3 Elite Tips Straight From Ben Johns

WEEK 41

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

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This week, you’re getting some high-level tips straight from the best player in the world, Ben Johns. The information in this issue comes from an awesome YouTube video I watched by Josh J Pickleball. He recently made a video with Ben Johns, who shared some game-changing tips for your drop shots. Below, I’ve highlighted three of the best tips I took away from this video.

Now let’s get to it!

Tip #1: High-Level Drops

Typically, when you’re hitting drops, you want to be balanced and not moving as you make contact with the ball. However, when you develop a higher level of skill, the game becomes much more nuanced and there are new techniques that are safer to try. For example, when you watch Ben Johns hit drops, he sometimes shuffles through his shot, not keeping his feet planted. His feet stay in motion as he makes contact so that he can get to the net faster. Often, his strategy is to drive his third shot, then hit a fifth shot drop, slowly moving forward the entire time when possible.

If you want to try this method, make sure you stay low when you’re hitting your fifth shot drop. Don’t pop up at all when you make contact with the ball. For this technique to work, you need to keep your knees bent to stay low and balanced, even if your feet are still moving as you hit your drop.

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Tip #2: Reposition Your Paddle

When you shuffle forward through your drop like Ben Johns does, your contact point with the ball might change - sometimes in front of your body, beside you, or behind. Because of this, you need to adjust your paddle position depending on where you meet the ball. If it’s in front of you, keep your paddle tip down. When it’s beside you, hold the paddle more horizontal. If you make contact behind your body, tilt the paddle tip up slightly by angling your wrist. Tilting your paddle tip up helps you get outside of the ball more, especially when you’re on the left side trying to drop cross court.

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Tip #3: How to Hit a Shovel Drop

Ben Johns often hits shovel drops which are soft drops that land in the front half of his opponent’s kitchen. The way he makes contact with the ball for these drops is kind of like a scooping motion, and he keeps his paddle face pointing towards the ball.

When you’re hitting these shovel drops, angle the full surface of your paddle towards the ball. Don’t open your paddle too much towards the sky because this could lead to loftier drops than intended, and this paddle position is more similar to what you need for a slice. Instead, keep the paddle face focused on the ball for better control, and hit the ball lightly, using your opponent’s speed from their shot rather than adding your own.

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