Move Up by Drilling: Reps Beat More Open-Play Games

Summary

Troy Akin’s cue: the players who move up aren’t stacking more open-play games — they’re the ones drilling. Open play might give you ~10 dinks an hour; a drill block can give you hundreds, which is how a shot holds up when points get tight.

His five favorite machine drills: deep returns that keep opponents back, aggressive low backhand drips to arrive at the kitchen, one-handed volleys taken out of the air, drives brushed up off a slice feed, and shoulder-turn angled putaways against lobs.

Key takeaways

• Drilling volume >> more unfocused open play
• Deep returns + BH drips raise kitchen-arrival %
• Practice 1H air volleys, slice-to-drive, and lob angles

Action items

• Replace one open-play hour this week with a focused drill block
• Pick one of the five shots and hit 100 intentional reps