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Stacking--Why and How

10/20/2018

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If you've had an opportunity to watch a tournament and saw stacking in action, you may have wondered why the players were moving around the court, standing together, or standing outside the court completely. If you're curious about stacking and how and when to incorporate it into your game, read on.

Stacking is used during tournament play to exploit a team's strength and minimize its weakness. The technique increases the number of times a person plays on the right (even) or left (odd) side of the court.

According to the rules, the non-serving partner or the receiver's partner may stand in any position (even off the court), as long as they stay on their side of the net. Therefore, both team members may stand inside their service court, and partner of the person receiving the serve may stand outside the court at the time of the serve. 

Some examples may help explain how and why stacking works, and why you might want to try it.
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1) Backhands in the center. Judy is right-handed and her partner, John, is left-handed. They don't like having both backhands in the middle, so when Judy serves, they stack. Both partners stand in the right service box until she serves. Then Judy moves to the left side of the court, while John stays put. At the end of the rally, they switch sides again, so they will be in their correct places for the next service. (Note: If Judy is uncomfortable with John standing so close, he can wait outside the service box until Judy moves.)

2) Strong or weak forehand or backhand. If partners are like-handed, but one or both have strengths or weaknesses that could be exploited, they could use stacking to their advantage. Right-handed Gloria has an average forehand, while her right-handed partner, Diane, has a forehand that is exceptionally strong. Diane would rather play in the left court to cover the middle and take advantage of her forehand strength. The same would be true for a partner with a weak backhand. When players are like-handed, putting a weak backhand in the right court with a strong forehand in the left court just makes sense.
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3) When receiving. The players in example 1 above are receiving the serve. Judy is the receiver, and John would normally be up at the non-volley-zone line in the left court. However, since John would rather be on the right, he stands outside the sideline, just behind the non-volley zone line on the right. ​After Judy returns the service, John moves in, and Judy rushes to the non-volley-zone line on the left.

Stacking isn't something you must do, but it can help your team play better and more consistently. You can choose to stack during only a portion of the game. Stacking can confuse your opponents and is sometimes good as a way to change things up. 

If you understand what stacking is and how your team (and your opponents) can use it, you'll have an advantage over those who don't.

​Happy stacking!

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Chris Sacca's Wisdom

9/3/2018

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One thing I know is that many (or most) of the things you learn can help you understand, do better with, or improve upon something else. So bear with me if this sounds a bit crazy. ​​

I took a break from my current writing project—an update of The Art of Pickleball--and headed to the living room. I'm not much on watching lots of TV, but I adore Shark Tank. (If you haven't watched this program, I urge you to give it a try.) I like the original sharks, but one of my other favorites is Chris Sacca, an investor in major online platforms, such as Twitter, Uber, Instagram, and Kickstarter; he also owns & operates Lowercase Capital, a venture capital fund.

That evening, I heard Chris say to one of the entrepreneurs, “Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything.” I hit the pause button. This line hit home with me personally, of course: I've had the idea to update that book for some time, yet I'd delayed getting started. It also occurred to me that this quote has a wider audience than just my own introspection. It affects anyone tackling any endeavor, and that includes someone striving to get better at pickleball. 

We all have great intentions. It's the follow-on that matters. Perhaps you read a blog post (like this one) and get fired up, saying, "I'll be fearless when I hit the court tomorrow, and I'll put into play all the new lessons I just learned." Then, the next morning, your intention wanes—perhaps someone invites you to breakfast, or you have a sore back, or you just don't feel like going, or - or - or . . . Or you get there, but you lose your concentration when you make a lousy shot . . . You know the drill.

I looked up information about Chris Sacca and discovered he's said and written other things that are equally applicable on the journey to better pickleball and for our lives in general. Here are a few I thought were particularly valuable.
  • “What happens next is up to you.” Sounds too simple to be important, but your path to better pickleball is an uphill climb. You have choices. Don't forget that one of them is to stop and say, "This might be good enough," and nothing's wrong with that. But if you're not satisfied where you are, read this quote again and get busy.
  • “I'm good at what I do and still improving as I learn from mentors, founders, partners, friends, family, strangers, my own investors, and the experience itself.” My takeaway from this is:
    1) Don't forget to
    acknowledge your success thus far, as you climb the ladder toward 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0. Then scan your weaknesses and seek the help of those who can steer you toward an easier resolution. Get some coaching. A few sessions with a good coach can propel you forward and give you a needed emotional boost.
    2) Open up to mentoring from those who can and wish to teach. Watch the good players and don't be afraid to approach them. Your best games are always with players who are better than you. The worst that can happen is they say no, but many are glad to help, as long as the time is right. Be open to suggestions and strain the information to find what works for you.
  • “Never. Stop. Selling.” Sounds silly in a post about pickleball? Not if you change the word "selling" to "practicing," "learning," or "trying." Any endeavor that's worth doing requires hard work. Becoming good at pickleball is no different. When it seems like every good shot you make is overbalanced by two in the net, don't give up. Never give up.
  • For those of you who are truly intent on being the best and reaching the podium at the big tournaments, Chris says, “You have to ask yourself, you have to be honest. Do you really have what it takes? Are you incredibly unreasonable? Do you have an irrational sense of the inevitability of the success of what you’re building, or are you just here because it’s fashionable?” I included this because it's worth questioning whether you have it in you to get there (wherever you've set your sight). As I said earlier, perhaps reaching 3.5 or 4.0 is just fine, if you're balancing pickleball with a day job and a set of twins at home. Nothing says you must keep ascending the ladder, or at least not at a breakneck pace. Still, if the podium is what you want, what are you doing reading this? Get down to the courts. :-)​
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No One Right Way

7/31/2018

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Many of us get caught up in the idea that there’s a right and a wrong way to do things, and that includes playing pickleball. Since you're reading this post, I would guess that you'd like to find that "right" way, the one that works for most people, and steer away from the "wrong" ways that go against conventional wisdom.

I cite myself as a perfect example. When I was first learning pickleball, I searched for a book that would tell me how to play better. I also asked good players how they did what they did. Later, as I began compiling material for The Art of Pickleball, I realized that, while some techniques were suggested more often than others, there was still a fair amount of difference of opinion among the "experts."

​Making it more confusing is that new methods appear as the game evolves. Take the ready position, for example. For years, it was accepted that you should stand facing the net with your knees bent and your paddle in front of you aimed at the 12-o'clock position (as viewed from above). Recently, an alternative method emerged at the net, where the paddle is held in the backhand position, ready to volley the ball back over the net. Now that's being refuted. Which method is best?

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My point isn't to argue about how you should hold the paddle but to emphasize that there isn't one right way to do anything in pickleball. Instead, there are accepted practices—until someone comes up with a better way. Sometimes those best practices work for you; sometimes they don't. You must be the judge.

Remember, too, that no two bodies are alike. The person suggesting you hold your paddle at a certain angle might be quicker than you in moving from one position to another. What works for her might be terrible in your hand. 

My advice is to check out different ways of doing things and settle (for now) on what seems best to you. When a new method comes along, embrace it if it's better. Just remember: there's no one right way to do anything in pickleball, or in life.

Photo credits: Sarah Ansboury and the RV Picklers, Paul Aaron, Deb Harrison, Simone Jardim, The Pickleball Channel, Stacie Townsend, and Mark Renneson.
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Just When You Thought You Had It . . .

6/17/2018

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Most of you who consistently try to get better at pickleball can probably remember a day (hopefully many) when you had an "AHA!" moment—when something clicked, made sense, or felt right for the first time. Armed with this new insight or technique, your game improved. You knew you finally had it—you'd figured it out. Then, when you’re weren't looking, that new technique or knowledge disappeared or devolved into an old pattern.

When you first "get it," you feel excited about the new technique. Perhaps you found out what you've been doing wrong with your backhand, or someone pointed out that you need to wait longer before hitting the ball. You managed to keep these things in mind for a while, but soon you were back to your old ways.

Sometimes, we really do turn over a new leaf and it grows into a tree (poor metaphor, but hey). More often we return to old patterns without ever meaning to. So when they do stick, and what makes the difference?

The Missing Element

We don’t have a hope of keeping a new technique unless we use it in regular practice. The old conditioning of your muscles and your mind is too strong for your mindful desire to change to be enough. You must condition that new technique until your muscles and mind don't remember the old way.

You Need to Practice

Just a short amount of mindful practice of your new technique every day is enough to get a foothold and start to dissolve the reflexive nature of the old behavior. It isn't a good idea to focus on more than one thing at a time. Give your mind and body a chance to engrain the new pattern before working on something else.

It might be as easy as taking five minutes out of your morning couples game to have your partner reinforce the new pattern, either by hitting balls to you or watching to make sure you're returning them correctly. No doubt your friends could use practice, too, so you'll all benefit.

Doing even a little bit of the new technique routinely starts to break down the automatic nature of doing the old one. The new way happens without thinking about it more often. Gradually, the new way becomes natural.

The "AHA!" moment is only the first step on the road to improving your game. You really change when this new way of playing feels natural, and for that to happen, you need to practice.


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Amateurs lose points. Professionals win points.

5/27/2018

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It's funny how things come together sometimes to bring home a lesson. Recently, my "coincidence karma" has functioned well, and information I needed has come via unusual sources.

I subscribe to a blog by a man who espouses mindfulness, among other things. His most recent post described information he'd gleaned from a book about tennis written in the 1970s. The blogger wasn't interested in tennis, but he was fascinated by Dr. Simon Ramo's premise that most of us play the "loser's game," where a win is the result of the loser's actions rather than any talented play by the winners. 

Contrast that with the "winner's game" played by professionals. Their game features excellent serves, intense focus and preparation for each shot, long, spectacular rallies, and brilliant recoveries. In time, someone takes a risk and attempts a put-away shot or precisely targets a shot that's unrecoverable. At this level, winning points—rather than making mistakes—determines the outcome of the game.

Amateurs lose points. Professionals win points. ​
For the bulk of us who are not (yet) pros, Ramo insists that the key to winning is allowing our opponents to defeat themselves by making mistakes. He compiled an extensive database of points scored in actual tournaments by both professional and amateur players. Ramo found a consistent pattern: in the winner's game of professional tennis, superb offensive execution accounts for approximately 80% of the points won. Conversely, about 80% of the points in amateur loser's games are lost due to unforced errors.
​

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Bringing this wisdom to the game of pickleball is a short hop. All of us have watched games between our amateur peers and wondered at their unnecessary mistakes. (Of course, it's always easy to be a great player while on the sideline.) Pros don't make those mistakes anymore. They've perfected their play and progressed to the point where each player is only slightly more skillful than another. 

I'm assuming you're an amateur pickleball player, if you've read this far. What advice can you take away from Dr. Ramo's words?

​Whether you want to win more amateur games or become a pro, your strategy should be to recognize and then eliminate the costly errors that defeat you. In the long run, doing this will benefit you far more than learning how to make that super shot down the sideline.

​To learn more, pick up a copy of Dr. Simon Ramo's book, Extraordinary Tennis for the Ordinary Player. (Many libraries shelve it.) His  wisdom can benefit nearly any endeavor, not just pickleball. For a shorter read, check out an article from the New York Times that gives some insight into Ramo, the man, and excerpts some the concepts from his book.
​

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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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