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.

The partner and the driller then start a dinking rally. After hitting at least 5 dinks - enough to get the opponent comfortable in the pattern of the rally - the driller looks for the right shot to lob. 

Patience is necessary because the lob must be accurately hit to avoid an overhead smash by the opponent and to keep it in-bounds. This accuracy needs a ball in the proper hitting position. Jordan's hits his dink out in front of his body with an open paddle face in low-to-high motion that taps it over the net. The deception of the lob results when the motion mirrors the dink up to the point of contact. The only difference is that the follow through is extended in order to lift the ball up and over the opponent.