The coach stands in front of the player and throws balls to the backhand side. The player executes backhands using only open stance.
Playing against left-handed opponent means that our strategy has to be reversed. Many times we feel comfortable while rallying with backhand cross-court because the opponent has to hit the ball with backhand too. With left-handed players, we have to adjust our position and we have to accept the fact that many times we will be forced to hit open-stance backhand. If you prepare for this scenario during practice sessions, we won't find it difficult to execute this shot under pressure.
In this drill player works on open-stance backhand. This position is difficult for many players so the coach should spend significant amount of time on basic drills to make sure that players start to feel comfortable with left leg to the side. The coach has to tell players that the more they bend their left leg, the more dynamic they are so every time they feel stiff, it means that the left leg was too straight.
"It is not only useful for staff who are experienced but a valuable tool for those subject staff who have to take teams."
The variety of sessions across sports - sometimes we steal session ideas from one sport and use them with another.
As we enter the business end of the competition, we take a look at the remaining eight teams and the key talking points surrounding each side.