• Players A and B take it in turns to hit.
• Try to always return to the "T" after striking the ball
• Usually, play for 5 minutes before swapping roles - vary according to number of drills and time available.
• Some drills require only one swap for each player to play each shot on each side,(eg Boast - Drive) where others require 3 swaps (eg Boast - boast - drop - drive.)
• Maintain your position/role for the allotted time before swapping - don't continually change.

Click on the required Drill below to activate the frame on the right.

In this series of videos you will note player drill/routine is designed to improve the following playing skills, eg

• recovery to the T
• moving around the opponent
• watching the ball to track the anticipated height, depth and angle of the ball, as well as keep a reasonable distance from the walls and corners.
• striving to hit tight shots to limit the opponent's options
• intercepting the ball where possible

There is a tendency when doing training routines to be slack, by avoiding moving to the T, moving into the hitting position without firstly going through the centre - that is really cheating on training.  These routines will improve your fitness while improving your skills.

NOTE: If you have difficulty with any routine, and a particular skill is letting you down, change the routine to something easier.  Solo drills, and pair drills are a good build up to these pair routines, and ghosting will improve your movement on court. More importantly be patient.

Don't confuse Pair Drills (where the same skill is repeated by both players) with Pair Routines (a variety of skills are repeated by both players involving more court movement)..

This routine is probably the easiest routine of all as it only requires two shots and a limited amount of running.  After getting the routine going, and being confident in controlling the ball, especially keeping the drives close to the wall, the routine can be made more difficult by:

• Always returning to the T (centre) after each shot.
• Watching the ball at all times
• After striking the ball move out of the way moving towards the  T (centre) still watching the ball (this will enable you to get out of the way of the ball if the opponent should mishit the ball)

The lazy way of doing this routine is to just move from side to side.  It is of more benefit to move, pretending you are not sure where the return will go, which is what happens in a true game situation.

Rally to length, moving around each other avoiding interference.

This is an advanced routine requiring movement in the diagonal.

It is important to hit the boast and move quickly to the centre court, then taking after the ball.  The same applies after hitting a drop shot.

A very good routine to break up the rhythm of the game, and make the opponent work hard.

Training for good length is a great basic practice routine. This is a similar routine to the Backhand Wall Rally.

The ultimate would be to:

• hit the ball tight
• hit tight and deep
• limit the amount of volleying the opponent can do off the drives
• recover to the T (centre court area) after each shot
• move fluently around each other without interference

This is a more advanced routine as it requires good volleying skills.

If you are not used to volleying pick an easier routine until your skills improve.