Third Shot Sports

Pickleball Myth? – Never Miss A Serve

Jeff

PB Myth # 18: You Should Never Miss Your Serve

**NOTE** – This is an article from Third Shot Sports that is reprinted with appropriate attribution and permissions.

The conventional wisdom is that you should always make sure your serve lands in. We don’t want you to hit out either but here is something to consider: if you are always playing it safe for fear of missing, are you losing out on a great opportunity?

Yes. You are.

Think about it — the serve is the one time in a pickleball game that you have complete control. The ball is in perfect position, you are totally on balance and you don’t have to hit it until you are completely ready. There is no other moment when the conditions are so much in your favour. Yet most people squander this opportunity by merely putting the ball in play. Here are some alternatives:

1) Aim for a weakness. If you have identified that your opponent has a preferred side (usually their forehand) this is a great time to challenge them to play the shot they don’t want. Use this opportunity to aim near a sideline and force them to hit a tougher return.

2) Pin them back. In most cases, the returner will want to come to the net after playing the ball. Make this more difficult by serving deep in the court and pushing them back behind the baseline.

3) Take away their time. A slow, high-arcing ball gives your opponents lots of time to prepare for the return. Why not hit the serve with some speed and challenge them to catch up?

4) Hit with spin. Add some difficulty by using sidespin or topspin on the serve. Doing so will make the ball bounce differently than the usual spin-free shot.

With each of these suggestions I’m encouraging you to “go for more” when hitting your serve. And yes, there is some risk in doing so. Hitting near the sideline increases the chance that the ball will go wide. Aiming for the back of the court or trying to hit the serve fast may mean your ball occasionally sails long. Hitting with spin will likely reduce your control and cause you to miss.

But with these risks comes the possibility of real reward.

A more challenging serve makes it more likely that your opponent will fail to hit the return the way they want. They are more likely to struggle with their first shot which is good news for you. They are more likely to hit the return short. They are less likely to have pinpoint accuracy. They are more likely to hit out of bounds.

Of course, if you are hitting many of your serves out of play, you are probably being too aggressive. And one ought to be selective about when they choose to go for more (serving at 9-10-2 might not be the ideal time to attempt an un-returnable serve). But I don’t see anything inherently wrong with the occasional missed serve so long as it is the result of looking to gain an advantage with the first shot.

There is an old saying that “if you aren’t falling, you aren’t trying hard enough”. Perhaps we could adapt this to “if you never miss your serve, you aren’t going for enough”.


Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach and 5.0/PRO level competitor. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports. He can be reached by email mark@thirdshotsports.com.

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

  • Conventional wisdom is often “safe,” but may not be the best for a given play.
  • Serving is the only time a player has total control of the situation.
  • Serve to an opponent’s weakness. (You have to find it first)
  • Still serve the ball deep.
  • Change the style of serve using spin, pace, etc.
  • Weigh the risk-rewards ratio for your style of play and decide if you should “go for it” at certain times. (As the article points out, in a close game I tend to play it conservatively most of the time and just get the ball in the service box.)

Click the link to register to receive the Third Shot Sports Pickleball Newsletter

Click the link to see Third Shot Pickleball Past Newsletters.

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

Link to the Original Article- http://www.thirdshotsports.com/articles/2016/9/9/pb-myth-18-you-should-never-miss-your-serve
 The comments at the bottom of the article are interesting with people sharing their personal philosophies and ideas.

Pickleball – Square the Body to the Ball

Jeff

pickleball with arrows in all directions

In a previous post (see it here), I related how Sarah Ansboury suggests we can focus on keeping our eye on the ball and that is a good thing. Having our eye on the ball is not the only thing we need to do. What comes next? We need to be ready to return a ball that is headed toward us. In the video below, Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports brings us to the next step in hitting a successful return.

Mark explains how it helps to keep our body square to the ball, i.e. face the direction of the ball that is on the other side of the net. If it comes our way, we will be better prepared for a backhand or a forehand.

Watch the video for a clear demonstration…

 

 

To See Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here (primarily for beginners and less experienced players)

Check out Additional Pickleball Info and Videos! (for all players including average to more experienced players)

Pickleball: 3rd Shot in Singles – Not Usually a Drop

Jeff

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.”

Pickleball: Not Only Cool, But Cold…Frozen

Jeff

I have mentioned Mark Renneson and his Third Shot Sports in the past and I guess if you live in Canada, it may become difficult to find a place to play pickleball during the colder months. Perhaps this is one solution although for the warmer climate denizens, I wouldn’t recommend trying this unless you have very good hockey and/or ice skating skills.

Great fun Mark and the gang!

As quoted from the YouTube website:

“We all know that you can play pickleball outside. But how about in winter? On ice? With skates! Third Shot Sports presents a unique look at how some crazy Canadians play the sports they love no matter what the conditions. Featuring Bill Furse, Ingrid Schuster, Chuck Burgoyne, Mark Renneson and Cecily the Baby. thirdshotsports.com”

To See Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here

Check out Additional Pickleball Info and Videos!

Pickleball: Serving Team – How to Get to the Net

Jeff

After playing pickleball for just a short while, an attentive player will learn that it is better to control the net, i.e. be at the net ready to volley a ball that is hit rather than staying back and volleying from the baseline.

The question then arises: When is the best time for the serving team to head toward the net? It isn’t necessarily wise to run to the net as soon as possible.

Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports, has created a video to demonstrate how to “earn” the net.

You can also see Deb Harrison’s take on this situation by watching this previous JBRish post:

Pickleball: Earn the Net

To Poach or Not To Poach – Rules of Poaching Explained

Jeff

To Poach or Not To Poach: The Etiquette of Crossing the Line
By Mark Renneson**

“Poacher!” That’s what someone – a spectator – yelled during a recent intermediate pickleball game I watched. It was meant not as an observation, but a reprimand of the man who crossed the centre of the court to put away an attempted dink that floated a little too high. With the tone she used, she might as well have yelled, “Ball hog!” It was clear that this spectator viewed poaching as a kind of etiquette infraction, a pickleball sin that was both rude and obnoxious. But is it?

To be clear, poaching refers to crossing over the centre of the court to hit a ball that is otherwise destined for your partner. It means that you must abandon ‘your side’ of the court in order to intercept/steal ‘your partner’s ball’. There are a few reasons one might poach:

  1. your partner is farther back in the court than you and allowing the ball to go to her will result in the ball getting low and being in a less than desirable position. You poaching, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to hit the ball while it is still high and thus in a more enviable position to hit hard. Here is an example.
  2. You think you are a better player than your partner and are more likely to make a good shot. By coming across and taking balls aimed towards your partner, you are ostensibly giving your team a better chance to win by having the better player hit the ball most often. Here is an example.
  3. You like hitting the ball and are willing to leave your side of the court to satisfy your desire.*

So, is it a faux-pas to poach? The answer is, it depends. Like most things, context matters. If you are playing a competitive match where the primary goal is to win, I think you can justify poaching for reasons 1 and 2. In this situation, both teammates should have similar goals and personal ego should be set aside for the good of the team. If a poach is more likely to result in a winning shot then it is a reasonable play. If, however, it is a friendly, recreational match, things get a little murky. For most people, the fun comes from hitting the ball. And since poaching takes away your partner’s opportunity to hit the ball, it takes away some of their fun. You become not just a shot stealer but a fun stealer!

If we think back to the story that started this article we see how important the context is. The woman who yelled “Poacher!” as a reprimand, clearly saw the poach as stealing the fun of one of the players. If that exact same shot had been hit not during a fun pick-up game at the Y but in the gold medal round of a tournament, perhaps she would have yelled something more congratulatory.

So where do we go from here? First, err on the side of caution. Until you learn otherwise, assume that your partner cares more about being part of the game then about winning. Even if you can poach some of their balls, maybe hold off, at least for the start. Second, talk to your partner. Ask them how they want to handle balls over the net that either person can get. See what they say. Finally, encourage your partner to go for balls if they are in a position to put them away – even if they are on ‘your’ side of the court. This can show that you care more about the team doing well than you hitting a certain number of shots.

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*This information is being presented with permission from the author, Mark Renneson. Mark is a 5.0 pickleball player, coach and advocate. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports which provides first-class tennis and pickleball training. He lives in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. You can reach him at mark@thirdshotsports.com


Click the link to register to receive the Third Shot Sports Pickleball Newsletter

Click the link to see Third Shot Pickleball Past Newsletters.

Click the link to visit the Third Shot Sports Pickleball website.

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