Playing pickleball is undoubtedly fun and it’s easy to get addicted to playing. While many players get competent enough, getting to the next level takes more work. So if you feel like you’ve been stuck playing at the same level and wondering why you’re not getting better at pickleball, here are some things you may be overlooking.
Why You’re Not Getting Better At Pickleball
1. You’re Not Drilling
Not many rec players will think to drill or like drilling. But if you’re coming from any competitive sports, you will know how important drilling is. Whether you can competently do every shot in pickleball, mastering them takes a lot of practice.
You may know that guy that hits out most of his third-shot drives. You may know that lady that seems to miss almost every overhead smash. Or worst, you may know a group that rips the ball out without ever resetting the ball for some dinking.
Why is that? Most likely, they’re not drilling the shots they think they can do. Drilling is different from practicing in a game. Drilling allows your brain and body a chance to connect and memorize the motions and power that each shot takes. That means your shots will get a lot more consistent and controlled.
You’re also getting a lot more hits than you would during a doubles game since you’re hitting every ball. All you need is a box of balls so you don’t have to keep chasing the ball. So recruit a partner with as much interest to get better with their game and incorporate drilling into your weekly routine.
2. You’re Always Playing With The Same Groups
While it may be comforting to play with familiar faces, it’s easy to get used to how they play. Mix it up and test out the skills and styles of different people. Give yourself a challenge by driving to a different court or facility and see where you stand.
Playing with different groups may expose what your weaknesses are that you may not be aware of. While playing with the same groups is great for socializing among friends, mix up your routine if you’re serious about getting better.
3. You’re Avoiding Your Weakness
In rec play, you will often see people avoiding their weakness rather than using it and losing a point. Most 3.5 and below players notoriously have a weak backhand. So when a serve comes to their backhand, they will move around the ball to return with their forehand.
You may also surprisingly see those that cannot dink crosscourt with their backhand so they dink forward to the opponent’s forehand or attack a ball too soon. If you find yourself to be doing the same, you’re not going to get better.
Expose and eliminate your weakness by drilling and then using them during rec play. If you’re avoiding certain shots because you’re not good at them yet, you cannot level up. Don’t worry about winning or losing the point and focus on improving.
4. You’re Ignoring The Soft Game
The beauty of pickleball is that dinks and drops can be as dangerous as drives and fast volleys. Many younger players in rec play over-volley or rip drives after drives, rather than slowing the game down.
With higher-level players and even pros, you will see a lot more soft games with strategically placed dinks with even spins in them. You may see a pro match with all four players dinking back and forth at least 20 shots before someone attacks and puts away the ball.
Dinks are easy but dinking well takes practice. Drops are not as easy but they make it hard for your opponent to attack the ball. Both are underrated skills that are so important.
5. You Lack Court Awareness
Unless you already play a racquet sport, court awareness is something you may not think of often enough. While the goal in pickleball is eventually for all players to move up to the kitchen, too many players rush to the net without being aware of where the ball and the opponents might be.
So you may see that the ball gets returned right to someone’s feet as they’re approaching fast. Similarly, a ball may get lobbed, and instead of thinking about where the ball could be landing, the player smashes it right into the net. Court awareness means you know where the ball is, where your partner is and where your opponents are.
So you may not want to poach balls on your partner’s side, exposing your half where no one’s there for your opponent to hit at. Or you may need to cover your partner’s side while they’re getting a smash back across the court. While it may seem simple, court awareness is something that you should be mindfully conscious of in your games.
Last Tips
For more tips to level up from where you are, check out the next article.
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