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Run to the non-volley line — YES — but where should you stand?

1/17/2015

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If you've played much pickleball, you know it's important to move up to the non-volley zone (NVZ) line as soon as it's safe to do so--that is, when you believe you'll have enough time to get to the NVZ line and not be caught in midcourt with a ball aimed at your feet or a drive headed to the backcourt that you won't be able to reach. 
Picture
If you don't know why  you should move up (other than everyone says so), here's a quick explanation. (The rest of you may skip ahead.) In the picture on the left, the diagonal lines leading from John's paddle  to the outer extremes of the backcourt show the maximum possible trajectory of a hard drive John might make.   
In the example above, John served to Mary, who returned a deep shot down the middle. John is about to return the ball. As shown by the lines with arrowheads, if John hits a hard drive to Mary at the baseline, she must guard all 10 feet on her side of the court. If John tries to send a long drive past Sue at the  NVZ line, she must only guard 7-1/2 feet on the inside of her court. Why? Because John can't aim any wider on a drive shot and keep the ball in bounds. (We'll talk about what happens if John hits a soft shot later on.)

What this means is that you shouldn't necessarily stand in the center of your court at the non-volley zone line. Let's concentrate on Sue in the picture above. She's standing where she can reach the drive shots most easily: smack in the center of that 7-1/2 feet. (If Sue were right-handed instead of left and her backhand was weaker, she might move a little to the left.)

Now, what happens if John hits a drop shot — a softer shot that lands just over the net — to Sue and it lands way over on the right inside the NVZ?  It's not a problem, because the shot is much slower and Sue will have plenty of time to get to it from her position.
Picture
Now let's say Sue returns the ball to the far outside corner of John's court before he can move up. As shown on the left, the possible trajectory of a drive shot from John has changed. Consequently, both Mary and Sue move to the right, still covering about 7-1/2 feet each. If John returns a soft shot to Mary's left, she'll have time to move and get it.
When you're playing a soft game — dinking back and forth across the net — the best position is shown by Sue, above. Because she's left-handed, she's standing slightly to the right of center. This allows her to move left to cover the center and also reach more easily with her backhand a diagonal dink toward the outside.
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Get Ready for Each Shot

10/26/2014

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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 -- even if you're 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 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.

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Find the right ready position

10/19/2014

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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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    Gale Leach lives in Arizona with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. When she's not writing pickleball tips, she's working on the second in a new series of novels for young adults, a fifth book in the "Bruce" children's series, and updating The Art of Pickleball.

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