Drive Depth Control
Why this drill
A drive that lands mid-court is an arm ball; a drive that arrives deep changes the point. Self-fed drives at a depth target — with a height ceiling to keep you honest — train pace that behaves.
Setup
Baseline, bucket of balls, and a towel laid across the opposite court about three feet inside the baseline. Full court or half — your choice.
The drill
Drop-feed a waist-high bounce and drive it, aiming to land the ball on or beyond the towel while keeping its flight no higher than a paddle's length above the net as it crosses — pace with a ceiling. Ten forehands, count towel-depth landings that also honored the ceiling: five of ten is solid, eight is strong. Ten backhands, same standard. Then mix: alternate one drive and one drop from the same feed, telling your body the two shots share a setup and diverge at the last moment — the disguise that makes both better. Balls that sail deep but high were sitting ducks; count them as misses.
One thought to take on court
Low over, deep in — a drive's power is only as good as the height it refuses to give away.