Out Front

Make practice fun...

Jordan Briones continues his Primetime video series with another dink drill. This drill focuses on hitting the ball out in front raher than allowing it to get close to your feet. The video is titled #1 Dink Killer | The Main Thing That's Killing Your Pickleball Dinks

The theory that drives Jordan's discussion is that the single biggest negative impact on players' dink games is allowing the ball to get to the body. This causes players to make adjustments such as wrist snaps that have bad results.

Instead, Jordan states that players should hit the ball in front of their body in order to make a more consistent dink. He uses a visual to illustrate the danger zone.

Reset

Getting the fundamentals right...

After all of the equipment talk, let's get back to some play with Tuesday's regular featured Jordan Briones' video. This week, Jordan has Daniel Moore discussing the how to reset the point when the opponents are on the attack and you are back away from the NVZ line. The video is titled How To Hit A Reset Shot with Daniel Moore.

The reset shot is a cross between a "staying alive" shot and a defensive shot to gain a neutral position. It usually results from a poor third-shot drop that allows the opponents to attack from their NVZ line while you are stuck well behind it. As they attack, you are forced to take hard low shots and try to get them back. A reset shot takes it to the next step by dropping it into the NVZ and allowing you to get to the net. One of the most important points Daniel makes is that this shot is hard and it may take multiple attempts before success.

Target Dink Drill

Make practice fun...

Jordan Briones continues his Primetime video series with another dink drill. This drill focuses on hitting targets in order to to move your opponent around. The video is called "3 Cone" Dink Pattern Drill | Pickleball. 

The drill starts as other dink drills do - with a player positioned at the NVZ line on each side of the net. But prior to that, 3 cones are positioned on the side of the feeding partner. The cones are set close to the net within the width of a half-court and dividing the half-court into thirds.  The set up is shown below.

Two-Ball Dink Drill

Make practice fun...

The next video from the Jordan Briones Primetime video series is focused on two key parts of the game - dinking and hand-eye coordination. The video is called "2 Ball" Dink Control Drill | Pickleball. 

The drill starts with just as you would expect in a dink drill - a player positioned at the NVZ line on each side of the net. Both players simultaneously starts the drill by hitting a dink to their partner...so two balls are active at the same time. The objective is to keep the two-ball rally going as long as possible by hitting simple dinks back to your partner. 

Offensive Volley Lob

Getting the fundamentals right...

A few weeks ago, the Jordan Briones Primetime series featured the offensive lob off the dink. This week, the series continues with his video Volley Lob Accuracy | Pickleball in which he uses the same same drill to practice the lob off a volley.

For the same reasons as the dink lob, the volley lob is an effective shot. It surprises the opponent and forces him to retreat away from the NVZ line. If anything, the shot is even more effective as the surprise factor is higher. First, the ball is hit before it bounces, giving the opponent less time to react. Second, it is a difficult shot that is not used as frequently as the dink lob.

Again, the set up of the court includes a mark-up 4' from the baseline.

Disguise Your Lob

Getting the fundamentals right...

This week's edition of the Jordan Briones Primetime series follows up on last Tuesday's video on the offensive lob. The offensive lob is particularly effective off of a dink rally and especially when the lob cannot be "read" by your opponents. This requires disguising the shot by making it look like another dink in the rally. Jordan's video Disguise Your Lob Like A Pro | Pickleball shows how use deception in this shot.

The drill is a simple one. Again, start by setting up the target zone for the lob by marking an area 4' from the baseline just as was done for last week's drill.

Recycle Sunday - Service Drills

A blast from the past...

I have started a series called Recycle Sunday in which I repeat some old articles. This article was originally published December 26, 2015.

Drills to work on serving are very straightforward and can be done with 2 people or even alone if sufficient balls are available. All a player must do is set up the target, go to the other side of the net, and hit balls toward the target. Then gather them up and do it all again, moving to the next drill once the first is mastered. The drills can can be fun with the addition of competition. Most drills should have 10-20 serves per turn to be worthwhile.

Drill 1 Serves - Players line up to practice 3-5 serves from the right side; then 3-5 from the left side with a couple of players, if available, catching the balls.

Drill 2 Deep Serves - Place a rope or sidewalk chalk line about 3 feet inside the opposite baseline. Players line up to serve from both the right and left sides and aim for the area between the rope/chalk and baseline. 

Competition: Players count the number of deep serves that land between the rope and baseline. The player with the most successful serves is the winner.

"Valuing" Unforced Errors

Don't beat yourself...

Unforced errors are the bane of every pickleball player's existence. Statistics show that most rallies end as a result of an unforced error. That is not surprising in itself as it is true in most sports. But pickleball seems to have a culture where the statistics are ignored and players continue to take unwarranted risks in order to end the rally on their terms. Unfortunately, the rally does end on their terms...with an unforced error. This post will feature a couple of games that show players the value of unforced errors to their opponents.

First, let's talk about what constitutes an unforced error. If a player fails to successfully return a ball to an unattackable position that would ordinarily be returned, it is an unforced error. These would include balls hit into the net, out of bounds, or popped up to an opponent.  Hitting a ball that would otherwise obviously go out of bounds is also an unforced error.

Offensive Lob Drill

Getting the fundamentals right...

Our regular Tuesday feature of the Jordan Briones Primetime series continues with his video Ultimate Offensive Lob Drill | Pickleball. In this video, Jordan shows how to practice the offensive lob from the NVZ line.

This shot is highly effective as a surprise off of a dinking rally. As Prem Carnot said in my post Offensive Lob from the NVZ Line:

Hit the Stealthy, Dink-in-Disguise Lob ShotThis is when you & your opponents have gotten into a dinking match and they are getting predictable.  Wait ’til the moment when they are leaning a little too far forward, or getting a little slow moving back to the ready position.  Then, using the exact same motion you would have used to hit a dink,  give the ball some extra loft, and have it go well over their heads into a beautiful lob, which they can’t get back for because they were too far committed to a dink.

But it is effective only if gets over the opponents and lands in the back of the court. Jordan's video shows a drill to practice the lob. The first thing to do is set up the target zone. Jordan puts a couple of paddles about 4' from the baseline but tape or any method of demarcation would work.

The Jerry Drill

Expanding your mind from the standard programming...

After playing 4 years of pickleball, several principles have been embedded in my mind and, therefore, in my play. Some actions have become almost automatic...like dink low balls and attack high balls. One other action that is ingrained is to move to the net after a drive to an opponent at the baseline. The Jerry Drill is primarily a groundstroke drill but I found the mental challenge to be equally enlightening.

The Jerry Drill has one rule - every ball must bounce before it is hit. Instead of the 2-bounce rule, it is the always-bounce rule. Players can position themselves anywhere on the court, but, much like the positioning for the serving team, it only makes sense for all players to position themselves at the baseline so a ball can bounce in front of them.

Third Shot Footwork

Getting the fundamentals right...

The Jordan Briones Primetime video series continues from a different position - the baseline. Today's post uses his video Pickleball | Essential 3rd Shot Footwork to show how proper positioning will help to make your third shot drop more consistent. 

The fundamentals of any consistent shot, especially the third shot drop, consist of hitting the ball in the same place every time. I talked about this extensively in the December 16, 2017 post Positioning and the Natural Swing. I stated:

I believe that everyone has a natural swing. The swing that you took the first time you touched a paddle was likely your natural swing. You performed it without thought and used what felt comfortable. Ever since that day, your swing has been influenced by your mind as it adjusts your swing to fix mishits and misplays and to add others' technical advice...

The principle of a natural swing is simple. It is all about comfort zones - something I have talked a lot about in this blog, especially when targeting spots to take your opponents out of their comfort zone. The same theory can be reversed when thinking of yourself. Getting yourself into a position to take your natural swing is the ultimate comfort zone. That's a place you want to be.

Jordan talks about hitting the drop shot in your comfort zone, i.e., not reaching and not allowing the ball to get too close to your body. It is the area when you are balanced and most in control. In order to always contact the ball at the same point, it is imperative that you move your body to the proper position. This takes anticipating the ball's path and and getting your feet positioned early.

Dingles

Make practice fun...

Jordan Briones Primetime video series returns to its fun drilling with the video Pickleball Dingles Game | Dink Consistency with Simone Jardim. As the title suggests, Simone Jardim is the guest "instructor" who teaches the drill. 



There are 2 versions of Dingles. In the first version, 4 players are in their normal positions at the NVZ line. Using 2 balls, each crosscourt partner hits dinks within the NVZ and in the imaginary crosscourt half of the NVZ.

Pickleball for 6?

It is not a menage a trois...

I am always looking for new ways to have fun on the pickleball court. I came across a game called "Mortimer" pickleball. This is the description I found:

Mortimer is the third person on each team. Mortimer plays in the middle and usually gets the deep balls - lobs. Mortimer cannot return the serve but once it is returned can play anywhere, usually to back up the first two players. If one of the two makes a mistake - loses the rally then they become Mortimer! If Mortimer messes up they stay Mortimer.

Solo Dink Drill

Make practice fun...

The next video from Jordan Briones Primetime video series is for advanced players. It will work on touch, footwork, and conditioning. It is a drill done alone so it is good to practice when a drill partner is not available. The video is called Pickleball Solo Rally Challenge - How many can you hit?. 

The drill starts with a player standing outside the net post. The player taps a dink over the net and moves around the net post to dink it back. The player then keeps repeating the dink, run around the post, and dink routine until an error.

The next 3 images show the positioning.

Net Cord Game

Make practice fun...

Continuing the series Jordan Briones Primetime videos, today is an unstructured drill that works on dinks, volleys, reactions, and footwork, at a minimum. The video is called Pickleball Game | FUN Net Cord Game. The name is associated only with the start of the drill. 

The drill starts by holding the ball on the top of the net and tapping it with a paddle. The player on whose side the ball falls must dink the ball to their partner. After the first dink, players are free to any shot they choose, including lobs. After a dead ball, the play restarts the same way.

The drill (game) is not complicated and no further explanation is necessary. Enjoy the video and go practice.

Lateral Shuffle Exercise

Its called muscle memory...

Yesterday's post included a lot of lateral movement. It was not only extensive but it required quick foot movement. The motion may not be natural to all players and practicing proper technique can help. Besides, even someone as fit as Marcin Rozpedski seemed to get a little out of breath. A little exercise can't hurt, right?

Basic Lateral Shuffle Technique

A Drill to Create Space

One, two, hit...

Today's post brings another Jordan Briones Primetime video where he works with Marcin Rozpedski on a volley drill. The video is called Pickleball Volley Drill | Creating Space on your Volleys with Marcin Rozpedski. The drill consists of 2 players hitting volleys directly to each other. But the receiving moves side to side to rotate the volley from forehand to backhand. The partner does not vary the location of his volley - it always be directly at the player.

There are 2 points of emphasis in this drill. First, foot movement is critical. Marcin focuses on sliding and not not hopping. His feet move quickly with foot opposite the direction he wants to move sliding to to the foot on the side of desired direction. Then the second foot quickly moves his body in that direction. 

Second, the volley must be controlled. Again, the target is directly at your partner. In order for the drill to be effective, the player should move around the ball and not to the ball. The combination of the points of emphasis is "one, two, hit".

Two Touch Drill

Make drills fun...

This post is the next in the series of Jordan Briones' drills. This drill focuses on improving a player's paddle control and touch. Each of 4 levels of drills are shown in which the ball is stopped/caught before being hit back. The drill progresses from dinks to volleys.

Drill 1 is called "bounce, touch, bounce, touch" and uses dinking as the shot to practice. The drill starts with a dink to your partner who allows it to bounce then "touches"/taps it to himself, allows it to bounce again, and then dinks it back. This shown pictorially below.

Moving Dink Drill

Make drills fun...

Continuing the Jordan Briones series, this post covers a 2-player dink drill with one player moving along the NVZ line. Jordan's video, Pickleball Dink Drill | "You Go - I Go" Dink Control Drill, shows how to work on targeting as well as footwork. 

To set up the drill, one player (the feeder) starts at the NVZ line and the other player (the driller) starts across the net on the opposite NVZ line as shown below. This drill will use the entire width of the court.

Sweet Spot Volley Drill

Make drills fun...

We have been discussing a series of videos from Jordan Briones where he demonstrates different drills. This post is another in the series but is a little different. First, Jordan is not the one demonstrating the drill. Instead, Marcin Rozpedski shows a drill that forces a player to watch the ball the whole way to the paddle. Second, the drill does not consist of a game, but is so unusual that it can be a fun way to learn.

The video, Pickleball Drill | Sweet Spot Volley Drill with Marcin Rozpedski, shows a 2-player drill. One player (the feeder) starts at the NVZ line and the other player (the driller) starts at the opposite NVZ line but in the same half of the court. The feeder simply tosses the ball to the driller at shoulder height. Sounds pretty standard, right? You have not heard the unusual part yet.