Dink Game Strategies

In my last post about dinking, I described the dinking technique as similar to sitting in a chair. For many players, that description also applies to their attitude about the dink game. They think dinking is a passive game of patience where the strategy is just to keep the ball in play until their opponent makes a mistake. That certainly works for some players – those with amazing patience and skill. Others need to use different strategies with the dink game.

First, let’s discuss when to dink. A dink should be an option only when both opponents are at their kitchen line. If one or both opponents are back, a better shot is to keep them back by hitting a ball to or just behind their feet. If both opponents are at the kitchen and you have to hit a ball from below net level, then you should hit a dink. Otherwise, your return will be upward and give your opponents a chance to smash it downward and win the rally. This same thought process works in reverse. If your partner is caught away from the kitchen line, a soft shot - like a dink - will give him an opportunity to regain position.

It Should be Called Dinkball

Recent posts have been about moving from the baseline to the kitchen line. Prem Carnot’s article in a recent post made clear why you need to get there. If you haven’t read it yet, please do. Prior to my recent tournament, I planned to follow those posts with a series on kitchen line play ultimately leading toward several posts on dinking. However, my experience at the Holiday Smash has caused me to move dinking to the head of the line.

So, what is dinking and just why is it so darn important? A dink is a ball hit low and soft into your opponent’s kitchen. It is important because it is effective either in a defensive or offensive mode. Its importance grows as the skill level of your opponent rises. It provides you a significant competitive advantage against opponents who can’t or don’t prefer to dink. I saw match after match won and lost by the dinking game in Concord.

Brief time off

I'm travelling for the Thanksgiving holiday so posting will be light, if at all.

I have lots more pickleball to talk about and will back in full swing soon.

Holiday Smash Final Results

The Holiday Smash was held on Saturday at Carolina Courts in Concord, NC. 

Local medal winners include:

Sandro Francioni and Paul Aaron, both of Cummings Cove, won bronze medals in the.3.5/3.0 Men's Doubles. 

Sandro and Paul

2015 Holiday Smash Results

The Holiday Smash was held on Saturday at Carolina Courts in Concord, NC. Results of the matches have not yet been reported. I will update this site when they are made available.

The one bracket I can report is the 3.5/3.0 Men's Doubles in which I participated. Sandro Francioni and Paul Aaron, both of Cummings Cove, finished third in that bracket, taking home a bronze medal.

Sandro and Paul

Carolina Courts

The Holiday Smash pickleball tournament was held Saturday at Carolina Courts in Concord, NC. 

As a tournament participant, it was my first visit to the venue. It is a massive building structured for multiple uses. This weekend's tournament found it set up with 15 pickleball courts. The next photo will give you some idea of its size.

You. Must. Get. To. The. (No-Volley) Line.

So far I’ve discussed how to move forward to the non-volley zone (kitchen) line. But I have yet to discuss why you should do so. This is one topic that an expert explains far better than I could. Prem Carnot is a top-level pickleball player and teacher so I will allow him to convince you in the article below.

Before getting to Prem’s article, I would like to add a few related comments. Getting to the kitchen line is a key to consistently winning. I have not seen any statistical analysis, but everything I see on the topic states that the team that controls the kitchen area has a decided advantage. Despite that big advantage, getting to the line should not be rushed. In doubles, partners should advance together in order to avoid creating a wide alley between players for opponents to target.

Now enjoy Prem's article.

Top 3 Reasons You MUST Play at The No-Volley Line (And 2 Lies You Tell Yourself When You’re There)


February 3, 2014 by Prem Carnot

If you want to improve your game (and not just keep beating the same people you always beat) you HAVE to get up to the kitchen and play from right behind the no-volley line.

Service Strategies

Service strategies start with a single principle – never, ever, ever lose your serve on a service fault. The serve is the easiest shot in pickleball and should never be missed. Beyond its simplicity, the serve is important because points can only be scored by the serving team. Giving away your serve gives away your opportunity to score that point as well as the potential for an unknown number of additional points. Giving away your serve also gives your opponents an opportunity to score points with their serve.

At all levels of play, getting the serve in-bounds is critical to success. An in-bounds serve is not normally the shot that wins or loses a point. It is generally considered simply as the shot that starts the rally. Even the top players in the game rarely do anything special other than exhibit basic strategies that can help set up a winning rally.

The most common strategy is to land the serve deep (within 5 feet of the baseline) in the opponent’s service court. There are 2 reasons to serve deep.  First, a deep serve does not allow the returner to build forward momentum.  It might even cause the returner move back.  By contrast, a short serve is an open invitation for the returner to move toward the kitchen line. The team that controls the kitchen line generally wins the rally.  A deep serve helps to beat those odds.  Second, a deep serve gives the returner fewer options to hit an aggressive shot. A deep shot of any kind, including the serve, takes away a returner’s angles. A video from Mark Renesson called No Short Serves! discussing the deep serve strategy is below.

2015 Holiday Smash

This week's tournament featuring local players is the Holiday Smash taking place on Saturday at Carolina Courts in Concord, NC. I will report the results here when available. 

The local players scheduled to play are:

Rick Ezrol of Crosswalk teamed with Ed Bailey in the 4.0 Men's Doubles

Paul Aaron and Sandro Francioni, both of Cummings Cove, in the 3.5/3.0 Men's Doubles

Valerie Marott of Crosswalk teamed with Meredith Vincent in the 4.5/4.0 Women's Doubles

Dee Ezrol of Crosswalk teamed with Brenda Dail in the 4.5/4.0 Women's Doubles

JoAnnah Michael of Crosswalk teamed with Karen Mitchell in 4.5/4.0 Women's Doubles

Rick Ezrol and Dee Ezrol, both of Crosswalk, in the 4.0 Mixed Doubles

JoAnnah Michael of Crosswalk teamed with Les Massengale in the 4.0 Mixed Doubles

Valerie Marott of Crosswalk teamed with Ryan Manchester in the 4.5 Mixed Doubles

Split Step

Yesterday, my main post was about the ready position as you advance from the baseline toward the kitchen line. Included in that post was the following paragraph describing some important aspects of getting into the ready position:

After hitting the ball, you should advance forward to the kitchen line when it is safe to do so. Stop immediately and assume the ready position when your opponent is about to hit the ball. You should never sacrifice early preparation for position on the court. A common error is rushing to get to the non-volley zone and continuing to move forward while the opponent hits the ball. You should NOT be moving at this time. If you are moving, your body is committed to a specific direction and it is much harder to adjust to a shot away from your direction. Early preparation is always more important than court position in executing a shot.

Hendersonville Racquet Club

The Hendersonville Lightning had a recent article about the new ownership and management at the Hendersonville Racquet Club. Obviously, I wouldn't be including this news here unless there was something related to pickleball...and there is. The club is planning to add pickleball play in the future.

The article, shown below, was not specific about the pickleball plan, but I stopped by and spoke with the resident pro, Dylan Jicha. He indicated that nothing is yet etched in stone but that the lower courts would be repaved and painted with pickleball and other lines, like junior tennis. The timing is uncertain but likely spring at the earliest.

Hendersonville Racquet Club is a private club requiring membership. It will have some limited daily-fee play for guests.

The Ready Position from Mid-Court

Have you ever noticed that some players make the game seem effortless compared to the energy that you expend in a match? In some cases, like mine, it could be a fitness differential. But the difference in most cases results from 3 factors – positioning, anticipation, and being ready. This post is about the ready position.

One of the most important elements of a good return is early preparation. Your body should be positioned to move in any direction in order to respond to an opponent’s shot. Your paddle should be positioned to move most efficiently with your body and quickly to the ball. And all of this must be done at just the right time. Being in a ready position applies to all shots all over the court. But the ready position changes slightly at the kitchen due to the nature of the shot you will likely have to defend. You are more likely to get a ball in the air for a volley than the low ball requiring a ground stroke or half-volley you will see deeper in the court. The ready position in the area from mid-court to the baseline prepares you to move in all directions and cover a lot of area. Since I just had a series of posts about the serve, I will now focus on shot preparation for the 2 shots following the serve – the return of serve and the server’s first return, both of which occur with players starting at the baseline. The ready position at the kitchen line will be discussed in a separate post.

Transylvania Activity Center Closed

John Jessen, USAPA Ambasador for Transylvania County, has sent a note indicating that the TAC in Brevard will be closed Thanksgiving week for court resurfacing. 

Henderson County Athletic and Activity Center will be open for play. See their schedule at the following link:

Link to HCAAC website and calendar

USAPA Ball Specification Revisions

From the USAPA website:

Effective 11/01/2015, the ball specifications changed (see IFP Rule 2.D). On 05/01/2016 any ball not meeting the new specifications will be removed from the list of approved balls. All ball manufacturers have been contacted and are aware of the new specifications. Current balls marked with an (*) in the following list will need to be modified in order to meet the current specifications and renamed accordingly. 

Service Motion

The service motion is most often compared to bowling due to an underhanded arm movement coordinated with a leg stride. Check out the following side-by-side photos to see if you agree.

OK, now just go use your bowling form and serve the ball.

Oh wait, you say you’ve never bowled? Or that hitting a ball is different than throwing it? Well, that sure complicates things. While serving a pickleball is the simplest of all shots, it still requires a basic understanding of technique and how all of the moving parts work together. This post will help to explain that.  But first you must understand the rules related to the service motion as discussed in the post about Service Rules.

Pickled Peach - Nov 15 Update

The 2nd Annual Pickled Peach Tournament in Athens, GA continued today with women's doubles matches.  Two local players from Brevard played. 

Jenny Kemp and Suzie Flynt won the gold medal in the 4.0 bracket - in a tiebreaker.

Congratulations to Suzie and Jenny for a great tournament.

Doubles Scoring and Player Positioning

My experience is that the single most confusing part of the game is keeping score when playing doubles. A doubles score is comprised of 3 numbers. Not 1 number, not 2 numbers, but 3 numbers! An example of a score would be “4-2-1”. What the heck do those 3 numbers mean and how did they get there? This post will try to explain their meaning as well as some other aspects of the scoring sequence.

There are 3 main principles to understand about the score and how it accumulates during the game.

1. Only the serving team can score a point 
2. Each player on a team serves in rotation every time they regain the serve, with the exception of the game-opening rotation 
3. The sequence of the serve includes shifting between courts and teams

Pickled Peach - Nov 14 Update

The 2nd Annual Pickled Peach Tournament in Athens, GA continued today with mixed doubles matches.  Two local players from Brevard played. 

Jenny Kemp and John Moore won the gold medal in the 3.5 bracket.

Suzie Flynt and Marcus Luke won the gold medal in the 4.0 bracket.

Congratulations to Suzie and Jenny.

Tournament results can be followed at pickleballtournaments.com.

Pickled Peach - Nov 13 Update

The 2nd Annual Pickled Peach Tournament will be held this Friday - Sunday in Athens, GA. 

Two local players, Jenny Kemp and Suzie Flynt, both of Brevard, are entered in singles, mixed doubles, and women's doubles. I will update their action through the weekend on this site.

In Friday's singles play, Suzie Flynt won the silver medal and Jenny Kemp won the bronze medal.

Congratulations to Suzie and Jenny and good luck the rest of the weekend.

Tournament results can be followed at pickleballtournaments.com.

USAPA Nationals VII - Nov 13 Update

The USAPA National tournament in Arizona continues with open play and at least one local player is entered.

A Senior Men's doubles team with Paul Coletta and Ted Meyer played with the following results.

Round 1 - lost to the team of Mario Najera and Troy Horton 8-11, 11-8, 11-1

Losers Bracket Round 2 - defeated the team of Jack Thomas and Gary Baker 15-7

Losers Bracket Round 3 - defeated the team of Steve Paranto and Randal Bither 16-14

Losers Bracket Round 4 - defeated the team of Perry Atkinson and Tim Gardner 15-4

Losers Bracket Round 5 - lost to the team of Dan O'Toole and Mike Stahl 15-10

Tournament results can be found at pickleballtournaments.com.

Replays

Replays of rallies (or shots) are rare in pickleball. The rules make clear that there are only 4 situations where replays are allowed.

1. Service Let

• The serve touches any part of the net and still lands in the service court. 
• The ball is served when the receiver is not ready. 
• The served ball hits the net and strikes the receiver or the receiver’s partner.

Faults Explained

The post Rallies and Faults was a simple list of faults. Many are self-evident and don’t require additional explanation. But some are…let's just say unusual and in need of further clarification.

3. A served ball touches a member of the receiving team after clearing the net and before hitting the court (interference).

Example 1:  A serve hits the receiving team member before hitting the court.

Rallies and Faults

The joy of pickleball is the play - the free-flowing back and forth of opponents trying to beat each other with a shot. The term for this back and forth action is a “rally” and is defined as the continuous play that begins with a serve and ends with a fault. The result of every rally is either a point for the serving team (when a fault is committed by the receiving team) or a loss of serve / side-out for the receiving team (when a fault is committed by the serving team).

Faults are committed when a violation of the rules of play occurs. All of the following are faults:

1. A serve is made with an illegal motion or illegal foot position (see Service Rules).

USAPA Nationals VII - Nov 11 Update

The USAPA National tournament in Arizona is now into the age-group singles.  

Two locals are scheduled - JoAnnah Michael in the Women's 55+ bracket and Jerry Peterson in the Men's 70+ bracket.  


JoAnnah Michael

Round 1 - lost to Pam King 11-3, 11-2

Losers Bracket Round 1 - lost to Dee Rochel 15-2

***

Jerry Peterson

USAPA Nationals VII - Nov 10 Update

The USAPA National tournament in Arizona is in its third day and several local players are scheduled. Today is mixed doubles day.

A 55+ doubles team with JoAnnah Michael and Les Massengale played with the following results.

Round 1 - lost to the team of Leanne Smith and Ron Wall 11-6, 11-7

Losers Bracket Round 1 - defeated the team of Robin Kessler and Larry Apker 16-14

Losers Bracket Round 2 - advanced by forfeit

Losers Bracket Round 3 - lost to the team of Susan Gapen and Dan Wheeler 15-7

***

USAPA Nationals VII - Nov 9 Update Addition

The second day of USAPA National tournament in Arizona concluded yesterday. 

I posted Paul Coletta's gold medal results but somehow missed that a second local player, Jerry Peterson, also won a gold medal - in the Men's 70+ doubles partnered with Marc Rinehart.

Round 1 - defeated the team of Harold Kibbe and Alan Grimes 11-0, 11-0

Round 2 - defeated the team of Stan Strebig and Daniel Stebbins 11-4, 11-4

Round 3 - defeated the team of Rich Gapen and Ron Cormier 11-2, 11-3

Round 4 - defeated the team of Bill Mason and Paul Hawkes 11-6, 11-1

Final - defeated the team of Bill Mason and Paul Hawkes (again) 11-3, 11-5

Congratulations to Jerry and Marc for winning the gold medal!!!

Tournament results can be found at pickleballtournaments.com.

Share the Season Pickleball Playday

An upcoming opportunity to play pickleball with good people at a great location was just announced by Deb Richter of Connestee Falls. From Deb:

This event is a fund raiser, casual play that will be loosely organized, so that people can come and go as the spirit and energies move them. Please ... join us for this Holiday event!!

Deb

USAPA Nationals VII - Nov 9 Update

The USAPA National tournament in Arizona is in its second day and at least one local player is entered.

A Men's 65+ doubles team with Paul Coletta and Ted Meyer is still playing with the following results.

Round 1 - Bye

Round 2 - defeated the team of Ron Robinson and Bob Borengasser 11-5, 11-3

Round 3 - defeated the team of Michael Cox and Tom Kruse 13-11, 11-2

Round 4 - defeated the team of Bill Greenwalt and Tim Kuss 11-8, 11-5

Round 5 - defeated the team of Steven Miller and Michael Johnson 11-8, 11-9

Round 6 - defeated the team of John Grasso and Lenny Chimino 11-4, 11-7

Final - defeated the team of John Grasso and Lenny Chimino (again) 11-3, 11-6

Congratulations to Paul and Ted for winning the gold medal!!!

Tournament results can be found at pickleballtournaments.com.

USAPA Nationals VII - Nov 8 Update

The USAPA National tournament has started in Arizona and will run for much of this week. Several local players are entered and I will keep tabs of their progress with regular posts.

A local Women's 55+ doubles team with Renate Hess and JoAnnah Michael played today with the following results.

Round 1 - defeated the team of Suzanne Hocevar and Cheryl Wallace 11-5, 11-6

Round 2 - lost to the team of Dalonna Cooper and Karen Iggulden 11-2, 11-8

Losers Bracket Round 1 - defeated the team of Kay Redding and Char Thompson 15-5

Losers Bracket Round 2 - lost to the team of Cindy Moore and Terry Lavigne 15-4

Tournament results can be found at pickleballtournaments.com.