Making a bad shot a little bit less bad. 

Sometimes you just can’t avoid playing a back wall boast, no matter how hard you try. Since it’s inevitable at some stage in one game or another, it’s worth considering how we can make it a bit more effective of a shot and not have it bouncing out high in the middle of the court for an easy shot for our opponent.

Gluing the back wall boast to the side wall 

We’ve all seen back wall boasts that have somehow bounced incredibly tight or even hit the nick and leave us cursing our opponent’s luck. Since it can be done though, it should be something we aim for when we are forced into playing the back wall boast. Rather than lumping the back wall boast straight into the back wall so that it sits up loose in the middle of the court, hit it to either side of the centre of the back wall or closer to the back corners. This way your shot will land closer to the corners of the front court and be a little bit trickier for your opponent to return. If you can get the angle right, you can get the ball to drop right by the side wall and actually behave like a very good drop shot. The back wall boast has something of a unique spin unlike any other shot in the game, so if you can get it tight it’s got a very good chance of being a really awkward shot to deal with.

Have a go and see if you can angle your back wall boast more and keep it to the corners rather than sitting it up in the middle of the court.

You can find out more about how to play a back wall boast with our video on our YouTube Channel here.