3 Big Mistakes & 3 Benefits at the NVZ Line

One of my earliest posts was an article from Prem Carnot titled You. Must. Get. To. The. (No-Volley) Line. Prem has now done a Pickleball Channel video explaining some of the concepts he teaches about the kitchen line - 3 Big Mistakes & 3 Benefits at the NVZ Line.

The first element Prem discusses is what is meant by getting to the kitchen line. He states that the proper position is 2"-3" behind the line. Once that position is established, it is OK to shuffle side-to-side, but shuffling back-and-forth should be avoided.

The 3 mistakes made at the kitchen line are:

1. Players never actually get to the kitchen line.  They stop 2'-3' feet behind the line while thinking they are much closer.
2. Players that do get to the kitchen line back up to take a shot and fail to return forward to the line.
3. Players get to the kitchen line and are not fully conscious of their feet position, resulting in a foot fault by stepping into the kitchen.

The 3 benefits of being at the kitchen line are:

1. Being closer to the net allows players to hit the ball downward, which is a winning angle.
2. Being closer to the net allows players to have more placement options for a return into the opponents' court. The farther that players are from the net means they see less of the opponents' court and more of the net.
3. Both partners positioned at the kitchen line builds a defensive wall