Third Shot Journey
Why this drill
The baseline-to-kitchen trip has three chapters — drop, advance, reset — and a bucket of balls lets you rehearse the whole story alone: every rep a full journey, not an isolated stroke.
Setup
A court and a bucket of balls — some at the baseline, a few staged at mid-court. A towel in the middle of the far kitchen.
The drill
Start at the baseline: self-feed and hit a third-shot drop at the towel. Judge it honestly — if it would have arrived unattackable, advance two quick steps and split step; if not, hold and hit another from where you are. From mid-court, self-feed a low ball and hit a reset drop, then advance again the same way. Finish with your toes at the kitchen line and one shadow dink. That's one journey; a journey where every ball earned its advance scores a point. Ten journeys per block, score out of ten, log it.
One thought to take on court
Advance only behind a ball you'd advance behind in a match — the journey teaches judgment, and cheating it just rehearses hope.