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INSTRUCTION by ALICE TYM
IS YOUR GAME ONE OF SUBSTANCE, OR IS IT REACTIONARY?
Becoming a better player involves the ability to dictate play. Most pickleball players begin by being reactionary:“ Just get the return of serve back into the court.”“ Keep the ball in play.”“ Just get the ball in to start play— the serve doesn’ t matter.”
If your play is in line with these comments, it means your game has no real substance. Other players control your ability to play the game.
Where to start to build a game of substance?
You should begin by identifying the shots that dictate play, and, perhaps more important, the court positions that dictate play.
The serve is of utmost importance because it initiates play and is required to win a point. Far from just“ putting the ball in play,” your serve should be the first move on the chessboard. Should you serve deep, hard, topspin, slice, wide, backhand, down the middle, short, or high? And where should you stand to serve, and who takes the return if it is down the middle?
The ability to dictate play comes from practicing a variety of serves so that you have a selection in your arsenal, and can hit the type that your opponent does not want to see.
The first point of the match is crucial, just like the opening move in chess. Pressure starts when you warm up and observe your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. That first serve needs to be well-thoughtout, again like the opening salvo in chess. Those who have watched the wonderful movie“ The Queen’ s Gambit” will remember how the star visualized the entire board and the pieces in motion. Your serve initiates and dictates the course of the point. Practice your serve.
When you practice your serve, you should also practice the skill of concentration. Leave the last point behind you. Clear your thoughts of the previous play, especially if you made an error or a weak shot. Focus entirely on the point ahead. Plan your service motion. Use the information you have gathered about the opponents to construct tactics that suit your strategy.
It is a common mistake to carry the burden of poor execution into the next point. Practice thinking ahead. Develop rituals that keep you calm and your head uncluttered.
Pay attention to which serve is your most consistent. Be mindful of your own abilities. If you cannot consistently hit a certain serve, do not go for it on an important point— even if it seems to be the most tactical choice. Pickleball is a game of consistency. What serve can you deliver when the pressure is on you?
The return of serve is the next most important shot. You must be able to place the ball and tell your partner in advance where you are going to return. Your partner needs to focus on your placements quickly if he is to be able to poach and dictate play. You want your partner to be able to squeeze the available space for the opponent’ s third shot. Your partner must narrow the field of play because you will have to hit the ball while on the move forward.
Back to thinking about moving the chess pieces. You want to give your opponent very few options. For example, if I return the serve deep down the middle( and I have told my partner I will do that), he looks to the center of the court and knows the opponent has no angle available. Now my partner can hug the center and cover four-fifths of the court without having to move much at all. I have to move in, but I only have to cover the onefifth of the court wide to my forehand.
Practice your return of serve. You may want to go wide to a lefty’ s backhand. You may want to go wide to open up the middle, but if the opponent has a strong forehand you will shut down the effectiveness of your partner. He will be busy covering the down-the-line and the wideangle forehand, and the lob, and the deep crosscourt!
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