INSTRUCTION By PPR ’ s Josh Deutsch How to Create an Attackable Ball with a Dink
When I asked my students what their favorite shot to hit in a match is , they unanimously said , “ THE SMASH !” This got me thinking — how did we get to the point of attacking ?
Can dinks be offensive ? When everyone gets up to the non-volley line in a game , do you hit your dink right to someone , or do you hit it away from them ? Are you looking for the next shot to come high to your forehand or backhand ? Did you hit your dink far enough out wide or at their backhand foot ?
The first thing you should think about when dinking is what you are trying to accomplish . There are many different scenarios that can stem from each shot you hit . We want to be proactive instead of reactive .
What makes a dink offensive ? An offensive dink is a ball we hit out of the air or off the bounce at the nonvolley line and are trying to be aggressive to set up an easier shot above the net . When hitting an offensive dink , you want your opponent to lose their positioning , become off-balance and make contact anywhere but in front of their body . One of the most important things in pickleball is to keep your chest up and facing the court . If someone forces your posture to break , they have an instant advantage .
When hitting an offensive dink , we are being patient and looking to become aggressive and structure the point in our favor . This can be a normal dink or even a roll dink that pushes our opponent into an uncomfortable position . Something to keep in mind is from non-volley line to non-volley line is 14 feet with the higher part of the net . From the corner of one side of the kitchen to the other corner crosscourt is 24 feet and over the lowest part of the net . More court and the lower part of the net sounds like a great shot to me .
A great start to being offensive is hitting your dink in front of the back corner of the kitchen . Targeting this spot allows you to push your opponent farther out wide and deeper , which creates a gap in the middle of the court and forces them off-balance . Both create great opportunities for an attackable ball that you or your partner could take advantage of . I also like hitting this spot because it has a lower percentage chance to be hit around the post compared to a ball that was hit short in the kitchen and off the court .
Implementing strategy before playing a point can be crucial to your success . Try to determine your opponent ’ s weaknesses and exploit them . Hitting two to three shots out wide and then another to the player ’ s inside foot ( especially if it ’ s the backhand ) that lands close to the non-volley line will result in your opponent being off-balance and using more wrist , causing more flicking and less control on the shot . This will result in a higher ball that will allow you and your partner to start attacking . As a right-handed player in this scenario , this means if I am on the right side and a soft ball is coming to me , I am looking for my backhand to take it out of the air and attack .
When I am watching my students play points , they hit dinks right to each other and expect to win the point . Most pickleball athletes should be able to cover the area in front of them the easiest . If you visually split the kitchen on one side into thirds , this creates boundaries and targets . Attempting to never hit the ball in the middle area means that every time you hit the ball , your opponent will be moving instead of staying in one spot and dictating the point . Think about patterns and how you can back opponents off the non-volley line .
How can we practice this ?
Drill 1 : Simply put targets or tape on the court , dividing the kitchen into thirds and practice not hitting in the middle . After practicing you can play points , and if you hit a dink in the middle of the kitchen , then you lose the point . Drill 2 : One of my favorite drills to run students through is called “ Say it .” In this drill we dink straight ahead or crosscourt and say either “ offense ” or “ defense ” every time we hit the ball . This gets students thinking about the shot they are hitting , and it becomes an extremely
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