1. Dinking
Beginner: Learning soft touches over the net with control, aiming to keep the ball in play.
Intermediate: Adding direction, depth, and aiming at opponents’ feet or open spaces.
Advanced: Strategic placement, spin variation, and setting up offensive opportunities through dinking patterns.
2. Third Shot Drop
Beginner: Focus on getting the ball over the net and into the kitchen with a soft arc.
Intermediate: Consistency and depth control; recognizing when to drop versus drive.
Advanced: Precision placement, disguise between drop and drive, and adapting to opponents’ positioning.
3. Volleying
Beginner: Learning to block volleys at the net without swinging too hard.
Intermediate: Controlling direction and pace, using punch volleys effectively.
Advanced: Attacking volleys with spin, targeting seams, and reading the ball early.
4. Resetting
Beginner: Basic blocks from the transition zone to stop fast balls.
Intermediate: Soft, controlled resets that land in the kitchen under pressure.
Advanced: Smooth resets off hard shots with paddle angle control, using resets to regain NVZ position.
5. Serving & Return
Beginner: Consistent legal serves and returns, focusing on depth.
Intermediate: Adding placement (e.g., to backhand side) and spin to serve.
Advanced: Strategic serves to set up the next shot, aggressive returns with pressure.
6. Stacking & Positioning
Beginner: Understanding basic court positioning and moving with a partner.
Intermediate: Learning simple stacking strategies to favor strong sides.
Advanced: Full stacking with role-based positioning, exploiting angles, and disguising setups.
