Machine Fast Hands
Why this drill
Set fast and close, a machine attacks harder and more regularly than any drilling partner will — and unlike a partner, it never softens when you start missing. Pure volume for blocks and counters.
Setup
Machine at the opposite non-volley-zone line aimed at your body, set firm and flat at chest-to-shoulder height, quick interval. You at your kitchen line, paddle up. Start one notch slower than you think you want.
The drill
Alternate jobs in sets of fifteen: one set of blocks — every ball absorbed softly into the kitchen, scoring only balls that land there — then one set of counters, redirecting each feed firmly down at a target cone in the machine-side transition zone. Three rounds of the pair. Blocks are the priority; if block sets score under eight, slow the machine rather than abandoning the soft job. Log blocks and counters separately.
One thought to take on court
Meet the ball in front of your chest with a still paddle — the machine supplies all the pace either job needs.