Overhead Carousel
Why this drill
Overheads tire you out faster than any shot in the game, which is exactly why they're undertrained. Three rotating roles — lobber, smasher, retriever — manufacture overhead volume with built-in rest so the last rep is as sound as the first.
Setup
One court, three players: the lobber at one baseline with a pile of balls, the smasher at the opposite kitchen line, the retriever behind the smasher's baseline gathering and feeding balls back to the lobber's pile.
The drill
The lobber sends up eight lobs of honest but varied height and depth; the smasher tracks back — turn and drop-step, never backpedaling — and hits controlled overheads, aiming deep thirds rather than max power: alternate the target, left third then right third, calling it out loud before contact. The retriever keeps the ball supply moving. After eight, rotate all three roles. Three full rotations gives everyone twenty-four overheads — roughly a month of open play's worth. Score yourself on called thirds hit; sixteen of twenty-four is strong. Lobbing is skill work too: a lobber who can place four different lobs on demand is building a weapon of their own.
One thought to take on court
First step back is sideways — turn the shoulders and skip back under it; the ball overhead is no excuse for backpedaling.