scene on the court
By Craig Laughlin
Occasional Observations from a Pickleball Curmudgeon
X-Games Legend Gets Unsolicited Advice
on Fundamental Pickleball Strategy
W
hen X Games legend Levi LaVallee
(famed for his snowmobile double
backflips) showed up to give pickleball
a try, I was there. Watching this raw
beginner make one amazing shot after another was a
testament to his astonishing athleticism.
During a break, I asked Levi if technique and strategy
were important to his success as a professional
snowmobiler. He replied yes. I mentioned that him
and his partner having just lost a game to my wife and
her partner was evidence that, in pickleball, technique
and strategy can be employed to beat superior athletes.
Asked if he had taken the time to watch any of the top
pickleball players on YouTube, he said, “Yeah, they just
dinked the ball back and forth, back and forth, and then
all of a sudden, bang, bang, bang. I watched that and
thought to myself, ‘That can’t be right!’” I laughed out
loud and asked permission to offer a few tips. We talked
for quite a while, and here’s what I shared with him.
Pickleball is not an intuitive game when it comes
to strategy. Most beginners, and many experienced
recreational players, try to hit a winner every time
they touch the ball. This is especially true of former
tennis players, who are accustomed to using force and
placement to hit winning groundstrokes—especially
from the baseline. This is often a winning strategy
when playing against beginners and recreational
players, but doesn’t work so well when one graduates
to playing against better competition. Early success
with this strategy results in what multi-time national
champion and teaching pro Scott Moore calls “positive
reinforcement for negative decisions.” So, here’s some
fundamental information that will help you to make
good strategic pickleball decisions:
1. The advantage is at the non-volley or “kitchen”
line. Two good players at the kitchen line will form
a wall at the net, stop most groundstrokes from
getting through, and will keep the ball in play until
you make a mistake. You and your partner should
get all the way up to the kitchen line as soon as
possible during a rally.
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2. Keep your opponents back. If you and your partner
are at the net, and one or both of your opponents
are back, you will win the rally 80% of the time. Keep
your opponents back by serving deep and returning
deep, and don’t start dinking until both of your
opponents have made it to the kitchen line.
3. Make your opponents hit up on the ball. Your
opponents can’t attack a ball that they have to hit up
on. This is why you see so much dinking when you
watch the high-level players. The object isn’t to hit
a winning dink (although sometimes you can), the
object is to keep the pressure on your opponents
until they make a mistake by hitting the ball in the
net or out of bounds, or, most fun of all, popping a
ball up that you can smash.
4. Wait for a high-percentage shot. Trying to hit a
winner from the baseline is a 50/50 proposition at
best. Same for trying to hit a winner on a ball that
is between your knees and your waist (probably
worse). When you can hit down on a ball your
opponent has popped up, your chance of winning
the rally goes up to 80 or 90 percent. Much better
odds! Make that happen.
5. Don’t let the lines beat you. Beginning and
recreational players often try to win a point on their
serves or by hitting “down the line” or extreme
angle shots. I’ve seen players who think it’s a big deal
when they can get an ace on 20% of their serves.
The problem is that they serve out of bounds 25% of
the time, or more! Those numbers don’t add up to
winning pickleball. Same applies to line shots. Until
you get really good, the best strategy is to keep the
ball in play until your opponents set you up for one
of those 80% to 90% kill shots.
In summary, pickleball is a chess match. Watch the
videos of the 5.0 players and the pros. They concentrate
on serving deep to keep their opponents back, they
get to the net quickly, they wait for their opponents to
make a mistake, and then they pounce. You can play that
way too. •