INSTRUCTION By Alice Tym
Build A Pickleball Bear
My grandkids love the Build-A-Bear store. When a
player recently asked me about what he should practice
in order to become a better pickleball player, I thought
about building a Pickleball Bear.
Top players have specific styles. Top tennis
players don’t all play the same. They have
built their games around signature shots as
well as mental and emotional qualities. Nadal
became a lefty just for the advantage it has in tennis.
Pete Sampras had a big serve. Isner uses his height. Graf
had a dynamic forehand. How do you know where to
start building? You don’t want to end up with a Bear that
wears a khaki fishing hat, a pink tutu, and combat boots.
Start by identifying your strength(s). You are going to
build your game around them. Are you fast or slow, tall
or short, weak or strong, old or young, smart or clueless,
savvy or spacey, experienced in other sports or a newbie?
There are physical attributes and emotional and mental
attributes. You need a pencil and paper for this one and
some serious reflection as to the direction you want to
take. Remember that you are going to want to drill and
practice to build. Practice doesn’t make perfect; it makes
permanent. You need a plan and a direction. One skill
builds on another.
By no means can I cover the myriad of options you
have, but here are a few examples...
Being tall is a distinct advantage in pickleball. If height
is your strength, you can get to the net in fewer steps.
You can stay tight to the kitchen line because you are
not vulnerable to lobs. Your wingspan can cover volleys
easily. You can reach forward and not have to let the ball
bounce in the kitchen before you hit it. You can take the
volley and the overhead higher and hit a sharper angle.
You are king of the mountain. But, you are vulnerable to
low balls and to balls hit directly at you.
You have to focus on your strengths by practicing good
footwork on your volleys. Develop a killer overhead.
And, develop the deep shots that get you to the net. Hit
deep returns. Work on bending low on the short balls
and dinks. Don’t get jammed. Every shot should focus
on bringing your height advantage into play. Don’t hit
harder than you have time to run to the kitchen line. You
want a commanding position, not a smoking forehand
that the opponents can turn and use against you. No
need
to
overhit.
They
can’t pass
you unless
you hit harder
than you can
cover. Work on a
deep serve that gives
no angles. Force them to hit middle shots. Work on
middle shots yourself that give no angles. You have the
net covered. Work on deep volleys with your knees bent
so the ball hits and skids back. If you stand up, the ball
will pop up and give the opponent a set-up. Build a game
where you are in control of the shot opportunities you
give to your opponent.
What if you are short? What are your strengths? You
can get down to low balls well, because you are already
there. Get into dink exchanges and learn to angle well.
Get down on your groundstrokes so the trajectory over
the net is low and deep. Learn to spin to mix up your
shots. Learn to change the pace of the ball.
Mix up the height by hitting lob serves and lobs. A
good lob will allow you to take the net. Work hard on
your overhead because you will see a lot of them. Put
a few away and your opponents will stop lobbing you.
Develop quick hands on the volley. Learn to drop volley
so your opponent is caught off-balance. You need to
reach more than a tall player, so practice stepping into
the volley. Learn to hit deep volleys so you have more
time to recover and to reset.
Find and develop a signature shot so that your
opponent has a smaller field to hit into because he won’t
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