Level up your boxing training by using a tennis ball!
Experienced boxers use them to get better reaction times, sharper hand-eye coordination, and improved hand-foot coordination.
Keep reading to add these tennis ball drills to your boxing workout!
Tennis Ball Drills For Boxing
Here are four drills you can do with a tennis ball to level up your boxing:
- Chin and Arm Tuck Drill
- Dribble Drill
- Catch and Release Drill
- Wall Ball Drill
Chin and Arm Tuck Drill
First on our list is the Chin and Arm Tuck Drill.
This drill is straightforward and builds the good habit of keeping your chin or elbows tucked while in your boxing stance.
To do the Chin and Arm Tuck Drill:
- First, place the tennis ball under your chin or against your body with your elbow.
- Next, shadowbox normally if you have the ball under your chin, or with one arm if you have the ball against your body.
This is a particularly good time to practice catching body shots with your elbows.
If you have the bad habit of not keeping your chin or elbows tucked while in the ring, this drill might be the hardest one on the list.
Dribble Drill
Next on the list is the Dribble Drill, which takes inspiration from basketball.
This is the most complex drill on the list, involving your footwork, timing, and hand-eye coordination.
To do the Dribble Drill,
- First, start bouncing the tennis ball in front of you with one hand at a steady pace and height.
- Once you get that down, incorporate your other hand while keeping the same rhythm and height.
- Lastly, incorporate footwork and shuffle around the ball as you keep bouncing it.
In order to do this drill smoothly, you have to sync your hands with your feet, focusing on both and neither at any moment.
Catch and Release Drill
Next on the list is the Catch and Release Drill.
This will help you with the timing of your jab-cross and building the habit of bringing your hands back to your face.
To do the Catch and Release Drill:
- First, start in your boxing stance with your jab arm extended, holding the ball in your hand.
- Next, let go of the ball, throw your rear cross, and catch the ball at the same height. Your jab hand should come back to your face.
- Lastly, let go of the ball, throw your jab, and catch the ball again.
It seems easy in theory, but you might end up slapping the ball away on your first try.
For a bigger challenge, incorporate hooks, uppercuts, and footwork into your combinations.
When you get the motion just right, it should seem like the ball is floating or as if you’re not even holding the ball.
Another benefit of this drill is that it teaches you to unclench your hands when you’re not throwing a punch, which should significantly improve your hand speed.
Just like catching the ball, clench your hands only as you’re about to reach your target.
Wall Ball Drill
Last on the list is the Wall Ball Drill.
For this drill, you’ll need a partner and a wall.
To do the Wall Ball Drill:
- First, start in your boxing stance with your back against the wall while your partner stands a few feet away.
- Next, your partner will slowly throw the ball towards the edge of your frame so you can dodge it.
- Lastly, as you dodge the ball, throw combinations that flow with your defensive movement.
If you want a bigger challenge, try and catch the ball after it hits the wall behind you to further train your hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
Benefits of Tennis Ball Training For Boxing
The benefits of tennis ball training for boxing include:
- Better Reaction Time
- Sharper Hand-Eye Coordination
- Improved Hand-Foot Coordination
Better Reaction Time
First, training with a tennis ball gives you a better reaction time.
Lots of boxers think having a good reaction time is all about raw speed, but timing beats speed quite often in the ring.
Of course, these drills will give you a faster reaction time, but they will also improve your sense of timing, even when you do them slowly.
For example, it’s better to go slowly when you do the Dribble Drill so that your feet, hands, and eyes sync up.
Sharper Hand-Eye Coordination
Next, training with a tennis ball gives you sharper hand-eye coordination.
Most of these drills train your eyes to see an opening, giving you a target for your hands.
For example, with the Wall Ball Drill, your hand-eye coordination will improve greatly when you try to catch the ball after it hits the wall.
If you can catch a ball that you can’t see coming from behind you, surely you can dodge a punch that you can see coming towards you.
Improved Hand-Foot Coordination
Lastly, training with a tennis ball gives you improved hand-foot coordination.
Though we talk a lot about syncing your hands and feet, once you reach a high enough skill level, you’ll find that your hands and feet can work independent of each other.
Better put, you can throw punches from any footwork position, or you can move in any direction as you throw a punch.
For example, with the Dribble Drill, as long as you keep the ball bouncing at the same height and rhythm, it doesn’t matter whether you switch from orthodox to southpaw or if you shuffle from side to side.
Conclusion
Use the humble tennis ball during warm-ups or cool-downs to sharpen your skills.
These drills are only limited by your imagination; make up your own and have fun!
Like skipping rope or shadowboxing, you can take it anywhere and train whenever you want.
You don’t need a gym membership or fancy equipment; all you need is one tennis ball to improve your boxing.
If you’re having trouble deciding what boxing equipment to get, check out these articles: