Tip of the day

I Took a Lesson to Make my Forehand Speed Up a Weapon

Most right side players speed up through the middle because it's the most natural forehand. Coach Zack Silver says that's exactly why you should save it.

Through the middle is the easiest place to attack from the right side, and also one of the toughest spots to cover. Use it early and your opponents start sitting on it.

So go down the line first, even though it's a very hard speed up to hit. Your goal is to make them cover the line.

His trigger is wide to wide: you dink your opponent wide, they send it back wide, and now you have outside leverage on them. That's the moment to take the line.

Keep going there as long as you can win there, even if you miss a couple you felt you should have converted. He usually stops when someone Ernies it, because now they've told you they're covering it.

Then go to the inside hip, but only once or twice, so you save it for later. By then they're worried about the line and the hip, and the middle opens up.

Why it works: it's not that you're so good at speeding up, it's that you've moved your opponents to where you want them. Even a speed up that loses the point still fits the system, because it teaches them to cover the line.

He plays percentages, too. If you win 75 percent of the points where you know the pattern, you can live with losing 25 percent to great shots.

The lesson ends with real game clips where you can watch his opponent Isaac shading toward his line before the middle speed up goes past him, and that defender movement is the whole cue.

Key points

Use the middle early and your opponents start sitting on it.
Go down the line first to make your opponents cover it.
Take the line when you dink wide, they send it back wide, and you have outside leverage.
He usually stops going to the line once someone Ernies it, because that tells you they're covering it.
Even a speed up that loses the point still teaches them to cover the line.

Watch the full tutorial here.