Move your feet first. Get behind the ball. Make contact out in front of your body.
That is the fix. Everything else is just detail.
We have all done it. The lob goes up, you wind up, and the ball ends up three courts over. A shot that should have ended the point just handed it to your opponent instead.
Here is exactly why it keeps happening and how to stop it.
Reason 1: You Are Not Getting Behind the Ball
When the ball is slightly behind you, the instinct is to reach back and swing from wherever you are standing. That reach tilts your contact point behind your body and sends the ball long almost every time.
The fix is footwork. Move early. Get behind the ball so contact happens out in front of you, not beside or behind you. That one adjustment alone cleans up most overhead errors.
Reason 2: You Are Hitting the Wrong Part of the Ball
- Hit below the ball and it pops up and floats. Easy reset for your opponent
- Hit slightly above the ball and it drives down into the court. Point over.
Three Things to Do Every Time
1. Read the lob early and move your feet immediately.
Do not wait until the ball is already above you.
2. Get behind the ball before you swing.
Contact out in front of your body every time.
3. Aim slightly above the center of the ball at contact.
That is what drives it down instead of sending it long.
Power is not the problem. Position and contact point are. Fix those two things and your overhead becomes the put away shot it is supposed to be.
