Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh · ~2 hours

Sunday Soft Hands — Crazy Diamond

Soft hands + get to the kitchen. Charles feeds & coaches. Consistency before cleverness.

Charles — coach Kiwi Jason 3 on court · no touch OK

Session theme

Reset progression → kitchen soft game → constrained scoring → mini scrimmage. Not endless 2v1. Paired drills with Charles feeding, then rules that force soft hands. Both players: no touch is normal at this level — don't chase it today.

Timeline

~120 min
0–1010 min

Warmup

Easy feeds, shadow paddle prep, light kitchen catch/dink. Body loose, minds quiet.

Charles feedsAll
10–3525 min

Split stations

Charles feeds; rotate ~every 6–7 min so both get volume.

Kiwi: high-ball freeze Jason: early contact
35–5520 min

Soft game: resets + kitchen dinks

Paired reset progression, then kitchen soft exchanges. Stay-alive focus.

ResetsDinks
55–6510 min

Water + ONE cue each

Kiwi: “paddle up early” · Jason: “hit it before it falls”. No mid-tilt coaching later.

65–10035 min

Constrained games

Kiwi: no speed-ups. Jason: late drive = lose the point. Soft wins.

No speed-upsLate drive = lose
100–12020 min

Mini scrimmage

Rule: first 2 shots after serve must be drop or reset. Then play free within soft theme.

Drop / reset first 2

On court

3 people
K

Kiwi

Athletic · chaotic · inconsistent
  • Loses composure; wild shots under tilt
  • Cannot hit an overhead (just realized) — freeze instead
  • Needs: high-ball freeze (paddle early, no swing)
  • “Only soft” constraints; consistency before cleverness
  • Don't coach mid-tilt — wait for the water break cue
Primary cue

“Paddle up early.”

High ball = freeze / block. No swing. Soft only in constrained games.

J

Jason

Capable · hits everything late
  • Contacts on the way down — slow timing
  • Needs: contact at waist/chest while ball rising or flat
  • Early paddle prep before bounce
  • No full drives until contact is consistently early
  • Late drive in constrained games = lose the point
Primary cue

“Hit it before it falls.”

Prep early. Meet the ball rising/flat at waist–chest. Soft first.

C

Charles

Coach · better player · runs the session
  • Feeds stations, rotates partners, keeps energy calm
  • Protect Kiwi from mid-tilt coaching — one cue at water break
  • Hold Jason to early contact before any drive license
  • Model reset technique: open face, stable wrist, grip ~3–4/10
Reset mechanics (both)

Open face · quiet body · lift with shoulder

Loose grip 3–4/10. Stable wrist. No push — lift. Quiet lower body.

Drills

Major blocks

1. Split stations (10–35)

25 min Charles feeds Rotate ~6–7 min
  1. Kiwi — High-ball freeze: Feed high floaters to forehand/backhand. Paddle up early. Catch/block — no swing. Count 8 clean freezes before any soft punch.
  2. Jason — Early contact: Feed so bounce meets him rising. Cue prep before bounce. Contact waist/chest. Abort any late drive — soft block instead.
  3. Rotate so each gets two focused rounds. Charles stays feeder; partner shags / shadows on opposite side.

2. Soft game — reset progression + kitchen (35–55)

20 min Paired Charles feeds / joins
  1. Close NVZ catch — soft catch/block at kitchen line (dead hands).
  2. NVZ line block — open face, absorb, no pop-up.
  3. Midcourt lift — from transition: open face, stable wrist, grip 3–4/10, quiet legs, lift with shoulder (not push).
  4. Drop + split + reset — drop in, split step, then reset the next ball.
  5. Stay-alive — keep ball soft until someone earns kitchen; then dink exchanges.
Reset feel

Open paddle · loose grip · shoulder lift

3. Constrained games (65–100)

35 min Scoring on Rules bind soft hands
  1. Kiwi: No speed-ups. Any intentional speed-up = lose point. Soft attacks only via placement.
  2. Jason: Drive contacted late (on the way down) = lose point. Early soft drives OK only if contact is early.
  3. Charles can play as third / feeder-into-points. Rotate sides. Keep rallies kitchen-oriented.

4. Mini scrimmage (100–120)

20 min First 2 = drop/reset
  1. After serve + return, first 2 shots must be drop or reset.
  2. Then play out the point under soft theme (Kiwi still no reckless speed-ups if composure breaks).
  3. Celebrate clean kitchen arrivals over winners.

Court diagrams

C / K / J

Diagram 1 — Feed stations

Charles at midcourt feeding. Kiwi on freeze station; Jason on early-contact station. Rotate.

BASELINE BASELINE NVZ C FEED K FREEZE J EARLY high float rising feed
C feeds from near NVZ/midcourt. K freezes high balls; J meets rising contact. Rotate stations.
Charles Kiwi Jason

Diagram 2 — Midcourt reset

Open face, stable wrist, loose grip, quiet lower body — lift with shoulder into kitchen.

TRANSITION / MIDCOURT C PACE FEED K RESET J RESET pace in soft lift
Pace into midcourt → absorb → lift soft into NVZ. Rotate K/J as resetters.

Diagram 3 — Kitchen soft game

Paired dinks / soft exchanges at the NVZ. Dead hands, no pop-ups.

KITCHEN / NVZ K J C FEED / JOIN soft dink exchanges · no pop-ups
K & J at NVZ; C feeds or joins. Stay soft — consistency over winners.

Diagram 4 — Constrained scrimmage

Serve → return → first two must be drop or reset. Then play soft-themed points.

C K J 1.serve 2.return 3.drop 4.reset RULE: first 2 after serve = drop or reset
Serve & return free; next two must be drop/reset, then soft-themed point. Rotate who pairs with C.

Watch

Mapped to drills
▶

Kiwi — overhead basics

Foundation for high balls; today we freeze instead of swinging wild.

→ Split station: high-ball freeze
▶

Soft hands / no pop-ups

Dead hands, absorb pace, keep the ball down at the kitchen.

→ Soft game + kitchen dinks
▶

Resets progression (Charles’s)

Close NVZ catch → line block → midcourt lift → drop+split+reset → stay-alive.

→ Soft game reset block (35–55)
▶

3-person soft (optional)

Ideas for three on court without making 2v1 the whole session.

→ Constrained games / scrimmage
📄

Drive timing — power vs timing (Jason)

Article: why early contact beats late power. Prep before the bounce.

→ Jason early-contact station + constrained rule