How to Learn the Controls of a Backboard

Learn the Controls

Just like driving a car or flying a plane, you have to first learn the controls. Depending on the angle of the wall, timing is a key. I suggest throwing and catching with a lot of footwork to start things off. Use different types of balls depending on the skill level of the player, but keep in mind that vertical walls offer less time to react and angled walls will be more realistic, although still faster than a normal baseline rally.

Get used to the timing of the rebound, both up close and further back, knowing that on most courts, the distance from the baseline to the back fence is 21 feet. Adding the standard 18 feet from the service line through the baseline, you end up with 39 feet from the service line to a wall against the back fence, exactly the distance from the baseline to the net on any tennis court.