I had been playing pickleball long enough that I was at ease with the two-bounce rule, the No Volley Zone, the scoring, coming to the kitchen, and the lingo, such as “getting pickled.” I was getting lots of advice from my partners: hit deeper, hit harder, get to the kitchen, stay back, put away that pop-up, smash that overhead, etc. I should have been getting better. I wasn’t. What my partners didn’t know was that I had no idea what would happen when I hit the ball; I had no concept of strategy. So, I listened, I tried, and I was stagnated. As you can see a lot of the advice was conflicting, beyond my skills, and not universal. The first nugget of advice that led to change was bending at my knees for my ready position rather than bending at the waist. This allowed for easier, smoother movement to the ball. Then Malcolm introduced two things that began to make a real difference. He taught me the mechanics of the dink and he explained positioning on the court.
It turns out that getting the ball to go where I want takes more than desire. Where I am when I strike the ball, where the ball is, where my paddle is, how I move my body, how I choose where to send the ball are all things, I can control to successfully complete a shot. And the mechanics of the dink are true for almost any shot anywhere on court.
Let’s begin at the kitchen line standing in the middle of my side of the court, knees bent, arms extended out in front with paddle in the chest-to-belly zone, paddle head at a 45° angle. As the ball travels across the net, I move my body to the ball with a glide step to the side, or a lunge to the side, or with one foot stepping forward or back; setting myself up so I can play the ball in front of me. As my foot moves to this spot, my paddle follows my foot. If I am stepping left, I turn my hips, so the paddle moves left too. I am in a holding position waiting for the ball to bounce. I get my paddle under the ball, use my legs to lift my body and paddle, and use my hips to shift my body to direct the ball to a spot on the other side of the net. It is this lifting and shifting that adds life to the ball when it bounces on my opponent’s side, causing him to work just a little bit harder. To add to the degree of difficulty for my opponent, I choose a spot that makes him move to play the ball. Moving him one step is good, two steps is better, and if I can move him all the way to the sideline, I’ve found my best spot. Can you see what happens when my opponent has to move wide to reach a ball? A huge empty court opens up. If he pops it up, it’s a perfect spot for a put away shot.
My goal, therefore, is to send the ball across the net at an angle, ideally a severe angle. But which way? There is a flow to the ball that is determined by science, possibly the science of physics, but definitely by the science of billiards, something we can all understand. When a billiard ball hits the side rail, it bounces off at an opposite angle, always continuing away from the pool cue. That is the natural flow of the ball. In pickleball, my paddle becomes the side rail. If the ball comes at me from my right, I want to continue the natural flow of the ball and send it in the opposite direction, or to my left. It is where the ball wants to go. That is the easiest way to play the ball, as determined by the science of billiards. Again, let’s picture what is happening: my opponent sends the ball over the net from my right side, I get into position to play the ball to my left, continuing the flow of the ball, and at a severe angle to force my opponent to move to get to the ball. Maybe he pops it up, maybe he returns the ball. If he returns the ball, my partner or I continue the natural flow of the ball and send it to our right across the net at an angle. We are moving the ball across wide, easy arcs, moving our opponents, adding stress to their options of play. We continue this until our opponents make a mistake and then we hit a winner.
Moving my opponents around led to a lesson from Malcolm on positioning. If I am trying to get them out of position, it makes sense that they are trying to do the same to me. My job is to be in the best possible spot to wait for the ball. That spot is directly across the court from where the ball lands on my opponent’s side. If I am opposite the ball, I am likely midpoint from where he will send the ball, only a few steps away from where I will play the ball. And I want to be there when the ball lands on the other side. My partner follows me. We should move as though we are tied together two arm-and-paddle lengths apart. If I move right, my partner also moves right. If my partner sends the ball to our far-left sideline, he lines up at the far-left side and I follow, setting up on or near the center court line. He covers the returns to the left side, which, for our opponent, would be the way the ball wants to go, though a very narrow alley to land it in. Most opponents will try to send the ball right back where it came from, fighting the flow of the ball, adding difficulty to their shot. This ball is likely my responsibility and I am there, waiting for it. The other possibility is for the opponent to send the ball to our far right. This will be a difficult shot for them as it is opposite the natural flow of the ball. This shot would also be my responsibility. We are in place, and we know who is responsible for the next play.
Defensively, if our opponent sends my partner wide or deep to get to a ball, I need to be aware of all the open space on the court and plan to cover it.
This simple understanding of positioning led to a surprising, almost immediate, improvement in my game. My skills had not changed, but by being in the right place I was able to get my paddle on more balls, keeping the rally alive. I continue to work to improve my mechanics, the ball is landing where I think it will with greater frequency. Along with my skills, my confidence is growing, and so is my enjoyment of the game.
Contributing Writer: Lucinda Peterman
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