Well, it's a very wet Friday and I've been meaning to hit the keyboard instead of the courts for a bit. Below are some recent things I've stumbled across. I'll see you when the weather clears! Rich
-----
The game had ended and we gathered to tap paddles. My opponent looked at me and said, "You made one error and I made five." The game score was 11-8. Hmm.
------------
I was tired late Thursday but we all agreed to play one more game. I'm happy to play one more, but I was moving a bit slowly, I thought I'd just dink and chip all game and not hit any hard shots. We won that game 11-2. Soft shots win games. Might be that lack of errors thing. They demanded a rematch. I think that one was 11-4. I still just chipped and dinked. It was a relaxing way to play. Oh, I still had to run here and there, there was little effort to actually hit the ball.
----
Is it easier to hit a ball "in" than "out?" Ought to be easier to hit it in, the target is a lot bigger. Where does the out ball come from? Trying to win the point, I think. Is winning a rally different than winning a point? Solid shots are in the court and reasonably placed -- rally winners, not point winner. There is no need for perfection or to attempted perfection. Is the thrill of putting a ball away greater than the pain of hitting one out? It seems that a lot of players are willing to hit three bad shots as long as they hit one winner. As long as it's not my partner, that works for me.
----------
Expectations for a partnership. When I teach the skills and drills, I push for players to be in the "right" position. There are only a few situations that exist.
First, after you serve or your partner serves, stay behind the service line until you see what the second shot looks like.
Second, if your partner is returning the serve, then you, who is at the kitchen already, is responsible for the center of the court for a shot or two. Note that this will usually require you to straddle the center line to properly defend. You also should try to hit the third shot coming back, don't be afraid of moving in front of partner to do that.
Third, if you return the serve, then move up to the kitchen line to join your partner. You want to run towards the ball. Even if it's a poor shot, you still want to / have to advance. Your partner needs you. In a good game, the service returner will be targeted as they are usually running and not stopped. Get up quickly, stop, and get your paddle ready.
Four, when you partner is returning the third shot, then you need to move appropriately as they are swinging. Usually this is up a couple of steps and a bit towards the middle of the court. Watch your partner's shot and then decide where to go next. You might be able to advance all the way to the kitchen, or you might just have to hunker down, lower your paddle, and wait to defend a shot at your feet.
That's about all of it. If you do all of the above on every shot, you will be easy to play with. If you are out of position, then I find it to be a real struggle. This is a partnership game and if one partner is in a strange place then it distorts the court coverage and, well, I'm too old to figure out what to do on the fly. Beginners basically will not to any of the four things and it seems to take a few years to be comfortable with all of the points. That's fine, it would be boring if there was nothing to learn after the first month, but until you do those things, all expected, you really can't advance in ability.
----
I work with some players on various skills. Usually to enhance the soft game. We dink a bit and play games without allowing any put away shots. Don't tell them, but I like to experiment with them bit. This last week we played a game where everyone stayed in the transition area, AKA "no man's land."
The skills are: nice wide stance, get low to the ground, and get your paddle in front of your feet. The ball is expected to be hit with some pace at at the feet. So the lowered paddle is where we expect the ball to be and with the pace of the ball, we are trying to block the shot and not try to hit it. The best outcome is to hit a shot that would allow us to move towards the kitchen line. That's the best, but we are happy to just stay in the point and get the ball back over the net.
We practiced this drill and the players became comfortable with skills rather quickly. After drilling they played a game and it looked like they were using this defensive skill set in the game. Yeah team! This is a skill that I'm actively working on. When I warm up I'll get the transition area and hit shots. As you get over the initial panic, this skill is pretty easy to do. It also comes up a lot in play. It's a skill I highly recommend.