Explore by focus

Footwork drills

Moving, stopping, and recovering with balance so the ball can be contacted from a strong position.

Drills in this collection

Choose a drill to practise

23 reviewed drills include this focus.See this theme in the glossary.

Catch and Move

Teach kitchen-line positioning by removing the swing before adding a live dink.

Level 2.0–3.0 · 2, 4 players

Deep Groundstroke Targets

Direct self-fed forehand and backhand groundstrokes toward deep left, middle, and right targets.

Level 2.5–5.0+ · 1 players

Dink and Lob

Keep the lob as a genuine unannounced option inside a live dink rally.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Dodgeball

Practise clearing the body and letting believable shoulder-high out balls pass.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Drive, Drop, Reset

Rehearse the three-shot chain that moves a team from baseline pressure to the kitchen.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Figure 8

Move one ball around four kitchen-line players in a continuous down-the-line and crosscourt figure-eight circuit.

Level 2.5–4.0 · 4 players

Full Skinny Singles

Play a complete serve-to-finish point inside one half-court lane so isolated skills occur in sequence.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Groundstroke Rally

Bank repeatable baseline strokes that support serves, returns, and driving thirds.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Lob and Defend

Give the net player overhead reps while the baseline player tries to defend forward.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Low-Rebound Half-Volleys

Meet a low rebound just after its floor bounce with a compact forehand or backhand stroke.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 1 players

Overhead Catch

Remove the swing so overhead footwork and the intended contact point become visible.

Level 2.0–3.5 · 2, 4 players

Overhead Decision Tree

Call and execute one of three overhead responses based on depth and body position.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Protect the Line

Play a dink-only scoring game that rewards deep placement and teaches each player to defend the kitchen line by taking deep dinks out of the air.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Push Volley Dink

Pair the decision to volley a deep dink with a compact forward push and active feet.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Quick Hands Patterns

Expose weaker forehand, backhand, and crossbody volleys by practising each pattern before random play.

Level 4.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Return and Crash

Connect a deep return to a decisive, balanced move toward the kitchen line.

Level 2.5–3.5 · 2, 4 players

Serve and Return

Build repeatable depth on the first two shots while the returner moves through the court.

Level 2.0–3.5 · 2, 4 players

Space Invaders

Earn progress through the transition zone with consecutive soft resets.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Transition Out-and-Back

Move from the kitchen to the baseline and back in controlled stages, returning every ball softly to the kitchen; this pattern is also commonly taught as Slinky, Accordion, or a back-and-forth transition drill.

Level 3.0–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Two-Stop Transition

Replace a rushed run to the kitchen with two balanced stops and controlled resets.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 2, 4 players

Wall Dinks

Begin with a cooperative touch rally at kitchen distance, then keep realistic dink exchanges alive while changing between attacking topspin and defensive slice.

Level 3.5–5.0+ · 1 players

Wall Groundstroke Lanes

Repeat balanced forehand and backhand groundstrokes while directing each rebound into a named lane.

Level 2.5–5.0+ · 1 players