Where the Game is Going

The growth of pickleball has been astonishing. In a very short period the sport has changed from an obscure, niche pastime enjoyed by a relatively small group of people into a major contender for how people choose to spend their time, energy and money. If it isn't yet mainstream, it is well on its way. The fact that very large sporting companies are getting in on the action and that major tournaments like the US Open are going to have a presence on television, signals that pickleball has grown up.

But what does this mean for how the game is played? How will the expansion of pickleball influence what happens on the court? We've got a few ideas...

MORE POWER. As more people enter the game, there are more potential customers for paddle manufacturers. And they are all vying to produce something new and cutting edge. As paddle technology develops, the paddles are becoming both more powerful and better equipped to deliver serious spin. These changes are going to privilege the power game and the result will be fewer third shot drops and less dinking.

MORE MOVEMENT. The prohibition on volleying in the kitchen means that in pickleball it is relatively easy to isolate a particular player and freeze out the stronger opponent. In order to combat this, players are going to start being more creative about how they move around the court. Poaching will just be the tip of the iceberg!
 

BIGGER SERVES AND RETURNS. Players have already started to use the serve and return to gain an advantage. This will continue and we will start to see much more creative play on the first two shots. Extreme spin and angles can be expected!

While not everyone will look forward to these changes, I do think they are inevitable. Steps can be taken to shape the game (e.g. new paddle and ball specifications; rule changes; court size adjustments) but these are difficult changes to make. And as more people get into the game, the level of the best players will continue to grow. And the nature of sport is always that top players will look for creative ways to gain a competitive advantage. This is where innovation begins and from my side of the net, that’s a pretty exciting thing to watch.

Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach, 5.0 player and the founder of Third Shot Sports. You can comment on this article by emailing mark@thirdshotsports.com

Don't Fear the Lob

When I introduce the concept of coming to the net as a team, the immediate reaction is almost always: "But what if they lob us?". People are often fearful of the ball being hit over their head and, as a result, they often stay back from the kitchen. But here's the thing... it's actually poor strategy to guard against the lob by hanging back. Here's why:

1) The lob is actually low risk. The next time you're waiting your turn to play, watch another game. Count how many times a lob is hit as a winning shot (i.e. the lob is hit so well that the receiving team cannot touch it). What you are likely to notice is that this number is very low. In many cases, a team will lob the ball out of bounds. In others, they will hit the lob short giving the receiving team a chance to smash the ball. Unreturnable lobs are rare in pickleball.   

2) You're giving up your main advantage. The strength of being at the net is your ability to hit the ball when it's above net level. This means you can hit down on the ball which means you can hit it hard. By hanging back from the kitchen line you make it easier for your opponents to hit the ball at your feet. This is exactly what they want!

So next time you're playing get right up to the kitchen line and look for a high ball. And if you happen to lose the occasional point because of a great lob, don't worry about it. Compared to the number of points you have the chance to with by being up close, it is probably worth the sacrifice.

 

To Poach or Not to Poach: The Etiquette of Crossing the Line

“Poacher!” That’s what someone – a spectator – yelled during a recent intermediate pickleball game I watched. It was meant not as an observation, but a reprimand of the man who crossed the centre of the court to put away an attempted dink that floated a little too high. With the tone she used, she might as well have yelled, “Ball hog!” It was clear that this spectator viewed poaching as a kind of etiquette infraction, a pickleball sin that was both rude and obnoxious.  But is it?

To be clear, poaching refers to crossing over the centre of the court to hit a ball that is otherwise destined for your partner. It means that you must abandon ‘your side’ of the court in order to intercept/steal ‘your partner’s ball’. There are a few reasons one might poach:

1. your partner is farther back in the court than you and allowing the ball to go to her will result in the ball getting low and being in a less than desirable position. You poaching, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to hit the ball while it is still high and thus in a more enviable position to hit hard. Here is an example.

2. You think you are a better player than your partner and are more likely to make a good shot. By coming across and taking balls aimed towards your partner, you are ostensibly giving your team a better chance to win by having the better player hit the ball most often. Here is an example.

3. You like hitting the ball and are willing to leave your side of the court to satisfy your desire.*

So, is it a faux-pas to poach? The answer is, it depends. Like most things, context matters.

If you are playing a competitive match where the primary goal is to win, I think you can justify poaching for reasons 1 and 2. In this situation, both teammates should have similar goals and personal ego should be set aside for the good of the team.

If a poach is more likely to result in a winning shot then it is a reasonable play. If, however, it is a friendly, recreational match, things get a little murky. For most people, the fun comes from hitting the ball. And since poaching takes away your partner’s opportunity to hit the ball, it takes away some of their fun. You become not just a shot stealer but a fun stealer!

If we think back to the story that started this article we see how important the context is. The woman who yelled “Poacher!” as a reprimand, clearly saw the poach as stealing the fun of one of the players. If that exact same shot had been hit not during a fun pick-up game at the YMCA but in the gold medal round of a tournament, perhaps she would have yelled something more congratulatory.  

So where do we go from here? First, err on the side of caution. Until you learn otherwise, assume that your partner cares more about being part of the game then about winning. Even if you can poach some of their balls, maybe hold off, at least for the start. Second, talk to your partner. Ask them how they want to handle balls over the net that either person can get. See what they say. Finally, encourage your partner to go for balls if they are in a position to put them away – even if they are on ‘your’ side of the court. This can show that you care more about the team doing well than you hitting a certain number of shots.

Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach, founder of Third Shot Sports and 5.0 competitor. He can be reached at mark@thirdshotsports.com

Not So Fast!

We live in a culture that tends to value speed. Implicit in this is that if fast is good, really fast is better. This article is about slowness. In particular, this article is about three situations in which slowing down can benefit your pickleball game. Enjoy (but not too quickly).

Situation 1: Returning Serve
Why do we return serve? The obvious answer is “so we don’t lose the point”. True. But what else do we want from our return? What do we want it to do for us? When you watch the best players it is clear that the return of serve is an approach shot -- it’s the shot you use to get yourself up to the kitchen so you can (hopefully) volley. I often see people hammer the return and run up towards the NVL. The trouble is, the ball gets to their opponents so quickly, by the time their return is hit back to them, they have failed to get to their ideal volleying spot. They just didn’t have enough time. Consequently, they end up having a difficult ball down at their feet and rather than controlling the point, they are defending.

Instead of always playing a fast return, why not play a slow one? A slow arcing ball that lands deep in the court will give you plenty of time to control the net and will still pin your opponent behind the baseline. Will it win you the point? Usually not. But remember, the point of the return isn’t to hit a winning shot; it’s to get to the net so that you can volley effectively. And a nice slow ball can give you the time you need to do that.

Situation 2: Volleying

For many people, volleying can be exciting. They get up to the net, receive the ball in the air and -- sometimes out of a feeling of panic -- slam it back to their opponents. It sounds good. It feels great! The trouble is, if the opponents are at the baseline, this isn’t particularly effective. Because the distance between the hitter and receiver is long, the receiver has a relatively long time to react to the fast ball coming towards her. The volleyer can quickly go from a position of power to one of defense.

A more effective shot in this situation would be a drop volley. If the volleyer can take almost all of the speed off of the ball (soft hands and a continental grip are helpful in this regard) and land the volley in the kitchen, the receiving team will likely have trouble getting to the ball before it’s second bounce. While it might feel good to hit the ball fast, it feels even better to win the point.A slow, short volley can help you to do that.

Situation 3: The 3rd Shot

You serve. Your opponents return and rush the net. Now what? It depends who you ask. Lower level players typically use this as a chance to smack the ball hard at the net team. This works well only if they are weak volleyers. However, the stronger players usually play a more subtle shot. A slower shot that we will call the third shot drop.This shot is slow and low. It is designed to land in the kitchen and prevent the net team from volleying. The third shot drop itself doesn’t usually win the point but it can be useful in taking away the net team’s advantage. Because the net team is receiving a low ball that lands in the kitchen, they have to hit it upwards. And since they are hitting upwards, they must hit it slowly (a fast ball would fly long). The third shot in a rally is incredibly important (so important I named a company after it!). By using the inherently slow third shot drop, the returning team is able to move from a defensive position to a neutral or offensive one. And that’s pretty great.   

This article was about three situations in which slow shots can be highly effective. As usual, it would be a mistake to interpret this in absolute terms. I’m NOT saying, never hit the ball hard. No doubt there are good times to do so. What is important is that we begin to understand how to respond intelligently to different situations. At Third Shot Pickleball we take situation training seriously.

Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach and founder of Third Shot Sports. You can reach him by e-mail at mark@thirdshotsports or on twitter @thirdshotsports.