Pickleball 202

 The question came up as I was teaching at the TVPBC PB-101 class last Saturday, what the Skills and Drills class was all about.  That question morphed into what might be the syllabus for a class that players would take after they've taken the 101 and then have played for a while.

Let's talk a bit about what the 101 class is in reality.  It's an introduction to the game.  There is little technical instruction, at least from me, as I think in the short time of the class that students should be deciding if the game is worth pursuing, rather than how to volley a top spin backhand.  There is a real limit to what can be absorbed in the hour and a half that the class lasts.  Indeed, the original class used to be dinks, volleys, ground strokes, serves, and then some play.  It was recognized that that was too much to retain.  The current instruction is try some dinks, learn to serve and I will work with each student individually for that skill, then we play games.  

With the serves comes scoring and setup for a point.  Setting up for a point implies movement by the receiving team -- see the previous blog post.  And I'll repeat here that no student will advance to the net after they return a serve.  It's just impossible at their level of understanding of the game.

Back to the topic.  So what is the syllabus for the next class?  Note that we've not really taught any hard skills.  We've placed them in the court and we've given them some goals, e.g., hit the serve towards the blue dot, try and understand the scoring.

So the goal for the second class would be to take the players and move them to say, 2.5.  We would like to see them serve well, i.e., get the ball in, automatically setup for both serving and returning of serves, know the scoring well.

And the last little bit is to get the ball back more consistently. 

Thus we spend some time on hitting serves and aligning feet for the serve and then should turns and some weight shift and then ball whacking.  

Setting up for points should be well known to them if they've been playing at all.  The same would be for the scoring.  So I would expect that no real time need be spent on that.

Which leaves us with more consistent ball striking.  In my humble opinion, hitting the ball well is merely a function of getting to the ball.  Since the ball is less than an ounce in weight, and the paddles about 8 ounces, there is little strength required to hit the ball.  But there is a real problem if the ball is too far away from you when you go to hit it.  

So, the big topic is movement.  I've written close to 250 posts in this blog and I suspect that a full 100 of them mention moving to the proper place.  And if I have a super power in this game, it is probably in being well placed most of the time.  I don't see this skill as being difficult, but it is for almost all players at the intermediate and beginner levels.

If I were to design the next class I would invent or look up drills to make people get to the correct position.  For example, if someone serves and steps into the court, they lose the point.  If someone returns a serve and does not advance, they lose the point.  If there is no middle coverage, they lose the point.  If the players get too far apart, they lose the point.  

I think these are the fundamental skills to play pretty good PB without needing to hit 40 MPH serves and volleys.  I see these skills as the fastest route to a high 3+ DUPR skill level.  And I would design a course around these points.

It was Five to Two and No One was Feeling It

   I was playing the other day and the teams were uneven, though not deliberately.  I hadn't played with any of the players.  In a couple of minutes the score was five to two and the outcome of the game really wasn't in doubt.  

And everyone knew it.  So there was this let down and it would be easy to grind out the rest of the game while thinking about the next game.  I was pondering this and it looked like the other team decided that the rest of the game wasn't going to be a lot of fun either.

As I thought about this, I thought that there was not guarantee that the next game was going to be better and then I thought, well how can I make the most of this game?  The players were nice and the game was friendly and there was no reason that we couldn't try to make the most of the game we had.  

There is an adage in golf that is, "every shot is a separate contest."  Well, that is pretty much what PB is too.  A nicely struck forehand is a joy forever and sometimes every backhand is a challenge.  And I would suggest that to make any game more interesting that we seek to hit every shot well.  It is incredibly common to not hit balls in the sweet spot of the paddle and just playing attention to that and seek to improve it will provide challenge in any game situation where you are winning or getting killed.

With some of that in mind, I played out the rest of the game and enjoyed the opportunity to just play well and control the ball.  

I've often written about at what level to play when skill levels are uneven and in my opinion you want to play close to the skill levels of the other players.  All of the above is what to do with your excessive skills as you play in any situation.  You can choose to hit the perfect shot to a place where your opponents can easily return the shot and thus extending the rally or just bang it away, which will bring satisfaction to no one.   Longer rallies are fun, I think and make the game more interesting for everyone.

Comfort Zones, Oh My

 One of things that I see in the PB-101 class is where the students feel comfortable standing.  And that position is about 4 feet into the court from the baseline, not quite to the middle of the transition area, but a couple of steps into the court.  

After you've played a bit, you will realize that that location is the absolute worst position from which to play.  I'll return to this in a moment.

A good player will seek to spend 10% of her time behind the baseline, 80% at the kitchenline and the remaining time trying to get to the kitchenline by moving through the transition area.  You might also have to retreat into the transition area as a point develops, but you don't want to be there.  The difficulty is that your feet are most exposed when in the transition area.  (Pro tip: in the transition area, keep your paddle positioned near your feet!)  An opponent can try to hit them with no fear of hitting long and you are too far away from the net, so you'll get no help from the net.  Net help?  Yes, that's why dinks and drops are so powerful, a low ball close to the net requires a very good shot to get the ball up and over the net, but not too high to create a sitter.

Beginners don't like the kitchen as it's probably scary and they are not used to the speed of the ball and there also seems to be an occasional fear of being lobbed.   And that's fine.  When teaching a class I push for them to get to the line and stay there, but it doesn't affect what they usually do.  I hope that as they become players that those words will come back to them and produce a better player.

And they don't like to be behind the baseline.  I think the fear here is that they are too far from the action and they won't get to the ball when it's hit towards them.

So they find their comfort area and while it's comfortable, and maybe a good place for a true beginner in a beginner game, as soon as you start playing regularly, you have to learn to face your fears and become comfortable with being behind the baseline and being at the net.  And you must learn to want to be at these two positions.  They are powerful and give you maximum control of the next shot.  If you are not where you should be, you empower your opponents.

I frequently see a service returner refuse to move up when they hit the service return.  This is very common even with pretty good players who have played for a couple of years, and it's the worst play in pickleball.  By staying back, you will allow the serving side to return deep to you and then move up to the line.  Your side will be split and you will have turned an advantage to a deficit.  The big difference between PB and tennis is the two bounce rule.  The service return has to bounce and this rule is there for the sole purpose of allowing the service returner to advance.  It's a huge deal.  If you don't come up, you are not playing pickleball.  You can still have fun and be comfortable by staying back, but in a intermediate game, you will be expected to be moving up every time you return a serve.  Watch a pro match on YouTube and see what they do.  They will sprint to the kitchenline every time.  Now in rec play, the sprint is not needed, but at least try to trot a bit!

Let's talk about staying behind the baseline after your side has hit a serve.  The error here is to move into the court and then find the service return is so deep that they have to run backwards to field it.  Had you stayed behind the baseline, you won't have to move much for a deep return, and you'll only have to move forward for a shorter return.  You will, of course, be keeping a sharp eye on how your opponent hits the serve and if they hit a short one or a soft one, then you can move forward to deal with it efficiently.  Don't worry about a service return that is so short you can't get to it.  It does happen and usually from a mishit but it won't happen often.  Worry about and be prepared for deep shots!

These are the two things that really separate beginners from a true intermediate player.  Being in the proper position is the most important part of the game.  Good positioning allows more time to hit better shots, less stretching to the side, and less hitting a ball while moving.  Make sure these two items are part of your play -- they are the most important things to learn about this game.