Resetting out of a firefight

Setup

1. Protective eyewear for everyone. The attacking pair (B) stands at their kitchen line; the defending pair (A) starts in the transition zone, a few steps behind their own kitchen line.
2. All attacks aim from the shoulders down: body, hip or feet.

How it runs

1. B1 starts each point by speeding up a ball at either A player.
2. Each A player decides: counter if the ball is high and they are balanced; reset if it is low, at their feet, or they are stretched or still moving.
3. A reset is a soft block that lands in B's kitchen. Once it lands, A moves forward together and the point is played out.
4. Scoring: the rally winner gets a point, and A earns a bonus point for each reset that B can only dink. Play to 11, then swap roles.

Coaching points

• Loosen the grip and let the paddle give on contact, as if catching the ball.
• Open the paddle face slightly and push the ball forward, not up.
• Aim the reset to land in the kitchen, away from the attacker who hit the last ball.
• Reset first, then move: step forward once the ball has landed softly.
• Countering a ball at your feet rarely wins. Recognise that moment and reset instead.

Common mistakes

• Trying to win every exchange, so the firefight continues until you lose it.
• Stabbing at the ball and popping it up.
• Resetting well, then staying in the transition zone instead of moving up.