To cut down on my typing, I'll be using the following... I'll put it at the bottom of posts on occasion. Thanks for your understanding!
NVZ - non-volley zone
KL - kitchen line
BL - baseline
2nd - second shot, performed by serve returning side
3rd , 5th, 7th ... - server side's second and successive shots
TA - transition area AKA no man's land
PB - pickleball
ATP - around the post, a shot that looks harder than it is. :-)
From a conversation at the court on Monday. I thought of this topic a bit earlier, but never put it down on electronic paper. Here is my take.
Cases:
1) You are the one player who is not as good as the rest
2) You are the player greatly better than the others
3) One team is much better than the other
The discussion should start by recognizing that there are a lot of reasons to play PB. A few are interested in getting tournament ready, some would like to just play well/better, and a bunch are happy to play with what skills they have and get some exercise or enjoy any social engagement that comes from the game.
What should we all do when these motives collide? I think we have to suggest that everyone wants to have a good time. But if you are in a game that is not going to provide what you want, then adjustments are needed.
First case, the other players are better than you are. If the ability differences are large and it's common knowledge, then I'd want/hope the better players to challenge the less able player, but not punish him. It should make no one happy to beat up on another player. It can be a very scary and uncomfortable position knowing that you are low on the totem pole. It will be hard to ignore that fact and play as well as you can. Try not to be self conscious about your abilities as that will make it harder to play as well as you can. That is very tough to do, but in reality no one really cares how poorly someone else plays. Everyone makes the same mistakes in PB, ball in net, ball long, ball wide, so try to relax and enjoy the experience.
Second case, there are three at one level and you are much better. A couple of thoughts here, one, don't teach or coach unless asked about it, two, play down a bit to challenge the others without killing the ball every chance you get. Encouragement is welcome at any level, so remark when partner does something well. Note that a miss might still be a good shot if it fit the situation. Don't say anything even if partner hits three serves in a row into the net. Pointing out errors won't make anyone feel or play better. (Well, there is my pet peeve about partner not coming to the net after returning a serve. I must confess that I've mentioned that a couple of times. I hope anyone who heard that appreciated the tip. But I was probably out of line to bring it up. Sorry.)
Third case, we have one team much better than the other. This is a lot like the other cases, play at a level that allows everyone to have a good time. Don't pound the ball away with every pop up, just get it back and work on your defense and drop shops. If you don't do this folks will always split the good players and you'll have a partnership that won't have that smooth oiled cooperation that is one of the reasons to play the game. "You two are welcome play together, but don't beat us up! We'll try to be challenging." And I think letting the good players play together occasionally is a way of thanking them for being willing to play down a bit. There are a lot of better players who are willing to play down, but it can be tiring if that scenario lasts all morning. Watching two good players together is an opportunity to learn more about strokes, movement, dinking.
I've played some games where the skill levels were wildly different, and it was said and understood that the game would not be cut-throat in nature. More a "gentlemen's game" than one of quick points and hard hits. It was enjoyable for all concerned. The poorer players might not win, but can see a different partnership style than might be used at their level.
So there are my thoughts. I welcome others. If there are large differences in ability, maybe a discussion before the game starts about the intensity of the game might be a good idea. I would also hope that the better players would play down a bit automatically just to keep the points going longer. At some point, as the Master might say, playing well need not include winning at all costs, or even winning at all.
I was thinking about the last post a bit and another way of thinking about speeding up the ball came to mind. And I was playing with Susan and she made a remark about No Man's Land. We had a short conversation about it. I think it's a good topic for some more thought.
Firstly, the Speed Up
My slant is to think of having the net as a player on your side. If you speed a ball up, you are going to leave the ball above the net line. Your opponent now has no or little net to worry about. You've removed the net as your third partner.
If your speed up is a good one, that is a good trade off. But if the opponents are looking for a faster ball and can counter hit it, then the speed up was not a good idea. It would be better to keep dinking and wait for a better chance.
Marginal fast shots work well against poorer players. It is easy to get in the habit of speeding every time you can as you learn the game. The problem is when you hit the better players, who are happy to counter hit and get into fire fights.
Net Stuff & No Man's Land
Let me get back to the strategic value of the net. Let's assume you are in the transition area, frequently called No Man's Land. If the opponent's shot has to be hit from below net level, then your feet are safe by being blocked by the net, and you will get a shot that you'll be able to return as their shot will either be a dink or a softer shot to mid-court. But if they are hitting from above the net, then your feet are the target and indeed you are in trouble in the transition area.
Enter the transition area when you are protected by the net. Otherwise, stay back, defend, and try to hit a better shot that allows you to either move into the area, or get all the way to the net.
A lot of players try to move into the T. Zone or back court too early. They hit a serve and step into the court a pace or two. Or they hit a third and start moving in.
I'll make another rule of thumb here, never move into the court until it's proper to do so. Not automatically after a serve, and only maybe after a third. Do move up if the third shot is a good one, and you might be able to get to the net with a great third. But it's better to move up a little than to move up too much.
Both you and your partner should be evaluating all shots as to future movement. If you hit it short/well, get up as far as you can, but you still want to be able to defend, so don't run through the 5th shot. Stop, get ready, hit the 5th, evaluate and then move somewhere.
How to Play Pickleball...
Shot evaluation of the opponent's second shot is very important. You are going to do one of three things:
1) If the 2nd is short, your team moves up, if the opponent is still back, hit it to him, get to the net.
2) If the 2nd lands in mid court, then move up, try to drop the 3rd shot -- you might not be able to get all the way up.
3) If the 2nd shot is deep, hit a drive and stay back, or a drop and move up. Only move up immediately on a good drop.
Hmm, this has gotten too long, and I think there is enough there for some thought. As I ponder this, the drop shots and dinks become more and more important as you get better.
There is also a lot on movement here, and I still see a lot of folks moving up and then having to move backwards to hit the second. Hopefully there is same framework here to help with this concept.
See you all tomorrow.
"Master, I am having problems," said Po.
The master was writing a scroll detailing the proper way to polish a pickleball net cord.
"Eh, Po, what is it blocks your happiness?" asked the Master.
"I've been been getting to the net properly, as is written in the temple's Guide to Pickleball Greatness, but once I am there, it seems to cause me problems."
"Are you dinking properly?"
"Yes, that is not a problem. I'm striving to lift and push and use hybrid shots as required."
"Excellent, the dink is not for the hurried or impatient. It is the Chi of the sport and transcends the heavens and the earth."
"Er, yes Master, but I'm having problems when I try to score points."
"How so then, Po? If you are dinking well, the points will arrive."
"I am waiting for an error from the opponents and when I see one, I try to pounce and exploit it," said Po.
"Are you sure the opportunities that you see are really there?" asked the Master.
"I think so, I'm able to speed the ball up and keep it in the court."
"And..."
"When I hit, the opponents seem to return it too often. And it comes back harder than I hit it," said Po.
"Are these good opponents?"
"Yes, they are."
"Perhaps the fast ball is less effective the better the player?"
"I understand Master, and that seems correct."
"But it works better with your level and below?"
"Yes."
"So you must change your game depending on whom you are playing? Is that not always true? If a player hits soft serves, then there is no need to play back. If a player will not poach, then more of the court is open to you and you select shots thusly."
"Ah, so speed up a ball only against certain players?" asked Po.
"No, you must punish all the mistakes of others. But what is a mistake with an average player is not a mistake with a good player. You must decide if your sped up ball will be suitable for the skill of your opponent. If not, then dink more. Wait for a better shot. Marginal shots will be punished by the opponents! Strive to hit no ball that can be attacked, for that is the path to be punished," elaborated the Master.
"Ah, so more patience?"
"Yes. As it takes time to properly make rice flour and tea, a pickleball point is an item to be properly constructed, coaxed along like an egg in a fry pan, and finally served when properly completed. Cut no corners, Po, for that is not the path to happiness.
"Alas, all this talk of tea and flour has made these old bones hungry. Is it not dim sum day at the cafeteria, Po?"
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Here are some thoughts that are hinted a bit in the above:
1) A speed up has to be good, as the return shot will be coming faster
2) don't use marginal opportunities with good players
3) don't forget to expect a return shot
4) It might be better to look for a soft, low, well placed strategic shot than a hard one that will be returned. think "mate in five" not "stroke of death"
5) How good is your return of a hard shot? Gets back to #1, the ball tends to speed up with average players. If you are overwhelmed, then a reset shot is needed, do you have one of those? Mark of a master!
6) If you have a good return of the initial speed up, then you can tease opponents into speeding up. Hit a shot that is just high enough to tempt them, and be ready for the faster ball.
It was a wet Friday and the folks without imagination had abandoned the courts and left for coffee. As if coffee was going to solve the problem.
A hearty group of four stayed and imagined and played a game. Put all four at the kitchen line and one serves cross court. The rule being that all shots have to land in the kitchen. Serves that landed on the kitchen base line were in.
You are allowed to volley the ball, but your volley has to land in the kitchen.
Balls that were obviously long were stopped with paddle or hand. No one wanted to run after them.
A lot of points developed into a cross court battle, some of them quite lengthy.
Serves and scores rotated and accumulated as in a normal game. Note that aces and unreturnable serves were possible.
We also played it 5 handed as one of the Mikes came by.
This was a nice way to pass the time and sharpen some of those dinking skills. Highly recommended.
I was watching a doubles match at the Downs recently. It was a mixed doubles match and the guys playing were better players than the gals. Nothing unusual in that and everyone was having a spirited game and a good time.
The gals were making more mistakes than the guys, perhaps the greatest differential in abilities. But what I noticed was that the gals were hitting the ball a lot harder than the guys.
The gals were hitting the ball too hard. There were more net shots and long shorts on their part. I would suggest that the path towards being a better player is working on hitting the ball softer. Control is much more important than hitting the ball hard. Would it be reasonable to say don't hit the ball harder than you can control it?
As a more general note, trying to "win" a point outright than to nudge your opponents to a losing position is a trip towards the dark side. Don't go to the dark side! Strive to hit a shot in, then good, then better and someday best. A really tough opponent to beat, is the one who makes few mistakes.
---- And now for a bonus. A short play in one act.
Player 1: "How tightly do you hold your paddle?"
Player 2: "If I'm not stretching for a dink, then very tightly."
Player 1: "Hmm..."
This post came out of my mental doodling. I wrote some of it a couple of weeks ago and have let it simmer. I think this is of more value to a new player than one who has banged the ball a lot. Rules are good things in general. It's a rare person who should transcend them. But this is not a real difficult game and while it has some subtlety to it, it ain't chess or go.
All of that aside, I think the stuff has some value and usefulness. Feel free to add to the list via the comments. So here are 11 items for discussion.
1) The ball slows down quickly, you have more time than you think to hit a shot. Good players have developed a small pause before impact to improve their timing. If you come from other racket/paddle sports you probably react too quickly. Enjoy the shot, relish it, and hit it in its proper time. Being too quick results in a pulled shot, too late and it goes right, straight is what you want. (Assumes a right handed player.)
2) Get closer to the ball than you think you should. This is a lot like the first point. The ball slows quickly and doesn't skip, it tends to sit up a bit shorter than you may be used to. Don't let it bounce too far in front of you. Foot movement is the mark of a good player.
3) Strangely hit balls may have a lot of spin -- so look for strange jumps to the sides or towards the net - they probably do not have top spin on them. Like point 2, get close enough to handle the strange bounce.
4) It's a simple game, but you need to realize what's happening, e.g., if a player winds up and likes to cut ball, if it's high at all, it's going out. Partner gets pulled wide, shift towards the middle. Move where you would expect the next shot to be hit. There are a lot of shots that are going out. Look for them, expect them, and enjoy letting them go.
5) When hitting the "sitter," usually at the kitchen line, hitting the ball downwards is more important than hitting it hard. Feet make a great target.
6) When in doubt, or out of position dink or drop it. The soft game is under valued. We all like to hit the ball hard, but hitting it softly and accurately will be better in both the short and long runs.
7) Hit most service returns with a cut spin. It takes speed off the ball, it will provide a bit more carry into the court and it will provide more control. Finally, if your opponent doesn't provide a lot of lift, they will hit your cut shot into the net.
8) Return the ball into the middle is a good thing to do. Hero shots up the side line work on occasion, but a shot in the middle is usually more productive. Extra points if you can keep it low.
9) Have a serve that you always hit in. It doesn't need to be fancy or hard just consistent. A long smooth arm swing will help if you are having trouble with it. A lot of beginners seem to find the bounce serve easier to use -- if you're struggling, it might be worth a look.
10) Don't follow your serve by stepping into the court. Stay back and move up as appropriate. Also true if your partner is the server. Hang back and look for a short ball, then go forward.
11) Always follow your service return by advancing towards the kitchen line. This is a rule and not a rule of thumb! Always do this.
They called him "the Tailor," since he was so good at seams...
Two thoughts here.
Treasure:
I've noticed an area between opponents where one is forward of the second. The seam that you can exploit is between them and just out of reach of the forward opp. The forward guy goes for it, it's too close to let it pass, but he only gets the paddle top edge on it. Or it just splits the court up the middle. The back guy is going to have trouble handling it, even if he doesn't just stop after seeing his partner try to hit it.
Granted this is a small area, but it seems worth looking for. I think the seam is wider than you would think as a lot of players will not let any kind of a near ball go by. Then there is the tendency of not moving one's feet and we have the perfect storm of a pickleball point. A ball that is hit with some side spin to go around the forward guy works quite well. It has a high aesthetic value as well.
If you grant me that this seam exists, and if you look for it, you will see it too, then the question is how to create the needed separation between the opponents.
Some opps will do the hard work for you, as some will not follow a service return to the kitchen line. Once that happens the forward/backward gap is produced. Then you want to temp the opps to hit to the player who is facing the back opponent. From there it is an easy cross court shot to take advantage of the gap.
This gap also occurs if you can keep one of the opps back and keep them there. Again you are looking for a cross court shot to finish the point. This scenario will more likely show up against the serving side.
Defense:
There is defense to this. If you are on the side with the gap, the solution is to dink or drop to the side where your partner (or you) is at the kitchen line. This is basically a short soft cross court shot, that doesn't allow the opps a cross court shot and allows the back player to advance and eventually close the gap. A softer shot allows more time to advance. Just avoid hitting it hard at the opponent in front of you.
A lob would probably work too, as it gains some time for your side.
And the best defense is to avoid creating the gap in the first place. Do your part and... always follow your service return into the kitchen line, and... Don't go up to the KL unless your partner can (and will) join you. (You can get away with an early rush if your last name is Waters or Johns, otherwise stay with your partner.)
The master and acolyte
Po are traveling to see family due to the holiday celebrating the victory of the temple over the monastery from the other Provence in the 1847 pickleball masters' tournament.
They will spend time in meditation, as is traditional.
They send best wishes to all who celebrate this and all other international holidays. Normal communication will resume at the end of their journeys.
Student Po was called to the master's study.
"You wished to see me, master?" he asked.
"Yes, Po, you watched the masters play this morning. As part of your training, we shall discuss what you observed. From your observations, hopefully we will derive knowledge, and from knowledge, comes skill. And as you know, skill will provide mastership."
"Yes, master, I am ready to think."
"What are your first impressions, Po?"
"I was surprised how gently the masters hit most balls. They did not seek to win points, but still they did win them."
"Yes, thus is it is, thus shall it be."
"They also didn't move very quickly. They flowed to the net, they dinked, they dinked, they dinked, and then it over. Then it began again. How is that possible, Master? I run all over and often lack for breath. They were not even sweating and we are having unseasonable heat."
"The ways of a master are profound. Did you notice that they knew where each shot was going?"
"Yes, they were always in place. It was magic."
"Heh, heh. No not magic. A true master can foresee the shots of the point, when master plays master. Lessor players do ill advised things and are thus less predicable. Points are like players, they follow patterns. Know the player, know the pattern, you then know the point. Let us talk shot selection then, Po," continued the Master, "were you not surprised by the shots the masters hit?"
"Yes, they simply moved the ball to allow them to dance the court and caress the point."
"Student Po, the essence of pickleball is control. It is not savage overheads or huge topspin shots that paint a line. Oh, those shots have their place, for example when you are leading ten to nothing, but have little place in a master's game. What then are the main shots that a master uses? You watched their game, what did you see?"
"Serves were nothing special, but they never missed one."
"Yes, the sign of someone in control."
"Then the returns of serve seemed to be nothing special either," said Po with a frown. "The shots were not hard, they were fairly deep, but nothing that would win a shot. And the servers had no trouble hitting them back. Even the deep returns were easily returned."
"So the servers stayed behind the baseline after they served?"
"Yes, I guess they did. They either returned from where they were, or just moved smoothly forward to return a shorter ball."
"What did their returns look like?"
"Hmm, well they didn't catch my attention, I confess."
"Let your attention capture everything, Po. Master the details to become the master. So, continue."
"The returns seemed soft, Master. They looked like marshmallows crossing the net. I often thought that their opponents would slap them back and win the point quickly, but that never happened."
"Of course, a master will not take on a small percentage shot. Sum up a typical point for me, Po."
"Ah, there is a soft or perhaps better called a smooth serve to the middle of the service area. Then a softish shot towards the baseline. Then the servers would hit a soft shot that crossed the net, usually dropping near the kitchen line. Then would come a soft shot to the middle of the court or a dink, depending if the servers were at the net or not. If the servers were not up and had to hit a shot from the middle kingdom of their court, then they would always dink or droop. There was no attempt to win the point then, just to get to the kitchen line."
"Yes, when master plays master, the play is completed over the kitchen."
"And Master, there was no hurry with any shots. It seemed like the points were in slow motion."
"The masters' path is like that of the tiger, waste no energy and yet enjoy the antelope. And so we could summarize, which sadly will destroy detail, but the goal is to move forward, capture the net, then bend the opponents like the north wind will bend the willow. All shots contribute to that end. They do not seek to hit a 'magic' shot from the middle kingdom to score a quick point, nor return a serve so severe in nature that Brother Ben Johns would struggle with it. No strive for a sudden victory. The flow of the game is of the highest import. Po, do you have a questions? Do you now see a hint of the game at its peak of pleasure?"
"Yes, Master. Strive to simplify and walk the jungle path with a soft foot."
"Ah, well said Po. Now, shall we adjourn for lunch? I think they are serving sand dabs today."
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Ok, some background. The other day I had two games where the play went as described above. Smooth and efficient, little running, no attempt to over power a point by anyone. It was a game of chess rather than hand grenades. I highly enjoyed those games as the control/strategic aspects of PB are what draws me to it. (I claim no flowing robes, or mantle of the master. I cheerfully admit that all of this is my opinion, but that's what I like and allow me to proselytize in my small way.) :-)
I was also watching a game yesterday, where the whole game was resolved with "who could hit it harder, sooner, faster." The ball kept moving faster and faster until each point was over.
Interestingly enough there was only one player who was pushing a power game. And as soon as the ball came to him, bang it went. Even when it would have been a much, much better shot to drop it over the net, and keep moving up. Nope, it was whack, followed by whack and players frequently were hammering it back and forth from mid court.
I talked to one of the players afterwards and he mentioned that it was frustrating that all of the points were the same. He was playing with the "hitter" and win or lose, it just wasn't a pretty or satisfying game.
There are a lot of reasons to play any sport. I'd like to think that some of those reasons would lead to harmony with the heavens. But I can't claim that my reasons for playing are more valid than anyone else's. If someone gets their enjoyment from smacking the ball continuously, fine for them.
Maybe this boils down to being a perfect partner, one more question might be "what style of pickleball do you want to play?" Of course that would require you to play several styles on demand! Then there are the opponents, if they want to bang, then you have to be good at resets, or everything escalates...
Let me finish this overlong post with this: I don't want to be critical of anyone's reason to play, or style. It's all good. For me there are some styles that are more interesting and fun than others. And it seems I'm gentling proselytizing again, see you on the court!
"Master, if it weren't for the net, I think I would be a very good player." said the young acolyte.
"Harrump," said the master and stifled the smallest of burbs.
"Think Grasshopper, if you don't have a net, then your feared opponents will not have one either. The yin and yang of the world would be in disarray."
The master sipped his tea and nibbled a bit on a macaroon. "Who's side does the net help, Young one?"
"Hmm, well if I am hitting the ball, I guess it is against me."
"The net is a like a sword with two edges, it cuts both ways. Your answer is true, but not always. A master can use the net to alter time and space and create a drop or hop shot at will," said the master. His lips smiled with hidden knowledge, albeit coarse with macaroon crumbs.
"But for normal players, you are correct. The net punishes the hitters and protects those who seek to return the next shot. As soon as a shot comes over the net, then the forces switch, as have the roles of the players. The ebb and flow of the point, as you learned in your early lessons," said the master.
"You must embrace this relationship," the master continued, with another slurp of rapidly cooling tea. "How can you help the net protect you and your partner?"
"Hmm, I don't understand that question Master, how can I help an object?"
"Think geometry, Grasshopper, the closer the ball is to the net, the less angle space the hitter has. Of course as the ball approaches the net the available angle space will diminish to nothing. Do you not remember the graceful curve of the sine wave, as the length of adjacent leg of the triangle approaches that of the hypotenuse, the angle is forced to 1, an angle of 90 degrees or, in your rudimentary view straight up, creating, as a non-master might say, 'a challenging shot.' Not impossible, mind you for a master. But we were talking of you and ordinary players. So, yes, if you can hit your ball close to the net it is protective in nature as a dense woods protects from the wind and rain. What else is protected by the net?" asked the master.
"If I envision it correctly, the closer the opponent is to the net, the more my feet are protected from attack!"
"Yes, quite so. Your upper body is more of a target, so you will of course carry your paddle higher as the ball is low or close to the net. Your feet can only be hit with a soft drooping shot. Think of a noodle in hot broth too long. Such a shot can't be moving rapidly, so even if your paddle is held high, you will have time to respond. Is that all young one?"
"I think so Master. I should seek to use the net to help my side and avoid its energy when it opposes me."
"Yes, exactly. Hmm, I seem to be out of macaroons and this tea is cold. Would you be so kind?"
-----
Many years ago I created a mnemonic aid to remember the definitions of the sine, tangent, and cos functions. It is strange how often that has been useful over the years since 1968. I have a horror story about the 23.3 degree latitudes of the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, too. That, sadly, has been of little value. It's all my teacher's, Miss Zur's, fault who said in 5th grade while interrupting my very precise oral report, "You'll never remember that. Use 20 degrees." Of course that's a bad case of rounding; she might not have been hired for her math skills. It is strange, as the master might say, what stays in a man's mind for decades.
So I'm playing today, for a short period of time, sadly, and my partner misses a shot a few feet up from the baseline. "I hit my leg," he said.
I smiled wryly, because I've got some nifty bruises on my right knee and they don't seem to have enough time for the purple, abused flesh to heal.
I don't know how frequently this happens, maybe there will be a comment or two. It is, however, a problem for me and I'm happy to fix this.
Then it struck me why this happens. The big error is that I and my partner had our paddles at our sides, which is ok, but not in front of our legs, which "ain't so good." Now it might be that the right leg tends to move first, leaving the paddle behind. But in either case, that paddle needs to stay in front of the body.
That protects the knees, and feelings of self worth, and it also extends the paddle's reach towards the ball. There is no reason not to like that. Be like a fencer and get that foil out in front.
An easy way to make sure that happens is to keep the paddle elbow bent somewhat. That keeps it up and hopefully in front of the body.
I hope this will help someone. I'm going to put it into practice.
I watched a YouTube video about things beginners don't do well and one of those was service returns. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zns7Wl76li8
They suggested to return the serve deep into the server's court, good when you can! But the two points I found interesting and are passing to you guys are these: Firstly, start well back of the baseline, and secondly, run through the shot to generate movement and momentum towards the KL.
How far back do you start? If at the Downs, they would be very close to the boundary fence. They did mention that if the wind was at your back or the server was known for short serves, then move up a bit. But they were still talking about being three feet behind the base line.
The idea is to be moving forward when the serve is hit and continue to run after you've hit the return.
How well does this work? Well, I'm glad you asked. I usually setup further behind the baseline than anyone else I've noticed. So far back that Robo has on occasion tried to sneak in a short serve. I also was running through service returns and found that I had a lot more time to setup at the KL before the third shot came back.
You might be worried about hitting returns that go long when running through the shot. I think I hit one long when I tried it, but it was not much of a problem.
So give it a try and see how it works for you.
Ramin asked about setting up a partnership in five easy steps. Well, I'm not sure five is the proper answer.
I did run across a video on YouTube about this very topic. I've included the link to it at the bottom of the post.
I'm listing their points and I'm going to insert comments of my own.
I've spent a lot of time playing bridge, where you sit down and fill out a card that explains the major 50 or so understanding that partners need to agree on. If you have professional or very high level partnership, your agreements might run hundreds of pages of notes and understandings.
Pickleball is a touch easier and less complex than bridge, but being on the "same page" is a good idea. And as the ladies in the video point out, we are here to have fun and being a good partner will make it easier for your partner to have a good time. Hopefully your partner is trying to make sure you have one too.
Ok, on to the understandings...
1) Which side will you do the most damage on? I think this is most useful if you are stacking. But maybe if you have a partner who has a preference, then you should stack. If no one cares, then this question is moot. But if partner has a great forehand and not much backhand, then stacking to minimize the weak backhand in the middle might be a good idea.
2) Who will take your lobs? The question boils down to which shot you will be hitting when you get to the lob. If you are forced to hit a weak backhand, it might be a good agreement that partner will chase down lobs over your head and you get partner's. When you are on different sides of the court, then it makes sense for each player to get their own. This is an interesting discussion point and I'll confess I've never talked about it with a partner. Pro Tip, always get a young, fast partner and let them get everything!
3) How can I set you up for your best shot? - seems a bit advanced to me. If I knew how to setup for partner's kill shot, I'd do it every time.
4) Pet peeves... For example: partner displaying unhappiness with your play, sighs, eye rolls that are too loud, etc. Basically anything you do that causes partner to think about the last point or two, will detract from future performance. Don't do it. Always encourage. Most points will have something good about them. For example, partner hits a sitter into the net, well, you were winning the point to get the sitter, so comment on that. Pros miss the easy shots too. If partner misses shots and it bothers you , you're playing the wrong game.
5) Disagreements on out calls -- tell partner if you have any problem with them over ruling your call. And I'd comment that we are in a rec environment, so err on the side of calling the balls in if it's really, really close. In a tournament setting it's a bit different. Also, even the pros, used to very fast play, often call the balls incorrectly. I think the last thing you want is to become known as is someone who never calls a close shot in. Whether a shot is in or out, they can look very different from the other side of the net, too. This is particularly true of serves that "hit the kitchen line." So be a good opponent and get tighter when you are playing in a tournament.
6) Calling who will hit the shots particularly at the net. I've not done this much with partners. I think the crisscross understanding resolves 90% of all responsibility, but if someone likes/wants/needs to call the shots, I've got no problem. Again, go along to make partner happy.
7) Standing at or near the T when partner is returning the serve - ask if it bothers partner to be that close to the center. If it does, start off to the side and then close after partner's shot has been hit. No comments on my part on this on. I've never been hit by partner on a service return, though I think it's been close a couple of times. :-)
8) Make partner happy! A good general philosophy. A happy partner plays better.
9) The ladies in the video didn't mention about the partnership getting to the net. Maybe this is more resolved in upper circles than I've seen with my partners. But here are a couple of rules... A) if you return the serve, always follow it in to the kitchen line. B) If we are serving then we rush the net after we have hit a good short shot - don't rush it when your partner is about to hit the third shot.
OK, that is about it. Five rules did seem a bit restrictive, but we kept it out of double digits! Below is the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqoNeRpEDhY&t=252s
Editor's note: I wrote the post below a week ago or so. Then I had a couple of conversations today with my fellow players and some of these themes came up. I'm not inspired to write anything else today, so I'll pass this post along. It seems a bit disjointed as I read it over, but I'm too tired to punch it up a lot.
"Are you going to write in your blog all the things we do wrong?" she asked with a grin.
"yes, but not for the reason you think," I replied.
This pickleball is an interesting sport with its mixture of moderate speed, minimal strength, soft shots and hard, and all the timing to put it together.
I think that there are only a very few differences between the very good and the intermediates. I'll spell them out in a moment, but for the run of the mill point, the errors committed by both groups are basically the same. If you watch pro matches, you will see that all points are ended due to an error. And the errors are same as in your game, gentle reader. A ball gets hit into the net, long, or wide, or there is a popup and a ball gets smacked away.
One could make the case that winning a fire fight at the net might be an exception to this, where someone gets surprised with a lobette or takes one to the body. But mostly the dink battles end with someone getting too exuberant or too careful.
There are differences between us and the pros, of course. The big one in my opinion is that the pros are always trying to get to a good position for the next shot. There is no "stand and then react," it's "I hit it, it's going to come back over here, and I'm moving to head it off."
Once you are in the proper position, you have a lot of time to deal with the next shot. You look like you have faster reflexes than you do, your partner will admire your nonchalance, your opponents will hate you for it. "That shot was for Bill!" "Sorry, I was there and felt I should hit it."
The recognition of the proper position is derived from a number of things. Most people at our level have shots that they are comfortable with. They use them so often that they become recognizable patterns. If you look for the patterns and trust them, you can be moving well before the opponent hits the ball. It's an easy game if you know where the ball is going to be.
The pros are also much more consistent then we are. Well, golly, they do it for a living, they had better be. How good would we be if we did for eight hours a day?
But they make the same mistakes we do. I saw a video with Ben Johns, arguably the best player on the planet, miss two soft forehands in a row. He was just caressing a soft ball and was trying to just dump over the net. He netted them both. I think I'm not alone, when I take some comfort in that.
So the route to greatness, in my opinion, is to move early and correctly, keep the ball in play (be consistent) -- no hero shots, look for patterns. It's a game of not making errors. One more point is that making errors late in the game is very costly. As the scores get tighter, try for a more conservative style, let the opponents make the mistakes.
One of the intermediate players suggested a post on getting better.
I find that an interesting topic and I'm happy to spew a few words on it.
Let me start with a reasonable way to go about it.
Firstly, I think you need to collect some data. We want to know where to put our efforts in improvement. So, we have the 72 shots of pickleball, see the prior post and we want to know which of those are a problem.
I'm joking a bit, but let's just simplify for a moment. We have backhand and forehand ground strokes. I would include serves in that category. I'd guess that most people have weaker backhands than forehands. I'll pass on a tip here. The backhand in pickleball is not too difficult, but it does require more of a setup than the forehand. You want to turn your shoulders a bit and use them to produce the power for the shot. Since the ball and paddle don't weigh much, the strength required is not a lot, but you need to make the shoulder turn and thus it takes more time to hit a backhand, so you need to prepare earlier. A bit of attention/drilling/practice would show immediate results.
Most people smash the ball just fine. I'd say they try to smash it too often, but shot selection is a topic for another day. But don't spend much time trying to improve the smash, it doesn't come up that often.
Dinking... The better you get the more important these shots get, but play at the net is most common in better play, so when you play with less skilled opponents, you don't have the chance to practice it. When you play in a better game, it's typically a problem area. To get ahead of that work on the dinks. There is a post about it and if you can get reasonable with the lift and push dinks, you are in good shape. It's primarily a touch shot; it's easy to net the ball. I'd suggest using more lift dinks initially, before trying to push or hit winners. There are a lot of drills and dinking games. I think this is a skill that is not too difficult and improvement will come rapidly. It is just the rarity at less skilled levels that keeps this skill from being more universal earlier in a player's evolution.
Alright, on to the hard skill... Getting to the net. Two parts, one is when you return the serve, this is easy, hit the ball and sprint to the net. You want to volley the next ball. It is too easy to saunter up and find the ball at your feet. If you sprint only the very best drop shots will be any trouble. Don't admire your return or worry about if it's in, just get to the net.
Secondly, if you're on the serving side, getting to the net is a huge priority and we have to talk about third shot drops. They are not easy. They are a touch shot, so there is a fine line between a net ball and a sitter. If your opponent does not sprint up to the kitchen line, then you don't have to be great at it to be effective and that allows you to return deep, use this extra time to sprint to the KL.
You can/should err on the high side for the third shot drop -- actually for most shots in the game, strive to cross the net too high rather than too low. Obviously low is better in all cases, but we want to avoid the dreaded net ball.
When playing today, I was in a reasonable game and on several occasions partner and I were closing on the net while serving. The ball, probably our fifth shot, was nearly at the kitchen and it was an easy hit. But a bit too easy. Partner chose to hit it hard, rather than to dink and get our team fully up to the kitchen. Some of his shots went into the net. Some came back harder than he hit them. Some were points. But we would have been much better off on average if partner had just dinked to get us to the kitchen line and solidly in the point.
But I digress... Third shots are the pivotal skill in pickleball. Nothing is as hard nor as valuable. If you can't get to the kitchen line on your serve, you won't score and that makes it really tough to win. Practice that shot whenever you can. There are lots of YouTube videos on this skill.
The problem is that you don't need this shot against weak players, but it's vital against strong ones. Due to that, it's a skill that is suddenly in demand and you've not gotten good at it yet. You need to have it to move up. Think of it as a future skill or a long term investment. Also, don't expect to get perfect at it. Many a pro point develops into servers defending overheads from their baseline because the third shot drops was too deep.
I just watched a Jordan Briones video. His list of shots needed to get to 4.0 is: consistent serves, returns in and deep, third shot drops, resets from the transition area and solid volleys. So he and I differ a bit.
All of the above is a bit of what and how. I think spending some time on these skills is useful. It's tough to get practice time, since almost everyone just wants to play games and there is a lack of an extra court or two. I'd suggest finding a like minded player and meet up at an off time to work on things. How people learn things is a topic all on its own. But there is a limited amount of new skills any session can ingrain, I'd suggest work on only one or two skills at a time. Good luck!