Fed Dinks
Why this drill
A rally is a terrible place to learn a stroke — the next ball arrives before the lesson lands. Hand-fed dinks give a newer player the same ball thirty times in a row, which is how the push-from-the- shoulder motion becomes a habit instead of a hope.
Setup
Both players at the non-volley-zone line, straight across from each other. Feeder holds a basket or pocketful of balls; a towel in the middle of the kitchen as the target.
The drill
The feeder tosses gentle underhand feeds that bounce about a paddle's length in front of the dinker — the same friendly ball every time. The dinker hits ten forehand dinks at the towel, then ten backhands, then ten alternating. Count towel-zone landings; fifteen of thirty is the first goal, twenty-two is strong. Feeds stay boring on purpose — when every ball is the same, every rep goes to the stroke, not the scramble. Then swap roles; feeding is touch practice in disguise.
One thought to take on court
Push, don't hit — the paddle lifts from the shoulder and finishes pointing where the ball went.