5 Intermediate Mistakes

Pickleball is considered an 'open-skilled' sport because it requires wide-ranging and varied skills and the circumstances are always changing. The height, speed, spin, distance and direction a ball is hit is never quite the same as the ones before it. The fact that players are standing at (or moving through) different places on the court, that wind or sun conditions change throughout a game, means that pickleball is an activity full of variability and change. 

That said, as someone who works with a lot of pickleball players, I can say that for all the variability in the sport, there are quite a few mistakes and habits that are common to intermediate players. Here are a few of them...

Coming to the Net Casually. Hitting a return of serve and coming to the net is a useful tactic because it can pressure your opponents. By reducing the distance between you and them, you give them less time to react when you play your volley. Additionally, you are more likely to get a nice high ball when you are at the net, a ball that you can hit downward and with speed, again limiting the time they have to set up. 

Many intermediate players return serve and move towards the net but don't actually get there by the time their opponents strike the ball. They are on their way to the non-volley zone but fail to reach it in time. While this isn't the end of the world, being several feet back of the line is problematic for two reasons: 1) you aren't as close to your opponents as you could be. That means when you hit, the ball has farther to travel and they will have more time to react; 2) by being back from the NVZ you make it less likely you'll get a high ball, and more likely it will be low. This makes you more susceptible to receiving one of those annoying balls at your feet. 

Returning Serve to the Middle of the Court. I know. You've probably been told a million times that the centre of the court is exactly where you should be hitting your return. "Down the middle solves the riddle", right? While it does give you a significant margin for error and could cause confusion, I question whether you, as an intermediate player, really need a 20ft wide target. And even if you do manage to confuse your opponents, there is a good chance that if they do get fooled with a middle ball that they'll have a conversation about what to do next time you hit there. And I'm not sure that these two (marginal) benefits are worth the significant downside.

When you hit to the centre of the court you allow either player to hit the ball -- you give your opponents the choice of who plays that third shot. And who do you think will take it? The better player, of course! A better strategy is to aim the ball to the person you want to hit it. Whether it is a weaker player or one who has struggle recently, by aiming the ball away from the middle of the court, you take more control of the point.

Hitting Hard at the Baseline Player. Perhaps you've been told "if you've got 'em back, keep 'em back" but is that always great advice? No. It is not. If you have a ball you're looking to hit hard (typically a ball above net height), then hitting to the person farthest away is a mistake. The farther away they are, the more time they will have to react to your shot. If you're looking to hit hard, the person closest to you should generally be your target since they will have less time than their farther away teammate. 

Believing a Drop is the "Right" Third Shot. The third shot is a critical moment in a pickleball point. But we should remember that there are three possible options when you hit a third: a drop, a drive, a lob. There is no rule that you must play a soft, low ball into the kitchen (a drop). If you are playing against people who move poorly, a lob can be very effective. A fast, low shot (a drive) can be an excellent choice against people you think you can overpower or who have weak volleys. Drops are incredibly risky -- a little to short/low and the ball is in the net. A little to high or far and they have an easy put away-- so I recommend using drops only if the other two (easier to execute) options don't work against your opponents.

Not Playing a Dink In Response to a Low Ball. Many intermediate players try to win the point each time they hit the ball. This is a mistake. If your opponents hit a low, soft shot that is forcing you to hit upward, your best bet is a dink. An upward hit requires that you hit slowly if you want to keep the ball in play, right? If you hit anything but a soft, slow ball, you are likely giving the other team a ball above net height. They like those! So, if someone gives you a low ball, stay patient and play a soft, slow dink in response. 

Mark Renneson is the Founder of Third Shot Sports and its Head Coach. He can be reached by email at mark@thirdshotsports.com

When Coaches Should Keep Quiet (Part 2)

In a previous article I challenged the idea that coaches should intervene as soon as they see their players doing something poorly. The thrust of my argument was that if coaches reflexively jump on the first “problem” they see, they may miss the opportunity to identify an even larger, more important area of concern. Additionally, at the beginning of a lesson players may be nervous and more likely to make uncharacteristic mistakes. So while the errors may be real and observable, there is good reason to believe that they may be more about the player's initial nerves than their playing skills. 

But it is not only at the beginning of a lesson that coaches would be wise to keep quiet. In this article I want to explore another time that it makes sense for coaches to see something but say nothing. 

Case Study: Sarah and Rick

Rick is an intermediate player who is looking to compete at the 3.5 level. He is taking a private lesson with the hopes of learning to hit a more consistent third shot drop that he can use against strong volleyers. His coach, Sarah, has observed Rick play and has identified that Rick’s big backswing is causing him to hit the drop too hard and high, making it ineffective. 

Sarah explains her observations to Rick and they work on having him hit his drops with much less backswing. His drop is improving and they decide to put it back into a game situation to see if he can hit it under a bit more pressure. As he serves to start the first point, Sarah notices something: Rick’s swing when he serves isn’t very smooth. In fact, it is so jerky that it causes him to be inefficient and a little erratic.

Seeing this important problem, Sarah jogs over to the other side of the court and begins to help Rick with his serve. She talks to him about the importance of a smooth, relaxed swing and grabs the basket of balls so he can start practicing.

First Things First

I would argue that Sarah has made an important — and common — mistake. She was doing everything really well for most of the lesson: she identified the problem (a poor drop), found a helpful solution (reduce the backswing), practiced the new skill until it improved and then planned to put it back into a realistic situation. That’s great. But she made an error when she started working on Rick’s serve. The problem wasn’t that she saw his poor technique and judged it should be improved. The problem was that she allowed this observation the derail her otherwise great lesson. 

Recall that Sarah was about to have Rick (hopefully) demonstrate his newly acquired skills. He was about to put his great new drop into action in a real game scenario. This is an important moment in the learning process as the added pressure of a game situation will give Rick and Sarah an idea as to whether he has really mastered this new skill or whether it requires more attention and practice. But by pouncing on the opportunity to improve Rick’s serve as soon as she saw the problem, she skipped the final step of the third shot drop lesson. Essentially, she moved on to a new teaching point before completing the process with the first one. 

The scenario with Rick and Sarah is a common one. It is also worth remembering that Sarah did many things right in her lesson. The mistake was that in her eagerness to help her student, Sarah became impatient. She moved on from a teaching point before she had fully finished with it. In this case, Sarah would have been better off observing Rick’s troubled serve but saying nothing for the time being. Had she made a mental note of the new problem (or even written it down so she wouldn’t forget) she could have worked on his serve after finishing with the drop.

In this case, keeping quiet would have let her finish on task before setting off on another. 

Mark Renneson has been coaching for 21 years and is the founder of Third Shot Sports. He competes at the 5.0/PRO level and tours North America delivering professional pickleball clinics, camps and private lessons to people of all ages and abilities. He can be reached by email at mark@thirdshotsports.com.

7 Pickleball Myths

1. The Team with Superior Skills Wins. Unlike figure skating, diving or synchronized swimming, nobody declares you the PB champ because you've got nice technique. Your ability to be smart and 'find a way to win' counts for a lot. 

2. Down the Middle Solves the Riddle. Unless you are putting away a high volley for winner, hitting to the middle causes more problems than it solves. Sure, your opponents might get confused about who will hit the ball (decent teams communicate well and make those plans in advance), but by hitting down the centre of the court you allow your opponents' best player to hit all the shots they like! Can you think of another sport where it is smart to let the other team's best player get the ball? 

3. PB Is All About the Soft Game. While slow, carefully placed shots have a very important role to play, sometimes a good dose of pace is highly productive. Why play third shot drop if your opposition can't handle a hard drive when they are at the net? We don't need to go over the top here, but let's please not be dogmatic about only hitting slow.

4. The Serve and Return Don't Really Matter. While you probably won't hit many outright winners with your first shot, that doesn't mean you shouldn't care about hitting them effectively. A well-placed return can make it harder for your opponents to play a good third shot. A powerful serve might lead to a weak return that you can pounce on. The serve and return are opportunities to swing the momentum in your favour -- be thoughtless about them at your peril!

5. You Don't Have to Move Much. While you might have the most beautiful forehand anyone has seen, it doesn't matter much if you can't get to the ball to use it. PB can be played without a lot of physical effort, but the truth is that the level will be quite low. Like it or not, pickleball is primarily about moving and while we can't all move like the pros, we can all have the same desire to move as well as our body will allow. 

6. Dinking is the Most Important Skill. While soft, slow balls in the kitchen are a unique part of pickleball, the truth is that for most players below the 4.0 level, matches usually include very few extended dinking exchanges. Since a dink is typically a response to a high-quality drop, matches that don't have a lot of good drops don't see a lot of dinks. 

7. There is a 'Right' Way to Play Pickleball. Just like there is no 'right' way to make a salad, paint a house or ride a skateboard, there is no objectively correct way to play PB. While some approaches may be more effective than others -- and this may change from one match to another depending on your opponents -- if you are playing by the rules of the game then you are playing pickleball. Period.
I'm not saying that 'anything goes' or that every method is is as effective as every other one. But I am saddened when I see people ridicule others for not 'playing properly' just because they don't do it exactly how the pros do. While you might roast a more delicious chicken than I do, that doesn't mean that my way is wrong. It just means that I've got some work to do if I want to improve.

Mark Renneson is the founder and Head Coach at Third Shot Sports. He travels across North America delivering pickleball clinics for players of all ages and levels of skill. And, he does roast a mean chicken.

5 Things to Look for In a Coach

As pickleball grows and more people want to improve their skills, the number of people willing to coach or instruct is exploding. Some people coach as volunteers, others -- including yours truly -- do it professionally. And whether you're paying for your lessons or not, there are a few things you should probably look for when deciding who to trust with your game....

Do they ask questions? Good coaches don't make it all about them. Instead, they find out from their students what is important to them, what they want to learn and why they want to learn it. And while the coach may have to guide or redirect those desires, they are serious about understanding the needs of their students. 

Are they focused? Whether you're paying for your lesson or getting it for free, good coaches bring their full attention to their student(s). For the duration of the lesson, coaches should be fully engaged with their players. And unless it is being used to record video (with consent, of course), there shouldn't be a cellphone in sight!

Are they enthusiastic? Pickleball is a game and games should be fun. The same is true for pickleball lessons! Good coaches make you feel like they are excited to be there with you and should seem genuinely keen to help you and other players improve. If your coach is smiling, cheering, encouraging and generally happy, that's a good sign. If they look like they'd rather be somewhere else, they probably should be.

Do they explain things fully? When you are told that you should return serve and run to the net, do they explain why? How about why a third shot drop is important? High quality coaches have a thorough understanding of the game and should be ready and willing to share the whys behind what they are asking you to do. 

Do you feel supported? Taking a pickleball lesson can be risky. You are acknowledging that there are limitations to your game and you are trusting someone to expose them and help you to overcome them. This can be hard.

Good coaches should be supportive of your efforts to improve. And while they may be demanding of you, it should always come from a place of compassion and care. If you feel embarrassed, demoralized or ashamed during your lesson, your coach isn't doing a good job. 

 Want to become a competent pickleball coach? Check out Pickleball Coaching International. Looking to find a pickleball coach near you? Head on over The Pickleball Teachers Network!

Mark Renneson is the founder and Head Coach at Third Shot Sports. He has 21 years of coaching experience and runs pickleball clinics, private lessons and drill sessions across North America.  He can be reached at mark@thirdshotsports.com.

3 Habits to Play Like the Pros

It is a fact that not everyone can be a top level pickleball player. But that doesn't mean that we can't bring some of their habits into your own playing and practicing. Here are three things you can do right away to be more pro-like in your practice matches and training sessions.

Play Faster. Each ball you hit is an opportunity to learn and improve, so it is in your interest to hit as many balls as possible. As soon as the point is over, grab the ball and get back to work. Time is valuable and you don't want to waste it wandering around the court fetching balls. If you're serious about getting better, hustle to track down an errant ball and hit it (don't roll it) back quickly so you can start up the next point or drill. Spend your time playing, not waiting!

note: this is also good protocol when you are using courts that have other people waiting for their turn to play. Taking less time between points shows respect for the rest of the group.

Stay Focused. While PB can definitely have a great social aspect, if your goal is to improve then save the chatting for later. When a point is over say what need to (e.g "nice shot" or "good try") and then move on. Get yourself refocused so that you give yourself a chance to play the next point as well as you can. 

Be Accountable. It is good etiquette to praise your opponent for making a nice shot. But serious players know the difference between a good shot by the other team versus an error by you. If you make a mistake, don't let yourself of the hook by saying "good shot" to the other guy. Privately acknowledge that you blew it and move on. It's ok to be dissatisfied with your performance -- in fact, it's necessary if you care about getting  better. 

Mark Renneson is a professional pickleball coach and the founder of Third Shot Sports. He competes at the 5.0/PRO level and tours North America working with players and instructors. Mark can be reached by email at mark@thirdshotsports.com. 

Why People Don't Play the Way They Practice

How coaches feel when their players don't do in games what they spend time on in practice.

One of the things that can be most disheartening for a pickleball coach is when your students don't apply what they've (apparently) learned from you. How is it possible that after 60 minutes of working on third shot drops -- and doing them quite well -- that your students could possibly head on the court to play a match and not even attempt to drop the ball into the kitchen?

A common answer to this question is that the players got swept up in the game; they became so engrossed in competing that they didn't remember the lessons learned or to try to implement them. It is indeed possible for this to be the case but I'm not convinced that this is the full story. If they really were competing and cared about winning, why wouldn't they eagerly apply the great things you just taught them?

Being an effective pickleball coach isn't just about knowing lots of important things -- it's about communicating to your players WHY THOSE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT. And not just communicating it, but convincing your students so that they come to believe these things are important too.

If they want their students to practice what they preach, coaches need to sell their idea that what they are teaching matters and that the students should want to learn it. Failure to sell the idea makes it likely that your players will do what you want in practice and then abandon it in the game.

When Coaches Should Keep Quiet (Part 1)

Julia: “She stepped in the kitchen.”

Mark: “I know.”

J: “Should we say something?”

M: “Not yet.”

Not long ago I was working with a new instructor (Julia) who wanted to improve her coaching skills. She was shadowing me during a group lesson at a venue I had not been to before. I was coaching these players for the first time and we were walking around as the group (12 people between 2.5 and 3.5) were finishing their warm up. We were about 10 minutes into the start of the 3 hour clinic and at this phase of the warm up, I had asked players to hit reflex volleys back and forth from around the NVZ (kitchen). 

J: “His paddle is too low.”

M: “Yeah, probably.”

J: “That’s a weird grip.”

M: “Yes, it is.”

J: “I’ll go tell them.”

M: “Hold on.”

Julia was observant and eager to get into things with the players. I whistled to get their attention and I could tell that Julia was expecting to hear me recount the list of mistakes players made and then correct them. Instead, I told my students that they were doing great and that the person beside them was now their partner and the people on the other side of the net were their opponents. They were about to play the first of two 6-minute games. I said that now they were warmed up, I wanted to see them in action. They quickly went back to their courts and started to play.

J: “Mark! She’s not running in after she returns serve!”

M: “You’re right”

J: “He should have smashed that high ball, not played a soft shot”

M: “Yeah”

J: “That should have been a drop, not a drive”

At this point, because she felt bold or maybe just grew frustrated with me not addressing these issues, Julia went over and started explaining to a player that a third shot drop was the best option from back at the baseline and started demonstrating the technique. The other players stood patiently as this player got some personal attention from Julia. After about 30 seconds I intervened, told the player they were doing a great job and to keep working hard, and gently ushered Julia away. 

A Dog on a Bone

Julia was too much of a professional to say it aloud, but I knew she was thinking something along the lines of: “Dude. Don’t just stand there. You’re the coach. They are paying you to tell them what they’re doing wrong. You can see they are doing something wrong, so you should address it. It’s your job!”

This perspective is fairly common — even (unfortunately) among many coaches. The underlying assumption is that, like a dog jumping on a bone, as soon as you see something ‘wrong’ with your student’s technique, your job as the instructor is to immediately ‘fix’ it it. After all, that’s what they’re paying you for, right?

I had an email exchange recently with an elite player who also does some coaching. In it, they revealed themselves as being clearly in the dog on a bone camp: “If I see basic elements that need to be corrected, I start to address them during warm ups.” Another instructor wrote: “When an issue is spotted by us as instructors, that becomes a teaching moment to start to correct the problem.” The belief is “See something, say something. Immediately.”

This perspective imagines coaches and instructors as being professional ‘fault finders’. It assumes that the coach’s job is to raise an alarm each time s/he detects a fault and to pounce on it right away, even in the initial stages of the lesson. They attack errors like dogs attack bones. They think that’s their main job.

The truth is, finding faults in other people is probably the easiest job that the coach has. All you have to do is have an image in your mind of an elite player and compare what you think they do that to what you see in front of you. Then, pick the myriad ways your real-life player isn’t matching the model you have in your head and tell them what they should be doing differently. Boom. Easy. 

Why Dog on a Bone is Bad for both Players and Coaches

Taking a pickleball lesson isn't easy; you’re publicly acknowledging that you have limitations and it requires you to open yourself up and to be vulnerable to the observations and opinions of others. While I appreciate it when people spend their time, effort and money with me, I truly admire their willingness to do so. It takes some courage to take lessons as an adult and for some people this can be nerve-wracking. I often have students who begin lessons a little nervous; they are in an unfamiliar environment, often with strangers, and it can take some time before they settle down and feel comfortable.

If you’ve ever been pulled over by the police or been caught in a lie, you know that when you’re nervous you don’t quite feel like yourself. Being nervous typically makes people act in atypical ways and in the context of pickleball, this can cause people to play differently than they usually would. Nervous players tend to overhit the ball, carry tension throughout their body, as well as make poor decisions and more errors.

Now if I’m the dog on a bone kind of instructor who starts to make corrections during the warm up, am I actually helping my student by jumping in right away? I don’t believe so. Since they haven’t had much time to settle in, there is a good chance that I’m observing a player who is not quite themselves just yet. This means that I’m possibly giving feedback and advice about a behaviour that is not typical for that person. And what’s the point of that? 

Moreover, I would argue that If I’m telling a nervous person what they’re doing wrong in the first few minutes of a lesson, there is a good chance that I’m making things worse for my student not better. I’m quite possibly adding to their anxiety rather than relieving it. And that’s not good.

An Alternative: Spear Fishing at Sunset

So if the coach isn’t going to jump on each and every ‘bone’ they come across, what’ s a better approach? How can they fulfil the role as a paid expert but do so in a way that is better for the student? A thought experiment might be helpful here… 

Let’s imagine you are fishing — not with a rod but with a spear. And let’s add the time constraint that the sun is setting quickly and you only have time to use your spear about five or six times before it gets too dark and your chance to fish is gone. 

As you step into the stream to try to catch your dinner, you spot three very small fish in the water about a dozen feet ahead of you. Walking toward them, you notice a flash off to the side. There are four more fish, but these ones are bigger and more appetizing than the first. You change paths and move toward them but suddenly hear a splash. Looking downstream, you spot five much bigger fish jumping out of the water, practically begging to be caught. 

As you walk toward the big fish, eagerly anticipating your feast, you realize that the stream isn’t actually a stream at all. The water funnels into a pond in which all the fish reside. When you look into the pond, you see that there are dozens and dozens of fish of all shapes, sizes and varieties.  You are excited to see the bounty — and relieved you didn’t spend your precious time on the first fish you saw. Not going for those first fish (which would have used your valuable time for little reward) turned out to be a great decision on your part. But now you are confronted with a new question: of the many different fish you see, which ones do you pursue given your limited time?

This is the kind of problem a disciplined pickleball coach is confronted with — so long as they don’t impatiently attack the first fish/problem they encounter! If they are willing to wait just a little bit, to explore the terrain in front of them by letting their student play without the interference of a coach, the instructor will be in a far better position to assess the situation and decide what direction to take the lesson. And while it is possible that the initial issue is the best one to pursue, you will only know this if you’ve taken the time to explore all of the other possibilities. Only once you’ve seen the whole pond will you know where to focus your attention.

Warm Them Up, Let Them Play

If you want to observe your students’ strengths and weaknesses as a player, you have to let them play an actual game of pickleball I repeat, LET THEM PLAY! After a thorough warm up to get loose (mentally and physically) let your students play a real game or two. While you should praise and encourage effort, don’t place any restrictions or give any tips as this may tamper with their normal behaviour. As much as possible, you want to see what they normally do in a game.

Deciding What Issues to Tackle

As you watch your student(s) play — I usually give them 8-15 minutes depending on how much time I have to work with — you have to pay attention to what you see. This is where you can (silently) go into fault-finding mode. You can notice the poor grips and late set-up. You can observe the weak serves, short returns or lack of third shot drops. You can identify all the things you’d like them to do differently.

The trick is to watch these things, make a list — either in your head or on paper — but do nothing other than praise and encourage the players’ effort during the game. Make your students comfortable, allow them to be themselves as much as possible. Not interrupting the game can be very hard for coaches who are eager to jump in and start imparting their knowledge, either because they are impatient or because they feel the need to prove themselves to be as expert as they claim.

Moving Forward

Truth be told, it is not that difficult to pick out other people’s errors. The real skill/art of coaching — or any kind of teaching for that matter — isn’t in finding faults, but in prioritizing them and then creating conditions where the person can make meaningful improvements. If we haven’t overdone our metaphor yet, anyone can see a bunch of fish but knowing which ones to pursue and how to catch them is what separates an amateur angler from a gifted one.

Different people will have different opinions about which skills are most important to address and in what order. I’ve written elsewhere about a time I was criticized for seeing things differently than some others in the pickleball coaching world and why I think some of the conventional thinking is misguided. Perhaps I’ll write another article about how I make my decisions about which ‘fish to catch’.  

For now, I’ll sign off by encouraging other coaches to give their students a chance to show themselves as players before jumping in and telling them all the things they’re doing wrong. Resist being a dog pouncing on every bone you see. It will be better for you as a coach and for your students as people.

READ PART 2 HERE

Mark Renneson is a 5.0 player and professional pickleball coach. He has spent more the 20 years coaching and has advanced degrees in education. Mark  tours North America working with pickleball players and instructors. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports and can be reach by email at mark@thirdshotsports.com

10 Ways to Annoy Your Pickleball Partner

10. Show up for your tournament match late and unprepared. 

9. Agree on a game plan and then completely disregard it once the points count.

8. Announce "I've been experimenting with some new technique this week".

7. Take balls that you clearly don't have a chance at hitting well.

6. Lose track of the score EVERY SINGLE POINT.

5. Say "I only missed that shot because I play better against better players".

4. Make the same mistake again and again and again...

3. Call balls out when you are 25 ft away and your partner is right on top of it. 

2. Announce half way through the match: "oh! She's left-handed!"

1. Tell your partner about everything they are doing wrong.

It's Not What You Think: Myth-busting the Drop

When people register for our clinics we include a form asking them about their ‘pickleball priorities’. We want to know what skills they are most keen to develop. Without question, the most common answer is “third shot drop”. It’s not even close.

And when we are all together in the gym or on the court, everyone knows exactly what is meant by a third shot drop: a slow-moving reply to the return-of-serve. A shot that lands in or near the kitchen when the opponents are near the net. This is not big news. But then I ask them: “Why, exactly, would we hit this shot? What is the point of a drop?”. This is where things get interesting.

The 3rd Shot Drop is a response to a return of serve, used when opponents are at the NVZ.

Myth: The Drop is About Making Your Opponents Move

Even if you choose to hit your drop near a sideline, it is such a slow shot that your opponents should have plenty of time to track it down and be on balance by the time they have to hit it back. While it might make them move a step or two, rarely will it move the receiver so much that they are off-balance when they hit.

Myth: The Drop Is About Making Your Opponents Miss

We all love it when we hit a winning shot; when we hit a ball so challenging that our opponents are unable to return it in play. But this is not the goal of a drop. Unlike a third shot drive (a hard hit ball right at a net player), a drop is not designed to force an error. Remember, it is a slow moving shot right at the person! They have plenty of time to prepare and it is easy to make solid contact. I fully expect my opposition to get the ball back in play. 

Developing the feel for the drop takes deliberate practice and patience.

Myth: The Drop is About Getting You to the Net

If I wanted to get to the net, I don’t need any special shot — I could just run forward. And if I wanted a little more time to move up, I could just lob the ball in the air and jog. That would get me to the net just fine, thank you very much. 

By now you are likely thinking: “But that’s dumb, Mark! If you hit it high and run to the net, they’ll just smash it at you. You’ll be dead meat!”. You’re right, of course. And it is precisely here that the true purpose of the drop reveals itself. It is not about you, it’s about your opponents.

Causing Trouble vs. Staying Out of Trouble

There is an important distinction I’d like to make. Sometimes we are on offense and try to make our opponents miss their shots by playing a difficult ball (e.g. hitting fast to take away their time; playing a great angle to make them run or reach; lobbing over their heads so they have to turn and chase, etc.). We could call this tactic “causing trouble”. 

Aspen Kern makes Matt Wright pay the price for an ineffective drive: a fast ball down at the feet.

Sometimes we find ourselves on defense. Our opponents have put us in a position (see the list above) where we are just struggling to get the ball back in play. We’ve got a problem. It may be an emergency. In this case, we are trying to “get out of trouble”. 

But there is a third situation to consider. If I have served and my opponents play a standard return back to me at the baseline and rush to the net, I’m not really in trouble. I’m not desperate. But I’m also not in a position to really control the point. I’m at the back of my court with my opponents in a strong position up at the NVZ. I’m neither on offense or on defense. I’m in between. I’m in what we could call a neutral situation.

The value of the drop is in its ability to keep you in this neutral situation — to prevent you from sliding into defense. If I play a drive or a lob, I’m giving my opponents a high ball and I am at risk that they hit hard at me, putting me in a defensive situation. I don’t want that to happen. But if I hit a good drop that lands short enough and low enough that my opponents must make contact below net level, they have to hit upwards to get the ball back over. And if they are hitting upwards, they must also hit relatively slowly or else their shot is at risk of flying out.

Matt Staub plays an excellent drop that forces his opponent (Alex Hamner) to make contact below net level. Having to hit upwards means her options are limited.

A good drop doesn’t cause trouble for your opponents so much as ‘keeps you out of trouble’. When done well, it steers you clear of danger because it puts the other team in a position where their options are limited and they cannot do much damage. When they are hitting from below net level, if they want to keep the ball in play they must do so with a slow shot.

We could think of a drop as being not about what it lets you do (incidentally, if you play a good drop and your opponents will have trouble hitting hard while keeping the ball in play, this would be a great time to move to the net), but what it prevents your opponents from doing; hitting a fast shot in bounds. The drop is designed as a way of avoiding trouble and should not be thought of as more than that.

Mark Renneson is the founder and Head Coach at Third Shot Sports. He tours North America helping pickleball players of all levels to play better. He is one of those weird people who prefers hitting backhand drops.

Sorry, Not Sorry. Really?

Marcin Rozpedski at the 2017 US Open.

It was almost a year ago yet I still think about it often. I put out a survey asking people whether they thought a pickleball player ought to apologize after hitting a lucky shot. The example I used was when their shot unintentionally clips the top of the net, making it difficult or impossible for their opponent to play a reply. I used a fictional scenario to illustrate how the lack of apology could be interpreted as bad sportsmanship. 

I knew, of course, that some people would say that no apology was needed; that this was “part of the game” and that “what comes around goes around”. What I wasn’t prepared for was the great number of people who took the position that no apology was due. 

Of the 142 people that answered the question, a full 114 (80%) said that no apology was necessary. The 48 people who chose to offer additional comments used some of the following explanations to justify their view:

• The better you get, the luckier you get.
• Just part of the game. It happens to everyone.
• I find it’s being too sensitive that you need an apology. 
• It can just as easily go the other way next time.
• Why should I apologize for being lucky? I am thankful for my blessing…If you are lucky then I congratulate you on your blessing.

The results surprised me; I never expected 8 in 10 people to be anti-apology when a ball hits the net and dribbles over for a winner or hits your hand for an un-returnable shot. To be fair, how I framed the question (“Should you apologize after hitting a lucky shot”) may have caused a reflex in those who think you should never have to do anything.  

But I have often wondered about why this many people were opposed to the suggestion that apologizing for a lucky shot should be the normal expectation. One answer may lie in the ongoing tension between pickleball and its closest cousin, tennis, where apologizing for net cords is standard practice. I often hear from people complaining that tennis players who take up pickleball don’t play “properly” and that tennis courts should be made to include pickleball lines. The tensions that sometimes exist between these two communities may explain why one commenter explained their “no” vote with the only justification being “that’s just a carry-over from tennis”. For some people, if something happens in tennis then it shouldn’t happen in pickleball.

To better understand why so many people might oppose the practice of apologizing for lucky shots, I went to a trusted source: my mom. She’s a 3.0 pickleball player and a pro at giving advice. Before I barely finished asking the question she said, “If I had to apologize every time I hit a lucky shot, I would never shut up”. She went on “I mean, more often than not, the ball doesn’t go exactly where I want so if I win the point, there is nearly always an element of luck”. 

To me, this explanation makes a lot of sense. Nobody likes to be apologizing all the time. It may also explain why many of the top pickleball players — although with some exceptions — are some of the most common apologizers. While luck may factor into a 3.0 player’s game on most points, this is decidedly less so for the pros. They have the skill to send the ball where they want more often than not and are more deliberate with their shots than most recreational players. So when good fortune happens to show up, it is a surprise rather than the norm. The infrequency of luck may make explain the top players’ willingness to acknowledge it.  

Of course, I don’t know that this is true — it’s just a hypothesis. When constructing the survey, I didn’t ask people to indicate their skill level so I cannot draw a correlation.

There may be other explanations too: perhaps it is the case that we live in a time where we re-imagine good fortune as personal prowess or even as a marker of skill (“the better you are, the luckier you get”). Maybe people are so happy to win points that the thought of apologizing isn’t even on their radar. I don’t know. But for me, sports are most fun when players are able to genuinely test their skills against one another. And when luck enters the picture, it isn’t the fault of the lucky person, but it does sort of diminish the quality of the competition. I think that acknowledging a lucky shot — and yes, even apologizing for it — is one way to show that you value an unadulterated contest.

How Video Will Help Your Pickleball

“Mark. You’ll never believe what just happened”. This was the start of an email I received back in 2016. “I have been telling my pickleball student for 6 months that he was (unwisely) moving forward after he served and he was getting burned. He nodded and said he understood, but he never changed his behaviour. Then, he happened to see a video you made — featuring him wandering into the court— and he called me to say that he now believes me. All of the sudden, he didn’t make this mistake anymore.”

I was very happy to receive this note. Helping people to play better pickleball is, after all, what I do as a profession. And it is always gratifying to know that my work made a difference. But this story points to a powerful fact: if you want to improve your pickleball game, video can be an incredibly useful tool.

Why It Works

Humans have an incredible knack for not paying attention to what we are doing. We live largely internal lives and this limits our perspective. Using video allows you to see yourself from the outside and this can bring into focus the gap between what we think we are doing and what is really going on.  Further, we can watch and re-watch the video as often as we want. We can slow down or freeze clips so that we can more precisely pay attention to details. Video gives us the ability to manipulate time.

Getting the Most From Video

Today’s technology makes capturing yourself on video really easy. A couple taps on most phones and you’re already filming. Here are a few tips for recording yourself as effectively as possible:

1) The right equipment. Whether you are using a phone or a dedicated camera, an adjustable tripod is super-handy. This way you can put the camera in place without worrying that it is going to fall over. Also, it is important to make sure you have sufficient memory. Video takes up a lot of space (don’t worry, you can delete it later) so make sure you’ve got room on your device. If you are using a video camera, SD cards are fairly inexpensive and can be scrubbed clean once you’re done with them.

2) Know your purpose. If you want to capture the whole game, it is important to set up your camera in a way that the whole court is in the frame. Positioning the camera as high up as possible is a great way to do this. If you’re looking for something specific (say, how you move at the kitchen line) you can put your camera in a place that will emphasize just what you need. Each facility is different so some experimentation will be needed. 

3) Get some feedback. There is a lot that you can pick up on your own but having a knowledgable coach can help you see things in your video that you didn’t notice before. Whether you use our personal video analysis. or share it with a coach you already trust, having a pro take a look can really help. 

Traps

I have made a tonne of mistakes when working with video. I’ve also had some funny things happen. Here’s a short list of some of them:

Thinking the camera is recording when it is off. 

Thinking the camera is off when it is actually recording.

Dropping the camera from 10 feet up.

Accidentally deleting fantastic video.

Unknowingly recording a married couple discussing their impeding divorce.

Running out of power at the critical moment.  

Having a dog pee on my camera as it was leaning against a fence.

Forgetting the camera at the courts overnight (it was there when I returned the next day).

As you can see, things happen. But as with anything you’ll get better with practice. You’ll find tricks and shortcuts that will save you time and make your life — and your pickleball game — better.  Oh, and you’ll thank yourself when you just happen to capture that amazing around the post shot or wicked put away volley!

Training with Intelligence

It is very gratifying to see how many people don't just play pickleball, but want to play it better. The fact that our clinics are full, our e-book is flying off the virtual shelves, and that our YouTube channel just hit 900,000 views, tells me that there is a thirst for improving. And that makes me happy. 

But as more and more people start to train (as opposed to just play), it is worth remembering a few things about how to practice well. Here are some considerations.

1) Practice Deliberately. If you want maximum gains, you need to be clear when you are practicing and when you are playing. Ideally, you have allocated specific time to practice (e.g. 9am-10am on Wednesdays) so that it gets built into your schedule. It should be clear to everyone on the court that this is a practice session, not competition. 

2) Practice with Purpose. What exactly are you working on? A training session focused on third shot drops looks very different from one about serves and returns. Have a conversation about todays topic(s) and stick to it.

3) Do Great Drills. Whether it is something from our Drill Guide or an activity you invented yourself, make sure the drill is effective. I've written more about what that looks like here.

4) Remember: Failure is Part of Growth. You should practice things you struggle with -- otherwise, what's the point? And if you do, that means that you'll probably miss a lot of shots. That's okay. Try to see each missed shot as getting one step closer to mastery.

I get that playing the game of pickleball is fun. But training to get better can be fun too! And the gratification that comes from seeing marked improvement is, for me at least, very rewarding. So, get out there and start training! 

Quiet Please!

One of the great things about pickleball is that you get to play with other people. It is an inherently social game and that can make it extra fun. 

That said, we recommend you think twice before having a conversation during the game -- certainly not during points. Between-point chatting slows down the play which can be frustrating for those waiting for your court.

And talking during the point (e.g. "on the line!", "nice shot!") can often be misheard as you calling the ball out. 

Our recommendation is play hard, play fair and then talk about it all you like after the game is over. It makes the games run quicker and gets more people in on the action!

The Time My Student Cried

It’s not very often that you have to stop a lesson because of tears. But not long ago, that’s exactly what happened. It caught me by surprise and ever since has had a significant impact on me. 

I was working with a group of 8 players who were all hovering around the 3.0 level. They were a keen bunch and were willing to work hard. Our focus that morning had been on starting the point effectively: using the serve and the return to cause trouble for their opponents. We had practiced hitting the serve with speed and with spin. We worked on returning the ball not down the centre of the court but towards the weaker opponent. It was good. It was fun. It was normal.

photo credit: Rick Thiem

But after a quick water break and discussion about some local club controversy (should they tell Gary that his serve is illegal?) it was time to move on. It was time for us to work on the third shot. 

I sent two players to the far side of the court to act as the returners. I hit the serve and they dutifully returned the ball and established their position at the net. When the return came back to me I caught it and asked the group: “so, what should I do with this next shot”. Everyone, as though they had all read the same instruction manual, agreed that (obviously) I should drop the ball in the kitchen.

I nodded and asked the returners to play the point again. I served, they returned the ball and formed a wall at the NVZ. This time, instead of catching the ball, I hit it. But I didn’t do what the group advised. I didn’t drop the ball in the kitchen with a slow, arching shot. Instead, I stepped into the ball and drove it low and hard down the line. The player at the net got his paddle on the ball but couldn’t handle the speed of my shot; he just didn’t have enough time to react. His ball popped up high and was easy for me to put away as a winner.

The players stood there in silence, shocked that I didn’t play the drop that everyone had expected. “You can do that?” asked one woman. “Of course”, I said, “you can do whatever you want. If you think that you can overpower the net player, driving the ball is actually a much smarter play than dropping it. The drop is really hard to hit”.  The players looked at each other, bewildered. It was at this point that I noticed her. Susan, about 50 years old, put her head down and covered her face. She was crying.

I went over to see what was wrong. I’d been in coaching situations before where something personal was affecting a participant: a spouse had recently died; a family member was ill; a pet was missing, etc.. I assumed something like this was at play here. 

“Are you alright?” I asked. She nodded, her face now wet with tears. “I’m sorry” she said. “It’s just, well, another coach has been telling me that I have to play a third shot drop. And I’ve been trying really hard but, well, it’s just really frustrating to miss so often. I felt like a failure. And now to hear someone tell me it is ok to do something else, well, that makes me really happy. It’s a huge relief”. And with that, she threw her arms around me and gave me a hug.

I was shocked. I knew that people were often surprised when I advocated thinking about driving the third shot rather than automatically dropping it. But I didn’t think it would have this kind of impact. I didn’t think it would bring a grown adult to tears.

Many people erroneously believe that the ‘right’ thing to do on a third shot is to drop it in the kitchen. That if you hit the ball hard you are somehow playing pickleball poorly. You get called a “banger” or a “slammer”, you are derided for your lack of skill. But the thing is, in pickleball you don’t get points for doing the ‘right’ thing. You get points when you put the ball in play once more than your opponents.

It is true that against strong volleyers or if you are hitting from far back in the court, the drive may not be an effective shot. If you don’t hit it well enough, good volleyers can handle the ball and not just put it back in play, but can hit offensive shots against it. So it is important that the third shot drop is something you learn to hit, especially as you move up in the ranks. 

But if your drive is better than your opponent’s volleys, or if the return is short and you’re moving into the court and getting close to your opponents, the drive can be an great option that is more effective and less risky than the drop. Even top 5.0 players use third shot drives if they think they can outmatch the net team. Instructors make an important tactical mistake when they take the third shot drive off the table. It is a legitimate shot that can help you to win points.

But instructors make another, more important, mistake when they teach that a person has to play a drop. They put unnecessarily difficult expectations on their students — especially those who are just getting into the game. The drop is an advanced shot that takes excellent touch and paddle control. It is a shot that if hit poorly (i.e. too short or too deep), almost automatically results in you losing the point. It is indeed something one must develop to play the game at a high level. But for novice and intermediate players, a regular third shot drive can serve them very well. That doesn’t mean they should’t work on developing a drop, but there is no need to be dogmatic about its use. 

When instructors — and groups that certify instructors — promote the drop as being the “proper” third shot to play, they are revealing something about themselves. They are showing that either: 1) they have a poor understanding of pickleball tactics; or 2) they are out of touch with the realities of most novice and intermediate players who are looking to have fun and play a little better. 

Susan, the woman who was brought to tears, is an example of the collateral damage inflicted when you use a one-size-fits-all model for coaching. She was told that she had to do something that she was not equipped for. And because the authority — the instructor who gets paid to tell people what to do — told her she had to do it if she wanted to play properly, she saw herself as a failure when she missed her shots.

The coach (unintentionally, I’m sure) took the fun game of pickleball and turned it into an exercise in humiliation and fear. So much so that when these burdens were lifted from Susan, they were replaced by tears.

Let’s consider this a call to action. I’m encouraging all instructors to resist the temptation of telling their students that they have to do one thing or another. Not only is is poor advice from a tactical standpoint, but it psychologically paints the student into a corner.

Instead, let’s talk about the options that are on the table and when we might choose one over the other. Let’s discuss the advantages and drawbacks of playing different kinds of shots in different situations. Let’s encourage players to learn to do more advanced things, but let’s not try to force them into a one-dimensional game style. 

Let’s not put people like Susan in a position where they feel like a failure but see no clear way out. Instructors often have much more power and influence than they think. We also have a duty to be aware of the myriad ways in which that influence can impact our students. When it comes down to it, be an instructor is not really about teaching tactics and technique. 

It’s about teaching people.

Mark Renneson is a 5.0 player and professional pickleball coach. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports and author of 20 Drills and 10 Games to Play Better Pickleball.

He can be reached by email at mark@thirdshotsports.com. 

When Dinking Is Dumb

"He paid very little attention to the most important shots in pickleball -- the third shot drop and dinking". 

This was an anonymous comment that was sent to me after a well-known pickleball player (who also does some coaching) observed one of my private lessons. I had made a video featuring a woman who was playing pickleball for just the second time. In her early 40s, fit and athletic, my student was eager to get involved in the pickleball scene at our local YMCA. 

And the commenter was correct. Other than a few minutes of dinking as part of the warm up, there wasn't much of the "soft game" that comprised our lesson. The third shot drop was only introduced after 40 minutes (!) as a way of combatting strong volleyers (this is important. We will return to it later) but it wasn't held up as the "right" shot to play or the best choice. It was one of three options; the others being a lob or drive.

The commenter's dismay at my failure to focus on these two shots was not surprising to me. There is an unfortunate amount of tunnel vision when it comes to the third shot drop and dinking that even afflicts some (not all) of the people who earn a living by coaching.  But do you know why I didn't spend much time on these two shots?

Because she was a beginner and would be playing with beginners.

Let me explain. The conventional wisdom is that players should start with "the basics" or "fundamentals". I agree with this. The trouble is "basics" are often assumed to be dinking and third shot drops. I think this is a mistake. If you watch high-level players online or in person, you'll no doubt see exciting rallies that have all four players at the net, hitting beautiful angles and soft shots that just barely clear the net and force the opponent to hit up. Elite pickleball is special because of the patience and skill needed to send and receive slow balls that are precisely placed.

I love watching that kind of action too. I've made a number of videos featuring the technique and tactics related to these shots. Both serve the same purpose: when you are facing opponents who are strong at the net, a dink or a drop forces them to make contact with the ball below net level. And hitting upward limits their ability to hit it hard while keeping the ball in play. Dinking and drops are both fantastic tools to neutralize good net players. So why did I spend so little time on it with my student? 

Because she was a beginner and would be playing with beginners.

Next time you are at the pickleball courts, take a few minutes to watch some starting or novice players. Or if you prefer, I googled "pickleball 3.0" and this was the first video that appeared. Watch how often the players get into a dinking rally. Almost never.

My student and the people she would play with are about this level. So if I had spent my lesson working on my student's dinking skills, she would be very unlikely to get to use them when she played the next day. She would have spent her time, money and effort working on something that she could almost never use "in real life" at this stage of her pickleball career. I would have forced her to work on something that, for her, right now, was completely useless. I wonder how satisfied she would be with that lesson?

The Real Most Important Shots (for beginning players).

Since third shot drops are rare in starting pickleball (and often aren't needed because the opponent's volleys are not yet well developed enough to demand a drop), dinking rallies are scarce. But do you know what shots new players (and all of us) do hit every single point? A serve or a return of serve. 

My lesson focused on how to start the point effectively and we looked at what constitutes a good serve (in play/deep/to a weakness e.g. backhand) and what makes for a quality return (in play/deep/with enough time to get to the net/to a weakness). We then worked on doing this in a consistent way and developing the technical skills needed to do so.

We made sure she understood the value of moving to the net after her return. And we practiced sending balls that would cause trouble for the opposition (another criticism I received was I worked on tactics with a new player).

Was my student a complete, well-rounded player after this? Of course not. Down the road she would need to develop a third shot drop to neutralize strong volleyers who would punish her for driving the ball or lobbing it. And she would need to learn how to dink effectively as she encountered players who used the drop against her. But that was a way off.

By focusing on how she started the point, my student was able to apply her new skills in a meaningful way next time she stepped on the court. She was able to pin her opponents behind the baseline and, when returning, pressure them by being at the net. She knew to hit returns to the weaker opponent and, when possible, to aim for backhands. She was able to play the game more thoughtfully and effectively after this one lesson. She developed skills she could actually use.

And as far as I'm concerned, that is my main job as a coach. 

Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach and is the founder of Third Shot Sports. He has degrees in Education and Philosophy of Education. He is a 5.0 player who competes but he prefers to spend his time working with people excited to play better pickleball. Mark can be reached by email at mark@thirdshotsports.com.

What I Saw at Nationals: Head, Heart and Feet

This past Monday I returned home from the 2016 USPA National Championships (also known as NationalsVIII) in Casa Grande, Arizona. While I did take part in the competition -- I did okay, thanks for asking -- I was there primarily as a coach and observer of the game. I was there to watch for current trends in pickleball; to see how the game is evolving and to check out the new upstarts in person. Yes I was there to play. But mainly I was at Nationals to watch and learn so I can pass on some insights to the people who follow my work both online and in person. 

I came home with dozens of hours of "the pros" doing their thing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. It is this footage that will be turned into the Third Shot Pickleball videos that you know and (hopefully) love. But while I take the time needed to put those videos together -- a process you can read about here -- I thought I'd share a few observations. Here's some of what I saw.

"Head, Heart and Feet". I once heard that this the mantra for the Spanish Tennis Association. A Google search was unable to confirm this (although it did lead me to what looks to be a great documentary on ultra marathons and the people that run them). The suggestion was that Spanish tennis players are trained to think intelligently, move incredibly and at all times believe they can win the match. If you have even a passing interest in pro tennis, it wouldn't surprise you if these are the words that power superstars like Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. Watching the top pickleball players compete at Nationals reminded me of "Head, Heart and Feet".

Head. The disciplined decision-making was remarkable and truly sets apart great players from the  good ones. Knowing when to patiently bide your time in a dinking rally before driving it at the chest of your opponent is one thing. But being patient enough to wait for that moment (even at the end of a 45 shot rally) is another. The elite players are disciplined enough to wait for their moment and astute enough to see when it has arrived. It's not just about hitting good shots; it's about making smart choices.

Heart. I love watching high-level athletes compete. I enjoy the slow building of tension and then its final, explosive release. These dramatic moments are more likely to happen when you put together people who not only care about the outcome of their matches (which is not always the case in recreational pickleball) but who can play at such a level as to push their opponents to be even better. I watched numerous examples of players who -- for the moment at least -- were so focussed on competing that it was almost as if nothing else mattered. I'll make full videos on the topic but for the moment you can see an example here.

Feet. When I coach I spend a lot of time working on my students' movement. You can have the nicest swing in the world but it won't matter one bit if you cannot get yourself to the ball. While some people bemoan the fact that pickleball seems to be speeding up, for me, watching pickleball become faster, more dynamic and more athletic has been a treat. You can see players getting to balls and doing things with them that not long ago were impossible.  It has reaffirmed for me that movement must be a primary focus for anyone who is serious about improving. Here is a great example.

I'm looking forward to spending the time producing some videos on the topic. In the meantime, if you'd like to see more of what I saw, just click here and look around.

Teaching Pickleball to Beginners: 6 Do’s and 5 Don’ts for the First 20 Minutes

As community centres, athletic clubs and local schools look to jump on the pickleball bandwagon, more and more people are providing organized instruction for new players. Here’s a quick guide as to how you can spend the first 20 minutes in a way that is safe, fun and effective. 

Don’t…

• Begin with the history of the game. This uses up valuable practice time and while it may be interesting to some, I’ve never met a person who plays better or enjoys the game more because they’ve learned its backstory.
• Start with the rules. For new players, the fun part of pickleball is sending the ball back and forth over the net. Resist the temptation to explain all the rules right of the bat. For the first part of the lesson, I suggest you just stick to the following: “try to send the ball over the net”; “you can hit with one bounce or none”; and “if the ball lands outside the lines then it is considered out”. As your students start to get the hang of things, you can gradually add rules about the non-volley zone, the two bounce rule and the need to serve diagonally past the kitchen. 
• Talk technique. One of the great things about pickleball is how easy it is to start playing at a basic level. And while technique is important, there is no need to inundate your students with technical tips right away. Give them the task of trying to rally and then let them give it a go. As they reach their own limits (usually two or three shots) they will be motivated to learn how to do it better. This also lets you, the instructor, identify your students’ starting points.
• Have them “shadow swing”. There is virtually no skill-transfer between what people do when they are pretending to hit a ball and what they do when the ball is really coming at them. So, skip the shadow swings and let them experience the real thing.
• Worry about scoring. Let’s face it, pickleball scoring and the serving rotations are complicated. This is especially so for new players who are still struggling to control the ball. If you must, introduce rally scoring (i.e. either team can win a point) and worry about standard scoring later. Nobody goes home and exclaims: “Guess what?! Today I learned how to keep score!”. Focus on hitting the ball and learning to control it.

Do...

• Learn everyone’s name — quickly. As the instructor, one of your jobs is to keep your students safe. If you don’t know your their names, it becomes much harder to get their attention when something dangerous is about to happen — especially from a distance when you can’t read a name tag. So whether it is with a memory trick or a pocketed cheat sheet, have their names memorized as fast as you can.
• Identify key safety rules. Make sure your students know the signal for “STOP” (a whistle works well) and understand that it is imperative they stop immediately when asked. Make sure people know what space is theirs (markers or cones are helpful for this) and what to do if balls are rolling at someone’s feet.
• Ask them to share with you (privately) any relevant health concerns that will impact their pickleball. You don’t need a whole medical history, but find our if there are any limitations or things to watch out for. 
• Let them try to rally. People are excited to hit the ball and no matter how good a player you are, they’d rather try it themselves than admire you. Get them attempting to rally almost immediately and work from that starting point. They should spend most of the first twenty minutes playing and experiencing pickleball, not listening to someone else talk about it.
• Try throw pickleball. The hardest skill in pickleball is judging the ball and moving to it. If players struggle to rally consistently, consider getting them to play throw pickleball to develop their reception and movement skills. The can be done co-operatively (e.g. rallying) or with an element of competition. Even without a paddle, players can develop many of the tactical and technical skills important for playing successfully. As their judgement and movement improve, re-introduce the paddle. 
• Focus on one skill at a time. It is easy to want to share all of your pickleball knowledge. In order to keep your students focussed and stress-free, just give them one thing to concentrate on. Praise them when they do it well (even if some other things are going wrong) and once they’ve become proficient, add something new.  

Mark Renneson is the founder of Third Shot Sports. As a professional tennis and pickleball coach, he has logged more than 20,000 hours of teaching time and specializes in working with starting players. He can be reached by email mark@thirdshotsports.com and his weekly newsletterfeaturing videos, tips, tricks and more can be found at thirdshotsports.com/newsletter.

PB Myth # 18: You Should Never Miss Your Serve

The conventional wisdom is that you should always make sure your serve lands in. We don't want you to hit out either but here is something to consider: if you are always playing it safe for fear of missing, are you losing out on a great opportunity?

Yes. You are. 

Think about it -- the serve is the one time in a pickleball game that you have complete control. The ball is in perfect position, you are totally on balance and you don't have to hit it until you are completely ready. There is no other moment when the conditions are so much in your favour. Yet most people squander this opportunity by merely putting the ball in play. Here are some alternatives:

1) Aim for a weakness. If you have identified that your opponent has a preferred side (usually their forehand) this is a great time to challenge them to play the shot they don't want. Use this opportunity to aim near a sideline and force them to hit a tougher return.

2) Pin them back. In most cases, the returner will want to come to the net after playing the ball. Make this more difficult by serving deep in the court and pushing them back behind the baseline.

3) Take away their time. A slow, high-arcing ball gives your opponents lots of time to prepare for the return. Why not hit the serve with some speed and challenge them to catch up?

4) Hit with spin. Add some difficulty by using sidespin or topspin on the serve. Doing so will make the ball bounce differently than the usual spin-free shot.

With each of these suggestions I'm encouraging you to "go for more" when hitting your serve. And yes, there is some risk in doing so. Hitting near the sideline increases the chance that the ball will go wide. Aiming for the back of the court or trying to hit the serve fast may mean your ball occasionally sails long. Hitting with spin will likely reduce your control and cause you to miss.

But with these risks comes the possibility of real reward.

A more challenging serve makes it more likely that your opponent will fail to hit the return the way they want. They are more likely to struggle with their first shot which is good news for you. They are more likely to hit the return short. They are less likely to have pinpoint accuracy. They are more likely to hit out of bounds. 

Of course, if you are hitting many of your serves out of play, you are probably being too aggressive. And one ought to be selective about when they choose to go for more (serving at 9-10-2 might not be the ideal time to attempt an un-returnable serve). But I don't see anything inherently wrong with the occasional missed serve so long as it is the result of looking to gain an advantage with the first shot.

There is an old saying that "if you aren't falling, you aren't trying hard enough". Perhaps we could adapt this to "if you never miss your serve, you aren't going for enough".  

Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach and 5.0/PRO level competitor. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports. He can be reached by email mark@thirdshotsports.com. 

In Praise of Bangers: Why We Should Thank Hard Hitters

“Uh! I’m so glad I don’t have to play with those people again!”
“Why?”
“They don’t play proper pickleball. All they do is smash it as hard as they can!” “I see. So how badly did you beat them?”
“We lost 15-5.”

This was an actual conversation I had with a 3.5 level player in 2014. I have since heard many more complaints about “bangers” and how their style of pickleball (i.e. hit hard in an attempt to overpower the opponents) is somehow improper, less pure and less “correct” than those who look to win by dinking and using the soft game. I think it is about time to address this negative attitude toward bangers and to unpack the mistaken assumptions that underpin it.

Why Bangers Bang

Why is it that some players look to hit hard whenever possible? The answer is twofold: First, it’s relatively easy to hit hard. It takes little precision – much less than an excellent soft shot – and it is a skill that is accessible to most players. Sure, you might hit a few balls long, but overall it’s far simpler than dropping the ball gently in the first half of the kitchen.

Second, players often hit hard because it works! More precisely, because it works against players of a certain level. Rarely is it the case that beginning, novice and even intermediate players have sufficient volleying skills to handle balls that are hit hard at them. Indeed, in the case of the player I referenced above, while she was reasonably proficient with her soft game, her volleying was weak. She could get medium-speed balls back but anything faster and she was in trouble. Her opponents recognized that they won points when they blasted it at her and so they kept doing it. It was smart strategy on their part and they were rewarded. Bangers bang because it gets them points. Until it doesn’t...

Here is a great example of this winning strategy in action!

Why Experts Don’t Bang

When you watch the best players play, it is rare that you see them hit the third shot hard at their opponent (update: this is less correct than it used to be. The paddle technology has changed significantly enough that advanced players are using the drive more often than they used to). Why? If banging works and is easy to do, why don’t the best players use it all the time? Surely they can bang as well or better than anyone else. Instead, unlike their less-skilled counterparts, experts usually play a soft shot into the kitchen and then get into a dinking rally. Are they playing “properly”? No. Are they playing the “right” way? No. They are using soft shots as a deliberate strategy to help them win.

Experts use soft shots because they are usually playing with other experts. And as an expert, their opponents have great volleying skills. At a high level, a ball smashed hard from the back of the court will be volleyed back with ease – often for a winner. Excellent players’ volleys are too good for banging; it’s a losing strategy to try to overpower an expert from the back of the court so they don’t do it. It has nothing to do with playing a purer version of the game and has everything to do with effectiveness. If an expert believed his opponent couldn’t handle a fast ball when at the net, he would most certainly hit it hard right at him. But experts have great volleys which makes banging basically useless.

To Bang or Not To Bang?

So what should you do: Hit your third shot hard at your opponents? Avoid hitting hard in favour of third shot drops? Where do you go from here? First, I advocate for doing what works. Pickleball is a game and games have winners and losers. I encourage you play the kind of game that works for you. If hitting hard is an effective strategy at your level, go for it! Overpower your opponents and show them that their volleys aren’t good enough to handle your powerful shots. That said, if you want to be able to compete at a higher level – against better volleyers – you must also develop a competent soft game. Your current strategy won’t work forever and you should prepare for the future.

Second, I urge you to become a player who doesn’t fall victim to the banger. The woman in the story that began this piece lost to her hard-hitting opponents. It’s too bad her anger was directed at them for “not playing properly” rather than at herself for not being skilled enough to receive fast-paced shots. Had she had better volleys she would have either received their hard shots well enough to win the game, or forced them to change strategies and play the softer shots she thought more appropriate.

Why We Should Praise Bangers

Hard-hitting players do us a great service: they help us to evaluate our skills. They point out the limits of our net game and can provide motivation to get better.

Rather than deriding her opponents, the woman from my story should have thanked them for highlighting the work she needed to do to get to the next level. The bangers she lost to acted as a measuring stick for her and they can do the same for all of us. If our net game cannot stand up to the fast pace of the bangers, that’s a sign that we need to get better.

We should practice, take lessons from a good coach and work deliberately until our volleys are so good that our opponents can no longer overpower us. We should learn to volley so well that even the best bangers are no match for us. Until then, the next time you lose to a banger consider thanking them for the lesson.

*this article was originally published in the August 5, 2015 edition of our newsletter.

Are Your Drills Duds?

This was originally posted in May 2016...

As a pickleball coach it is exciting to see more people taking seriously the idea of practicing. The explosion of instructional videos on YouTube (including those from yours truly) seems to suggest that people are eager to not just play pickleball, but to play it better. This is a good thing for the growth of the game and pickleball’s shift toward mainstream sport. 

I am often curious to see how people choose to organize their practice sessions — whether it is a loose 30 minutes before open play or the more structured clinics arranged by coaches. How is it set up? What do they work on? What drills do they do? This article proposes a few things to think about when planning how you practice.

Are the drills effective? Good practice sessions are focussed practice sessions. They should identify a particular situation or skill and seek to work on it repeatedly. 

If, for example, you’re choosing to work on your overhead smash, you should not be spending much time at the back of the court. You shouldn’t be hitting many serves or returns since that’s not your focus. Here’s a helpful question to ask yourself: “out of the last 20 balls I hit, how many were the exact shot I’m supposed to be working on?”.  If the answer is less than 10, your drill is not very effective. You’re spending more than half your time not working on the thing you’re supposed to be improving! Time to change the drill.

Do you have the right degree of challenge? Practice sessions are meant to help you improve but if the drill is too easy — or too hard — that won’t happen. The sweet spot for challenge is typically between 60% and 70% success. Any less and the drill is too tough and you’re failing as often as you’re succeeding. Any more, it is too easy and not pushing you to be better. So, how can you adjust the degree of difficulty?  

Change the target — Whether you are using cones, markers, lines or some other way to define a space, make it bigger to make the drill easier, smaller to make it tougher. 

Change the feed — The ball you receive influences the shot you send. Make the feed slower and more manageable if you need to make the drill less challenging. Make it harder to receive if you need to increase the degree of difficulty. 

Add movement — Hitting while standing still is easier than having to chase a ball to hit it. So if you need to make the drill a little easier, do it without requiring much movement. As your success increases, set it up so you have to chase the ball before you hit it.
 

Introduce consequences -- Real games penalize you for missing and once you’ve developed a skill, your drills should too! Adjust the rules of your drill so that there are consequences for missing (e.g. lose two points if you hit in the net; push-ups for unforced errors, etc.). Train yourself to play under pressure.

Are the drills realistic? One of the most important aspects of a good drill — and the  most difficult to maintain — is to make the drill realistic. The point of practicing is to help you play the game of pickeball better so it is important that your drills mimic game-like situations as much as possible. 

Let’s say you are working on dinking. Dinks are smart shots when you are at the kitchen and the ball is below net level but they are dumb shots when the ball is sitting up high above the net. The smart play in this case is something else — a powerful drive. If in your effort to practice dinking you dink back even the high balls (the ones you would normally hit hard in a game) you’re now practicing making a bad decision. You’re training yourself to do the wrong thing! It would make more sense if each time a ball was hit too high, you simply caught it and reset the dinking drill.

Making a drill realistic is one of the most difficult things to do. Here’s a checklist of things to look at in order to assess whether your drills passes the realism test:

• what game-like situation am I trying to simulate?

• am I standing in the right place for this situation?

• is my partner standing in a realistic spot?

• does the shot I’m hitting make sense? Would I do this in a game?

Designing great drills and practice sessions is harder than it looks. There will be many false starts and times you say to yourself, “I don’t think this is working”. That’s fine. As your experience in drilling increases you’ll start to build a library of your favourite drills for working on different situations. The key is to try to plan ahead and be willing to change it up if your drill isn’t working. 

A final tip is to become really good at copying other people. If someone introduces a drill to you that seems really effective, remember it (write it down) and use it again later. All the best coaches I know are excellent drill thieves! Oh, and if you are looking for a bunch of drills that I think are great, check this out. .

Mark Renneson is a pickleball coach and 5.0 player. He lives in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada and is the founder of Third Shot Sports. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this article or anything else pickleball related, he can be reached at mark@thirdshotsports.com