BEGINNER by ALICE TYM
ADVICE FOR THE BEGINNERS
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This advice is for strict beginners, not converted tennis players.( Those players have separate issues, and my advice to tennis converts is to learn a new game— not just play tennis on the pickleball court. That will be a separate article.) For people who have recently taken up pickleball, here are some suggestions.
1. When possible, take lessons. Take them from a teaching pro with credentials in pickleball. There are lots and lots of“ pros” and people willing to share their knowledge out there, but do your research. Does this person know the game, and have the ability to transfer that knowledge?
2. Practice six hours for every half-hour lesson. Practice the six hours on the specific topic of that lesson. That means if the lesson is on placing the serve, you must practice six hours on placing your serve before you take another lesson. Beware of the coach who tells you that he can make you win a national title. Only you can do that. Beware of thinking that if you pay $ 100 an hour that you will win a national title. It is about dedication. Dedicate yourself to practicing and to making yourself a better player. The pro is only a guide; you are the explorer.
3. How should you practice? I learned to play tennis by hitting against the neighbor’ s brick garage. I believe in using a wall because you can experiment without wasting someone else’ s time and you can groove your strokes. The wall is a good place to learn to watch the ball— really watch the ball. Absolutely fixate on the ball and you will be surprised how easy it is to hit it. Work on preparation. Take your paddle back as soon as the ball comes off the wall.“ Click” on the wall,“ snap” on the backswing. Click, snap 1,000 times. If you are unable to take lessons, you can learn a lot by experimenting on the wall.
4. Find a practice partner who likes to drill. Set aside drill time and work on specific components of your game. For example, Monday is serves and returns— use cones for targets. Tuesday is a dink game, head-to-head and crosscourt. Wednesday is groundstrokes, down the line and crosscourt. Thursday is volleys, deep volleys and drop volleys. Friday is one up at the non-volley zone( NVZ) line and one back on the baseline working on third-shot drops and deep volleys. Saturday is overheads, lobs, and volleys— one player at the net and one back lobbing. Sunday is movement drills, working your way to the NVZ line, side-to-side groundstroke drills, lobs and overheads, emphasizing good footwork. You need a practice partner who works on placing the ball and keeping the ball playable. You can play after you drill or before you drill, but proper practice is the key to improvement.
5. Play your practice matches with a purpose. Pickleball is fun but it is even more fun when you improve and can do more with the ball. In your practice matches, try different serves so you learn what works for you. A lob serve may look silly, but it can be very effective. In your practice matches, work on depth: deep groundstrokes and deep volleys. Most beginners hit the net rather than hit long. Keep the ball in play while working on deeper shots. You will find there is more court than you thought! Absolutely, when you warm up, hit long rather than short. The tendency is to pull the ball in when the game begins.
6. Watch videos and read instructional material. Not everything works for everybody, but you get good ideas from other players. When you watch a video, ask yourself if it makes sense. If it does not make sense to you, move on to another YouTube tip.
7. Keep it simple. Try to avoid getting confused by mumbo jumbo. A beginner needs to know that footwork is everything, watching the ball is essential, and early preparation is the key to success. The strategy is simple: Place the ball deep, get to the NVZ
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