Use This Drill To Get Into The Kitchen 👊

You should be doing this drill once a week

⬆️ Click The Video Above ⬆️

Stacking 101 🔥 

Why you should stack, and when you shouldn’t stack

As you see in the pro game, stacking is quite common. It boils down to each team trying to play to their strengths. There’s definitely an upside to a team that is versatile, being able to play each side. If your initial strategy isn’t working, you can switch it up. It’s also beneficial to constantly be giving your opponents different looks. On the flip side, it can be beneficial for your own familiarity and groove to play one side for the whole game or match. I’ve found a lot of people at the 4.0-4.5 level struggle to adjust to the technical difference of playing either side.

To put it simply, my answer will always be to stack if you’re a player that’s better on a certain side. It will always be beneficial to stack on the serve, as you have time to get into position and you’re not moving in. Unwinding the stack as a returner is where it gets tricky, especially against bangers. A good rule of thumb is to return crosscourt and high when you’re unwinding the stack. This will give you time to get in, and there’s no angle to beat you down your line. There really isn’t an instance where stacking is never a good idea, unless you’re really struggling with short returns and drives at your feet. There comes a point where you must concede and try a point or two straight up, but try to resist as long as possible!

PPA Virginia Beach Update 🏆

1. UPSET ALERT 🚨🚨🚨

   • In the round of 32 our coach Max Freeman, and his partner Casey Diamond, defeated 4th seeded Tyson McGuffin and Jaume Martinez Vich 11-5, 11-2.

2. Ignatowich Moves On

   • James had no problem in his first round of mixed doubles winning 11-6, 11-5 with Meghan Dizon

   • In Men’s Doubles we had a Newsletter Matchup of Ignatowich vs. Fu. This was also a first time partnership of James and Christian Alshon. It will be interesting to see what these two can do playing together for the first time, especially due to their fiery history.

When To Hit Offensive Lobs ✅

Finding the opportunity for an offensive lob can be a really tricky thing, which is probably the main reason I don’t do it that much. Ideally you want to be on balance, with your opponent leaning in. This doesn’t happen that much! Players are taught to be leaning in when their opponent is reaching, not when they are in a good position.

You can have some success when the ball is really short in the kitchenette. Players will see the ball is too low to speedup, and sometimes you could catch them on a topspin lob. This is probably the highest percentage play for a lob attempt. Another good time to try a lob is when a player is taking a lot of the middle balls (usually the left sider in mixed doubles). When they are that far over they are relying on their backhand to cover the line. It’s far more difficult to cover an overhead with your backhand than forehand, because you have less reach and power. You can get tricky with you want to with lobs out of the air that look like flicks, but this shot is too hard for me to even think about in a tournament, so maybe you shouldn’t either?