Here is the second point that Angel brought up and it's a framework of how to play together for them. I'll comment afterwards on this and seek some universality for the rest of us. Rich
Angel:
2. Compatibility
Not sure if you remember the games that Ozzie and I played together at Downs, but I am the “aggressor” while he is the “backboard.”
During our tournaments, he will set up shots for me as I tend to have stronger put-aways and am more likely to attack first in most situations.
Although it may be wrong that I typically attack first, people are more likely to hit fewer balls to me and shift more balls over to Ozzie as they would prefer to have longer rallies than getting the ball slapped back at them. For Ozzie and myself, this is a win-win because our opponents either have the choice to get smashed at or play against a backboard. (Rich: note that with this setup it's likely that Angel will commit more errors in the play. You have to accept that and not worry about it. There should be a positive return on that "investment" as their setup should cause the opponents to modify their play.)
No matter what happens here, both of our strong suits are being used. Ozzie is a great re-setter and can keep a rally going all day, while I love speeding things up to get pop-ups.
We picked each other for these specific reasons in this partnership. The most famous team that has this exact partnership is Ben and Collin Johns. We are trying to simulate their game as best as possible to get the same results. This was proven to us from our results in the Monterey 5.0 19+ Tournament.
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Rich:
One of the things that is not said here is how they go about making this happen. Angel mentioned to me that the technical stuff they leave for their drilling, thus the document described above is more of a philosophical thesis.
I find the idea of playing the court lopsided is a good one. In dink battles I find myself on the T a lot and rarely in the cross court battle. I think someone needs to be on the T or at least covering it at all times to avoid missing a shot up the middle and also to slap down an errant dink. Lurk, lunge, and slap -- not a bad motto.
Now how could Angel and Ozzie do this? The Johns brothers put Collins off to the right side of the court and Ben covers the rest. I've not watched Angel with Ozzie enough to observe their setup. But it has to be something like that. The aggressor becomes the "in your face guy" and Ozzie provides coverage if they don't want to challenge Angel. You'll see this with other players at the Downs who grab say 60% of the kitchen line and dare you to play to them. Angel has to move well and have some fast hands for this to work.
How to defend against this? These folks generally are comfortable with a hard hit ball, so drops to their back hands will generally slow the pace of play and work better. Or hit away from them to their partner, who is probably on the move after returning the serve. But you can't float a soft high shot over the middle as that is the shot they are looking for. Keep it low, lots of top spin, not a lot of speed are good elements in this situation.
Next point, how might you include this court division in your game? If you have a steady partnership it's something to explore. What kind of shots you want to hit, Which would you prefer partner hit/get. And it comes down to style. Do you want to play chess or some kind of smash and hit game? These are good questions for a partner, but it seems out of place at the Downs, when you change partners every 10 minutes. But if you are going to play in a tournament, it would be a valuable discussion to have...
For me generally, I want my partner to be aggressive. And by that I want them to actively take shots they they feel good about hitting. If that brings them into my portion of the court, that's absolutely fine. If it's their backhand versus my forehand, that's fine too. I often feel very comfortable about a backhand drop and occasionally that could get in partner's way.
This view frees up partner to play actively rather than passively waiting for the ball to come to them. If partner likes to call the ball, that is an added bonus (it's something I don't do enough). If my partner is hopping all over to take shots I think the team is better off as we are moving more and I think that's the key to playing really well.
This also keeps me from backing up all the shots that come near me or between me and my partner. I'd much rather be moving for upcoming shots than being there in case partner delegates to me. (Pro tip: don't stand there and admire partner's shot, get moving for the return shot.)
I watched the video that was called "Collin Johns says you are playing pickleball all wrong." Or something like that. There wasn't a lot of technical info there. The story per Collin is that Ben recognized the need for a backhand sitter position and then the roamer, who would take a lot of shots. He and Ben have decided which shots belong to whom and they don't deviate from that. Any ball that comes over the net is recognized as to whom the ball belongs. They designed the partnership around that philosophy and have embraced it. It sounds like Angel and Ozzie are happy to play that way too.
It seemed like such a simple game at one point.. Every now and then I think what would happen if the kitchen was 15 feet instead of 14 or the court was a bit wider. A post for another time perhpas.
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