INSTRUCTION By Alice Tym
Drills for Dudes
Ya gotta love guys . They want to hit hard . They are not complicated so their pickleball drills are just plain fun . Of course , you have to build in some placement , footwork , anticipation , and technique along with hitting the snot out of the ball .
TECHNIQUE DRILL
Guys need fundamentals since they want to drive the ball . No need for an extended backswing . Guys are strong enough to hit without a big swing and since they do hit hard , they have to be ready for the ball to come back sooner . Shorten that backswing . This is pickleball , not tennis . Footwork is the building block of power . If the feet are not set , the placement will suffer . A hard ball to the wrong place is a sooner loser .
So , here is the drill . Two players start with deep crosscourt forehands using good footwork , short backswings , extended follow-throughs . Then one player stays hitting crosscourt while the other goes down the line . Do not make each other run so far that one cannot get back to the center . This applies especially to the guy hitting crosscourt ; this is a drill , so you want to make each ball playable . No impossible angles — just smooth , well-placed deep shots . Exhale on your follow-throughs . Pretend you are both being videotaped .
Now pick up the pace . Dial it up until you begin making errors . It is fun to hit hard , but now your technique is breaking down . Know your limits . It is a simple drill , but controlling the pace and depth gets you into a reliable rhythm . You are in the groove , in the zone . Many players do not know what their personal best rhythm really is . You need to know it to establish your rhythm in a match .
Now reverse the drill so that the other person goes down the line . Then reverse the corner and start the process on the backhand side . Be able to be consistent to both corners when hitting crosscourt or down the line .
DIALING UP YOUR SERVE AND RETURN
Work on varying your serve . You need a serve with real pace . Rip it by using your legs . There is a reason you have glutes . Your drill partner needs to tell you where he will return the ball . You serve to the backhand on the right side . He returns to your forehand . You go down the line to his backhand . He rips it down the line to your forehand .
If you can add two players , you serve to the right court , he returns down the line and comes in . Now you need to practice a short drop and play out the point . If your drop is long ( behind the NVZ line ), you lose the point , but you still play out the point . In this drill you rip the serve and the return . But you must be able to place the ball . If you cannot place it where you call it in advance , you are serving too hard . Learn your limits .
POACH DRILL
Player A serves , B returns . A either drops or hits the third shot , and B ’ s partner must poach the next shot , the fourth shot . A is working on a deep serve in hopes of setting up a weak return . B is working on a deep return in hopes of setting up a weak third shot , or at least a third shot that gives his partner plenty of time to set up . Now the A team must decide if the third shot should be a drop or a drive , knowing that the B player must poach .
The most important part of this drill is training the poacher to watch the ball come off the opponent ’ s paddle . He must anticipate where the ball is going and how hard the opponent is going to hit the ball . The poacher must learn how far he can extend , how deep he needs to hit his volley , whether he should break the angle of the ball to hit an angle himself , and whether he has a solid backhand and forehand volley , so he knows what skill to practice , and sometimes he needs to learn “ What was I thinking ?”
This is an anticipation drill . Get ready , get set , and go for it . In this drill you only get a point if you poach and win the point . Play to 11 , win by 2 .
MIND BENDER
Drill by playing games starting at 9-10 . Team A is serving , and the score is 9-10 . The team that ends up winning that game gets one point . Then Team B starts the next game serving at 9-10 . The team that wins that game gets one point . You play to 21 points , win by 2 . In other words , one point for each game , but each game begins at 9-10 .
You need a reliable serve and a strategy to keep the ball in play , no unforced errors . Make the opponents win the point . Concentrate . When you get to 10-10 if it is your serve , don ’ t get relieved and sloppy . The purpose of this drill is learning to play key points . You may want to be a big gun , but can you win the close one by banging ? On the other hand , can you play close points and be a