​Hey Reader,​
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Before the best doubles teams step into the ready position, they've already decided what's about to happen.

Not a hope. Not a preference. A plan, communicated in about half a second, hidden behind a paddle, invisible to the other side of the net.

Here's how Helle teaches it:

The net player holds her hand behind her back, hidden from the opponents but visible to her partner. ​
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🤚 Open hand: I'm going. She's switching sides after the return, and her partner needs to hit down the line to set it up.
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​✊ Fist: I'm staying. Same positions, but now she's faking the move to draw a bad shot, and her partner can return cross court.

Two signals. The entire point is already set up before the ball is in the air.

The returner sees the signal, acknowledges it, and now both players are visualizing the same point. The net player knows exactly where the return is going. The returner knows exactly where her partner will be.
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Their opponents know none of this.

And here's the part that makes it even more effective: the opponents see the movement and start second-guessing their own shot. As Helle puts it, just as you're switching, your opponents take their eye off the ball because they can't focus on two things at once. The movement itself is a weapon, whether you follow through on the switch or fake it back.

Most recreational doubles partnerships make decisions independently and hope it works out. One player goes for a ball the other expected to take. One rushes to the kitchen while the other holds back. Everyone reacts, nobody's in sync.

The signal system fixes this. Not by making you faster or more athletic, but by making sure both players are executing the same plan from the first bounce.

Try this in your next match. Agree on just two signals with your partner before you play: open hand means I'm going, fist means I'm staying. Use it on three points and see what it does to your timing and to your opponents' body language.

You don't need to be at the 5.0 level to use this. You need five minutes of practice and a partner willing to try something new.

This kind of pre-point communication is one of the things that makes the Blocker-Workhorse system feel like a shared language. Because it is one.

​> Learn the full system — get Dynamite Doubles​

(30-day money-back guarantee · Lifetime access · Live Q&As with Helle & Trey)

Go play well,
​
Trey

P.S. There's a detail Helle teaches about word choice during the signal that most players never think about: avoid words that start with S when calling out your plan. "Stay," "switch," and "same" all sound identical at court volume and distance. One word misheard is a point lost. It's the kind of thing that sounds small until the first time it costs you a game. All of it is inside Dynamite Doubles. Get in here →​

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