The coach stands and the net. The player and coach rally together in cross-court direction. After few good shots the coach hits the next volley short. The player has to react, move quickly forward and finish the ball offensively in down the line direction.
Many players know how to rally and are skilled enough to attack the ball but they lack of reaction skills. This connection is necessary to use own strengths to win more points. If you are not able to quickly perceive easy ball and move forward even your great technique won't help you.
In this drill the player works on reaction to short balls. The coach at the net forces the player to react faster because the distance between both players is shorter. Additionally, the player doesn't know when the coach will make the short ball, so he is working in environment that is exactly like this in a tournament match. To make it more real coach should hit easier balls only if the last few shots in a row were of good quality.
"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.