Two Lines
Why this drill
One chalk line teaches "over the net." Two lines teach trajectory — the difference between a rally ball and a passing shot, controlled on command. Height discipline is direction discipline's older sibling.
Setup
Net line marked, plus a second line one meter higher. Five to six meters back. The space between the lines is the drive band; above the top line is the loop band.
The drill
Call each ball before you hit it — "drive" into the band, or "loop" above the top line — alternating in whatever pattern you set. Start strict: drive, loop, drive, loop for twenty balls, counting correct placements. Then random self-calls for twenty more. The call-then-do gap is where control lives.
One thought to take on court
Choose the height before the bounce and swing to that shape — trajectory picked late is trajectory missed.