Drive techniques

To be good at drives, you need the following:

• know the different drive techniques used in different parts of the court
• how to position yourself to make it as easy as possible to get to the shot
• understand your opponent's moves and how to exploit them
  

There are three different techniques used depending on where the shot is being made: above the net at the forecourt, above the net at the backcourt and below the net at the backcourt.

From above the net in the forecourt, the player uses an overhead action to hit the drive. If the bird is at net level, the player needs to crouch down lower to be able to hit it with the racquet pointing upwards. The stroke is initiated with a very small amount of internal or external rotation of the shoulder , depending on whether it is on the forward or backhand, respectively. Just before contact, the fingers tighten momentarily to deliver the power into the shot. Body and forearm rotation is minimal. The objective of this shot is to get to the shuttle quickly while it is above the net and direct it downwards at the opponent to put pressure on them.

When the shot is deeper in the court but still above the net, we can add forearm rotation to add more power because there is more time to prepare for the shot. The motion is still initiated by a slight shoulder rotation and it still requires grip tightening just before contact. There should be a rebound action just after contact. This shot can be described as a half-smash taken low, and the objective is to place the shot into an open space to catch your opponents on a poor counterattack.

When the drive is performed from below the net at the back, the racquet points sideways or downwards. Therefore, the technique is quite different than the above two drives. Movement is now initiated with a slight body rotation. The racquet is held away and in front of the body, creating a long lever arm from racquet head to centre of rotation. Therefore, a small amount of body rotation results in pretty good linear racquet head momentum, which is then transferred to the shot via finger tightening. The objective of this shot is to blast the drive past the net player who is positioned too close to the net.