Road To Pro Week 5

Author

Shea Underwood
March 01, 2024

WEEK 5

Welcome back to the Road to Pro! This week, we’ve given the newsletter a major makeover, and here’s how it works…

Each week, I’ll be sharing one drill, one tip, and answering one question. BUT, that’s not all! The question I answer each week will be chosen from questions that YOU submit. The person who’s question is chosen will receive a FREE gift from me. The gift will be determined at random by spinning a digital wheel of prizes, which includes anything from cash to pickleballs to paddles. I’ll share a video of choosing the winner’s prize on all my social media platforms every week, so you’ll be able to see what kinds of prizes you could win.

To submit your question(s), click on the button below to be taken to a Google submission form:

(There is no limit to how many questions you can submit!)

Tip of the Week

How to master transitioning to the kitchen:

Sometimes, it can be hard to know when to approach the kitchen line after a drop shot. Here’s an easy way to tell:

After you or your partner hits a drop, look to see where your opponent’s paddle is. If their paddle is going to make contact with the ball above the net, you should stay back, or maybe even back up.

If your opponent’s paddle is at net height, you might consider coming in a step or two and resetting the ball from the transition zone.

If your opponent is making contact with the ball from below the net, you now have the freedom to go all the way to the kitchen line, or to look for a poach.

If you play below the 4.0 level, you will most likely not run into many circumstances where your opponents are able to speed up the ball from below the net. Attacking the ball from below the net requires unlocking the backhanded or forehanded roll. If your opponents have not mastered this shot, then their attack zone is typically going to be at or above the net.

Drill Highlight

Learn to let out balls go!

This drill requires you to have a partner and a few extra balls. Stand at the kitchen line across from your partner. Hit a few dinks back and forth, and then have your partner speed up a ball at you. Without hitting the ball and without turning around to see, try making a call on whether the ball is in or out based on how your partner hit the ball and how fast it was moving. Have your partner verify, and then do this several more times. This is an excellent way to train letting out balls go for when you’re playing real games.

Q&A Spotlight

This week’s question comes from Dominic on Instagram. Time to win a prize!

I was wondering how you determine the ratings for players what makes you become a 3.5 or a 4.5. Is it being able to hit certain shots? Is it being able to beat other players on those levels?

Answer: This question has more than one answer. There are a few rating systems you should be aware of:

  • Self-Rating

    This is by far the most common; however, it is also the most inaccurate. Most players will rate themselves based on what level they “feel” they are at. If you want to self-rate, but want to be a little more accurate, you can use these guidelines provided by USA Pickleball.

  • DUPR

    DUPR stands for the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, and I consider it to be the true king of the rating game. Every player is self-rated or assigned an initial DUPR rating when first registering. After that, the rating goes up or down based on the results of player’s matches against other people with a DUPR. Tournament and rec play matches can affect your rating in DUPR; however, most tournaments don’t use DUPR when organizing players into brackets.

  • UTPR

    Most tournaments will use UTPR (USA Pickleball Tournament Player Ratings) to group players into brackets, which means they can restrict or allow players to register for certain brackets based on players’ ratings. Only tournament matches can affect your UTPR rating.

It’s also worth noting that the PPA and MLP just announced a merger, which means we’ll likely see DUPR as the official rating system from here on out.

I spun the wheel to choose a prize for Dominic for providing this week’s answered question. Check out the video below to see what he got!

If you have a question you’d like for me to answer, please click the button below to fill out the question submission form.

If your question is chosen for next week’s newsletter, you’ll win a prize!

My latest videos

  • I have another giveaway this week on my Instagram for the new Selkirk Vanguard Control paddle. Click on the post below to enter for a chance to win!

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