Another Thought on Speeding the Ball Up, The Net, No Man's Land, Shot Evaluation

 I was thinking about the last post a bit and another way of thinking about speeding up the ball came to mind.  And I was playing with Susan and she made a remark about No Man's Land.  We had a short conversation about it.   I think it's a good topic for some more thought.

Firstly, the Speed Up

My slant is to think of having the net as a player on your side.  If you speed a ball up, you are going to leave the ball above the net line.  Your opponent now has no or little net to worry about.  You've removed the net as your third partner.  

If your speed up is a good one, that is a good trade off.  But if the opponents are looking for a faster ball and can counter hit it, then the speed up was not a good idea.  It would be better to keep dinking and wait for a better chance. 

Marginal fast shots work well against poorer players.  It is easy to get in the habit of speeding every time you can as you learn the game.  The problem is when you hit the better players, who are happy to counter hit and get into fire fights. 

Net Stuff & No Man's Land

Let me get back to the strategic value of the net.  Let's assume you are in the transition area, frequently called No Man's Land.  If the opponent's shot has to be hit from below net level, then your feet are safe by being blocked by the net, and you will get a shot that you'll be able to return as their shot will either be a dink or a softer shot to mid-court.  But if they are hitting from above the net, then your feet are the target and indeed you are in trouble in the transition area.  

Enter the transition area when you are protected by the net.  Otherwise, stay back, defend, and try to hit a better shot that allows you to either move into the area, or get all the way to the net.  

A lot of players try to move into the T. Zone or back court too early.  They hit a serve and step into the court a pace or two.  Or they hit a third and start moving in.  

I'll make another rule of thumb here, never move into the court until it's proper to do so.  Not automatically after a serve, and only maybe after a third.  Do move up if the third shot is a good one, and you might be able to get to the net with a great third.  But it's better to move up a little than to move up too much.

Both you and your partner should be evaluating all shots as to future movement.  If you hit it short/well, get up as far as you can, but you still want to be able to defend, so don't run through the 5th shot.  Stop, get ready, hit the 5th, evaluate and then move somewhere.

How to Play Pickleball...

Shot evaluation of the opponent's second shot is very important.  You are going to do one of three things: 

    1) If the 2nd is short, your team moves up, if the opponent is still back, hit it to him, get to the net.  

    2) If the 2nd lands in mid court, then move up, try to drop the 3rd shot -- you might not be able to get all the way up.  

    3) If the 2nd shot is deep, hit a drive and stay back, or a drop and move up.  Only move up immediately on a good drop.

Hmm, this has gotten too long, and I think there is enough there for some thought.  As I ponder this, the drop shots and dinks become more and more important as you get better.  

There is also a lot on movement here, and I still see a lot of folks moving up and then having to move backwards to hit the second.  Hopefully there is same framework here to help with this concept.  

See you all tomorrow.