"Time in the air is time wasted...the sooner you approach the shuttle the more options you have...crouch low, keep legs wide and flexed, racket at net level..." Is it right to tell a pupil to approach every net shot and every service return in pursuit of the kill, and tell him/her to adjust at the last if he/she takes it too low? Are some serves simply too low to approach with a high racket? Aleik.
it is always possible to return the shuttle off the top of the net, if it is very very tight then it requires more of a brush than a kill. however there is no serve that cannot be attacked - the shuttle will always have to travel further than your racquet head does for a serve (assuming that you toe the line and the serve is low) during play i think more caution should be exercised, tight drop shots are difficult to play, and usually the decision can only be made at the last minute - that said - i doubt that many people can consistently a drop shot tight enough to cause trouble often enough. and if they can it's quite probable that they could have smashed or cleared it as well. so in short - if you can see a drop shot coming then attack it. if you can get to the net in time then attack it. and on serve - always attack the low serve. intimidating your opponent will lead to more high serves and bad low serves - as soon as they see that their serve cannot be attacked they will gain confidence and continue low serving.. hope this helps Neil
it depends... there is no one general rule. ideally, one would want to take netshots early and high up, it gives your opponent less recovery time. however, it is at the expense of more speed and court coverage at your side, which during the rally will take you further off the base, and in the long term, cuts into your energy store.
We see an exception in singles play. Sometimes we play the hairpin netshot. Other times, if the shuttle is still above the net, an attempted kill may only pushes the shuttle back to the opponent who maybe waiting in midcourt (becuase of his previous shot). There are situations which an aggressive push/kill are warrented - other times, a simple netshot may suffice.
Depends what you mean by "kill". If you can make the shuttle hit the ground before the short service line, then it doesn't matter where your opponent is; he won't get it back. If your "kill" is flatter, and more like a downwards drive from the net, then an opponent in the rearcourt might get it back. In this case, a netshot is better.
in either case the earlier you get to the net the more options you have. it would be exceedingly difficult to play a good netshot is you weren't there in plenty of time. the only thing you must take into account though is that if you charge to the net without caution it is easy to have the birdie flicked over your head... if you know it's a net/drop shot and you can get to the net before it crosses the tape then you are in a good position to win the rally within the next couple of shots..
was told always to try and be agressive and threatening at the net during play and return of serve , this is how andy wood and rexy teach gail emms in particular , just by having the 'presence' at the net can force a lift leading to attack for you or your partner. Nearly the same is taught in singles if you play a very tight good spinning net shot be aggresive ready to kill , it will likely force a lift or poor shot. u hope anyways those are the feelings of me and those coaches
that's fine for the pros for some of us lesser mortals, we have to find our own limits. Trying to attack too much leads to mistakes and giving points away. As for what to tell a pupil. I think you tell them what is ideal, but they also need to know how to adjust to circumstances. If in a particular game the opponents are much better/faster at the net, then you may have to avoid almost all net replies.
Need clarification: Singles or Doubles? Service return or Open play? If singles, with service return, I would say 80% you would move quick, but play underhand shot (net/lift/defensive drive) 20% may move qiuck for fast drive. If singles open play, then depends on quality, but less chance it would be for kill, as opponent has more options, and you can commit less. If doubles service return, then would be playing shot "overhand" everytime, but type of shot varied (maybe net block, slow push, fast push cross court/straight) At whatever level, players can achieve this physically, but many cannot in mind. Many get there, then choose to lift. If double open play, then less chnce and some to be taken underhand, but as can commit more, then higher % than in singles. As Cheung said often hairpin shots (underhand ) in net play, as less comittment, and moves opponent out of position more, in doubles not practical, as players have less distance to cover, and more comittment, so you have to make net shots faster/lower, but trade off tightness to net. As others have said, the title is ambiguous so the answer you require is too.(although would still be ambiguous even after clarification, since there is always a need for variety.
I teach the players I work with to attack when possible and not to be afraid of hitting the net. It takes time and lots of practise for players to find their limits to their returns. I like to coach them to play the percentages game when playing returns. For example how attacking a poor low serve with a fast push to the servers chest will yield a high chance of a ace and how a push to the mid point of the trams will normally give you a high return to form an attacking oppertunity or on the other end of the scale a high lift to the rear corners of the court will give a high chance of a shot that will remain in court but will lead to you giving the attack away
That is always a bone of contention up here with the coaches. Most would teach the kill before the net shot so that it encourages a pupil to try and go for the winner and try the attack first as opposed to going for the net shot with the aim of not attacking. For both shots the racket carriage is different, the kill should be up high going for the downward motion first as opposed to going across to the shuttle for the net play but it is purely a matter of how you reach the shuttle and if you can get there early enough to kill as opposed to playing the more "percieved" defensive net shot.
Good points made by all. I think in many cases it's the mentality of attack over other things that wins and loses a doubles match, so it's imperative that this be drilled into players from an early age. Attacking the net after having spent years thinking it "ok" to lift net area shots is a much harder lesson than the reverse; the flick serve, which is one shot played once that sums up, without words, the need for a balance, and this balance can be honed easily enough. So I'm now sure that attacking the net is a crucial element to making a good doubles player, and should be taught early on, also as it hands control of the rally to the aggressor, not to mention in a fun way which will encourage the beginner to carry on "hunting" at the net, and carry on playing badminton. Aleik.
Agressive Net Play I dont know if you should tell your student to try to kill every net shot because she/he might end up with quite a few kills going into the net. Instead, try telling them to make contact with the shuttle as high as possible. If they make a good net shot, then tell them to only shift back a little but so that if their opponent plays another net shot, then the student can jump in and kill. You should really only try to kill or smash if youre sure that you can win the rally. Most good net kills will win the rally but be careful of trying to kill everything.
Going in for the kill at the net requires anticipation, explosive movement and a quick hand. A success here involves all of these elements; if one fails, the shots is ineffective. However, if it works, it is the end of the rally. Going in for a net shot is lazier (no need to push to the net a hard as possible) and opens you up for to be killed at the net. So.. what to teach to a beginner? Well, changing from an aggressive racquet position (face forward rather than up) or the other way around requires time. When attacking, there is much less time to make your move. So, might as well teach them to move with an aggressive stance. It is important to teach the "killer instinct" and the "owning of the net" that is essential for doubles.
Yes, I agree that the kill isn't the one option we should go for, but to teach aggressiveness will improve speed at the net, and in time our juniors will be able to decide quickly whether they are capable of making a kill, drive, push, tumble or lob, and adjust accordingly. I think that, with a little dexterity, it becomes easy to manipulate the aggressive racket head into playing any shot at the net - in any case it makes more sense to do this than to try to attack after having started with a low racket head. Aleik.
