Most players chase power by swinging harder — and end up spraying the ball long or dumping it in the net. Easy power and depth actually come from two things working together: weight control (shifting your body weight into the shot) and spacing (keeping the ball the right distance from your body). In this lesson, Coach Tim Brielmaier breaks down both, and shows a drill you can do on your own.
What Coach Tim covers
- Set your spacing. Start about a foot off the fence, pushing with your back leg — the same distance from the ball to your body every time.
- The "invisible wall" contact point. Treat your contact point like a wall the ball can't get past, so you hit the ball out in front and stay on time — whatever the height of the ball.
- Weight control: loose, body weight, push. Keep your arm loose right up until contact, then drive your body weight through the ball. That shift — not a harder swing — is where easy power comes from.
- Why the ball's height doesn't matter. High, medium, or low, if your spacing is right you can hit the same clean shot every time.
- Same technique on the backhand. A good body-weight push with the other arm going back through the ball, shoulders staying toward your target.
- Hit on the rise & net clearance. Take the ball on the rise to stay near the baseline, and give the ball enough net clearance instead of skimming the tape.
Why weight control and spacing matter
Swinging harder adds pace but kills control — a little too much and the ball sails long. Weight control gives you power the easy way: your body does the work, not a tense, fast arm. Spacing is what makes it repeatable — when the ball is always the same distance from your body, your contact point stays consistent no matter what your opponent hits. Together they let you hit with real depth from the baseline while staying relaxed. Grooved with a basket of balls, they're one of the biggest upgrades a developing player can make.
Get a lesson to build on it
Weight control and spacing click fastest once a coach has set your fundamentals — footwork, contact point, and swing path — so you're reinforcing good form rather than grooving mistakes. Coach Tim is a mobile coach across Florida's Space Coast and Treasure Coast and comes to your court. See lessons and pricing, or read what to expect in your first lesson.