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Thursday, April 5, 2018

3 Essential Skills

Mastering the basics in needed to advance...

A couple of months ago, I started publishing weekly tips from DJ Howard. I started the series with a tip that was relevant to my topic that week. But it was not his first tip. Today we will go back to the beginning.





If it may be of help to some of you, I would like to offer a weekly tip. It's straightforward information I have taught my students and they seem to benefit from it. Your feedback is always welcome.

Pickleball is comprised of three, and only three, essential skills: Receiving, Sending, and Recovering. This process is repeated over and over again when you play.




RECEIVING involves tracking the ball with your eyes and moving your body into position to be able to set up to perform a stroke of one style or another.

SENDING involves using the paddle to contact the ball and direct it over the the other side. Different techniques are used depending on the type of shot you are attempting to execute.

RECOVERING involves moving your body into good position on the court and preparing yourself with balance and athletic posture so as to be prepared for the next opportunity to receive.

Each skill complements the next one in the progression. The better you can execute one skill, the higher the likelihood the next skill in the process will be a bit easier. But the opposite is also true. If you fail to perform one skill well, the next one may be more difficult. 

For example: 
Not sending the ball well? It's possible you aren't receiving it well. Don't feel like you are receiving the ball well? You may want to check to see if you have recovered and prepared well. Don't feel like you recovered into solid court position well? Perhaps you didn't send the ball to the other side very well.

Next time you play, consider focusing on practicing one of these skills!




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