Tournament Fun and Games

 So you are going to play in a tournament.  How do you beat the team in front of you?  

While I've not played in tournaments, I'm quite interested in how your team should quickly (shall I repeat that?) figure out how to play against the next team.  Nothing worse than being down early and no clue how to turn it around.

Let me suggest the following.

During the first points when returning serves, try this as a set play.  Hit the ball cross court so that the ball is in front of your partner at the net.  You advance up the middle of the court to cover the middle.  

Do that on both sides of the court and for each player.  Think of it as squeezing your opponents off of the court.

What you are interested in finding out is the relative strengths of the backhands of each players.  See if they like to return cross court or up the middle or are drivers or lobbers.  

If it works well, then you can keep doing it, though I would play to the middle a bunch as I don't want to be too predictive.

A couple of things to keep in mind.  Watch out for lefties as the backhand will not be in the proper place (tongue in cheek here a bit).  You would like to learn what each player will do with a backhand and forehand shot.  In the early part of a game they will probably hit their normal shot.  This is valuable information as it provides a map to defense and under pressure it's very likely they will hit their usual shot.  

You would like to find glaring weaknesses, but baring that, there may be some tendencies that will allow you to predict the flow of future points.  If there is an early time out, be prepared to discuss observations with partner. 

What you might find in mixed is that the guy will drive the ball at your partner and the gal will hit it cross court.  Use that tendency to control future points based on your strengths.  For example if your partner blocks well, then you don't fear a drive at her.  And cross court shots can be poached.  

Also drivers of the ball tend to hit a lot of out balls, so evaluate their shot types with respect to hitting it out.  If there is a lot of top spin on the shots, they tend to stay in, but someone who hits a hard cut, will sail a lot of them long.  

A great discussion with partner prior to the game would be to try some of the above and see what you learned from it.

How about serves?  Pro Tip: serves are vital if not sacred.  You've fought to get the ball so don't quickly hit a serve into the net.  This is your only chance to score points and if you don't score you will not win the match.  Serious stuff.

 Take a breath and a half second of time make sure it's in.  Deep is usually better than shallow, watch where your opps setup in re the baseline.  And then there is the forehand backhand question.  Feel free to add in some spins as you can use them to move the opponents around.  A good serve requires an opponent to move her feet, a great serve might be straight at the body and force an awkward shot.

Finally variety is useful.  Even if you have a great serve the players will learn quickly how to get it back, so soft and hard, up the middle and off to the side are good things to do.  We don't want comfortable opponents who know where the ball is going.

Have I mentioned that getting the serve in is important?  Well, it still is and getting it in is more important than all the other stuff.

How to Move Like a Master

"Master, with the hot weather my heart rate is climbing!" exclaimed Po, the acolyte.

"Hrumph," grunted the Master who was working on his next book with a working title of "Details of the Inside Out Backhand when a Tailwind is Blowing, Volume 3."  He was well into the 43rd chapter and did not like the interruption.

'What are you saying, Po?  You are out of breath?"

"Yes, Master, I seem to be working too hard or my condition is lacking."

Another grunt from the Master as he puts down his pen, straightens up and regards Po with a tiny bit of interest.

"Whom were you playing, Po, that brought you to the edge of exhaustion?"

"I was in a game with Do and Jo.  As you know Do is a heavy hitter and I struggle with his game."

"Ah, yes, Do has the sad story of a childhood growing up in a tennis family.  Even worse they played on clay and spent all their time at the baseline, hitting long shots, and sliding too and fro, like chickens scratching for a nice pebble to swallow.  Well, the monastery's feelings on tennis are well known, but lack universal adoption.  And we are all worse for it.  Perhaps in another hundred years or so..."  the Master leaned back and his face took a serene set as he imagined the future that might come to be.  He shook himself and returned to the imperfect present.

"So you struggled with Do?  In what way?  We must understand what you were doing before we can find a solution."

"I was moving well, I thought, but I kept getting caught trying to hit Do's shots.  He was hitting up my sideline or short to my cross court and I was lunging and running to try to catch up."

"Yes, Po, a classic problem.  Fortunately there is a classic solution.  You must run less."

"Less, Master?  I can't get to the ball now.  How will less running get me anywhere?" asked Po, as sweat seeped out on his brow.

"Po, you are still just learning and now it is time to learn more about court movement.  Shall we start with a question or two?"

Po nodded and reached for his personal scroll and pen, ready to scribe the knowledge of the Master.

"As you know Po, there is a five volume set of books describing all the current theory on court movement.  You as a student have not been tasked with learning them yet.  Let us look into one facet of this topic for a moment.

"If you were at the baseline warming up with Do, would you get all of the balls back?"

"I think I would rarely miss, Master."

"And if you were drilling from the transition area, would you get all of the cross court shots hit to you?"

"Yes, almost all, though not as well as from the baseline."

"That is correct, Po.  You have more time when practicing.  Is it obvious now why that is true?"

A light went on in Po's face.  "I understand Master, when I'm practicing, I'm at rest when the ball is hit to me!"

"Exactly Po.  You are ready, in a good setup position, paddle properly placed and looking for all the possible shots.  Sadly in a point, those fundamentals are tossed aside like last nights melon skins.  

"The non-master is likely to be running, or trying to stop when the ball is hit to him.  All motion creates momentum.  And a momentum burden needs to be shed for the next shot.  Oh, yes, of course if your momentum carries you to the right and that's where the next ball comes, then you look like you know what you are doing.  But if the ball goes to the other side, it frequently cannot be returned.  It's very sad to watch a returnable ball vanish past a player.

"Po, we do not want to the game to one of guessing.  The elegance of pickleball is to pressure your opponent to eventually give you the scoring opportunity you want.  To do that you must also return his shots.  Do favors two shots due to his tennis background.  Which will he hit?  If Do is playing well, we will not know until we see him hit it.  And while he hits the ball, we need to be ready for either shot, or even a rare shot up the middle.

"To maximize the ability to reach all shots, we need to run less than you are used to.  You must stop and compose yourself earlier.  Place the paddle where it needs to be and empty your mind.  Relaxation will let you move your fastest and let you move in any direction.  Let your calmness flow around you like the circles of a pond which has accepted a pebble tossed into it.  

"Here is your homework Po.  In the next few games you play, make sure your are fully stopped before the ball gets to your opponent.  Be conscious of this.  You cannot be unconscious until you've done it deliberately.  So start with deliberate action and let it modify your game.  Take no more than two steps before stopping and waiting for the next shot.

"Learn this Po and take one more step towards the Master's podium."

"Yes, Master, I will. Thank you for sharing you knowledge."

"It is I who thank you, Po.  This conversation reminds me of when I was like you, young, and needing of direction.  How many years was that?  More than leaves on a tree.  Now, be off with you, I have more writing to do."  The Master redipped his pen and bent back over his papers.

A Tiger at the Net

 The last post of this series is what to think about when you are at the net and your partner is returning a serve.  Note that when this point starts, that you are the only one at the net.  You are king of the hill, on top of the enchilada, the eye at the tip of the pyramid!  It's a position of leverage over the rest of the players.  Massive power and grand responsibilities!  Let's explore this situation...

I think this is the most fun position to play.  You can make play, if not life difficult for your opponents, hit a lot of put aways, and generally be a pest (in a nice way of course).

Let's start with setup.  You want to favor the center of the court, but still on your side of the court.  And the reason for that is you are responsible for covering the center when the third shot comes back.

Let's say that you are on the right side of the court.  Partner returns the serve to one of three locations.  He'll hit it directly across the court, up the middle, or crosscourt to your right side.

If the ball is hit to the middle or to your left hand side, then center court is where you want to be.  Feel free to step on or over the center line just a touch if you want to.  If the ball has been hit cross the court to your right, then move one or two steps to your right.  (There are people who will hit up the line for the third shot a lot.  If that is who is going to hit the third shot, then be ready for it.)

If the ball is on your left or middle then you should be looking for a poach (unless it is a very friendly game, in which case poaching can be poor form).  I'll chat about that below.  But if we are all in to win, look for the poach.  If you see one coming, take another step or two or whatever you need to hit it without having to stretch for it.  If the ball is high and soft enough this might take you all the way across the court.  That's only three or four steps if you were ready to move, but it will seem like a lot and it will amaze the other players.  Doing that once early in the game will make the opponents nervous and even if you miss the shot, think of it as an investment.

If the third shot is not poachable, then you as the net person may have to contend with drives and drops and middle coverage.  Being prepared for blocks of hard shots and drops is the name of the game.  

General strategy is to return the fourth shot deep and keep the opponents at the baseline.  It's an advantage to be at the net when the opps are not, so use that.   Keep them back.  If you want to try for a winner, then drop shots and angled shots are good, but easy to miss.  Deep shots back to the middle of the court are rarely wrong.  If the opps manage to get three or four balls back, don't panic and hit the ball too hard.  Just being at the net is the advantage and it will pay off in the long run.

When not to poach...  Friendly and gentlemen's game are not the place to poach.  We are all on the court to hit the ball and have rallies.  Poaches shorten points and can be boring for everyone but the poacher.  If you want to practice your poaches, then hit them, but hit them so the opps can easily return them.  Keep the rally going!

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This finishes four posts coving the main positions played in doubles and what thoughts are in play to start a point.  That pretty much covers the opening moves.  But like chess, all the subsequent moves make things more complex.  I think that knowing what to look for at the start of the point is important, golly, call them the fundamentals of the game.  More importantly since most play I've seen, new teams with no conversations, are typical.  It would be nice or expected that a pickup partner with some experience would know and follow the fundamentals.  I've not seen then written down until now, and of course, these are my opinions and may not be universal.

A lot of what I think is correct will lead to points with dinking in them.  I like those points and my observation is that the higher level games have a lot of dinking in them.  Dinks become more important when everyone can all the normal ground strokes back without too many errors, so you will have to dink to beat them.  

I did mention in a post a long time ago that the closer the ball is to the net, the more the net acts as a shield/barrier.  The dinking game is more about working around the net than it is working the opponents.  They of course have the same problem.  Hmm, might be time for another post on dinking; part III or IV or something.

Your Partner is the Server, What are Your Duties?

 We have two more posts to go which describe initial thoughts for the up and coming PB player.  Those are the thoughts for the non-server on the serving side, and the player at the net whose partner is going to return the serve.

Let's look at the first case...  Your partner is going to serve.  What are you going to do?

The first question is who is going to hit the third shot.

There are a couple of cases that we should consider and they deal with how good the service return is.

Worst case is that the return comes back deep into the court and into the middle.  The player who should return a ball hit to the side is obvious.  Oh, you can say, "Mine" or "Yours" if you want, but simple reactions will suffice.

The real problem is a ball in the middle.  Even if it's short, being too polite or too aggressive might interfere with who hits the ball back.  I like to use the crisscross structure for these.  Basically if the ball is coming at player A, player A returns it.  The ball might start on player B's side, but it's the direction of the ball that is the deciding factor.  Talking to your partner in this case is a good idea.  Pro tip, decide who will call out the responsibilities of receivership before the game starts.

Have I mentioned where you will be setup waiting for the service return?  Not yet in this post, but if you've done a little reading, you'll know that you are a step or two behind the baseline where the server should be too.

If the return ball comes down the middle, you will find that the server might not have fully returned to a ready position because of the bodily distortion of hitting the serve.  I think the non-server should be more responsible for the center ball than the server.  Even if it's on the backhand side of the partner.  So aggressively let your partner know that you will return that shot.  

Let me digress a bit here.  If your team returns a deep, hard, middle shot and does not hit a great return, you are in trouble.  The opponents are going to return the ball from the net.  They have options! They can drop, hit it back deep to the middle or angle it off.  Basically, your side has made the first major mistake.  You need to get ready to defend.  The hardest return shots I've seen are another hard shot up the middle.  There is one bright note here, your can volley the ball, so stepping into the court and being in the middle will allow you to do that.  But be wary of the shot back to your feet -- a problem for anyone.  I have no wonderful solution here.  The deeper you are, the easier you can return a middle shot, but it exposes you to the drop and angled shots.  That's pickleball.

The prior posts have mentioned where to return the ball, etc., so let me touch on a couple of general ideas in re movement.  The big goal is to get both players to the kitchen line.   The important word is both.  We again have a couple of cases.  If the third ball is a drive, then both players need to be cautious about advancing.  The return ball will be coming faster than a drop.  So look to move in some, but stay with your partner, don't run up ahead of the action.

If the third shot is a drop or is going to be a drop (how do you know what your partner is going to do?  More below!), then you can/should advance ahead of the play and get to the kitchen line well  ahead of  partner.  Partner is going to follow in his drop, right?

How do you know what partner is going to do with the third shot?  There are clues!  One, watch him hit the ball.  Is that the swing of a drive or drop?  Also, your partner is a creature of habit like all of us, so expect the usual shot selection.  Some partners will always drive, some always drop.  Pro tip, it's a good discussion to have with a new partner about what they will do with a third shot.  If you can mix drives with drops, that's the best plan.  Maybe you'll drive short returns and drop deep ones.  Having a plan is useful.

If you've hit a third shot drop and your partner has gone up to the net, you might not be able to join him there if your shot is a bit deep.  Come in as many steps you can and defend the fourth shot.  Try to drop the fifth and keep moving forward.  Pros on occasion will not get to the net before the seventh or ninth shot.  Don't be in a hurry or panic and overhit the ball.

While my partner is working his way up for the fifth shot, I am at the net and placed to easily cover the middle of the court.  I want to look for errors from the opponents. I'm looking to poach if I can.  My movement will reflect where on the court the ball is.  I'll try to smack any pop up.  But barring an opponent's error, a good outcome for my side is to get to a dinking rally at the net.

I think that's it for this part.  The next part is what to do after partner returns the serve and we'll save that for the next post.

Future Prediction Play Part 2

In the last post I talked about my thoughts during service returns, now we swap sides of the court and we are going to serve.  

Personalities come more into play here, names have been changed to protect the guilty innocent.

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Let me see, to whom am I serving?  Ah, yes, it's TopSpin Tommy.  Ok, while his forehand is very good, his back hand is not at the same level.

I'll serve to his backhand, and I want to hit a soft, high, and deep serve with some top spin.  That should make him the most defensive.

Most importantly I need to get the serve in.  I don't want to lose an opportunity to win a point by trying to be clever.  I want a lot of room over the net and a lot of room inside the service court area.  If I don't get it to the backhand I'm ok with that.  Serves are not very important in doubles.  

The serve is good enough and to Tommy's backhand and I'm hoping for a shortish return.  If I get one, I'm going to expect to be at the net soon.  Whether I drop the shot or place it up the middle with some pace depends on how high a bounce I get.  

My dream is that the return is mid court and high, so I can hit a forehand down into the middle of the court.  No, wait, my dream is that Tommy knocks it long.  Ok, I'm behind the service line and ready for anything.

Oops, the service return is deep and back to me, so I'm not going to get to the net quite yet.  (If it looks like it might go long, I will simply play the shot and trust that partner will call the shot out if it's long.)

I'm still in back of the service line, so it's no problem to handle the deep shot.  I don't have to back up to be well placed to hit the third shot.  There are a lot of players who are happy to hit this shot off their back foot or leaning back or after three quick steps to get back behind the service line.  I think it saves a lot of time to remain back of the service line after I or my partner serves and I can hit a better shot more easily.

Now, where to return the third ball?  Tommy has followed his shot up to the kitchen line, so I can't just hit any old shot deep to his side of the court.  Also if Tommy's partner likes to poach, then I would be more careful even if Tommy stayed back.

(If Tommy stays back, and a number of players do, it is worth deciding what to do in that case.  We want to keep Tommy back so our shot choice is a deep shot to his side of the court.  But wait, what will his partner do?  The partner is already at the net and is probably aware that Tommy is back.  If you're in that position, you've got to think about looking to poach.  Because if you were not going to poach then the shot of choice is a high top spin shot somewhat over the middle of the net for safety.  If there is a potential poach, then the ball has to be lower and closer to the sideline.  If a poach is going to happen for sure, then hitting the ball behind the poacher is a good choice.)

So it's a classic situation, the ball will be hit from behind the baseline and there are two defenders at the net.  There are three basic plays here,  drop, drive, or lob.  A lob is out as that would be easy to chase down and I don't practice those often and they are not my best shot.  

Drives are OK, but lack an interesting element to me and I don't hit the ball very hard.  I'll try the drop.  If it's good, partner and I can close to the net quickly.   I should hit this to Tommy, he is probably still moving, which makes the shot more difficult for him.

It is in my interest to slow the point down.  This is more important against good players as I might not be able to out hit them, especially since they are at the net already.  Since I am serving, I'm starting behind in the point, so all my initial actions will be to achieve parity.

Back to the third shot... I let the ball drop a bit because I want to hit up on the ball producing an arcing shot that will fall to Tommy's backhand and I hope will land in the kitchen.  Hitting a chop spin shot that skims the net is ok, but it won't be below the net when it's returned and it it is easy to net that shot.  Also if I over hit it, it will go long.  But if the return shot is hard and low, it might be all I can manage.

If my drop is too deep we will be forced to stay close to the baseline if the opps are on their game, but more usually they will hit the ball back to mid court.  

I can hit the fifth shot even softer as I'm closer to the net and then can continue to close.  These are touch shots and there is no need to panic or hit the balls hard.

The third shot drop is pretty good.  The opponents will not be able to attack, Tommy can't run around this shot, and we can move in a couple of steps and work on the fifth shot.  I'll hit that shot short as well.  If the fifth shot feels good off the paddle, then I move immediately; there is not wait and see.  Our team running forward will add a little pressure to the opponents shot too.

OK, now where will Tommy return the fifth shot?  It should be short and "dink like" if they are good players.  The less experienced they are, the more likely they will hit the ball hard.

 If I had hit it to Tommy's forehand I would be expecting a hard roll shot to the middle.  But he doesn't have that shot on the backhand side.  So I'm expecting a soft to medium shot to the middle but tending to cross court.  Everyone likes to hit the cross court shot, it's easier and if I was sure this was going to be a dink, I would be moving to cover the cross court shot, either moving to the sideline or towards the middle as partner will shift to the sideline.  

It is rare to get the ball back at me.  Though there are a couple of players who prefer that to a cross court shot.  Know who they are!

Since my partner and I are not yet up to the kitchen line, we want to dink the shot back as we are still not favored to win the point.  So hopefully we'll get a shot that can be easily dinked.   Then we'll settle into a dink game, which at the Downs will only last a couple of hits before the inevitable speed up or lob.  So note at this point, I've not seen the 4th shot yet, but I'm thinking about the next couple of shots.  I'm close or at the kitchen line, so the points will have more time for me to move.  

As you close to the kitchen line, it's vital that your paddle is up.  The worst shot from a defensive point of view is the too hard shot.  You have to judge whether to hit it, you might not be able to duck it, etc.  But if your paddle is up, it will be easier to block.  If you get a dink, you'll have time to drop your paddle and dink back.  

As an added bonus, if they pop it up, your paddle will be nicely placed to hit down on the ball and maybe end the point.

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So there is what I try to consider as I serve and seek the net.  Most of this is just reactions and having played a bunch.  More of it is a question of whom you are playing.  Players get tired, get lazy if they are behind or ahead, watch for those that will not run up as they return the serve.  They deserve to be punished!  I was playing with Dan today and I think I made a remark about being up at the net asap.  The next point he was there  and easily put away a high ball.  "Is that why I'm here?" he asked with a grin.  "Yup," I replied.

Over My Shoulder, In My Head

In a prior life I played a lot of bridge.  One of the bridge learning mechanisms is an article where an expert explains what he is thinking about as he plays a hand.  These are called "over my shoulder" pieces.  While I'm no expert, I thought it might be fun to write such an article for pickleball.  

It's probably more the things I should be thinking about rather than what I do think about.  I hope it can add some insight to the game. I wrote about the two main scenarios, they being service returns and also third and fifth shot scenarios for servers.  The article got pretty long, so I'm going to break it up.  I'll start with the serve return.

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I'm returning a serve against a reasonable player.  I set up well back from the baseline as I want to be able to handle a deep serve easily.  Yes, it makes it harder to field a short serve, but there are indications of when that's going to happen, and it will be easier to move forward if it happens.

I'm expecting a serve to my backhand.  I don't have a problem with that shot and prefer it to a ball hit straight at me.  I don't like to run around backhand shots to hit a forehand as that will pull me out of position a bit and I'll have to move back.  

My goal is to hit a low spinney shot to the middle of the court.  That maximizes my ability to get to the kitchen line and a ball in the middle can be a problem to random partnerships.  However the most important aspect of service returns is to get them back.  I don't need a great shot here.  The opponents must let the ball bounce and that is a huge advantage for me.  While I want to hit a low ball back, I do not want to net it or hit it long.  That costs a point and I want the opps to work for every point they get.  If the serve is good, it may be that the best shot I can get back is somewhat high and mid court.  So it wouldn't be ideal, but it may well be good enough.  I'll follow any return to the kitchen line, the quality of my return is not a consideration for moving up.

I watch the server closely.  If there is a big wind up or a long swing then it's more likely the ball will be deep.  If there is a quick, short swing, then I'm looking for the short serve and I want to be moving forward quickly.  

People who hit serves with their backhand usually don't hit them long or hard, but they will be spinney with cut spin.  I'll have to lift that ball more than a top spin shot, but since the ball is usually not hit hard and short, I'll have time. If it's a backhand server, I'll move in a step, also if the wind is at my back and strong enough to be a factor, I'll move in too.

Someone collected pro data and realized that the average serve landed in the middle of the service box.  In a rec game, should I expect something different?  The more skilled the player, the more likely the serve will be difficult to return and deep.  It's the deep ones that are the hardest for most of us.  Again, starting well behind the baseline is important against good players.  Know your opponents and position yourself accordingly.

OK, I get the average ball, it's in the middle of the service box and I can comfortably hit it.  I would like to hit it on the run as that will make it quicker to get to the net.  If the serve is not particularly low, then this is easily done.  If I have to stop or slow down to hit the ball that's not critical.  What is important is that I hit it and then move up.  There is no time to admire the shot or cringe if it looks like it's out.

I want to return the ball deep.  I like to use a "cut" spin on these.  That spin will make the ball carry further into the court and not bounce as high as other spins.  That spin is often netted by opps, as it requires more lift in the hit.  All good from my perspective.

I also want to hit it to the middle of the court.  If I hit it to the middle, it's more likely the shot coming back will not be angling off to a sideline.  My side will be at the net and we should have no problems getting a paddle on the ball.  

When I return the serve, I'll run up the middle of the court and as close as I can get to the kitchen line.  (If I return to my side of their court, then I will run straight up my side and my partner will move into the middle and vice versa.)  The important part here is that the middle of the court has to be covered and covered well.  I don't want to have to stretch to hit a middle ball back.  Either my partner or I should have a foot straddling the center line or be ready to step across the line to hit a shot.  Have those feet ready to move.  We'll share middle duty based on where the return ball goes, how much partner likes to poach, etc.  But one of us should be there.

And...  I think we are done here.  We plan on hitting deep in the middle and will either keep the opps back or angle off the ball.  What I want to happen is that the opps will feel under pressure, hit the ball too hard and long. I'd love to duck the next shot.

Aggression II

 The last post with the Master discussing aggression is just a beginning.  

What I want to stress is that the longer I play the game, the more I see movement as key to playing well and being dangerous.  Now, if I am able to move really well with little thought some day, then something else will float to the top of the pond as the "next great answer."  One could see that consistency, better overheads, etc., might become more important at some point, but you still have to be there to worry about those things.

But for now, the more I move and the earlier I can know where to move the less pressure there is on being consistent and the easier it is to put the ball away.  There are a lot of shots that linger like soft balloons over the net and if you can be there on time, you have a lot of gratifying shot choices available.  

The last post suggested that aggression was the assumption that a good shot would enable movement that would lead to a better shot.  Iterate until the point is over.

There are some complications to that simple suggestion.  The opponents are trying to do the same thing of course, so if they produce a great shot, you may well have to be conservative in positioning for the next shot.  You'll get fooled on occasion.  The opps might be unfair and lob -- imagine that, I mean, really!!

And then if your shot to start this cascade to supreme happiness is not good enough?  If so, then we want to be more defensive in position and shot selection and shot placement.  

The second shot "has to bounce rule" has taken some of the power of the serve away.  It would be nice to serve and volley, which would favor the serving side for most points.  It is wise to require the bounce, basically giving the net to the service returners.  The servers are fighting a bit of an up hill battle from the beginning.

The initial goal of the servers is to get to the net.  Drives are not going to work unless they are followed by a drop.  The key to getting up there is the drop shot.  If it's good then you can ease into an attacking mode.  This shot is vital to so much of the game after the basics are incorporated.  I think it's under appreciated in the modern literature.

One of the "errors" I see in some players is to rush the kitchen line ahead of their partner.  However, if your partner hits a good to great drop shot, then it's the proper play.  Get up there and try to poach off of the drop shot.

I always saw it as an error until recently, but it's not, if the third shot (or fifth) is a good one.  In that case it's the appropriate play.  As long as it doesn't distract partner from making a good shot.  Also note that if the drop is too high, the forward player is going get the pin cushion treatment on occasion.  A small bruise on the path to victory, one hopes...  And hopefully only a few of them.

Hmm, I might be able to sum all of this up, including the prior post, as pick your attacking spots and then go for it.  It won't work if your partner is not on the same page and looking for the same things.

To simplify it, follow any drop shot to the kitchen line.  Stamp your feet loudly, gnash teeth, crack knuckles, raise your arms in a threatening manner and give the opponents something to worry about.

Aggression

"Master, how can I be more aggressive?" asked Po, the young player.

"What does that mean, Grasshopper?  To be aggressive?" asked the Master.

"Hmm, I've heard the word used a lot, I think it means hitting the ball harder or scoring more points or something?"

"If we think of the opposite of aggressive, perhaps we can understand this concept.  What is the opposite, Young Po?"

"Passive, I guess."

"And what is that?"

"Hitting the ball to the opponents and waiting for them to make a mistake?"

"We can start with that.  While it is not a bad way to play, the game is rumored to be about the mistakes and not the gems of wonderful hits.  Let me suggest a more interesting way to play.  

"Let us consider returning a ball to the opponents and if we do it well, they will have to do a couple of things.  They will have to move their feet, and their paddle, and perhaps due to those things, produce a modestly awkward return.

"While that is going on, what are you doing, Po?"

"I'm waiting to see what they hit back."

"Precisely and now we want to think about that.  If you hit a shot that requires the foe to move and stretch; to be aggressive, you must expect a less than perfect return, and move before the return comes back.  Get into position to hit a winner, to attack, to force the foe to deal with a better shot than the last one.  You deliver chances to fail to your opponents.  There in lies "aggression."  Bring trouble to your foe, don't just trust errors will occur," said the Master as he reached for his cup of green tea.

"So aggression is not about hitting the ball harder, it's about anticipation," said Po.

"Well put Po.  But always with movement to take advantage of your good shots, always!  Do not stand and admire them, use them as stepping stones help you cross a creek, they are tools for stealing the opponents time and space.  You can feel a good shot as it comes off the paddle.  Trust this feeling and run like the wind.

"Think of the game of Go, or if you must Chess, where we build the middle kingdom position for control and a base from which to attack.  Attack from the High Ground as the Kitchen Line used to be be called, force weak shots from your opponents and be in a position to hit them to your advantage.  Mark well, Po, if you move early you are also well prepared for miss-hits, net top hits, and other items that a desperate opponent might produce.

"Finally, Po, like things in the heavens, it will not always go according to plan.  Sometimes your shots are not as good as you expected or the opponents find an excellent return and you will lose the point quickly.  But do not give up.  Your moving earlier than expected will make the play more complex for your foes.  Even if they hit a few winners, you will get them back from the time and space pressures you create.  Now, I fear the room is as cold as the tea, shall we find a fire for our feet and a warmer drink for my old bones?"

Playing Away from Home

 I wanted to blog a bit about playing down in Laguna Woods.  It's my first foray into another group of players.

If you've not played the tournaments then one must always wonder a bit about how well one plays.

Laguna Woods is an old Dell Webb type place where there are a 1000 things to do.  They have seven pickleball courts, with lighting and a nice covered sitting area.  Water fountains, sinks, sign in sheets, it has it all.

All of the courts are individually fenced with eight foot fences.  One can hit the ball over the fence if you work at it.  The courts are set up for paddle tennis as well as PB.  So there  are multiple stripes laid out with contrasting colors.  The net is lower for paddle tennis; they have a nice way to lower the net easily.

The way they resolve who is on court next is via a paper sheet.  You put your name down and when there are four players, they are next up for a court.  The courts are used for a single game.  They tell me that the system is frequently ignored and I'm guessing that a lot of folks play with their selected group.

I was introduced to the "guys" who were the better players and got a number of games with an extended group.  Before we talk quality of play, it needs to be mentioned that this is an older crowd than at the Downs.  There were probably more gals than guys.  But it looked like the guys were the better players for my small sample.

Now as to the play...  There was a lot of hitting and very little dinking.  They usually would not duck a ball, if it was in reach it got hit.  I ducked a couple of out balls and got strange looks from my partner and, "How did you know it was going out?"

Lots of lobbing!  Of the six I had to deal with in one game I hit four overheads, watched one sail long and got beat on one.  Those are the odds I'm willing to trade.  But there were guys whose style was to lob.  

"Hey what about dinks?" I hear you ask.  Well, if I didn't dink, it didn't happen.  They just liked to hit the ball hard.  Fire fights didn't last very long.  They did like to hit little angle shots too.  

The courts had two real problems, one being the lines caused skips just like we have and the fencing is very tight so that ATPs would be difficult and a serve that kicks to the side can put an opponent into the fence.

I didn't have any trouble being competitive down there.  I had a variety of partners, mostly Downs Intermediates in skills and maybe a touch less than that.  There was one fun game against the local hot shot, I was down 6 to 9 with Roy as partner.  Roy's court positioning was not the best.  But I got hot and ran off five fast points to beat them 11 to 9.  Roy looked a bit shocked.  Mario, the local ace, looked a bit stunned too.  

I would conclude that if you can play at Downs, then other games might not be as daunting.  The abundance of  lobbing and lack of dinking was interesting.  Maybe that's more common than I expect.  I would characterize Downs as more dinks than lobs usually, but not a lot of either.  Of course than depends on who is playing.

It's good to be back, it was interesting to play with some strangers and read the room -- a skill you tournament players should be good at.

Paddle Positon II or is it III?

There is an older post that is a conversation between the Master and Po, the acolyte where the various paddle positions are noted and discussed.  Link: https://pickleballthoughts.blogspot.com/2021/10/paddle-up-or-down-yes.html

Since then I've run across one of the Pickleball Pirate's videos (YouTube) where a teaching pro gave a lesson on the same topic.  Surprisingly, his suggestions and explanations matched those of the Master, so you know it's all good.  :-)  Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0yQU2wOxZc

The reason for this post is that I've managed to get my paddle above the net line for the the last few days of play and I must say that it has been a tremendous help and has improved my ability to hit the third shot in a fire fight and to scare my opponents.  It's also a lot less work and has made the game simpler.

I was over at Robertson park watching some intermediate players today.  There were a lot of popped up balls with people at the net, but the paddles were down by players' knees and a lot of shots that should have ended the point led to longer rallies.  Nothing wrong with a long rally, but if you get a pop up you'd like to put it away.

The low paddle positions required a lot of movement to return the shot and by then the ball had dropped and the best shot opportunity had vanished.  If your paddle is up, it's easy to hit down on the ball, which is the filet mignon of the pickleball shot selections.  

To simplify the earlier posts, when you are at the net the ball has to come to you above the net.  Keep your paddle ready for a higher shot and that means your paddle should be higher than the net level.  If the ball is a low dink, you'll have time to drop your paddle and return it.  But if the ball is coming fast and hard or high, then your paddle is where it needs to be.

Give it a try, I think you'll like it.

Player Profile: Jimmy!

 One of the joys of this game is that it is fun to watch.  If you are interested in getting better than doing some watching is useful.  I thought I would talk about some of the players at the Downs and point out the good shots they have, comment a bit on how they work and what to look for if you get to watch them play.  I'm going to start with Jimmy.  He has a very good all around game and is a joy to watch and play with.  He is a bit difficult to play against however, but that's not his problem!  Here is my take on Jimmy's game.

I wanted to talk about Jimmy's game for a moment.  He plays quite well and in my opinion plays four shots with extremely well.  I wanted to talk about his shots and why I think they work well.

The shots are overheads, third shot drops, service returns, and fly swatter hits at the net.

Jimmy's background is in badminton, and that has provided him with a great overhead.  I've seen few misses and he delivers then with accuracy and power.  I have no comments on how he does it.  I'm comfortable with my overheads, so I've not spent a lot of time analyzing his.  But they are worth the watch if you are struggling.

Third shot drops are a particular strength.  He hits the ball well above the net and here is a key point, the spin he uses is more side spin than top or slice spin.  The shots are very effective and consistent.  I'm finding the use of a side spin shot to be more useful than I thought before.  Note also that the paddle is not used to scoop the ball, but there is a nice angle between arm and paddle.  I think this is very important for shot control.

Service returns look a lot like Jimmy's drop shots.  They clear the net easily and carry fairly deep into the court.  They usually have some slice spin on them.  He doesn't hit this shot hard.  A softer, higher shot gives him more time to get to the kitchen line.  His depth and modest slice spin provides a more difficult shot to return.  Jimmy looks unhurried as he advances, which is true, since he has the additional time to advance.

At the net Jimmy has very fast hands and can hit an accurate put away.  His stroke on those is more of a fly swatter hit than a swing and there is usually some of the side spin on the shots.  The side spin makes the ball fly flat and he doesn't need to lift the ball as much as a top spin shot would require.  A slap shot instead of a swing takes less time to hit and creates a ball fast enough to be effective.

Jimmy and I have talked about his game and he would like to hit serves harder.  I don't think that's necessary, as good players are going to return a faster serve just as well as a softer one.  I think it's more important that the serves be somewhat deep and land in the court.   I'd rather have a partner get the serves in than miss 10% and have some outright winners.

If you get a chance spend some time watching Jimmy.  He plays a very nice game, oriented to rallies and net points.  Have I mentioned he is fast on his feet?  Well, he has that going for him too.

Thanks Jimmy, for permission to talk about your game.

Paddles, Thoughts from the Dark Side

 One of the problems with pickleball is that the sport is so cheap to play.  If you don't think so, I can tell you stories of other hobbies that would raise the hair on the back of the proverbial neck.

And the problem with this inexpensive sport, is that I don't see paddles as being particularly expensive.  An expensive paddle is about the cost of a single golf club and I've got a bag of those.

The next problem is then to find the "proper" paddle.  One that allows the bearer to exceed his ability and strike fear and wonder into the hearts and minds of his opponents, respectively, of course.

My early paddles, still in residence for the most part, started at a modest $130 or so.  I then thought it would be a good idea to pick up another one in case I wanted to introduce someone to the game.  Back then, there were only three players at the Downs.  We'd play two on one and just keep swapping teams.  Then break for the Costco hotdog, what a nice morning that made!  

I found a retuned paddle at PickleballCentral.com, for about $15.  That might have included postage too, I can't remember.  

After some testing, I realized that I couldn't tell the difference between the $15 model and the $130 one.  Hmm, well that might slow down a normal person, but not one with the bit between the teeth.

I watched reviews and ran into John, the Canadian engineer, who comes out to play on occasion.  He is a member of the "Paddle of the month club."  I bought another paddle from him.  Tried it, no real benefit, passed it on to Whitney as it was supposed to be good for tennis elbow.

I followed that up with a Gearbox Model.  Light weight and the control mode.  No real difference either.  Then I tried the elongated version of the paddle I got from John.  No real difference and it didn't improve my game much.  I actually returned that one.  Not something I tend to do

Then I tried the TMPR Oculus.

Well, hmm, I say.  Now I felt more power and more spin.  Yes!  I knew there was magic out there for sale, one just had to find it!  It was rated as a paddle shape that was comforting to a tennis or other racquet player.  I think that was accurate.  My background is tennis with a lot of table tennis too.

The Oculus didn't last a long time and I moved on to the Blockbuster of paddles, aka, the Hellbender.  My thinking is that any increase in sweet spot is worth paying for.  I'm not the most obsessive player, so hitting the ball in the middle of the paddle is more a happy accident than through mind numbing hours of practice.

The Hellbender is slightly longer and more of a tear drop shape than other paddles.  It had the pop and spin of the Oculus, but maybe just a touch more of each.  I liked the longer shape as it's a valuable feature when lurching for a short ball at the kitchen.  That seems to happen a lot.  I feel the sweet spot is also a touch better than the Oculus.

Alas the Hellbender started to crack and then there was a middle ball multiple paddle collision and a couple of square inches of the face lifted and the edge guard did some splitting and cracking.  I glued down the skin with super glue and then welded the edge guard back in place.  It seems to be holding, but...

Then I purchased the Diadem Warrior.  It's a bit longer than the Hellbender, got good reviews, supposed to be good for dinking and control.  It's too early to tell, but it has a lot of the play characteristics of the Hellbender, which is good, and I'm not sure about the better dinking aspects or sweet spot area.  The Warrior is the heaviest paddle I've used at 8.5 ounces.  I really don't notice the additional weight when I first got it and even when switching back and forth.

I swapped paddles with another player for a game.  He had a Selkirk, I'm not sure of the model.  It had a nice feel too.  I like a subdued impact sound.  

There is my story.  It looks like the paddle technology is still young.  New things should be coming out.  I hope it is not like the golf world where it's more hype than reality.  

If I were to design a paddle, I would want it to be a multilayer construction so that soft hits would play differently than smashes.  I think the rules do not allow for moving parts on the paddles; is compression part of that?  I think of table tennis bats where the outer layer provides spin and a foam rubber layer provides power.  Since PB is such a soft then hard kind of game, a paddle that plays differently based on the strike makes some sense to me.

If you are looking for your first or second paddle.  Try as many as you can and then see if something resonates with you.  Weighting on the perimeter may also be significant, and that leads to a lot of experimentation and thinking about what type of game you want to play.

And I still think this is a really cheap sport.  :-)

X Factor Part II

 While resting the back after a busy morning of PB, or maybe it was the acorns in the driveway that needed sweeping?  Doesn't matter, I ran across this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItFZ5JWm_hw

From the In2Pickle channel.  They have some pretty good stuff.  Ah, I can quibble in re style, but we are here for improvement!

In this video Tony talks about the X factor.  I think this is important and valid.  Basically, the person to whom the ball is heading should take the shot.  Don't reach in (too much), let your partner do her thing.  

Tony mentions three reasons why poaching on your partner at the baseline is a bad idea.  It tends to open a court, pinches the partner who should have taken the ball, and makes for a more difficult shot as reaching for a shot can make the shot more difficult.

Tony mentions some exceptions to this, so watch the video.  

What I wanted to discuss is when all the players are at the net.  Does the X factor still apply?  Tony says yes, and I think I agree with him.  Basically let the ball go to the partner whose in line to hit it, don't reach in to try and hit a winner unless the ball is really high and close enough to avoid too much reaching.

In my own play, I tend to reach in too much and take balls from my partners.  Well, all that stops now!  Partner, you are on your own to hit the ball heading for you.

I have recognized this lately as a problem.  I move towards partner's side too much and when partner takes it, as he/she should, I'm out of position and trying to regain footing and position.

The final point is that use of the X factor will resolve almost all problems of who hits the ball.  If you like to call the shots, that's fine, but just adhering to the X factor will remove almost all ambiguity.

2021 Posts are available as a pdf file

 If you want a copy of the "book" just send me an email and I'll send it to you.  No charge!

Rich_hume@yahoo.com

Down's Pickleball

 

Sung to the tune of "Yellow Submarine"

In Livermore where I was born
Lived a man who played at Downs
And he told us of his life
In the land of Pickleball

 Go to the end of the Paseo,

Where you'll find the courts of blue
And we play beneath the trees
 At our Down's Pickleball

 
We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

And our friends all play there
Many more of them play indoors
And the ball begins to bounce,

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball,Down's Pickleball

As we play the game with ease (game of ease)
Everyone of us (everyone of us) has all we need (has all we need)

Bats of blue (bats of blue) and balls of green (balls of green)
In our Downs (in our Downs) Pickleball (Pickleball, ah-ha)

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

 

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

We all play at Down's Pickleball
Down's Pickleball, Down's Pickleball

To Lob or Not to Lob...

 Scott has promised a post on the glories of lobbing.  I must confess I find them uninteresting and I usually am not interested in chasing them done.  Which brings us to a new, third perspective.  Pickleball is a lot older than you might imagine.  Here is a short essay I found that lays out a position, no unalike my own.  This is from a guy named Bill, who was quite the player in his day.  Oh, things were different then, but here is some wisdom that has passed through ancient times and now to us.  Behold mortals!

 

To lob, or not to lob, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous dinks,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing, lob them. To poach—to push,

No more; and by a point to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To dink, to drop;

To chip, perchance to slam—ay, there's the rub:

For in that slap of death what nets may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal court,

Must give us pause—there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long a rally.