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Saturday, 25 November 2006 07:48 |
A loose wrist and a brushing motion will help you open up the court with short angles
PROBLEM
You have trouble opening up the court because you can’t hit sharply angled shots consistently. This limits your ability to move your opponent out of position and create gaps in the court where you can go for winning shots. You’re forced to play the court straight up and down, and you struggle to end points with winners.
SOLUTION
To become more adept at hitting the short angle and moving your opponent out of position, try this four-step progression.
1. Put a ball hopper on your side slightly away from the middle of the court so you have an angle. Have a practice partner drop a ball behind the hopper, and then try to hit up on the ball without hitting the bucket. Repeat this several times until you get the feel of using your wrist to brush up the lower outside edge of the ball.
. Stand about 3 feet to the side of the hopper and have your partner drop the ball in the same spot. Move to the ball and hit the shot, again without striking the hopper. This will give you the feeling of approaching and hitting the ball on the run while focusing on brushing the edge of the ball and creating an angle.
3. Have your partner drop the ball in the same spot, but this time stand even farther to the side and approach at a faster speed. You may find that you have a tendency to hit the ball flatter than you did in the first two steps. Keep working at it and continue using that upward motion on your wrist when hitting the ball.
4. After you have developed the feel for the angle, combine all the elements of the previous stages but have your partner toss the ball behind the hopper, instead of dropping it. This will better simulate how the ball will be moving in a real point.
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