The One-Skill Warm-Up
The One-Skill Warm-Up
The drill that fixes the "I dinked for five minutes, then played flat for an hour" problem.
By Sam Morris · 2026-06-23 · 15 minutes, solo or one partner
What it builds
- Primary skill: Whichever one shot you've decided to actually improve this month
- Secondary skill: Focus, intent, and walking onto the court already warm — not warming up during game one
- Best for: Playing-bracket players (DUPR 3.0–4.0) who win some, lose some, and never quite know why
- Solo or partner: Either. Solo against a wall works; a partner makes it sharper.
- Time commitment: 15 minutes, before every open-play session
Why this drill
Watch the start of any open play and you'll see the same thing: everyone dinks cross-court for five minutes, calls it a warm-up, then plays the first two games flat and reactive. That's not a warm-up — it's a social ritual. The Dink made the case this week that 15 focused minutes on one skill before you play beats an hour of hitting around, and they're right. It's the cheapest improvement on the court, and almost everyone skips it.
Setup
You need almost nothing — that's the point. No excuse to skip it.
- A bucket or pocket of balls (10–15)
- A wall, or one partner
- One decision made before you arrive: the single skill you're drilling today
The drill
- Pick one skill — before you get to the court. Resets, third-shot drops, backhand dinks, return depth. One. Not three.
- Drill only that for 12 minutes. Same shot, same target, over and over. Boring is the goal — boring means you're grooving it.
- Add a target or a constraint. A cone, a line, a "must land in the kitchen" rule. A target turns mindless reps into feedback.
- Reps: 10 clean ones in a row before you let yourself stop. Miss? The count resets.
- Then — and only then — play. You walk into game one already warm and already focused on the thing you're trying to fix.
Coach's tweak
Don't pick your best shot because it feels good, and don't pick a brand-new one you've never hit. Pick the shot you quietly hope doesn't come to you in a tight game. That's the one holding your rating down, and 15 minutes of honest reps on it will do more for your summer than any new paddle. Tie it to a two-week focus — same shot every session — and you'll feel the gap close.
Try it live
→ Solo against a wall, or warm up with a partner at Bauer Drive Local Park → Pot Night signup — bring the shot you've been drilling and test it under real pressure → Tag @linkanddink when you run this — we repost the best clips
This is part of the Drill of the Week series — one drill, every week, that you can actually run before your next game. See all drills · Subscribe.
Tags: drill-of-the-week, warm-up, solo, focus