The Crossover Point
Strategy
Archel Taneka Sutanto Asked 13 years ago
Hi Alois and Jeff,
What is the good bat position when the ball comes right in front of my body, it should be forehand or backhand? Once, my opponent punched the ball and it came really fast to in front of my body, so I blocked it with my forehand. It felt so awkward when I blocked it with forehand, because my body shifted to the right side.
Thanks a lot!
Regards, Archel
Jeff Plumb Answered 13 years ago
Hi Archel,
You've just explained why this can be such an effective spot to place the ball to. You should think about this when you are hitting the ball to your opponent.
If you get caught with the ball right into this crossover spot, it is going to be awkward and you just need to do whatever you can to get it back. The best way to deal with this though, is to track the ball really closely during the rally. This way you will hopefully pick up where the ball is going quite early and have time to move slightly. You don't need to move a long way but just a small movement either way will allow you to play a regular forehand or a regular backhand.
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Archel Taneka Sutanto Posted 13 years ago
What's crossover spot? I don't get it. Is that means while I played with my forehand side, my backhand side was unoccupied and my opponent placed the ball there?
Arnon Thaicharoen Posted 13 years ago
The cross-over point is the place where the ball comes to you and it's difficult to decide whether to play forehand and backhand stroke. For right-handed shakehand player, it's the right armpit. If the ball comes that way, your bat is still pointing foreward. If you need to do backhand stroke, you need to move your body to the right so you can level your bat. If you want to play with forehand, you need to move left. So it's a really awkward position. As Jeff said, you need to pay attention to the ball really close to have time to decide and move accordingly.
Archel Taneka Sutanto Posted 13 years ago
Ah, I see, thanks for the explanation! :D