Shot Depth Selection

 I hope the holiday season is going well for all.  

I've never written much about shot selection other than, "hit it in the middle," and I have a couple of thoughts to pass along.

I don't want to talk about the traditional stuff like hit it to the backhand, keep them deep, etc.  I want to bring up two different thoughts that I've found effective.

First is the shot that is soft and in the middle somewhere.  The key is a shot that can't be attacked, as it has a low bounce and is off pace.  There are a lot of players who like to hit shots that coming at speed.  I first recognized this with the former racquet ball players who lived and died on a hard hit.  They have no problem with a fast shot.  So it's best not to give them one.  A soft low middle shot works wonders if they have to move their feet and decide if they should hit it or their partner.  (If they still hit it hard, prepare to duck!)

The second shot is much like the first.  But let's set the scene where everyone is near the kitchen.  Typically the lower skilled the game, the higher the ball is over the net.  In that game, the ball tends to move faster and faster until the point is over.

In a higher skilled game the ball is quite low and while there are speed ups, there are also resets.  And a great reset cannot be volleyed.  This is vital for resets and a lot of touch shots at the kitchen lines.  Hitting a ball softly enough and with enough arc to get it to bounce is important.  See the bonus tip below...

Of course if the ball is up enough, you want to hit it to someone's feet, but if that's not possible, a shot that bounces is very powerful.  This is a pretty rare shot in the beginner and intermediate levels.  And it's not easy, so it requires some practice and desire to play it.  But not only is it difficult to return, but it gives your side time to get back in position or reset or get paddles ready or recover balance.

Bonus:  I was warming up the other day with stranger at the Downs.  He hit the ball quite well and we had some dinking rallies that lasted long enough for me to be analytical about.  I noticed that it was common to hit a dink that was low over the net, but easily volleyed back.  I realized that I needed to clear the net by a few more inches and hit the ball softer if I wanted to have the ball bounce on his side.  There was need to deliberately hit a more arcing shot.  This was more difficult, but the shot was harder to return.  A ball that bounces is usually below the net and tougher to speed up successfully.  If your shot or your partner's is going to bounce, then close on the kitchen line and get your paddle up as it's quite likely that the return will be attackable.