Do you remember when you first learned to play pickleball and you had to learn to respect the double bounce rule? A key understanding is that the ball must first bounce on the receiver’s side before it is returned and then it also must bounce before the serving team can hit it and then almost anything goes. Did you ever forget and hit the ball before it bounced? I bet most people did at some time or another.
Well, there is more to bouncing than you probably thought. Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports (Pickleball) uses the video below to highlight the importance of moving almost constantly during each point. It prevents inertia from settling in and keeps your body ready to make movements in a required direction. As Mark clearly points out, many of these are small adjustment moves (BOUNCES), but they help maintain focus and allow for quick adjustments to the ball.
One would think that a pickleball paddle needs little attention and that day-in and day-out it just works the way it was intended to work and basically this is true, but there are a couple of things to consider about maintaining your paddle. One item which may need some care is the grip. Just think about how many times you might grip and re-grip that paddle. Consider how much perspiration might be shed onto that paddle over time.
It is only logical then, that whatever material the paddle grip is made of will change texture, thickness and perhaps position over time. If your paddle grip is slipping or slippery, perhaps it is time to get an overgrip. An overgrip is one that goes on top of the existing grip and sometimes they are made of materials designed to keep the moisture collecting on the handle to a minimum to avoid slippage.
NOTE – If your paddle feels just large/wide enough with the grip you already have, then you wouldn’t want an overgrip and perhaps replacing the grip with a different material is the solution (see replacement videos below). Of course these can all be done by some sporting good stores that carry pickleball supplies, etc., but it is something that can be done “at home” by most average players with relative ease.
The videos below demonstrate the various techniques involved.
Add an Overgrip
(to an Existing Grip)
How to over-grip your pickleball paddle’s existing grip — with Mark Renneson
How to over-grip your pickleball paddle’s existing grip — Jennifer Lucore and Bob Youngren
Changing the Grip Completely
(with a New Grip)
How to Change a Replacement Grip on your pickleball paddle — Jennifer Lucore and Bob Youngren
How to Change a Replacement Grip on your pickleball paddle — Neil Friedenberg
I have only been playing pickleball for a couple of years. When I began my pickleball experience and the serve was explained to me, the mantra at the time was “Hit the ball high and deep.” The idea was to keep the players on the opposing team back in the court and away from the net as long as possible and hopefully force a more shallow return because they would then be hitting the ball from an area near their baseline.
Instructors would sometimes point out how the serving team is at a disadvantage because they start with both players at the rear or the court while the receiving team generally has one player near the NVZ. Now that younger players and athletes who are coming from other sports are entering the game, there seems to be change in the service philosophy. The serve has been given a new status as perhaps a way to earn the advantage.
After about eight months of play, this is something I figured out on my own and here is my take on the situation…
I have tried to develop three elements to my pickleball serve:
Change of pace – I do not to use the same serve all the time. This prevents the receivers from knowing what to expect and any doubt in their mind can cause indecision or a poor selection of a return shot.
Spin – When using spin, the serve will sometimes cause just enough disruption to throw off opponents. A sudden twist here or there will cause the returning player to make a last minute adjustment which may not allow them to execute the shot they have planned. There are ways to disguise the spin somewhat so it is not anticipated too early in the shot.
A Hard, low shot – This serve is a bit of a risk. As Joe Baker points out in his videos, the harder the ball is hit the less accurate it tends to be. My success rate with this serve is better than 85%, but I still use it only selectively. Smart pickleball dictates that a player should pick-and-choose when to use certain shots and with only an 85-90 percent accuracy rate on this one, I don’t take chances in very close games; most of the time
With all this in mind, I use my general moderately fast, moderately high serve, but if I see a receiver moving up in the receivers box, I may change to hit it hard and fast. From time to time, I throw a spin at them just to keep them guessing.
Based on my observation in the games that I have played in club play, this is my biggest lesson:
On the serve, ball placement can trump everything else. If I can get the serve angled to the backhand of most of my opponents, I very often get a weak return. If the receiver is protecting their backhand and I can get it down the center line, I often get a weak return. I am only an average club player, but keeping an opponent off-balance has helped me win more points. I don’t necessarily win on a service ace, but as a result of a weak return and winning with a follow up third or fifth shot!
I am not an expert and I don’t proclaim to be a coach or instructor so don’t take my word for it. There are excellent players who are coaches and/or instructors and they currently seem to be offering similar advice.
For those who want to move their game forward, there is probably no better skill set than learning to play the “soft game” and, like it or not, dinking is a key component!
Joe Baker is back with another excellent video tutorial, Doubles Pickleball Strategy 201 – Dinking Strategy, about this essential skill. You can view it at the bottom of this post.
Here are some notes and things to watch:
Advanced Dinking
Main Objective – Apply the maximum stress to your opponent’s team by making them “reach, move or scramble.”
Shot Placements: Sideline, Middle or Cross Court
Three main target areas:
Sideline
Middle
Cross Court (preferred especially if you can get a great, sharp angled shot and force and error)
Do NOT hit to the near opponent if you get drawn out of position near your sideline; especially to their forehand!
Do NOT hit to the same sideline twice in a row.
Defending the Dink
Link to your partner. i.e. move as a unit – together
Getting out of “trouble” involves hitting cross court and into the kitchen<
Use a surprise lob when you can catch your opponents off-guard
Try to disguise your shots:
Look one way and hitting the other
Not signaling your intention until the last possible minute
Wrong Foot your opponent, i.e. hitting in a direction from which your opponent was just leaving
This video is worth studying and watching a couple of times. There is no substitute for practice. Playing games, the experts repeatedly say, will not help improve your game as much as targeted practice.
If you haven’t seen Joe Bakers other pickleball videos, run, do not walk,to your nearest computer and view these:
Doubles Pickleball Strategy 101-How to Play Smart Pickleball, Ten Tips
Doubles Pickleball Strategy 102 – Smart Pickleball Vol. 2, Power
Player A and B are involved in a rally against opponents C and D and the ball is coming their way. Player B notices that the ball is going to be short and he starts to run toward the net. He gets to the ball about halfway between the baseline and the NVZ and moving forward is able to drop the ball over the net.
The ball lands on the other side where neither player (C or D) can return it before it bounces twice. After the second bounce, however, player B’s momentum carries him into the net where he touches it.
Is this a fault on the part of player B?
The Answer according to USAPA Rules:
Below is the pertinent section from the The International Federation of Pickleball Rule Book (p. 28, Revision April 15. 2016)
Under SECTION 7 – FAULT RULES
7.E. A player, player’s clothing, or any part of a player’s paddle touches the net or the net post when the ball is in play.”
The operative words in the scenario described above are “before it bounces twice.” Which, according to rule 7.E., the ball was then dead and not in play so this would NOT BE A FAULT.
NOTE: This is NOT THE SAME as the NVZ where momentum cannot bring a player into the NVZ even after the ball has bounced twice, i.e. dead.
To See Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here
NOTE: The article below and accompanying video is being presented on the JBRish blog with permission from the originator, Rocket and the Pickleball Rocks Team. You can check out their website at the link below:
When you build a shrine to anything, there comes a certain responsibility.
In the case of the city of Surprise, Arizona, the Surprise City Pickleball Courts, since opening 4 years ago, have become somewhat of a shrine to the sport of pickleball. But the shrine may be crumbling.
The Villages of Florida is considered THE pickleball vacation spot in the country simply because there are so many available courts.
But as we travel the U.S., when you ask people where is the mecca of pickleball, it is overwhelmingly Surprise, Arizona. Everywhere we go, people talk specifically about The City Courts.
As a matter of fact, the Surprise City Courts have become so famous nationwide that most people just refer to them as THE CITY COURTS. When players mention The City Courts, everyone knows they are referring to the 8 courts at 14534 W. Tierra Buena Lane next to Dreamcatcher Park.
There is Yankee Stadium for baseball, Pebble Beach for golf and The City Courts for Pickleball.
But sadly, The City Courts are now so overcrowded that it is starting to become a negative.
It is hard to believe that the city of Surprise isn’t falling over themselves to expand that facility in order to maintain their brilliant, pickleball-tourist attracting reputation.
These courts are packed with people waiting to play. At just about any time, you can catch some of the best pickleball players in the world, including National Champions, Gigi LeMaster, Steve Wong, Mark Friedenburg, Scott Lennan and others, mixing in with men and women brand new to the sport. It is a wonderful experience that has become famous throughout the sport of pickleball and its two million plus players.
It is (or was) truly THE place to play pickleball when you travel to Arizona.
It is interesting to watch the surrounding communities now building pickleball courts at breakneck speed in order to capitalize on the mega growth the sport of pickleball is currently experiencing.
Hope the City of Surprise realizes it before it’s too late. Sadly, based on what we’ve seen, the mecca will soon be moving.
“Pickleball is a ribbon of dreams, a tale told by a genius, full of sound and fury, signifying everything! The ferocious triumph of the human will to excel is a thing of beauty to behold. All four players should be proud.” Keith via comment on – 15 Shots to Kitchen Line
This is the first paragraph of the post highlighted above…
“The Pickleball Channel uploaded this video (linked below), that shows how it took Alex Hamner and me 15 shots to make it to the kitchen line (24 more shots to win) straight to their Facebook page on February 22, 2016, and at the time of this blog post the video had 121,270 views with 1,433 people sharing this video!”
Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports brings us an interesting video from the 2015 Pickleball Nationals at Casa Grande He demonstrates how, in the singles category, the third shot is not usually a drop shot as is the preferred shot in doubles play.
There are, of course, those times when the drop shot is used as the third shot, but not often. Another nice thing about this video is that the names of players are given so we can put the faces to the names we read about! Thanks Mark!!!
Read the comments as they have some interesting information as well. Mark explains why he thinks this phenomenon takes place:
“It’s true that the reduced coverage at the net means there are more opportunities for the third shot to be an offensive (rather than neutralizing) shot. This sport — especially the singles version of it — really rewards speed, agility and great hands.”
NOTE: Who is Sarah Ansboury? – Sarah is the pickleball instructor at Pacific University in Oregon. Prior to that, Sarah was a professional tennis coach. As you watch her videos, you will understand that she is very skilled as both a player/athlete and instructor. Thank you Sarah for your pickleball videos!
Most pickleballers hear that the third shot drop shot is the mainstay of the 4.0-5.0 players and it is the key to being a consistent winner. Well, consistent is the word. If you are going to use the third shot drop shot, it takes a lot of practice to become consistent. Too soft a shot and it may go into the net. Too hard a shot and you may give your opponent a cream puff lob to put away. There is little room for error.
Sarah Ansboury shows us how she works to develop a consistent third shot drop shot. Watch the video and see if you can find some techniques to improve your game. To make it easier, she restricts this video to non-spin forehand drop shots.
Some key points (time stamps are approximate):
Let the opponent’s shot bounce and prepare to hit the ball as it starts to descend off of the bounce. This is her recommended strike zone. (3:05 – 3:40)
Push or “bowl” the ball using the paddle. No big backswing; guide the ball while keeping the arm straight. (3:41-4:28)
Step forward with the non dominant foot to keep the motion forward when hitting the ball. This improves accuracy and puts your momentum toward the net. (4:30 – 5:35)
Demonstration starting at (6:20 – 7:25)
On the move dropping shots from the baseline to the non-volley zone. (7:25 – 9:30)
To See Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here