We have two more posts to go which describe initial thoughts for the up and coming PB player. Those are the thoughts for the non-server on the serving side, and the player at the net whose partner is going to return the serve.
Let's look at the first case... Your partner is going to serve. What are you going to do?
The first question is who is going to hit the third shot.
There are a couple of cases that we should consider and they deal with how good the service return is.
Worst case is that the return comes back deep into the court and into the middle. The player who should return a ball hit to the side is obvious. Oh, you can say, "Mine" or "Yours" if you want, but simple reactions will suffice.
The real problem is a ball in the middle. Even if it's short, being too polite or too aggressive might interfere with who hits the ball back. I like to use the crisscross structure for these. Basically if the ball is coming at player A, player A returns it. The ball might start on player B's side, but it's the direction of the ball that is the deciding factor. Talking to your partner in this case is a good idea. Pro tip, decide who will call out the responsibilities of receivership before the game starts.
Have I mentioned where you will be setup waiting for the service return? Not yet in this post, but if you've done a little reading, you'll know that you are a step or two behind the baseline where the server should be too.
If the return ball comes down the middle, you will find that the server might not have fully returned to a ready position because of the bodily distortion of hitting the serve. I think the non-server should be more responsible for the center ball than the server. Even if it's on the backhand side of the partner. So aggressively let your partner know that you will return that shot.
Let me digress a bit here. If your team returns a deep, hard, middle shot and does not hit a great return, you are in trouble. The opponents are going to return the ball from the net. They have options! They can drop, hit it back deep to the middle or angle it off. Basically, your side has made the first major mistake. You need to get ready to defend. The hardest return shots I've seen are another hard shot up the middle. There is one bright note here, your can volley the ball, so stepping into the court and being in the middle will allow you to do that. But be wary of the shot back to your feet -- a problem for anyone. I have no wonderful solution here. The deeper you are, the easier you can return a middle shot, but it exposes you to the drop and angled shots. That's pickleball.
The prior posts have mentioned where to return the ball, etc., so let me touch on a couple of general ideas in re movement. The big goal is to get both players to the kitchen line. The important word is both. We again have a couple of cases. If the third ball is a drive, then both players need to be cautious about advancing. The return ball will be coming faster than a drop. So look to move in some, but stay with your partner, don't run up ahead of the action.
If the third shot is a drop or is going to be a drop (how do you know what your partner is going to do? More below!), then you can/should advance ahead of the play and get to the kitchen line well ahead of partner. Partner is going to follow in his drop, right?
How do you know what partner is going to do with the third shot? There are clues! One, watch him hit the ball. Is that the swing of a drive or drop? Also, your partner is a creature of habit like all of us, so expect the usual shot selection. Some partners will always drive, some always drop. Pro tip, it's a good discussion to have with a new partner about what they will do with a third shot. If you can mix drives with drops, that's the best plan. Maybe you'll drive short returns and drop deep ones. Having a plan is useful.
If you've hit a third shot drop and your partner has gone up to the net, you might not be able to join him there if your shot is a bit deep. Come in as many steps you can and defend the fourth shot. Try to drop the fifth and keep moving forward. Pros on occasion will not get to the net before the seventh or ninth shot. Don't be in a hurry or panic and overhit the ball.
While my partner is working his way up for the fifth shot, I am at the net and placed to easily cover the middle of the court. I want to look for errors from the opponents. I'm looking to poach if I can. My movement will reflect where on the court the ball is. I'll try to smack any pop up. But barring an opponent's error, a good outcome for my side is to get to a dinking rally at the net.
I think that's it for this part. The next part is what to do after partner returns the serve and we'll save that for the next post.
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