Steal This Drill: Half Court Battle 2
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 09:46PM CAtennis 
This is a continuation of a previous drill the focus of which is to develop grit and ball control. In this version, the server plays with some limitations. Briefly, points are played by two players. This can be in a set format or another method of keeping score. The receiver's court is divided (red line) slightly off center. The rules are actually pretty simple. When the server serves into the deuce side (in the diagram, the smallest portion of the court), s/he must hit two shots into the smallest portion of the court before "opening up". The receive can hit anywhere. In this regard, the receiver can dominate the point because he knows where the ball is coming. The server must grit it out by relying on his legs, lungs and ball control. If the server hits it out of the small area, s/he loses the point.
On the ad side (in this case, the larger area), the server must hit 3 consecutive shots into this space before "opening up". Depending on the skill levels of the players, the receiver may or may not have an advantage. Again, the purpose is to have the server grit out a couple of shots.
Many times, the server thinks that he has the advantage only to be surprised by the receiver. It is, therefore, important for a player to know how to rely on his head and heart in order to get back to a balanced position in the middle of the point. The server will most definitely be required to hit the ball high and deep in order to give herself more time to recover and to also prevent the receiver from creating a deadly angle. In all this, the receiver is encourage to pound her shots and keep the pressure on the server. After playing a game, the parties should switch roles. When the players feel like they have mastered this side, they can switch the large area, small area and play the same thing on the other side.
Reader Comments (1)
Very clever - I'm still waiting to see a drill that I already know here... :-)