Tips and Techniques to Improve Your Game Here are some tips that may help you become a better player. These tips are divided into sections with links below. For a ready reference with more great playing tips and good instruction, refer to The Art of Pickleball, a good book for beginners and experienced players alike.
The Basics and General Thoughts about the Game Keep Your Head Still Throughout the Shot
When you miss a shot, you may think you weren't watching the ball. Sometimes you are watching the ball, but you may not be keeping your head still.
When you hit a ball, your eyes will instinctively follow the ball's path until the moment of contact (even if you can't really see the ball traveling that fast). Keeping your head still throughout your shot will help you maintain better balance. This is particularly important on shots close to the net, especially when you have to to run up to reach the ball. It's very tempting to raise your head just before you contact the ball in order to watch the intended target. This typically results in poor ball contact and a loss of accuracy.
If you can keep your head still through the entire swing, your shots will be stronger, more consistent, and more accurate.
Get Ready for Each Shot
What happens if you don't make it up to the non-volley zone line and get caught in mid-court? This isn't the area you'd like to be, but it doesn't matter where you are on the court -- still at the baseline, halfway up to the non-volley zone line, or waiting there: the moment your opponent's paddle makes contact with the ball, assume the ready position. Really do this! Don't just think, oh, I can just stop moving. Put your paddle up and in front of you. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet and be ready to move, keeping your eye on the ball. Then, after you hit the ball, head for the non-volley zone as soon as it's safe to do so.
Pay Attention to the Details
The little things can win or lose a game. UCLA basketball coach John Wooden used to start every season by teaching his players how to tie their shoes. Actually, he had them learn to put on their socks properly first. All this because it avoided blisters and made game play much more comfortable. It's the little things that can make a large difference in your game. The grip of your paddle – is it too large or small? Is it too short or too long? Is your paddle too heavy? Not responsive enough? Take time to analyze the details and try new things to make your game better.
Find the Right Ready Position
The ready position most people are familiar with is with your feet about shoulder width apart, knees bent slightly, your weight on the balls of your feet, and your paddle pointing toward the net so that you are ready to move to your forehand or backhand, depending on how the ball comes to you. This position comes from tennis where the court is large and there is more time between your opponent's hit and your return. Using this ready position is fine when you're at the baseline, but it may not be the best choice when you are up at the non-volley zone.
This close to the net, there often isn't time to move from this ready position and make contact with a shot coming at you quickly, especially a volley. Try this instead:
Hold your paddle in the backhand position up in front of your chest. This way, you can return most shots by simply rotating the paddle. If the ball comes to your forehand side, just rotate your body toward the ball and you'll be able to reach the forehand volley.
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How to Practice Pickleball
I asked a few players what they do to practice. A few said that they don't practice and just play, working on shortcomings at the same time. Most, however, said that practice is essential to improving their skills. They say that only with practice do elements of their game become automatic, allowing them to play better all around, and I agree. Most people's practice fell into three categories:
- Correcting something that isn't going well;
- Perfecting a skill;
- Doing drills to stay on top of things.
Whichever group fits you—practice, if done correctly, will get you there. First, determine what you need or want to work on. Second, make sure you're doing it correctly so you don't have to “unlearn” it later. Most practice requires another person to help you by throwing or hitting balls to you.
Correcting Part of Your Game
Some players commented that elements of their game “disappeared” sometimes and suddenly they weren't hitting overheads properly or their serves weren't accurate anymore. Have someone watch you and suggest what you might try to change, or pay attention to your stroke, timing, and/or your body position to figure out what the problem might be.
Once you've identified the problem, practice doing it the right way (or at least a different way), concentrating on only that thing. In a little while, the “new” method should become habit, and you won't have to think about it anymore.
Perfecting a Skill
Many people use drills to help them become better in a certain area. Players mentioned these areas most: 1) dinking, 2) serves or groundstrokes, and 3) backhand weakness. A couple of people mentioned some fun ways to practice the first two.
Pat Kane loves a game called “Back Ball” where players stay back near the baseline and must let the ball bounce before hitting it -- no volleying allowed. This game really improves the accuracy of your ground strokes, and it's fun.
Another game variation improves dinking. In this game, the non-volley zone line is considered the baseline and balls hit beyond that line are “out.” Playing this dinking game is great for practicing the dink in a competitive situation. Players who don't yet feel comfortable with the soft game can use this method to get better at it quickly.
As for backhands, the best answer is to have someone hit balls to your backhand side repeatedly until it's easier. Again, you have to analyze what you're doing in order to decide what other things to try. One player mentioned that instead of using the standard backhand he's used for years (imported from his days as a tennis player), he's trying something new that he saw another player use. Check out the section in this web site where I discuss different ways to hit backhand strokes.
Practice Makes You Better (If Not Perfect)
Practice really will make your game better. However, remember that your body is eager to learn whatever you teach it, and it will accept bad or wrong information as eagerly as good. This means that you should always try to "do it right." Sue Gardiner said, "Repetitive practice and immediate feedback is so important for learning." Having someone watch you play and analyze what you're doing wrong or what could make your game better can be a big help. Sue said, "I was struggling with a good serve in the (Senior) Olympics. My women's doubles partner ... analyzed my serve first and determined that I was trying to hit the ball too high in the stroke. So I served around 75 serves from both sides concentrating on hitting the ball low and giving it some topspin. It worked great."
Playing with people who are better than you are will improve your game. But practice of all sorts, including drills, will help you, assuming you can know what you should work on or change. Denise Williams wrote, "When players just go out and play and don't try to learn and perfect and strategize shots, then they are just holding at status quo. It it essential to take the things you learned while practicing and apply them in a game (like drop-in) and be willing to make mistakes to improve your shots. So hopefully you have an understanding partner."
Bob Halpin has many great tips on his web site, and he shared some with me regarding practice. "I like to practice hitting ground strokes back and forth from the baseline first. Then move on to one player up and one back for a while, hitting firm groundstrokes and firm volleys. Nobody trys to put it away while doing these drills. Then one player up and one back with the back person practicing dinks [drop shots] from the baseline and the net player simply hitting it back nicely to him. Then lobs and overhead practice, which is the only way to get good at both. Volleys to each other from the non-volley line starting at 1/2- to 3/4-speed until the ball is going back and forth 6 to 10 times each time. Then speed up the hits until someone starts to miss too often. I like to practice singles using 1/2 of the court so I can practice my doubles stratagy even though we only have 2 people. Reaction volley drills are great,. but are difficult unless the players are fairly good. After doing everything above, you can play games and still practice if you don't worry about winning all the time. Play a game where you lob a lot and a game where you dink a lot."
Are You Perfect Yet?
If not, folks I talked with say you should practice. It will help develop your game and improve skills that need attention. While much of pickleball is mental, developing automatic responses and honing your skills will make you a better player. Perfection is only more practice away.
Making Good Use of the Court / Planning Your Shots
- In doubles play with right-handed partners, the stronger partner should start in the odd (left-hand) court to maximize use of his forehand (which is covering the middle). If the stronger partner is left-handed, have him start in the even (right-hand) court and agree that he will take the center-court shots.
- Get to the non-volley zone and try to stay there. Why? From the NVZ, you can hit drives more deeply, you can volley, dink, and lob, and all of this requires far fewer steps to reach the ball, no matter how it's hit to you. The team that stays at the non-volley zone the most will usually win more points. Try a drop shot into the non-volley zone or a lob over your opponent's head that will give you time to safely move up from the baseline to the non-volley zone.
- When a dink or drop shot lands very close to the net, try to step into the non-volley zone using only one foot, keeping the other foot outside the zone behind the line. As soon as you hit the ball, step back out of the zone behind the line. This may not be possible if you are very short or if the ball barely makes it over the net, but otherwise should become second nature. Stepping back out immediately leaves you ready to return a volley or any other shot without incurring a fault, and it's much easier to step out if only one foot is in the zone.
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Backhand Techniques
Earlier, I discussed how people practice pickleball. One of the folks who gave me input was Vic Avery, and he offered some other thoughts, too. One was about backhand shots. He said, "I had a serious problem in singles because of a weak backhand on groundstrokes. Once while watching Pat Kane 's backhand, I saw he used a totally different technique from mine. I was using the tennis style: square your body to the court (facing the side fence) and use mostly arm for the power (a sweeping motion in a plane parallel to the ground). Opponents found it easy to read the direction and speed of my shots. I tried his method—punching it by
- straightening your arm and getting wrist action at the end,
- contacting the ball almost straight in front of you, and
- having the paddle travel in an arc perpendicular to the ground, from low to high.
The result was far more power and the ability to go either left or right at the last second.”
Vic's reply caused me to start thinking about the different backhand techniques I have seen in play and to wonder about the evolution of pickleball strokes that are separate and distinct from those we brought with us from tennis, racquetball, or other sports. I was also curious about the backhand particularly because many players say they find it more difficult than their forehand strokes. So I asked a sampling of players again: “tell me how you handle the backhand in pickleball.”
Rock Kane wrote, “Whenever I can, and I know someone is going to my backhand , I try to get quickly into a position to be able to use my forehand which is my stronger hit.” Many players agree with Rock, saying their forehand strokes are stronger than their backhands. Certainly, if you have time to get into position for a forehand stroke and it won't pull you so far out of position that your next return might in jeopardy, I'd agree that taking a forehand would be preferred by most. Rock continued, “Also, when reaching for a backhanded shot, I slip my hand to the end of the paddle [handle] to give me more paddle hitting surface in the reach.”
Dick Lewis said his baseline backhand is “very similar to the tennis groundstroke.” He went on to say, “The backhand shot should be easier then the forehand.” I mentioned that this goes counter to what most people say, although I have always felt that backhand and forehand should both be equally difficult (or easy, depending on your point of view). I asked him why he thought the backhand should be easier? His answer, regarding the backhand from the baseline: “You need to turn sideways to the net. By doing this you already have your arm back and in the proper position on the backhand” [because you don't have to take as much backswing compared to the forehand groundstroke].
Dick then described a number of ways to hit the ball (imparting topspin, hitting the ball flat, and cutting for backspin, which he says is the hardest shot but very effective against lower-level opponents). Lastly, he described “a different backhand shot where you bring your arm forward and snap your wrist at impact to the ball. The shot would be similar to the flat shot. With practice this can be the easiest of all backhand shots.” He and Vic are speaking the same language.
I asked him, “What about the backhand ‘pops' that are done from the non-volley-zone line?”
“While at the net, you would have a continental grip, which is where the "V" between your thumb and index finger would be in the center of the grip. The paddle is held in the ready position, which is chest high. The quick backhand would be hit by twisting your body to the left, if you were right-handed, and slapping the ball, moving the paddle forward. The paddle should never be taken back further then your peripheral vision. An example would be, facing the net, taking the paddle back as far as you can see without moving your head.”
Finally, we discussed the shot he described with the flick of the wrist. I told him I've seen this done up at the non-volley zone, too. He agreed, but said he uses it only with high backhand overheads.
To put a wrap to this research, I called Vic back, and we went out to the court together so I could see just what he meant in action. I photographed his movements for his original “tennis-type” stroke as well as the new strokes, both at the baseline and the non-volley zone line. Here's what he showed me and what he explained in more detail.
The picture above shows the backhand stroke Vic started with. The paddle swings through fairly flat, parallel to the ground. The ball is hit forward of the body with the wrist locked through the entire swing. As with all strokes from the baseline, it is important to make room for the shot: step back or forward, as necessary, in preparation for the movement of the shot itself. (We'll cover good footwork in the next article.)
The “new” backhand is shown above. In this stroke, Vic's wrist is not locked but can be seen to unleash its own power just at the moment the paddle contacts the ball. This stroke is made perpendicular to the ground, going from the backswing down and finishing up high. Much additional power is gained in this type of stroke due to the wrist action.
The picture above shows the standard stroke when close to the net. Again, it's a flatter stroke and the wrist is locked throughout the swing.
In the new version of the backhand at the non-volley zone, the wrist snaps at the moment of impact, imparting extra power to the ball.
Finally, the overhead backhand shown above works beautifully because of the wrist action given to the shot. Vic says it's also easier to add spin to the ball when using more wrist in the shot as well.
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— All of the preceding information © 2007 Gale H. Leach
(with thanks to Denise Williams, Dave Muslin, Dick Lewis, Rock Kane, Pat Kane, Bob Halpin, Sue Gardiner,
Bill Booth, Bob Barczak, and Vic Avery) |
