Niki's lesson before Christmas break

Hitting a good length on a shot I have to run and stretch to really depends on my taking a deep breath as I start the swing and snap and follow through.  Big difference from before when I deflate as I take that final step to the ball. In the lesson with Niki, I saw that I had to run to the shot and then take in a breath before hitting the ball with some pace and follow through. Those shots went deeper behind the service box.

I also tried to wait longer for Niki to hit the ball before moving on it.  I saw that her swing is deceptive.  She's square to the front wall and hits straight or cross without changing her stance. I have to wait a fraction of a second longer for her to hit the ball, seeing where the ball is going before moving.  I only misjudged one drive and picked up on the rest of the drives and cross.

The other thing I learned is I take too many steps to retreat back to the T.  Fewer steps means faster retreat and earlier readiness to spring off to the back to hit a drive.  I have been running through the T.  When I was moving faster to the T, I was bouncing out of the lunge and taking only 2 steps to the ready position.