Player side steps until the coach drops a ball.
The player must catch the ball before the second bounce. Players can also start from a stationary position with heels of the ground or hopping on one leg or criss crossing the legs or with player starting with their back to coach and the coach shouting out when throwing the ball.
As well as being a warm up drill it encourages alertness of the player and can be used to develop anticipation, reactions and speed.
The players alternate and have 3 goes at each variation of the drill.
Indoor courts give players less time and less room. Help them sharpen their split step, shorten their swing and stay calm, and winter becomes a season of real progress.
A tiebreak is a short sprint where every point is worth the same as a break of serve. The players who win them are rarely the ones who hit hardest. Here is how to coach the patterns, habits and scoreboard thinking that win the big points.
Most club players practise the serve on its own and then have no idea what to do with the ball that comes back. Serve plus one is the pattern that turns a good serve into a won point.