DAY 1
Day 8: Exploring Angles
This day is all about exploring angles. When you return the serve, you have choices. Today you test your ability to hit angles on the return, angles on the serve, angles on dinks, angles on drives. Do your angles help or hurt you? Can you cover the returns of what you give your opponent? Learn what angles you are good at hitting. Know thyself so you don’ t get into a war of angles with someone who has better ones.
Day 9: Overhead Extension
This day requires full extension on your overhead. You are going to practice hitting overheads: taking your paddle back early, moving your feet into position, and then reaching as high as possible to hit your overhead. If you are unsure as to how high you can reach, tie a string on a pickleball and suspend it from a tree. See how high you can reach, then go back onto the court and make it happen. Extension gives you better angles and it gives your overhead the power of your back and legs rather than just your arm.
Day 10: Using the Middle
This day focuses on the middle. Serve down the middle. Return down the middle. Study how this limits the opponent’ s choices. Work on your footwork to make your shot precise, not sloppy. Make sure you can drill the ball down the middle when the opening is there. That requires good footwork. Just because you have room to hit does not mean you should be sloppy.
Day 11: Alternative Serves
This day is creative serve day. Try a lob serve, a slice serve, a topspin serve, a short serve, and a backhand serve. Experiment. Add dimension to your game. Adjust your feet if necessary. Hit the serve with your body, not just your arm. Get your legs into it.
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MARCH / APRIL 2026 | MAGAZINE 57