The Art of the
Pump Fake
I am surprised there isn ’ t more trickery on the pickleball court . In basketball , everyone has a pump fake .
By Rick Cipes
Like thousands of people , I found pickleball in the pandemic . My basketball game was effectively shut down , and I needed a competitive outlet . My hoop game includes a good deal of trickery and deception , and those traits have carried over to pickleball . And I ’ m truly surprised there isn ’ t more trickery on the pickleball court . In basketball , everyone has a pump fake .
“ A pump fake occurs every now and then ,” says No . 2 world-ranked pickleball player Zane Navratil , “ but execution beats deception every time .”
I agree that having a solid base , and the ability to execute , is the most important thing when it comes to your game . But I would argue that , on occasion , execution often includes deception and , in fact , depends on it . Think of a Fake Erne , and how the purpose of that is to distract your opponent so they make an unforced error .
Once again , solid dinks , drops , drives are the most important thing to master before moving on to add the bells and whistles , which trickery would fall under .
I sent Zane a video . In it , I am moving in on a ball near the kitchen when I do two quick circles with my paddle . It was my own version of a pump fake . My opponent backed up , because he thought I was going to drive it ( because that is what I was signaling with the fake ), but I dinked it instead , and won the point .
“ If I saw you line up for that shot three or four times , I would be all over it — and the fifth time probably destroy it back to you ,” Zane warns me .
People of the Pickleball World , I am not a fool . Zane would destroy me on the second try . But I had a counter . And that counter is that I would never line up for that shot three or four times , or even twice , because that shot came totally out of the moment — and was , obviously , unconsciously borrowed from my bag of basketball tricks .
Zane readies the Chainsaw .
“ That ’ s when you ’ re really playing in the zone ,” Zane notes , “ when you surprise yourself .”
And if you ’ re surprising yourself , imagine what it ’ s doing to your opponent ! “ That ’ s very true ,” Zane says . “ That ’ s kind of like my serve , because I don ’ t always know where the thing ’ s gonna bounce .”
For those of you who haven ’ t seen Zane ’ s unique serve , his trickery is embedded in the toss , and the spin he puts on the ball . Look up his “ Chainsaw ” serve on YouTube . Other top players experimenting with toss are Ben Johns , Lea Jansen , and J . W . Johnson .
Yes ! Let ’ s get after it . Let ’ s see more experimentation along these lines , in addition to bringing techniques from other sports into the mix . I want to witness the evolution of pickleball !
I grew up a surfer ( dude ), and my generation always stayed comfortably on the face of the waves . What did the next gen do ? Oh , they merely decided they were going to leave the waves entirely ! Then do flips in the air , and land perfectly back on the surface . No biggie . Where is that going to come from in pickleball ? Write me . I want to see it , please . •