Ways to attack on a non conventional mixed doubles team

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by gordgord, Apr 22, 2013.

  1. gordgord

    gordgord New Member

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    I play mixed in high school and there are a lot of teams where the guy always stands in the back and the girl in the front even when they are defending. However the guy is usually decent at returning smashes and essentially "carries" the girl. What are some ways to attack teams like this who constantly play front/back?
     
  2. santhoshbhoopal

    santhoshbhoopal Regular Member

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    clips smashes to the sides lines, done. Thats what i did.
     
  3. santhoshbhoopal

    santhoshbhoopal Regular Member

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    dont put pace on it
     
  4. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Good suggestions above.

    Firstly - if the girl is standing at the net, its time to hit her. They need to learn not to stand in the way of smashes.

    Secondly, they are massively exposing themselves to all types of punch clears. The guy will have to stand in the middle to cover both mid court pushes/drives. This means that a straight attacking clear will get past him quickly, and the cross court attacking clear will pull him quickly out of position (especially if followed up by a quick clear or lift to the other back corner). If the girl doesn't cover cross court flat shots, then make sure you use this to your advantage!

    Good luck

    p.s. When I play against people standing like that I don't often bother smashing and dropping. I stick with the clears, lifts and drives and watch the other guy fail. Woo!
     
  5. Line & Length

    Line & Length Regular Member

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    A word of warning re: cross-court attacking clears. If the opposing man is standing fairly central, too attacking (i.e. low) a clear could be intercepted mid-court. Your partner will not thank you...

    If the opposing lady stays rooted to the front, then anything just behind her is going to cause them trouble. As MSeeley has already stated, pushes to mid-court and drives/attacking clears to rear-court will stress the opposing man. However, I would also consider fast drops as an alternative to smash. Just quick enough that their lady can't intercept.
     
  6. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Excellent advice! Always be careful with these shots! Too low and they can be attacked, too high and you achieve nothing...

    It is my experience though, that a man standing in this central position, is probably worrying about the huge chasm of midcourt that he has to cover (at least thats how I feel when my lady stays at the net!). Worrying about those areas (which can be attacked with fast drops and pushes as you pointed out) does strange things to your readiness to receive a clear! Now imagine we use that perfect fast drop shot, followed by a fast cross court lift. Mwahahahaha...

    The cross court shots become really funny mid game, when you have already burned him with all the straight shots (and he tried to whip a cross drive to "get out of jail", which my partner is standing and waiting for... good times).
     
  7. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    very dark, matt. I think I'd enjoy playing with you!
     
  8. |_Footwork_|

    |_Footwork_| Regular Member

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    you guys are not serious with the advice to play clears against a mixed where the male player is always back and the woman always in front!?
    i would love to play against you guys...
     
  9. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    I am serious - and it would be a fun game :) If you re-read the posts above, what I explain is that using those clears and flat lifts in conjunction with attacking the sidelines is lethal.

    A guy who always at the back and girl who is always at the front are leaving lots of gaps in their formations. Some are down the sides of the court - hence the slices, fast drops, half smashes, pushes and drives. Once these have been exploited a few times, the man will have to step his base forwards to even be able to get to these shots without having to lift them. Once he has moved his base, the gaps start appearing in the rearcourt (especially a straight attacking clear). Do you disagree?

    I accept that if my opponents are simply stood at the back I am not going to hit it to him - the gaps are at the sides. But if the gaps are not at the sides, either my opponents are in the correct position (woman in the midcourt, not at the front), or they are leaving their backcourt exposed (man in the midcourt, woman at the front). Look forward to your thoughts on this...
     
  10. |_Footwork_|

    |_Footwork_| Regular Member

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    as i don't have to cover the net, but only the mid- and backcourt, it's not a good idea to lift. if you lift in mixed doubles with my partner covering the net, i take a step and i am able to control the game!

    against a woman-front-man-back formation, you should try to control the game yourself, which means slow and fast pushes to the sidelines and attack!

    the goal of the front-back-formation is to have the man in the back and smash! you should not favor this by lifting too much! (an occasional lift is of course a nice surprise... but generally speaking, in doubles and mixed doubles you lose if you lift too much (at least against decent opponents...)).
     
  11. extremenanopowe

    extremenanopowe Regular Member

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    More wrist to the side of course. Punch to the back hand. Prepare to pounce. ;)
     
  12. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    I see what you mean! You are absolutely correct - I am giving you a chance to dictate the rally - but only on the first shot. After the first lift, you probably won't get in position to properly attack the next one - you will be running too much! A solid defence, and the ability to counter hit easily, is the focus of my game.

    I am happy with my tactics. If you want to smash at me (I am standing on same side as shuttle at all times), I will happily receive your smashes. I will drive it back at you, drive it to the midcourt, or run you side to side. Because your partner is not in the correct place, I can easily run you side to side - your partner is too far forwards to help you cover the midcourt! If you want to smash at my partner, be my guest :) She will hit a winner off your cross court smash - I guarantee it.

    Basically these tactics make use of the fact that you are going to have to run a LOT, and you are unlikely to get through our defenses. Because of this, I am happy for you to attack me, or my partner (its your loss...), because there is so much room to counter hit.

    And so, it seems we are both happy with our tactics, which means it would be a fun match :)

    Obviously, if your attack is really really good and I can't get your smashes back, I will probably lose, but that means you are much much better than me, and so you will probably win anyway, regardless of my tactics!
     
  13. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Whenever an opponent stands far forwards in defence, he (or she, in this case) is a target. A good smash, hit hard and steep at this player, should win the rally. So your most straightforward and potentially your best shot is simple: smash at the errant defender. However, it's good to have a backup plan, for when your smashes aren't up to snuff -- either because you're not a powerful enough player (be honest with yourself!) or because you're having a bad day, or whatever. A weak, flat smash is vulnerable to crouch defence from the far-forwards player. The tactics that Matt describe are a safer way to take advantage. Okay, it's not quite as devastating as a consistent power smash down the defender's throat; but if your smash is a bit iffy, you may be better off playing positionally and hitting th
     
    #13 Gollum, Apr 24, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2013
  14. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    put shots toward the doubles side lines between the girl and the guy so it's just too far for the girl to reach and it's a bit of work for the guy to come up and cover. whip the guy side to side, full doubles width, he'll get tired soon enough
     
  15. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Sorry, my Internet exploded and turned my post into Kafka-balls. Let's try again:

    Whenever an opponent stands far forwards in defence, he (or she, in this case) is a target. A good smash, hit hard and steeply at this player, should win the rally. So your most straightforward and potentially your best shot is simple: smash at the errant defender.

    However, it's good to have a backup plan, for when your smashes aren't up to snuff -- either because you're not a powerful enough player (be honest with yourself!) or because you're having a bad day, or whatever. A weak, flat smash is vulnerable to crouch defence from the far-forwards player. Remember that this player has had a lot of practice defending in this position, so don't expect her to be a complete pushover!

    The tactics that Matt describe are a safer way to take advantage. Okay, it's not quite as devastating as a consistent power smash down the defender's throat; but if your smash is a bit iffy, you may be better off playing positionally and hitting the open spaces.

    My first non-smash choice would be a fast drop away from the forwards defender. You can also try a clip-smash in this direction, going for accuracy and aiming near the sideline.
     
    #15 Gollum, Apr 24, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2013
  16. raymond

    raymond Regular Member

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    It seems we're talking about 2-1 Singles game, as the girl is already out of position and out of the game. Just about anything would work, as long as slow drops are not used. As Matt suggested, run down the guy. Flat drives, straight or cross, may also be good, as the girl may now be standing too close to the net, that everything is too fast for her to get.
     
  17. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    But on a doubles court :)
     
  18. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    All this talk of tactics is making me dizzy... just hit it to where they aren't. :p
     
  19. raymond

    raymond Regular Member

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    That might still not be too different, given the front court portion in front of service line is well covered by the lady (give her some credit). Area might still be the same, but the shape is changed.
     
  20. Stratlover

    Stratlover Regular Member

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    As someone who routinely plays in this mixed formation, I'll tell you the most effective shot is the fast drop down the tramlines. It is doubly effective because it causes confusion and is in a tough spot to reach. It's far more effective than a power smash, drives, or fast clear. I play this way because my partner's defense is usually too weak to cover the man's smash and my speed is fast enough to be able to cover smashes at the tramlines as long as I can somewhat anticipate. However, you throw in the fast drop and it becomes very hard to retrieve. Any type of clear will just be smashed so that's probably not a good idea.
     

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