erm maybe you can try to reach the ball early and take it high. then when you can reach the ball early already, then try controlling your strength on the net play. also if you slice it at an angle correctly, it'll be hard for opponents to play it back or lift it.
I will explain fanatico's motion of hand part 1) arms should be fully extended 2) grip should be totally relax 3) depending on the side where the shuttle land, racket face will vary.. eg, if your are right handed... shuttle is landing to the left, your hand should be pronated to receive the shuttle 4) arms should swing lightly and the wrist should execute the slice 5) for a steep and tight spnning net shot, your racket head should be 0 to 30 degree depending on the shuttle flight hope that helps
I'd say simply play at the net often and get used to it, and practice drives and taking drops. Simple as that. Net play is mostly about speed and reaction time. I always prefer to play at the net because of that.
I'm still trying to improve on this myself - get consistent first with the easiest way to do the shots - before trying to do more difficult cuts or crosscourt drops - get consistent first by rallying directly back to your partner your forehand to his backhand ..and then the reverse where u hit your backhand to his forehand - play games for points of just net drops - you must move both feet back behind the service line after each drop - practice vollying a shuttle by yourself in your spare time - this really helps with judging how much pressure you need at different heights to raise the shuttle the right ammount .. you'll notice your drops improve greatly if you take a few mins each day to bounce the shuttle in your basement or wherever you can. - dont forget that you need to do drops off backcourt shots (drives/drops) aswell - make sure you have drills to work for using net drops off those too.
