You Already Have The Perfect Drop

WEEK 37

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

Each week, I answer one of your questions, give you one advanced tip, and walk you through one helpful drill. Here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

• Question: How to hit drops like a pro?

• Tip: Change your perspective of the court

• Drill: Practice controlling the midcourt

This week Zack asked our featured question, so I’ll be sending him a new Selkirk paddle! If you want a chance to win a paddle, click on the button below to submit your pickleball questions. Anyone whose question is featured in my newsletter will automatically win a new paddle!

Now let’s get to it!

Q&A Spotlight

Redefining the Perfect Drop

Answer: One effective strategy to elevate your game is to change your perception of the court. Think of the baseline as your defensive line and the kitchen line as your offensive line. When you're back at the defensive line, that’s not the time to unleash super aggressive shots. Your main goal should be to get up to the kitchen line and then work out the point from there.

When you’re at the baseline, just focus on buying yourself time by hitting slower, more controlled shots. Wait for a safe opportunity to move up and establish yourself at the kitchen line instead of rushing up too fast. Once you get to the kitchen, you're on an even playing field with your opponents, so now you can play more aggressively since you've successfully moved from defense to offense.

Most players want to hit the perfect drop every time, but what they don’t know is that they probably already have it. You need to know that the perfect drop is one that you can hit consistently. So, instead of trying to hit the ideal drop that’s impossible to attack, hit drops that are high and soft. Here’s why:

• Hitting high = The ball won’t go straight into the net and you’ll be more consistent.

• Hitting softly = You’ll slow the ball down, giving you more time to prepare for the next shot, and you’ll prevent it from landing too deep in your opponent’s kitchen, which makes it easy to attack.

A high and soft drop will land in the first half of the kitchen, making it harder for your opponents to reach over and slam it back. However, just be aware that this technique will cause the ball to bounce higher, so you’ll still receive an attacking shot, but this way you’ll have more time to respond to it properly.

This technique is not a problem if you master the art of resetting the ball. Even the pros don’t hit perfect drops. It’s rare that they hit the perfect drop that’ll allow them to move all the way to the kitchen off that one shot. The reason this works is because they can hit resets from anywhere on the court. They might hit a higher drop, move a couple steps forward, then pause to respond to their opponent’s next shot. They’ll continue to hit resets as they move forward, and once they make it to the kitchen, they can start attacking.

For this to work well, focus on staying low and resetting the ball. Don’t try to overcomplicate things - you’re essentially rebounding the ball into the opposite kitchen to keep moving forward and that’s it. Make sure your body is lowered and your weight evenly distributed so you can easily move anywhere you need to get to the ball. When you make contact with the ball, use a small, controlled motion with your arms and keep a firm grip on your paddle. A loose grip makes you lose control over your shots, so keep a strong grip and you can place the ball exactly where you need for a smooth transition forward.

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Tip of the Week

Two Avoidable Mistakes

Don't be fooled into thinking you can't move backwards in the court. So many players think that once they make it to the kitchen, they can’t move backwards and lose the ground they’ve covered. But, your progression from the baseline to the kitchen line isn't always linear, meaning you can’t only focus on moving forward. There are plenty of times when the best position for you to be in is actually farther back, especially if there's a high ball about to be attacked. Sometimes, when you or your partner is dropping or resetting the ball and it goes too high, the most effective defense is from a deeper position. It gives you more time to react to the ball coming toward you and a better chance at getting it back over the net. A huge mistake is being hyper-focused on getting to the kitchen and rushing up no matter what. Instead, just adjust to the current situation and either stay back or move back when you need to.

Another mistake people make is trying to be too offensive too early. There are so many players who try to attack the ball from the baseline or midcourt, and it gets them in trouble. Instead, like we talked about earlier, just keep resetting the ball until you can move to a place where you’re able to be aggressive and offensive. Use patience as your strategy to transition effectively and take control of the point.

Drill Highlight

Master Midcourt

This week’s drill is really simple, but incredibly important to do it if you want to get better at controlling your transition zone. As I mentioned earlier, if you can master the art of resetting, then you’ll be able to transition very smoothly up to the kitchen line every time.

Position yourself at midcourt and have your drilling partner stand opposite from you at their kitchen line. Have your partner start by feeding a ball to you, aiming towards your feet, and you respond by resetting it into their kitchen. Remain in midcourt and keep resetting the shots that your partner hits to you. Start off by asking your partner to play more cooperatively and not hit super aggressive attacking shots. Have them gradually increase their intensity as you continue the drill, so that you can get a taste for what shots your opponents would hit to you in a real game.

This drill will help you learn how to reset the ball from anywhere on the court. If you can do this well, you can fend off any attack from your opponents and make it to the kitchen line where you can start playing more offensively.

Videos You’ll Enjoy

• You can now go watch my most recent video on YouTube called, Pickleball Secrets You Will Regret Not Knowing featuring Pro Pickleball Player Roscoe Bellamy!

• Go take a look at Cracked Pickleball’s newest video where we go over The HUGE Mistakes 95% of Pickleball Players Make and How to Fix Them.

Discounts for You

• (CODE: INF-Shea | $10-$40 future purchase gift card at Selkirk.com or SelkirkLabs.com)

• (CODE: SheaU-104849 | 10% off at PickleballSuperstore.com)

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