Pickleball Strategy: Be a serving Buffalo

I believe that how you initially serve sets the tone for your pickleball game. Study your opponents likes and dislikes, and be able to mix it up. If the opponent doesn't know what to expect, they can't always return their best shot. Make them move! Vary your serves with short shots, side spin shots, shots aimed down the centerline, high bounce,  or aimed at your opponents backhand. If I have the time at pickleball I take a bunch of balls to an empty court, and do continuous practice serves until it becomes natural. When your serves are varied you become as unpredictable as a buffalo/bison leaping over the net.

Pickleball Rules Refresher: Server interference

At the mini-tournament and at past pickleball sessions there has been some discussion about interference when serving.  If your team is recieving the ball, and the ball is supposed to be hit to your partner's court, but it comes over the net cleanly and strikes you, or let's say, "I knew it was way out, so I caught it." NO!No!No!

Section 4c of pickleball rules states: 4.C.2.    Interference. If the serve clears the net and the receiver or the receiver’s partner interferes with the flight of the ball on the serve, it is a point for the serving team.

It is good practice to learn to not interfere in any way with the serve (Don't let it hit you! You're not playing baseball!) Yes, you might have to walk 10 extra feet to get the foul ball, but we could all use more exercise.

Pickleball Strategy: Serve return

Very often, the best return of serve is a soft floating return that keeps your opponent in the back court. You will be taking advantage of the 2-bounce rule that prohibits the serving team from volleying the return of serve. The soft floater gives you and your partner plenty of time to establish your positions at the no-volley line. When you control the no-volley line, you have assumed the offense and put the serving team on defense. The other advantage of using this type of return is that it is one of the easiest returns to make and greatly cuts down on errors.

There are times when a hard driving return is appropriate. It can be especially effective if one of your opponents has a tendency to move up too quickly after the serve. If he has moved up too quickly, the hard drive forces him to backpedal quickly and forces an off-balance shot. But, keep in mind that your chances for error increase with that type of return. An attempt at a drive return means that it is much more likely that you will hit the net or hit the ball long. The other risk of the drive return is that it may be returned to you before you have had time to establish your position at the line.

Use the hard drive return every now and then for a change of pace and to keep your opponent off balance. But, most of the time, it would be wise to play the winning percentages and return a deep soft floater.

Pickleball Strategy: Keeping your cool in doubles play

This past week at pickleball I played with many different levels of partners, and one common thread kept coming through: keep a level head throughout your game! Too often players will let 1 little shot, or negative opponents word get inside their head that affects their play, so here are some tips to help keep you in the game.

1.    Serve deep to opponent’s backhand.

 

2.    Return the serve slow, high and deep to the center, so you can take the net.

 

3.    Keep the ball in play.

 

4.    Breathe out as you hit the ball.

 

5.   Enjoy the competition.  (Relax!)

 

6.   Look the same after all shots.  (Take 5 seconds to ‘clear the computer’.)

 

7.   Don’t let conditions or a player’s actions bother you.

 

8.   The less you say, the better you play.

 

Explanation of 1 – 8 above:

 

1.  In order to serve to the backhand, you may have to move over to the center of the court or the side of the court.  This should be done until you find out who the few people are who have a better backhand than forehand.

 

2.  Returning the serve 10’ to 15’ high and down the center has a two-fold benefit.  It gives you time to take the net, and the serving team is forced to decide who will return it.

 

3.  Keeping the ball in play means not always trying to hit a winner or have perfect placement.  It sometimes means just getting the ball over the net one more time without hitting it wide or long.  You cannot always hit off your front foot, have your eye on the ball, get your paddle back ahead of time, breathe out as you hit, and follow through after the hit, but if you practice doing all of these, you will become a better player.

 

4.  Breathe in as the ball is coming toward you, and breathe out (you may grunt or say an auditory cue) as you make contact with the ball.

 

5.  Don’t worry if you’re in competition against someone you have never defeated.  Make a game out of it and see how many points you can get.  Maybe your partner has hardly ever lost to the other team.  And don’t forget your team could be having a good day and your opponents could be having a bad day.  Never go into a match thinking you don’t have a chance to win.

 

6.  One of the most challenging aspects of this game is managing a mistake.  You have to walk away, erase your thoughts, forget the past.  You have to tame the lion inside you.  Practice control continually.  Look the same whether you made or missed a shot.  Don’t let your opponent know you are upset or frustrated.

 

7.  Don’t let the situation control you.  Good playing comes from self-control.

 

8.  When things are not going well, negative self-talk will not help.  Don’t audibly say anything negative, and don’t let negative chatter go on inside your head.