Lob and Overhead
Why this drill
At rec level the lob wins far more points than it should, because nobody practices tracking it down or putting the overhead away. Ten minutes of deliberate lob-overhead work removes a whole category of lost points.
Setup
One player at the non-volley-zone line, the other at the opposite kitchen line with a supply of balls. Half court, straight ahead.
The drill
The feeder dinks twice, then throws up a lob over the other player's hitting shoulder. The lobbed player drop-steps, turns, tracks back, and either hits the overhead out of the air or lets it bounce and resets a high, deep reply — their call, and calling it correctly is part of the drill. Reachable lob, take the overhead; a good lob, bounce it and reset. Ten lobs per set, then swap. Score overheads that would end the point and resets that would keep it neutral.
One thought to take on court
Drop-step and turn sideways first — backpedaling to an overhead is slow, and it is how ankles get hurt.