Another Theory About Not Getting Up to the Kitchen

 I've taught a lot of beginner classes and in the last couple we've tried to get the beginners to move to the kitchen after they hit the serve back.

This is usually impossible for them to do.  You can be standing next to them on the court and yell and wave your arms, but they are rooted in place.  I think I could fix this with a shock collar, but the club won't provide any...

I thought that this play was too scary and folks were concerned about being hit or not being comfortable with a net shot.  But I've come up with a different theory.

I'm guessing that they don't move up because they don't know what's going to happen with the next shot.

I understand this and maybe a lot of other unusual play I see is due to that.  Which leads me to talk, on this rainy day, with cold fingers dancing on the keyboard, about the patterns of play and why we want to know about them.

With a small court, the two bounce rule,  and two people on a side, there are very few scenarios that occur.  I'll limit my discussion to classical pickleball.  You bangers can write up your own plays!

Shot 1, get the serve in.  Shot 2, hit a return to the middle of the baseline, move to the net.  Shot 3, drop or drive and work your way towards the net.  See the prior blog post.  Shot 4, 6, 8, try to keep opponents back.  Shots 5, 7, 9, keep trying to get to the net.  All the rest is dink, lob, return, body bags, dink some more, and don't make mistakes.

As you've played enough, you will see this play out with minor variations.  The variations occur due to your opponents' shot selections.  The toughest opponents are not predictable and mix up shot targets and use both hard and soft shots.

Let's get back to the second shot.  In a beginner game, it doesn't matter where you hit it.  The two bounce rule forces the play to pause a little bit and the player who hit the serve, must use this to move up to join their partner at the kitchen.  

Theory Three...  ("I used to have three theories on raising children, but now I have three children and no theories,"  Ed Hume)

I talked to a player who has played for a number of years and she doesn't follow the service return to the kitchen.  Today I asked her why.  

She mentioned that she had a problem getting all the way up.  And she felt more confident in hitting a shot from close to the baseline.

So at her play level, it was more effective to stay back and wait for a better time to move up.  But it doesn't work when she gets into the tougher games. 

I have a lot of respect for this gal's playing ability.  And reading between the lines, I suspect that when she tries to come up with a service return, she finds herself still moving when trying to return the third shot.  This is very common and hitting while moving is not for the faint of heart.  See the previous post for some info about stopping and playing from fixed feet.  

I think you need to move up, always.  

Do not fear!  Moving up can be done a few ways.  One, you can sprint up, like the pros do.  Two, never wait to see how good your return is, just follow it in.  Three, return a shot that is more of a lob and that will create more time for you to move up.  

Finally, it is not necessary to move all the way up.  A good couple of steps up is much better than staying all the way back.  Stop so that you are stationary when the opponent starts to hit the ball.  Make sure your paddle is properly placed and as the point develops, move up, or back, or stay still to maximize your play.  Make sure your two steps are directly at the ball.  You usually have to move at some kind of angle to do this.  You don't want to widen the distance between you and partner.

The pros play a lot of shots from mid court and if you are ready, those shots are not that difficult.  Just make sure you are not standing tall your paddle at your knees.  As the Master would say, "Grasshopper, do not do that."