Jack Munro

"Youth is wasted on the young" - not for this one...

I have never done a post about a teenager before, but this is one amazing kid. At 13, Jack Munro is the youngest 5.0 rated player. Below are a couple of videos. The first shows him playing in a final in the Tustin tournament. He is playing with his father who is dressed in all orange. The second from Pickleball Channel tells his story. Oh, to be young again.

Options: Step Back or in the Air

You can't judge my choices without knowing my reasoning...

Pickleball is a series of choices. Players have options about how to approach a shot - backhand or forehand. They have a choice of type of shot - drive, drop, or lob. They have a choice of targets - crosscourt or down the line. These are only some examples. Depending on the advice followed by the player, some choices are minimized. Such is the lure of experts whose advice adheres to what worked for them or the most technically correct strategy. This post is the first of a series offering options to traditional thoughts. It can either make your pickleball life either easier or harder. The choice is yours.

One of my earlier posts, Dinking Secrets to Success, discussed 3 techniques to win the dink game. Two elements had similar reasoning - reduce the time for your opponent to react. The first technique discussed in the video is the one for which an alternative will be presented. In the video (shown below), top player and coach Steve Dawson explains that taking the ball in the air when possible is the best choice.

Using Time-outs

Hope is not an option...

Sarah Ansboury mentioned using a time-out to adjust your strategy when things are falling apart. I never gave a thought to using time-outs for anything but a rest. Then I noticed that time-outs seemed to break the momentum of the other team. Now I use them more liberally. The Pickleball Channel video How Timeouts Can Help You Win discusses these reasons and more.

The video covers the following topics, of which I will discuss the last two.

Dinking Secrets to Success

Knowledge - a secret to success...

As we have learned, dinking is a major part of the advanced game. Dinking presents an unattackable ball to your opponent and provides one more opportunity for him to hit a ball that you can attack. There are 3 secrets that make this outcome more likely. These are discussed in the Pickleball Channel video 3 Secrets to Improve Your Dinking Strategy with Steve Dawson.

The first secret is...take the ball out of the air. In other words, do not let it bounce if possible. Returning the ball before it bounces gives your opponent less time to get ready for his next shot. This shot is uncomfortable for many - including me. Steve suggests that this strategy should be the first option on your mind. That gets you ready to hit it. If the ball does bounce, the adjustment to hit it is relatively easy. Note the low position Steve takes in order to wait for ball to travel as close as possible to get within his reach.

Targeting: Where and Why - The Third Shot

Be sure to positively identify your target before hitting the ball...

This will be the third week of the skills and drills sessions on targeting. The first, Targeting: Where and Why - The Serve - focused on the serve targeting strategies. The second, Targeting: Where and Why - The Return of Serve, focused on the return. The natural progression for this week is the third shot, i.e., the return of the return of serve.

The usual reminder before starting: there is a set of premises that guide us in through the decision-making process. These were covered in the article Targeting: Where and Why. The primary goal of the third shot is to neutralize the net advantage of your opponents and allow your team to also gain the net.

The third shot is the first where opponent positioning strongly influences the targeting decision. With the serve, the returning opponent is locked into one spot. With the return of serve, the opponents' requirement to allow a bounce also lock them into fixed positions. This lack of variability makes the choice of targets relatively simple. With the third shot, opponents are free to move anywhere and hit any ball. Their freedom provides more target options.

Targeting: Where and Why - The Return of Serve

Be sure to positively identify your target before hitting the ball...

This is the second post describing skills and drills sessions that I am leading with a group of experienced players. The first, Targeting: Where and Why - The Serve - focused on the serve targeting strategies. This post progresses to the second shot - the return of serve.

One reminder before starting - there is a set of premises that guide us in through the decision-making process. These were covered in the article Targeting: Where and Why.

Return of Serve Targets

The return of serve should be a relatively easy shot since no opponent is waiting for your ball at the NVZ line. Therefore, targeting for a return of serve can get very specific. 

Target 1 - The first target is deep down the middle. A deep return of serve accomplishes 3 important things. First, it reduces the horizontal options for the opponent because the net covers more of his field of opportunity. Second, it will increase the difficulty for the opponent to get the net simply due to the increased distance he must move. Third, a longer return gives the returner more time to move to their ball and make a more controlled third shot.

Disguise Your Shot

Body language gives away tendencies...

Last week's series was about watching your opponent to get clues from his body and paddle language to determine where his shot was going. It really is a great theory and will against most players most of the time. But players learn that they are giving away their shots and can start to use their body language as a weapon. This is the deception or misdirection mentioned by Aspen Kern in  Aspen's Advice: Body Language and More. It is a topic we broached yesterday and will discuss more deeply this week.

The subject of today's post is disguising the shot by using similar body position and swings while executing different shots. The Pickleball Channel created a video with Morgan Evans titled 3 Ways to Disguise Your Attack and Win the Point that illustrates some techniques.

Paddle Position

Be ready for everything to be ready for anything...

Back in May I wrote a series of articles about the height of the paddle in the ready position. It concluded with What is the Proper Paddle Position? One part of the paddle position I did not discuss in that series was the direction that the paddle face should be held.

Below is the an image from a previous post that shows 2 extremes of the paddle position. The position on the left is perpendicular to the body and the position on the right is parallel to the body.

Simone Jardim and the Pickleball Channel have a new video called Minimizing Mistakes with Paddle Position by Simone Jardim in which she discusses her approach to paddle position.

More on the Erne Shot

Stealth mode is for fighter jets, not pickleball...

Yesterday's videos showed why the Erne shot is both rare and controversial. First, the shot requires a decision to move off the court before the opponent actually makes the shot. This decision is high risk because, if wrong, leaves the vacated area open to a harder shot. Second, the movement to get int proper position is not easy. The player must either cross through the non-volley zone and establish both feet outside the court or step/jump across the corner of the non-volley zone. These moves are controversial because the entire sequence happens so fast that it is nearly impossible to judge whether a violation occurred.

One example of an uncalled violation occurred in this year's US Open Men's Doubles when Kyle Yates hit an Erne shot after stepping into the non-volley zone and hitting the ball before establishing himself outside the court. The video from Pickleball Channle is called US Open Pickleball Championships Men's Doubles Age 19+ Goodwin-McKinley vs Yates-Ashworth and can be seen below. A couple of screen captures shows the clear violation that occurs starting at 4:20.

The Around the Post Shot

Some shots just slip under the radar...

The very first sentence of the very first section of the pickleball rule book states:

Pickleball is a simple paddle game played using a special perforated, slow-moving ball over a tennis-type net on a badminton-sized court.

Did you notice the "over a tennis-type net" phrase? Maybe that is the source of confusion about the legality of one of the most indefensible shots in pickleball - the around the post shot.

The rule book clarifies the legality with rule 12.K:

12.K. Shots Around the Net Post. If a ball hit at an angle bounces in the court and travels beyond the sidelines, a player may return the ball around the outside of the net post. The ball does not need to travel back over the net. In addition, there is no restriction on the height of the return. For example, a player may return the ball around the net post below the height of the net.

Service Yips - a Novice Opinion

I describe myself as a simple blogger. No more. No less...

About a month ago, I decided to research the service yips due to a problem a partner had at a tournament. I have shown several views of the yips, including both psychological and neurological. We have now looked at the advice of pickleball experts as well as gold experts. The bottom line for me is...I don't have the right answer, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

Are the yips psychological or neurological?

I tend to think that the yips are psychological in nearly all cases. The discussion about focal dystonia in golf was mostly about small muscle failure. This is much more important in golf and music than pickleball. Certainly, small muscle issues can cause the ball hand to cause a mishit. But that doesn't seem to be the primary problem with the service yips. The issue is more related to the big muscles of the paddle arm. My logic is that focal dystonia wouldn't be very likely. Then again, I am not an expert so who knows.

Keep your Eye on the Ball to the Paddle - the Real World

Keep your eye on the ball - even if you can't see it...


Keep your eye on the ball. We have seen the coaches talk about it. We have seen that science says it is impossible - at least in some circumstances. Now we will continue our discussion by looking at what happens in real play. We will do this by reviewing 2 Pickleball Channel videos that show the moment of impact and give a pretty good idea of where the eyes are looking. The first video is called The Forehand with Slow Motion - Scott Moore.

As the title suggests, the video shows Scott hitting some forehands off of easy shots from his drilling partner. As we discussed yesterday, these shots are slow enough and of such a distance (note his position behind the baseline) that Scott's eyes can follow the ball the whole way to the paddle.

Now watch the video and pay particular attention to Scott's eyes.

Reinventing my Game - The Serve

The serve is the last time you will have full control of the ball...

My earlier post Reinventing My Game - The Grip discussed how a few small changes allowed me to make dramatic improvements in my game. Since then, I have mentioned some of the setbacks but have yet to get to the real improvements. Today's post will start the discussion with the improvement in my serve.

First, let me revisit the grip changes because they are fundamental to the new serve.

The photo on the left shows my original grip - called a claw grip - and the photo on the right shows my new grip - called a handshake grip. The difference is obvious as the handshake grip is much more aligned with the arm and seems to be a more natural extension of the arm. The claw grip forms makes the paddle form a right angle to the arm.

Use the Lob to Gain Advantage

Adding to your game means improvement...

Continuing on yesterday's topic, a couple of pros discuss the use of the lob. I previously posted an article - To Lob or Not to Lob...that is the Question - from Sarah Ansboury and the RV Picklers in which she affirms the use of a lob from the NVZ line as an offensive weapon and also using the lob as a defensive tool to reset the point. A Pickleball Channel video called The Secret of the Lob is shown below that has a similar message. 

The video first talks about using the lob offensively - to force opponents to chase the ball from the NVZ line. 

Another Drop Volley with Drills

Pickleball has a reset button?...

Last week, we discussed bangers and how to defend against them. One option we discussed was the drop volley and we ended the week with Deb Harrison demonstrating her drop shot technique. As with most things in life, there is more than one way to hit a drop shot. Today's article features a Pickleball Channel video with Scott Moore demonstrating his drop shot technique. The video is called Defend Against Hard Hitters by Taking Pace Off the Ball.

Scott's Technique

Scott's emphasis is slowing down the ball when in a defensive position whether that is at the kitchen line or in no-man's land at mid-court. The first step in any shot is to get into the proper position. Scott states that your center should be low by bending your knees and lowering your torso.

Play and Practice with Intent

Be intent on improvement...

The new year is about resolutions. Last week, I posted about the most common of resolutions - fitness. Today's post will be about another resolution - improvement. A couple of months ago Sarah Ansboury wrote an article about goal-setting. The Pickleball Channel recently released Sarah in a video discussing similar issues. I have tied them together in this post to show one of Sarah's recommendations for making improvement.

Setting Pickleball Goals: Each Time You Step onto the Court

I found I used to go to open play and sometimes would leave unhappy. I felt like I didn’t accomplish anything. I realized, I needed to be setting pickleball goals each and every time I stepped onto the court.

Open Play

Game Day Stretching

How to get ready to play pickleball: 1. Get dressed 2. Go to the court 3. Ready...

Pickleball players typically come to the courts after a relaxing cup of coffee, hit a few warm-up shots, and are rarin' to go. Experts say that isn't enough...especially for those of us in the ummm...experienced age group. The Pickleball channel has provided a set of warm-up stretches to get the body ready for play both today and tomorrow. They are shown below in 2 videos titled Improve Your Game with Stretching! Part 1 and Improve Your Game with Stretching! Part 2.

Ball Hopper and Catcher

Yesterday, I showed a solution for a player to pick up bunches of balls after practicing with a ball machine. Today's video shows a different solution for a similar - but not quite identical - situation. It also comes from Pickleball Channel and is called Gear Talk: Pickleball Hopper & Catcher with Beverly Youngren.

Ball Picker-Upper

Using a ball machine is great because it gives a player the opportunity to hit a large number of balls in succession. This helps to develop the muscle memory needed to take the stroke into game play. But it also creates an aggravating problem - how to get all of those balls off the court and back into a hopper. Steve Paranto and Pickleball Channel have an idea for an inexpensive solution in their video Gear Talk: Ball Picker-Upper with Steve Paranto.

Practicing Indoors

As much as I would like to practice with my new Tutor, it is the middle of winter here in the mountains of North Carolina. That means looking for alternative practice routines. Coach Mo has some suggestions in his Pickleball Channel video called How to Practice Indoors.