follow through

Pickleball – Serve Yourself – Serving Styles and Options

Jeff

When I first started playing pickleball, the rule of the serve back then was to “just put the ball in play” and “don’t miss a serve.” The mantra was hit the ball high and deep; or some variation on that theme. Indeed this does work at the beginning levels of play. The emphasis on keeping the ball in play is a solid one because your team can only win points on the serve.

Since that time, I have seen a shift in attitude regarding the serve. New players entering the pickleball court are bringing skills from other sports like racquetball, ping pong, tennis, etc. There seems to be a bit more openness to trying something different on the serve and taking risks.

I too have adopted the more open philosophy in that I will take some chances during a game such as trying to serve the ball close to the line if it is to the backhand of the receiving player. I will also try to spin the ball once in a while just to keep the opposing team off balance a bit.

Here is my rationale. I don’t have a killer serve and most 3.5 and better players can get my serve back without a problem so the point needs to be won during a rally or volley.

There are times, however, if I take a risk and try one of the trickier shots mentioned above, I can often win one or two points a game on my serve by hitting an outright winner or forcing a weak return shot.

Because of this, I figure I can take a chance with my serve until I miss one or two and then I scale back a bit. This makes the game more fun for me and I hope more challenging for my opponents.

Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports, who has been featured on JBRish many times, has a video addressing the serve. Interestingly enough, I recently had a pickleball coach watch me serve and he made the same points as Mark does. One key element I wasn’t getting quite right, was that I was not hitting the ball low enough on my serve. I was told it should be just above the height of my knee. Keeping this in mind has helped my serve.

Watch the video below and pay attention to the key points Mark makes about hitting the serve.

In Summary, I think these are the take-aways:

  • Pre-serve routine
  • Don’t throw the ball too high in the air
  • Make contact with the ball “out front”
  • Relaxed follow through

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Thanks to Mark and Third Shot Sports for allowing this to be presented on JBRish.com

Pickleball – Delayed Gratification with the Ground Stroke

Jeff

One of the first shots most people learn when they begin to play pickleball is the forehand groundstroke. If you ask players about this shot, they would probably say that they know how to do it and that may be true…to some extent for most of us!

We all probably learned the basics about the best way to correctly execute the pickleball groundstroke, but do we all maintain our focus and correctly perform all phases of the stroke?

The video below with Wes Gabrielsen demonstrates the groundstroke from both the right-hand and left-hand side. (Wes is a 5.0 player who switches hands for a groundstroke with either hand). Watch the video below and pay attention to the “hints” which are also detailed at the end of this post.

  • Keep your eye on the ball through the stroke; especially at the point of contact – watch the ball hit the paddle.

    **The reason this is important is that the ball may move along an unanticipated path and if you are not watching it, you cannot adjust your swing and you may mishit the ball or perhaps miss it all together. Don’t be tempted to look up to see how well you hit the ball. Delay your gratification and keep your head down, eye on the ball and follow through. I understand this is easier said than done!

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  • Bend your knees and get the weight of your body behind the shot.

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  • Follow through towards the target. Coach Mo suggests that you “kiss” the shoulder of the paddle hand to assure the follow through.

Quoted from the YouTube Video:

“What if you didn’t have one good forehand, you had TWO! You may not have this unique ability on the court, but we know you will enjoy watching Wes Gabrielsen, a top 5.0 pickleball player, demonstrate this move which he uses to his advantage. We have even included some pop up tips that apply to all forehands whether left or right! And the slow motion is just plain fun to watch besides being helpful when you study other players to improve your own pickleball skills. Watch this one today!”