More on Positioning at the NVZ Line

Getting the fundamentals right...

The next video in Jordan Briones Primetime video series follows up on the post from 2 weeks ago called Fundamental Positioning at the NVZ Line. That video discussed "depth", meaning distance from the NVZ line. This video literally changes direction to discuss positioning and footwork side-to-side at the Non-Volley Zone line. The video is titled Pickleball Footwork | Winning Footwork At The Net

Jordan's main point on positioning is that players should be in the middle of their half of the court, i.e., nearly equidistant from the center line and the sideline.

Obviously, opponents will try to move you out of position, so it is important to always return to the middle. This allows you to defend both the middle and down-the-line shots.

After establishing the proper positioning, Jordan moves next to footwork. Pictures cannot capture the movements so you will need to watch the video to see what I am going to try to describe.

Jordan starts with the stance. It is a wide stance with the feet outside the shoulders. This allows the proper side-to-side movement - a "slide" or "hop". This movement means the feet never cross over. Instead. the outside leg - that leg opposite the direction you want to move - moves toward the inside leg. This allows moving the inside leg toward the ball. The opposite movement is used to return to middle with a split step to establish position. Jordan shows the cross-over step used by many but notes that it takes longer to recover and is not the preferred option.