Drill library · Partner

Drive and Block

Partner3.5–4.0+10 minResets & blocksHands & speed-ups

Why this drill

Blocking a drive is not a swing — it is a wall with an angle. Fixed roles give the blocker dozens of drives in a row, which is the only way the hands learn to be soft at speed.

Setup

Blocker at the non-volley-zone line; driver at the opposite baseline with a pile of balls. Straight ahead on one half of the court.

The drill

The driver feeds themselves a bounce and drives at the blocker — chest, hips, paddle side, off side, in no fixed order. The blocker's job is one shot: kill the pace and drop the ball into the kitchen. Ten drives, count the blocks that land unattackable, then rotate roles. Eight of ten is strong. A block that floats past the kitchen line is a miss even if it lands in — depth control is the whole point. The driver is drilling too: any drive that misses the blocker's reachable zone wastes the rep.

One thought to take on court

Paddle in front, grip at three out of ten — the drive supplies all the power the block will ever need.