There are certain truths that I have learned during my pickleball career. They are the guiding principles which shape my play. They are my pickleball ten commandments.
Pickleball ten commandments
Rather than rattling off a bunch of thou shalt not’s, I have primarily focused on what one should do.
- Thou shalt serve consistently: While I view my pickleball serve as an offensive weapon, I know that we can only win the point if I get the serve in. Our goal should be to have a reliable serve we can count on.
- Thou shalt return deep and follow it to the net: When I am returning serve, my goal is to get my return within a few feet of the baseline. If I need a bit of extra time to get to the line, I might choose to hit a high, loopy return rather than driving the ball.
- Thou shalt serve to the middle, taking away the angle from my opponent: If you don’t have a tennis background you may not fully understand how the placement of your shot to a large part determines the placement of the next shot. I most often aim my serve between the center of the service box and the center line. If I aim for the sideline my partner will have to cover the line and not be able to help me in the middle.
- Thou shalt attack a weak return: Too often we are too patient, waiting for our opponent to make a mistake rather than attacking an attackable ball. When I get a weak return, I want to move forward and drive the ball rather than hit a third shot drop. Mixing it up a little, keeping your opponent off guard, is always a good idea! And a weak return gives you a perfect opportunity to drive rather than drop.
- Thou shalt poach at least once a game: Poaching is NOT the sole responsibility of the male member of a mixed double pair. If you are at the NVZ line, and your partner returns the serve straight ahead…move over. Put your foot on the center line and be prepared to poach a ball that comes down the middle.
- Thou shalt put away the ball with 3/4 speed: We have all done it. The ball is flying high enough to be right in our ideal strike zone and we get excited. We slam the ball using 150% of our normal shot speed and miss. Instead, if I take the time to aim and place the ball at 75% power I will be more effective.
- Thou shalt use a third shot drop: Not withstanding # 4 above, in most situations I will use a third shot drop so that I can get to the NVZ. I am playing pickleball…not tennis on a pickleball court.
- Thou shalt dink to set up the point: My goal when dinking is not simply to get the ball over the net. I want to dink with a purpose…moving my opponent side to side and up and back.
- Thou shalt encourage thy partner. Thy shall not glare. roll thine eyes or turn away from thine partner. If this is a challenge for you…remember, you have free will. You can control what you say and do.
- Thou shalt not covet another partner: After the match, no matter how my partner performs, my job is to support my partner. They likely are doing a pretty good job of berating themselves…my job is to find what they did well and praise them for it. On tournament days, I try to enjoy a meal with my partner after play. And, I always honor my commitments. If I have committed to play in an event with a partner…they will not get a call from me in a few weeks or months telling them I am playing with someone else. That just isn’t right.
So there you have it. What do you think? Have your created a list of guiding priniciples like this for your game? Do you have a pickleball ten commandments?
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