Extension
on the
Overhead
INSTRUCTION − QUICK TIP
BY ALICE TYM
I
n pickleball, in
order to achieve
more power
and additional
angles, you need full extension of
your body on your overhead. This
extension also reduces potential
for errors as a result of bending at
the waist and/or shoulders. Power
comes from your back foot up through
the legs, hips, shoulders, arm and,
ultimately, a pronated wrist. If any of
these areas are compressed or bent,
you’re likely to lessen your accuracy
and consistency.
So how do you know what full extension should feel
like? I won’t tell you who taught me this trick, but he
won Wimbledon—and he had a powerful serve
and overhead. As a youngster, he suspended a ball
with a string from a tree limb so he could just reach
it with the sweet spot of his racket.
A pickleball is easy to suspend. Practice extending
your entire body to hit the ball so you know how it feels
to maximize your reach—and you’ll feel the power
emanating from your weight transfer up into the ball.
Explode upward beginning with the power off of your
back foot.
If you’re teaching children, you can put a broomstick
across the corner of a tennis fence and suspend the ball
from the stick. Remember to have them power up into
the ball to maximize their reach and to get 100 percent
of their bodies into the ball. The visual image will help
them understand the concept of extension.
GET YOUR HEAD
IN THE GAME.
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www.headsweats.com with code:
PICKLEBALL
JULY/AUGUST 2019 |
MAGAZINE
65