Power Play

For better or worse, like most all sports the strategies of the way the game of pickleball is being played are becoming more fast and furious. As both a coach and as a competitor, I am seeing this evolution occurring on all levels of play. 

On recreational entry level play, most of this has to do with what are referred to as “bangers.” These are players, (mostly the men), who strike the ball as hard as they can on just about every shot they hit. The biggest problem with this strategy (or lack of strategy) is that for the most part, these types of players have virtually no control over where the ball is actually going to land in the court and are mainly just trying to intimidate you (aka, bully on the playground).

On the higher open level and pro levels, while you see players speed up the game and bang the ball, you will notice that there is a lot of strategic utilization of slowing the ball down and precisely placing shots in and around the no volley zone in an attempt to get a higher trajectory returning ball from our opponents, which will now allow us to speed the game up and hit a smash. The main difference at this level of play is that the players have the abilities to either smash the ball back or absorb the speed and slow the game back down. The biggest problem with this strategy is that it requires a lot of skill to become accomplished and successful in slowing the ball down. Players must learn to have delicate touch (aka, soft hands). Players must also learn how to apply a variety of spins on the ball to be able to precisely place their shot to a specific location on their opponent's side of the court.

The main reason most players don’t qualify for a rating above a 3.5 level of play is due to their lack of abilities and utilization of dinking skills.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of pride in being a good player on all levels of competition and just playing pickleball for the sheer fun of the game. But if you want to take your game beyond the world of playing with nothing but bangers, you must improve your dinking skills. This requires time and commitment outside of just playing and competing. You must make sure you have proper, sound and solid fundamentals in stroke production and devote a lot of time to practice and drills.

My recommendation is seeking out a qualified instructor for some private lessons to make sure you have proper, sound and solid fundamentals in stroke production. Follow that up with some drill clinics for your specific level of play. Finally, find yourself a hitting partner to practice and drill with on a regular basis.