The story of Tom the Lobber

The Story of Tom the Lobber

If a player, whom we shall call Tom The Lobber, can hit a perfect lob every time, you might think he should always hit that perfect lob. Unfortunately, on Monday Tom The Lobber played with a partner named Timid Tim who was really very good except he could never seem to return an overhead smash, so every time Tom The Lobber lobbed the ball, the other team smashed at Tim and of course Tom and Tim lost every time Tom lobbed.
On Tuesday, Tom The Lobber was excited because he was finally playing with a different partner named Fast Freddie whom he knew had the ability to return smashes and was very fast on his feet. Unfortunately, every time the return of serve came to Tom The Lobber, Fast Freddie was already running to net, and when Tom The Lobber lobbed the ball, Fast Freddie would get creamed by the opponents so poor Tom had to quit lobbing.
Since Tom The Lobber couldn't lob with Fast Freddie running to the net so quickly, Tom had to resort to hitting the ball hard because he had never learned to dink and didn't like to do it. Unfortunately, Tom didn't always manage to hit low and the team that had returned serve and was now camped at net would again hit the ball hard at Freddie. Fast Freddie was really very fast but because his partner hit the ball so hard, he was often still running forward when the ball was hit at him, which made it very difficult to change direction or adjust to the ball. Fast Freddie made some great gets, but at the end of the day everyone was calling him poor Bruised Freddie
On Wednesday, Tom The Lobber got stuck with another partner called Hapless Harry who had earned his nickname because he was a very poor at net and nobody wanted to play with him. After a few points, it became apparent to Tom The Lobber that with Hapless Harry running to the net they had no chance at all. So Tom suggested to Harry, that every time the serve was returned to them they should lob and try not to go to net except when it couldn't be avoided. After a few minutes, it became apparent that Hapless Harry was really good at lobbing and the opponents had little patience when their smashes kept coming back. Tom and Harry went on to win their next 5 matches and Hapless Harry is no longer called Hapless. Together they are called the Happy Lobsters and are much feared in the ranks of the "C" and "B" players.
The moral of the story is don't be afraid to switch strategies and try to find a strategy that fits your abilities and takes advantage of your opponents weaknesses. To do that you have to attempt in practice to develop all your skills. That means practicing trying to dink, trying to lob and return overheads, and hitting overheads. It also means not running around all your backhands, but rather trying to improve it. It means having fun and trying a few goofy shots in hopes that one might work! It means not always trying to win your practice matches, but rather trying to work on a particular skill.

Story courtesy of Arizona Pickleball Club.

Full Pickleball "Dink" game

One of the great warm-up/mental exercises that I learned from an advanced player is playing an entire game in the Non-Volley Zone.  It is best played with 2 people per side, as a typical doubles team. What must happen is that everybody must keep both feet in the NVZ. There is no volleying allowed, only dinks. You serve within the confines of the NVZ cross court. Errors are shots that get hit into the net, past the NVZ line to the regular court, or players that volley the ball. This game can be very hard at first, especially if your soft game is lacking. Try the cross court dinks to improve your control, and probability of staying in the game. Look & watch some of the best 5.0 pickleball players like Steve Wong of S-type paddles fame, or Mark Friedenburg of Pro-lite paddles fame, and you will watch the true masters of the soft game.  This is one of my favourite games/training exercises  that has greatly improved my game.

Garage training on the pickleball soft game "dinking"

So If you don't get as much chance to practice your soft game in pickleball, otherwise called "dinking", here is a great way to do it in the comfort of your own garage. On the indoor wall of your garage tape a horizontal line at 34", then tape another line at a height of 38-40". Your objective is to dink the ball between the tape lines. The closer you are at hitting the ball just above the 34" line, the more it will be harder for your opponent to react to the ball dribbling over the net into the Non-volley zone. It will take much practice to lift the ball softly towards your "net."

What are some great soft game or dinking exercises that work for you to practice at home?