ORIGINAL LESSON · LESSON 23 OF 50 · DEFENSE
Defensive lob over the net player
Goal: Find the open court behind the net player.
A lob can reset the point or reverse court position.
Situation: You are behind the baseline. The defender is near the middle, near the net.
The decision
Decision: You are defending against a net player. Can height reset the point?
You are behind the baseline. The defender is near the middle, near the net.
- High defensive lob — Recover behind the ball — GOOD READ: The opponent is at net. Your lob targets the space behind them. The ball lands 2.9 m inside the sideline. The defender travels 6.7 m back and returns deep in this example.
- Low passing drive — Try to thread by — TOUGH CHOICE: Behind the baseline, this low path leaves little room for error. The ball lands 1.3 m inside the sideline. The defender travels 6.9 m back and returns deep in this example.
What to take into the next point
A deep lob can send a net player back.
What a good read looks like
The read this lesson trains: Find the open court behind the net player. High balls that move a net player back, reset a defensive point, or use the space behind an opponent who has come forward. In the interactive lesson you play the rally, make the call, and then read why it worked or did not. The coaching grades the decision, not just the point outcome — a good read can still lose the rally, and the lesson says why.
Part of the Lob pattern
Every lesson that trains this pattern is collected on the Lob pattern page.
Related lessons in this pattern
- Recover after the overhead — SIMULATION-BUILT LESSON · lesson 24 of 50
- Deep defensive lob through the middle — ORIGINAL LESSON · lesson 33 of 50
Original lesson: outcomes come from the original lesson set, as authored, not from the simulation. The interactive lesson is labelled ORIGINAL LESSON on the site.
Play this lesson in the interactive app →
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