. This style of serve does not allow the racket face to meet the shuttle correctly to create a force and therefore will not allow enough movement for a flick.

 

The other issues I find with technique that prevent a decent flick serve is by serving too close to the body. There is no room for the racket or hands to create the squeeze for the flick.

 

I’ll contribute again later but open this up for others to comment.

I hope in this new post we’ll get some replies on this fundamental aspect of our game

What I find a lot of club players do is alter the way they 'swing' when they are trying to flick as opposed to the technique on their low serve. 

What this usually involves is a larger and quicker back swing, whihc I find extremely helpful for letting me know what is going to happen before the shuttle is struck.

THE ACTION SHOULD BE THE SAME AS THE SHORT SERVE. The only difference should be a squeeze on the grip upon impact with the shuttle to propel it to the back of the court. The backlift should be slow and short, exactly as it would be for a good low serve.

I also find that many players change their preparation when they are going to flick. Many players have a certain speed at which they operate at when serve, from when they get the shuttle in their hand to when they play the shot. Any noticable changes in this is a giveaway for me and as a receiver I will shift my body weight slightly back just incase.

Another common error is players turning round to playing partner just before service to tell them its going to be a flick. Not only can I often hear the word 'flick' but, many times, the only time players talk to their partner before serve is when they are going to flick! I'm not saying don't talk to your partner, the opposite infact! Dont let the 'I'm going to flick it' be the only communication!