Getting Your Head in the Game

 I swear I wrote this post a while ago, but a modest searching effort didn't show it, so maybe I wrote it in my mind and let it go at that.

One of the points that JillyB talks about in her YouTube videos is getting your head close to your paddle when hitting a shot.

"What?"

No, really.  If you can have a posture that keeps you close to the ball, it's much easier to hit a good shot.  You will hit balls when they are closer to your torso, so well within reach.  If you do that your elbow will be closer to your body and you're not stretched out.  You don't have a lot of touch when your arm is extended fully, a bent elbow is a wonderful thing.

This is easy to try when you are dinking.  Think "crouching" for the shot and you can get a feel for this way to hit the ball.

The timing of when you hit the ball changes dramatically when you require the ball to be close to your body.  It might require a bit more movement, but the shots are so much more in control and solid.

Zane Navratil, also on YouTube, suggests that the overhead smash that ends up in the net is due to hitting the ball when it's too far away from you.  Let it get closer and see if that makes your smash a bit more consistent.

Added bonus for this stroke...  It also works quite well when hitting golf balls.  You are also a bit bent over and you maintain good posture and head position during the ball strike and when all that happens the club is on a good path through the ball.  Try it with your next pitch shot.

The Master Explains Lobs

 "Master," asked Po, "why when Master plays with other Masters, that there are no lobs?  Surely, the shot holds little challenge?"

The Master was sipping his tea.  The study was comfortable with a small fire warming the room.  The Spring had arrived, but a coldness of the Winter still laid over the monastery.

The Master took another slurp and contemplated the question.  It was a question that came up every year or so.

"Po, your question is only a question as you are young and have only worked through four of the 23 sacred texts of pickleball shots."  The Master burped softly.  The tea was good and it deserved to be tasted more than once.

"But Master, there are players who seemingly hit nothing but lobs, are they in error?"

"Lobs are hit for many reasons.  Some lobbers have a list of excuses for their lobs.  Note that even they feel the need to defend such a shot.  If the shot were pure and true to the essence of pickleball, all would know it and lobs would be praised rather than seen as a shot of sadness.

"There is one lob that is seen as valid and true, and that is a lob during a dinking point.  These are shots of skill, timing, and surprise, and are considered serene.  This is shot seven of the eleven basic lobs and note, Po, that there are many variations."

"What of other lobs, Master?  Are they not useful and valid?"

"Leading theorists suggest they are not.  They tend to disturb the flow of a point.  They lack finesse and like cutting cold butter with a dull knife.  They make crumbles and flakes that don't belong on toast.  Mid and back court lobs are much like torn toast.

"Not only do they delay proper play as all of the players stand around and wait for the lord gravity to bring the ball down, but they are certainly a surprise the partner of the lobber.  Imagine expecting partner to hit a proper drop and then suddenly the ball is aloft where only birds should fly?"  The Master shuddered with old memories from when he was learning the game.  He remembered games with sweet Penelope, who was close to perfection except for the lobs.  The Master sighed with painful memory.

"However, Po, we cannot fully condemn lobbers, as the shot is within the rules.  It seems that some of these players can't help it.  Others have made it their personal style.  These players rarely see anything wrong with such a shot.  As you play against many styles, Po, it is perhaps best to merely tolerate such shots, and not try to improve another's game.

"What, Po, is the most important skill to develop as a high level player?"

"Master we are taught that after competency of strokes and shots, then evaluation of the opponents' styles, skills, and strengths is paramount."

"That is correct, Po, after general competency, we modify our play based on what the opponents like to do and what they can do, and what they will do.  Lobbers are part of this evaluation.  As I mentioned, many of them can't help themselves and will lob at very strange situations.  Where you and I would select a soft dink to a backhand position, for example, a lobber cannot see that shot and will seek to stir the clouds.

"And yes, the occasional lob will be effective.  But if you evaluate the success of the lobs in a game, you will usually find that many will not land in the court, the ones that do are easily returned after you expect them in play.  And while the lobber will rejoice at each of his successes, it usually will lose a point than gain one.  It is somewhat like hitting a smash into the net.  It might feel good when it works, but the lost points are rarely appreciated."

"So, Po, now you see why when the Masters play, they do not lob?  There are the other 47 shots that are more dynamic, effective, subtle, satisfying, and, perhaps we could say, 'happy', than a lob.  Practice them if you like, Po, but they will not be on any examination, no will any extra credit be granted if you pull one off.

"Er, it seems we are low on tea and cookies, would you mind fetching some?  Thank you."

"It is my pleasure, Master.  I thank you for the enlightenment."

The Master yawned, stretched a bit and then reached for his quill pen.  He was working on short 1000 page book about the wrist position for the backhand shovel dink.  Work was going well and the Master was enjoying constructing the prose for the next paragraph.  The fire crackled, the delicate smell of cold tea, pine logs and fresh parchment paper pervaded the study.  It was another fine day.

TYPTI Review*

 This is a preliminary short report on TYPTI, a "new" game played on a pickleball court.

A couple of caveats and then to the report.  I used junior tennis paddles and I used a foam tennis ball to try this game out.  I don't know how well this gear matches the real thing.  But I got four paddles and two balls for $80.  If I bought the real stuff, it would have been over $800.  OK, on to the play...

The ball is about 3.5 inches in diameter, slightly bigger than a pickleball.  It is completely silent.  It bounces more than a PB and it's dense enough for play on the PB court.

The rackets are 23 inches long, the official guys are close to this size.  

There is no kitchen in play.  I don't think the two bounce rule applies either.  Serves are cross court.   

There is a strange rule about hitting the ball twice if it goes into the net or you hit it with your hand.  I don't know those.  A trip to YouTube would be in order if you are going to pursue the game.

The ball comes off the paddle more quickly than a PB, and it's easy to hit a ball to the baseline.  The ball is easy to spin and its velocity does decay pretty quickly, so it is easy to get to most shots.  With the longer paddles longer rallies should be fun.

Scoring... The scoring is simple.  One side will serve the entire game and the first team to score three points in a row wins the game.  I have no idea how many games a match is.

The score starts at zero zero, then becomes one up or down, two up or down and game.  If the one up people, who won the last point, lose the next point, then the score is one down.  The only scores after the initial serve is  one up/down, two up/down, game over.  Note that the one up, one down can occur a lot before someone wins. 

The games lasted a fair amount of time.  If you played two out of three games, that would be longer than a PB game.  Assuming even skill levels.

Conclusion:  this was fun, just because it was a bit different.  The play did seem to bother my ability to hit a PB ball in the middle of the paddle when I switched back.  It's easy to see the spin on the ball and the ball moves more slowly than a PB ball.  It's worth a try.  I have gear and am willing to let others try it, so don't be shy!  It's a good way to learn to spin a ball and it seems to be a reasonable workout.  

As Sun Tzu Says...

 Spring had come to the monastery and the courts had been repainted, the nets repaired and the masters and acolytes were getting ready for some outside play.  But first, of course, was the grounding in theory for the next year.  The Master was discussing life, forehands, and the inelegance of lobbing -- the standard lecture for eager players.

"What is the essence of pickleball?" asked the Master.  Mo raised his hand.

"Yes, Mo, please enlighten us," said the Master.

"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women," said Mo. 

"Mo, there will be no more movie night for you for a month," said the Master.  A stern expression on his face.  "What does Sun Tzu tell us about war?"

Po spoke up, "To always fight from the high ground and not from the swamp."

"Correct, Po, but I am not sure about the swamp part...  But the high ground is most useful to Pickleball.  What, Po, is the high ground in Pickleball?"

"Master, the high ground must be the kitchen line.  He who controls that, controls the point."

"Yes, Po, that is correct.  From the kitchen line, all things are possible - deep shots, angle shots, drop shots -- and thankfully, not lobs.  Classical pickleball theory espouses that the aim of every point is to get to the kitchen line.

"When is this hard to do?"

"Master, it can be difficult when serving and not having a useful third shot," said Mo, trying to get his movie privileges back.

"Good, Mo.  And what is the current theory of the proper third shot?"

"There are two current theories, Master, the traditional drop third, or the more modern, drive third, drop fifth."

"Yes, Mo, it heartens me to see you have paid attention to your studies.  Why is the drive and drop strategy favored in these modern times?"  The Master's voice sounded somewhat satirical as he said "modern times."

"The thought is that a drop is a difficult shot, seldom practiced, and perhaps only for masters.  While many can drive the ball, step into the court and then had an easier drop from the fifth shot."

The Master lapsed into introspection.  Perhaps almost a dream of the times, simpler, when the classical game flourished and the new players were still in grammar school.  With a jolt, or perhaps a shudder, the Master returned to the present day.  He looked over the players sitting before him.  Perhaps, he thought, there would be some players who might extend the understanding of the game given enough time on the court and time spent in contemplation...

"What, Mo, is the beauty of a drop third shot?"

"Well, Master, I guess when the drop is good or perfect, then the enemies scatter before us?"

"Ah, I see where your earlier comment originated and where it now reappears.  I restore your movie privileges.  And a good description of what a drop third will do.  Yes, many players are happy to defend a drive, but weep like a small child when the ball is bouncing around his feet."

"Know this students, if you wish to excel, then the path to enlightenment is found in the soft game and not at pace.  And, since this is a serious class, we will not mention lobbing, the defense to lobbing, lobbing for beginners, drop shots after a lob, footwork for lobs and the humorous topic of how to fall after chasing down a lob.  Do not go there students, you have a life in front of you and do not go down the dark side."

"Class dismissed."

Be The Anti Banger

 The toughest opponents are the ones who never hit a ball out, or in the net, or over the fence or even hitting the back fence on the fly -- which should merit a loss of a point, IMHO.

To become the toughest opponent you can be, you must strive to not make mistakes.  I could just stop there and say thanks for reading, but it wouldn't be much of a blog if I didn't provide some instruction as to how to do that.

The shot I see missed most frequently is the smash at the net.  I'm guessing that this is missed easily 30% of the time and frequently by  good players.  There are a number of reasons for that miss.  The swing is usually faster, the pupils are dilated expecting ecstasy, the pulse is up, well, you get the picture and it's almost sad when the shot goes awry.

With that smash shot in mind, is it "more better" to hit it into the net or just hit a deep controlled shot into the court -- maybe the middle, or a corner?  And while hitting ball hard might seem to be a good trade off for a missed shot, your partner might not see it the same way.  You should already be feeling good as you've forced your opponents into hitting a pop up.  You've gained the advantage in the play, and throwing it away with a bad smash?  Really?  Come on...

I am not immune to this miss.  And I recognize that this is a big error.  I've been in a couple of games recently where dinking was the way of the group.  And when the dinks are good, speeding up and hitting rolls from low positions is not a good shot choice.  Once I realized that and became much more selective on which shots I would speed up (none), I became more consistent, scored better and found the play much more relaxing.  

A pretty good philosophy is that you should strive to hit solid shots with purpose and always in.  When you get into trouble, dink, don't hit the ball harder.  And finally be very selective when attacking.  You want to be assured your attack is going to stay in the court -- (or hit someone, that works too).  A big shot does a couple of things.  One it might win the point, or go out.  In both of those cases the rally is over and that's usually a sad moment.  We are there to rally and hit the ball well.

Which leads to the next question...  Why are a lot of players/teams unhappy to rally?   I see many shots designed to end the rally.  And they usually do, but they lose more than they win, so I'm thinking that trying to win a point is a good way to lose it...  Should not the goal in play be to "play well?"   Will your partner ever complain if you don't put a ball away, but get it in?  Long rallies are fun, we want to have fun, more fun, be happier!

Which leads to the next question, where is the best target to keep the ball in play?  Simple answer is, the middle.  Hit them all there.  Don't worry that an opponent is there (probably rarely!), just hit a good shot and keep playing.  The longer the rally, the more fun it is.  The game was designed to favor rallies over serves and volley, I think it's a fine idea to embrace that philosophy and play on!

The Most Funnest Game I've Ever Played

 A couple of weeks ago a miracle occurred.  I was playing at May Nissen and all the players played a fully soft game.  There were few drives, no speedups, but lots of dinking and third shot drops.

The skill levels were somewhat close, but with the shots all lacking "killer" pace, the rallies were long, everyone could get to all their shots.  Then with the lack of speedups it was a game of chess and not dodgeball.  

Oh, I forgot, no one lobbed...

I don't know how this game came into being or why everyone played the way they did, but it was the most enjoyable game I've ever played.

---

Now for something a bit less syrupy.  I've watched a bunch of YouTube videos by Jill Braverman, aka JillyB, and I like her stuff and her delivery.

In a recent video she pointed out that the closer you get your head to a shot, the better the shot will be.  This pertains mostly to dinks and you get your head close to the shot by bending your body over the ball.  

The bending is from the waist forward.  Note that when you are hitting a dink or shot that is to your side, then you will have rotated your torso to the ball, so the posture change is the same.

The opposite of this controlled and consistent shot, is when we stretch to hit a shot.  Now there is no way to hit the ball from a "head close" position.  

When I come across some new technique I like to test it and I see if it can be extended to other shots.  Firstly, it does work and rather well, though it's hard to find a dinking game, and secondly, if you apply this technique to ground strokes, you will find that it's very useful there too.  I found myself waiting to hit a shot because I wanted to be closer to the ball and then found I could make a much more solid shot that usual.

I've wanted to write about how to avoid mishit shots but I don't have a good solution to that problem.  But hitting the ball and keeping your head near the shot is part of the solution.  This might be generalized as hitting in the zone of power, which is basically a zone about two feet in front of and around your body.  You don't want to hit inside or outside of this zone.