Drive, Drop or Drip: Choosing Your Third to Reach the Kitchen
Summary
Connor Garnett skips pure technique and focuses on when to hit each third shot so you actually get to the kitchen. Pushed off the baseline, drive with controlled height over the net — pace is secondary — so the ball gets on them faster than a drop would and sets up the next ball. From a balanced spot on the line, a drop that forces them to hit up lets you crash and attack.
When you’re already moving forward, he prefers the drip, a hybrid push-through that carries you to the line when a full drop or drive is riskier. Across all three, the third shot’s job is to get you to the kitchen, not to win the point from the baseline.
Key takeaways
- Pushed deep: drive with safe height as a setup shot
- Balanced on the line: drop and crash behind it
- Moving forward: drip (hybrid push) to keep closing
- The third shot’s job is reaching the kitchen
Action items
- In drilling, call drive/drop/drip based only on your court position before contact
- Play points where a drive from deep must be followed by a move forward