What are the advantages of a slow drop in doubles?

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by Birdy, Feb 4, 2014.

  1. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    I keep getting advice from others that in doubles you want your drops to be faster so the opponents can't kill it which makes sense. The faster the drop is going over to the opponents court the less time they have to move forward or see where the birds is going to go.

    But what about slow drops? When can we use it so that it counts towards being an advantage/strategic play?

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. M3Series

    M3Series Regular Member

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    I think slow drop isn't a good stroke in any kind of situasion. Whether singles or doubles. It gives time for your opponent to take it with no problem.

    Worst-case is your frontcourt partner will be hit ruthlessly.
     
  3. sautom88

    sautom88 Regular Member

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    Slow drops are ok in beginner n low intermediate games but as everyONE advise, learn to speed up yr drops n yr games in general.
     
  4. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    the only real time you can use it is when your opponents are standing so far back in court that you just want the shuttle to land as close to the net as reasonably possible
     
  5. 0ozafo0

    0ozafo0 Regular Member

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    there's essentially a time and place for every shot you can think of.
    For doubles situation, slow drops can be used with disguise to do a "change of pace".
    The idea is that there are so many smashes in doubles, your opponents will gradually put their base position deeper in the court. Mixing in a slow drop tight to the net will change the pace and therefore be out of reach of the opponents.
    However, one should be aware of that in doubles, there are two players, therefore pressure by placement is much less effective than simply pressure by power.

    Power play in doubles is the bread and butter, but no one's saying you can't add some jam for flavor ;)
     
  6. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    Despite what some others say, slow drops can be useful in doubles. However, they are ONLY useful if you have a good smash regularly, and you use a deceptive stop drop (like JJS!). An obvious slow drop is never worth while. Singles is obviously a different matter.
     
  7. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    Thanks for mentioning about how slow drops can be used to change up pace. My primary focus now is on paying attention to pace of a game and how to manipulate that and this is something I can add to my tools.

    Just a question though that's sort of off topic. You mentioned that it's better to use power to pressure opponents in doubles than placements, and that's because in doubles you have two person to cover each other, then when's a good time to focus on using placement? Is it when we want to focus on moving the pairs around as opposed to winning a point ?
     
    #7 Birdy, Feb 7, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2014
  8. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    I will definitely try to learn to disguise my drops better. Thanks for the tip!
     
  9. Iwan

    Iwan Regular Member

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    Definetely learn to have the same preparation stance or jumping motion for when you want to smash or dropshot. With regards to slow drop, there is one particular slow drop that can get players very well. The kind of dropshot that lands very close to the net. With regard to how slow it should be, the idea is to make the opponent lunge as far as possible instead of taking steps to get it. These kind of dropshots breaks the knees and backs of older players :D Also, the stronger your smashes are, the further back they will stand, which increases the effectiveness of these dropshots. And these drop shots count as a change of pace as well.

    One particular player in my town use only these kind of dropshots, his dropshots are very tight to the net though and he does have a strong smash. Even the faster opponents have to take it below the net level, and his front partner can afford to stand closer to the net to be ready to tap anyone trying to play a sloppy netshot reply.
     
  10. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    i only use slow drops in singles because i want it to drop tighter to the net to make my opponent run. for doubles, it's better if you have a fast drop to catch your opponent off guard since it's a reaction game :)
     
    #10 gundamzaku, Feb 7, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2014
  11. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    I use these a lot. The best ones are those that even I don't know I'm going to do until I turn my smash into a tap at the last moment.

    The really tight ones do tend to float above the net a bit so I have to be careful opponents are far enough back or its an easy kill. Usually lower, flatter, faster drop is better.
     
  12. sautom88

    sautom88 Regular Member

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    If u are lack of power (ie..like me:eek:), u can also use speed (ie drives, early retrieval of drop shots..etc) combined w/ tactical placements to evoke weak or anticipated shots.

    Power is needed in higher level doubles because it is required to PRESSURIZE opponents. Placements are not as important as power shots because in doubles u have to cover only 1/2 of the court, the rest should be covered by yr partner. Placements can be effective when they are performed 'deceptively' or to areas that are not anticipated by yr opponents.
     
    #12 sautom88, Feb 7, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2014
  13. Iwan

    Iwan Regular Member

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    Not true, covering half the court makes it much more important. I know Fu Haifeng and Caiyun has lost quite a number of games to precision players even though they were a more powerful pair. I know our beloved Hendra Setiawan is more of a precision player than a power player too :D
     
  14. sautom88

    sautom88 Regular Member

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    Covering half the court is much more important than WHAT?

    Well, not ALWAYS true is more appropriate. Yes, HS is more of a playmaker/precision player but he also has the POWER to pressurize his opponents. Most of the time u can win a doubles match WITHOUT decent power, just with good placements/strategy.

    What we mean is generally, in most cases Power will be more beneficial to pressurize opponents in doubles. All excellent doubles team almost always have one playmaker and one hammer. CaiYun/FuHaiFeng, Kristian/AdeChandra, ParkJooBong/KimMoonSoo are such perfect examples, the formers are playmakers and the latters are hammers.
     
  15. sautom88

    sautom88 Regular Member

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    Also, this thread is targeted more to most of us BC'ers who are beginners and intermediates. At this levels my advice is improve yr power strokes to be able to pressurize yr opponents in doubles. Of course excellent placements will help a lot to win some points but w/o decent power u can't win most doubles games.

    Sorry that somehow my points stated start to digress from the title of the thread because the discussion get somewhat interesting. The response to the question "when to use slow drops?" actually was already well answered by MSeeley and you yourself (Iwan).
     
  16. sautom88

    sautom88 Regular Member

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    Also, this thread is targeted more to most of us BC'ers who are beginners and intermediates. At this levels my advice is improve yr power strokes to be able to pressurize yr opponents in doubles. Of course excellent placements will help a lot to win some points but w/o decent power u can't win most doubles games.

    Sorry that somehow my points stated start to digress from the title of the thread because the discussion get somewhat interesting. The response to the question "when to use slow drops?" actually was already well answered by MSeeley and you yourself (Iwan).

    When to use slow drops? When the opponents are way behind in the court n expecting a hard smash.
     
    #16 sautom88, Feb 7, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2014
  17. Iwan

    Iwan Regular Member

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    I mean because each player in doubles only have to cover half the court, makes precision even more important because if you're going to try and stretch your opponent that 15cm difference will mean something. At our level, it is common for precision play to be under-appreciated in doubles. But when you really think about it / that extra 15cm could be the difference between your opponent getting your shot comfortably and fully stretched / maybe even unable to take it.

    One thing I notice amongst a lot of intermediate players is how susceptible they are to a sudden accurate smash down straight inbetween them and their partner when you've been smashing at their body instead repetitively. You can catch them unknowing who should be returning that smash :D Ofcourse this has derailed from the original question :D hahahahaa
     
  18. Fidget

    Fidget Regular Member

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    The right time to use a slow drop in doubles?
    Only when your partner is wearing very thick protective glasses. :-(
     
  19. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    True thanks! So smash well and disguise with tight drop shots.
     
  20. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    I'm finding the responses more interesting as well. I think both power and placement are important. You need to show both in your games?
     

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