Game Parts, Partners, and Signals

 I was musing about what parts of a game I enjoyed.  I have to vote for the end game with a tight score.  

The early points are ok.  If you are playing with a new partner then you have to figure out what shots he will hit and what he likes to hit.  (I'll use the generic "he" as partner's pronoun, feel free to substitute.)  I realize the satisfaction of working out a lot of stuff with a regular partner. And as you would play together, I would hope that the agreements and roles would be altered to match experiences as they occur.  A couple of posts back, I suggested that stretching for a shot in front of your partner is not good policy.  A regular partnership would understand that and perhaps do it more or less based on forehands and what the partners' strengths are.

The drop/drive question is important as you might want to move and be positioned differently on the court if partner is a driver versus a dropper.  My preference is to drop, but I can easily go along with a drive third and then a drop fifth.  What I don't like is third, fifth, seventh all being drives.  I think it's boring pickleball as it lacks elements of touch and control.  But if that's what partner is going to do, you don't want to move much off the baseline until it's a good idea.  

A commentator on one of the pickleball channels suggested that you could call a shot with "Mine" to denote a drop and "I've got it" to tell partner you are going to drive.  If you know your partner is going to drop, you can move well ahead of the ball and get set at the kitchen line.  But if it's a drive, being back to handle a good block is a better play.  Will the partnership remember that kind of signal in the heat of battle?  

In my ideal point the serving side will work hard to get into a dinking battle.  Then the next question is speeding up the ball.  I'm a bit too aggressive in hitting my backhand roller, waiting a bit would be a better percentage play.  Also hitting the ball flat at someone is all well and good, but it depends a lot on to whom you are hitting.  If you can hit the proper hip/shoulder then it probably doesn't depend on the player.  But if you miss and the player is looking for it, you will have lost an advantage.  

Back to partners...  Some are willing to dink, some can't seem to stand it.  I see it as an accomplishment to get to the kitchen line and start dinking, so I think you ought to have a good reason for speeding up or lobbing or trying the body shot.  If the conditions are correct for one of those shots, then by all means.  But doing it because you are nervous or bored, seems wrong.  Learning to dink for a long time is a good skill to have.  Lowers pulse and blood pressure, not a lot of running and you'll be admired by all who watch.  If you learn to dink aggressively and can fluster opponents, then you are on your way to greatness.  A path that we all might want to tread.  To continue our thoughts about a new partner, these tendencies are useful to know as it will help you predict how the play will go and what you might have to do.

Also a big part of the early game is to look at the opponents and think about how the play will go.  (If there is a beginner, then I try not to pick on him or hit hard shots, I'll provide balls that can easily be returned -- I'm happy to have a long rally.  But I also want to not exclude the other player.  Lopsided teams usually exclude one partner for a lot of the play.  This doesn't bother me much when I'm not getting a lot of balls, but others don't share this view.)  Since you are unlikely to talk to partner about how to play and to whom, this is more likely an internal dialog, but one that has value, I think.  Certainly if you are going to play tournaments, then this skill is vital, as would a quick couple of words with partner to suggest strategy.  If things are not going well, use a time out and talk about different ways to play.  Your general play style should have been discussed prior to the tournament, yes?

The middle game can be a bit boring assuming the game is fairly even.  It's kind of a grind to get to the end.  One team might make up ground or move ahead here, usually due to errors accumulating on one side or the other.  Missing serves or netting balls and popping stuff up are what makes the game what it is.  Don't get discouraged if you have a bad couple of shots.  Hang in there and don't try to make up for it by hitting the ball harder.  Nobody really cares about your bad shots but you in a rec game.  We all make the same mistakes.

And then the end game, where each shot becomes more valuable.  So, don't serve out, and be careful about hitting "the winner" if you have a good chance to miss.  Play solidly and be willing to have a long rally.  Make the opponents work for every point.  If you are behind, remember that no lead is safe and comebacks are quite common.  My personal best is to have won from being down 0-9 and 3-10.  It takes steady play and some luck to do it, but never give up.