Hi Nick: When lining up a shot, I lock in on the ball’s flight, try to get my steps right and drive through the ball—all the basics as I understand them. Yet all too often, at the last half-second of the stroke I shift focus from the ball to the net cord, target or other player. Then I blow the shot with a mishit. How can I work to correct this infuriating habit?
—Mal Provost, Burnt Hills, NY
Hi Mal: You have lots of company because you have too many options going through your mind. No matter what shot you are hitting, you must include a very simple tip—pick just one, rather than every tip you’ve ever heard. Never try to out guess what your opponent is going to do. Go to the ball with your mind made up on hitting it to only one location. Do not even consider that there is a player on the other side of the net. You are hitting the ball. That’s it.
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