I link up with Ryan Dawidjan (coach to Aarman Bhatia and Kate Fahey and the mind behind Breakfast Ball) to work on getting quicker hands and winning more hand battles. Ryan’s big “hot take” is to stop trying to hit volleys down at people’s feet and focus on simply getting the ball back over the net two or three times, since most firefights end with someone hitting into the net. We cover how to train hands with better intention: prioritize clearing the net, use more blocking (not constant hard counters), stay athletic with your feet and base, and add variety instead of drilling chest-to-chest volleys. Ryan also breaks down a forehand counter concept inspired by Ben—more out-and-forward with a low-to-high finish—to create margin, plus decision-making drills to practice when to block versus attack.
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00:00 Meet Ryan
00:40 Stop Hitting Down
01:41 Pop Pop Mentality
03:13 Hands Drill Fixes
06:07 Defender vs Attacker Mode
08:24 Make Opponents Play
10:44 Ben Johns Forehand Counter
16:32 Block vs Counter Meta
19:23 Decision Making Drill
24:58 Soft Volley Winner Drill
30:08 Key Takeaways Recap
31:03 Wrap Up and Follow