Session 8 — Exhibition Flair — drill poster

Drill 1: Nick Hunting

Setup

2 players, feeder mid-court, hitter working the back corner. (3-player groups: rotate the hitter role every set so everyone gets reps in the corner. 4-player groups: run two feeder/hitter pairs side by side if a second court is free, or rotate all four through feeder/hitter/retrieving in threes.)

Pattern

Feeder feeds a ball into the hitter's back corner. Instead of a standard drop, the hitter attempts a nick — a shot aimed to strike the exact seam where the side wall meets the floor (ideally right in the back corner too), so the ball dies on the bounce with almost no rebound. Feeder retrieves whatever comes off (a true nick won't come back at all) and re-feeds. Run 8–10 attempts each side, then swap roles.

Coaching points

• Aim low and tight into the wall-floor seam, not just "short" — a nick is a precision target, not a power shot.
• Accept a high miss rate early; this is a low-percentage shot even for good players.
• Disguise isn't the priority yet — pure execution is.

Success criterion

3 of 10 attempts are true dead nicks (no playable rebound) — a deliberately low bar, since even strong club players rarely exceed this.

Regression

Widen the target to the whole side-wall base, not the exact corner seam, to build the low, tight trajectory before demanding precision.

Progression

Feeder starts feeding tighter/faster balls so the hitter must generate the nick from a harder starting position.

Duration

20 min.

Drill 2: Trick Shot Carousel

Setup

2 players, feeder rotates feed position, hitter attempts a different exhibition shot each round. (3-player groups: rotate the feeder every round of the carousel so the hitter tries each trick shot against a variety of feed rhythms — everyone gets a turn as hitter across the block. 4-player groups: run it as a genuine carousel — one hitter, one feeder, two watching/retrieving stray balls, there will be plenty — rotating all four roles every 4–5 reps.)

Pattern

Feeder feeds from a couple of different spots around the court in turn. On each, the hitter attempts a specific trick shot in rotation — first a corkscrew (extreme inside-out spin/angle off the front wall), then a reverse-angle boast (boasting to the "wrong" side wall relative to the ball's position) — cycling through both a few times. Scored by makes, not misses: count how many land playably in the front court at all; precision comes later.

Coaching points

• Corkscrew needs an exaggerated wrist snap and open stance to generate the spin/angle.
• Reverse-angle boast needs the hitter to get their body around/behind the ball more than a normal boast.
• Both shots are about controlled risk — commit fully once you've decided to try it, a half-hit trick shot is worse than a clean regular shot.

Success criterion

4 of 10 total attempts (across both shot types) land playably in the front court, regardless of whether they're a winner.

Regression

Feeder feeds a slower, more central, easier-angle ball for both shot types.

Progression

Hitter must call out which trick shot they're attempting before the feed arrives, so the feeder can react/retrieve appropriately, adding pressure.

Duration

20 min.