If You Keep Hitting Dinks into the Net, You're Probably Not Following Through Enough

Ever have one of those games where you just keep dumping easy dinks into the net?

Yeah, us too.

Maybe you're feeling extra nervous for some reason. Or your opponents are super aggressive at the kitchen line and you're struggling to keep up. Or maybe you're playing with a new partner and you don't want to let them down.

Whatever the case, playing tight at the net is a recipe for lost points piling up on you. Worse yet, your opponents will likely recognize your struggle and start singling you out. Not good.

So how do you hit your way out of this bad situation?

Simple: remember to follow through.

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Why Your Follow-Through Is So Important

We all play our best when we're not overthinking every shot. Playing free is playing fun. And there's nothing more fun than when the ball just effortlessly glides right where you want it to.

But playing tight does the opposite. For any number of reasons, the second you start overthinking your dinks is the exact moment they'll betray you.

Just like that, you're in a cycle of self-sabotage:

• You're chopping at the ball instead of swinging through it
• You're trying to will it over the net instead of guiding it there
• You're shaving every shot to the slimmest of margins instead of trusting your abilities and just going with the flow

When you feel this start to happen, the simplest fix is to force yourself to follow through on every shot, even – or, especially – when you're dinking up at the kitchen line.

This simple motion helps reset your rhythm and get you back to basics. And a nice compact follow-through will help push that ball up and over the net rather than hitting it short every time.

It sounds painfully simple, but the best advice often is.

Contact Point and Follow-Through

As pro Zane Navratil explains in the video above, your ideal contact point when dinking should be about one forearm length in front of your body.

The follow-through is where a lot of players mess up. Since you're not hitting the ball far, you don't need big, crazy swings.

• Keep your follow-through compact
• Think of it as not crossing over the plane of your body
• Your follow-through should come right back to the center of your body, not over the opposite shoulder

This keeps you in ready position for the next shot.

The next time you're struggling at the kitchen line, remind yourself to follow through. Just like that, you'll stop overthinking and start dinking with more success. You're welcome.