Post good rec level pickleball instruction videos here

[ByeByePoly]

We have something like this on the tennis “tips” forum. I thought as many of us are trying to figure out the “dark arts” of pickleball … we could ttw crowd source and shed some light on the darkness.

Find a good video on technique, strategy, rules ... anything else that others might benefit from, post it here. Perhaps a comment about particulars to look for in video.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Here was one I thought was really informative. I am planning on using 2hbh more in pickleball, and Ignatowich does an excellent job suggesting a migration path. But the video was useful beyond that when he answered viewer questions.

- 2hbh drives and wide volleys first, 2hbh dinks and drops later
- miss serves and return of serves long
- miss drives into net … low and topspin more important than pace
- miss dinks into net, never wide
- drive deep returns, drop short returns (counterintuitive)
- better to hit low drive when off balance than hit a bad reset/drop
- dink back to middle when put on defense

It was good to hear more thought than the usual “always drop 4th”. I had already had the thought I am better off with a less than perfect low drive and still be alive than hit a bad point ending drop/reset.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I will also post this one. My wife recently switched from volley serve to drop serve. She comes from tennis, but the body rotation assist wasn’t happening at an acceptable level (too much arming for you ttw tennis tips forum peeps ).

I knew how to help, but better to find the same thing said on the internet.

I wanted her to simplify her drop serve and get the smooth fluid rotation assist nailed down. She could always add to or tweak it later.

The scaled down drop serve would:
- eliminate her step
- switch to semi open stance rather than her closed
- rather than step, weight would just transfer to front leg before swing
- sufficient unit turn to avoid arming at start of swing.

Could not have found a better “husband instruction” protecting video … Kyle Koszuta saved me. Not only saved me, his initial starting point (paddle down by back foot without backswing) clicked immediately for her. My idea of higher paddle position and a little drop (like our tennis) just muddled the main point … rotate then hit (how you get smooth effortless strokes). She had it in 15 minutes … clicked … then could add more backswing, more core rotation (effort), more active weight transfer.

Moral of the story … go with what works.

 

[socallefty]

Come back to tennis

 

[ByeByePoly]

Come back to tennis

Bad pickleball is more fun than bad tennis.

I will always miss tennis singles.

 

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Bad pickleball is more fun than bad tennis.

I will always miss tennis singles.

Bad tennis matches give me frustration. I enjoy hitting groundstrokes and doing some practice drills more than playing sets.
I want to try Pickleball late Summer - early September, but it's non existent in Greece, especially at the town I live, but I'll manage set up some kind of a court.
Looking into a Paddle pack of 2 paddles and I've narrowed down to these options of the very few available in comparison to the US
Selkirk Dude Perfect pack
Diadem Hero pack
Head Flash pack
Joola Ben Johns/Tundra pack
After I set up a court, I have to persue for some hitting partners, maybe start hitting with my 8 year olf nephew to start with.
Any forum or community more active that you know would help. Thanks!

 

[ByeByePoly]

Bad tennis matches give me frustration. I enjoy hitting groundstrokes and doing some practice drills more than playing sets.
I want to try Pickleball late Summer - early September, but it's non existent in Greece, especially at the town I live, but I'll manage set up some kind of a court.
Looking into a Paddle pack of 2 paddles and I've narrowed down to these options of the very few available in comparison to the US
Selkirk Dude Perfect pack
Diadem Hero pack
Head Flash pack
Joola Ben Johns/Tundra pack
After I set up a court, I have to persue for some hitting partners, maybe start hitting with my 8 year olf nephew to start with.
Any forum or community more active that you know would help. Thanks!

Yes … near end of my tennis I still found it therapeutic to hit balls with ball machine … particularly the bucket list two handed backhand. I found I still need the “competitive fix” even if it came in the form of a plastic ball with holes in it.

I don’t follow other online pickleball discussion other than the paddle reviewers youtube channels and instructional videos. Several of the reviewers do podcasts now along with their paddle reviews. You might look into subscribing and participating in their discord forums … I have not at this point.

Enjoy the DIY pickleball … going to need 4 paddles because doubles is more fun in pickleball. The most important learning curve is kitchen … and DIY and starter paddles will work fine for that.

Based on your pic … you have decades of tennis left in you … perhaps too early for the wiffle.

 

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Not quiting on tennis by any means, I'm really enjoying it most of the time.
I just want to try Pickleball also, since it seems lots of fun and there has to be some "magic" in it for being so successful in the U.S. and doesn't seem to slow down.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Not quiting on tennis by any means, I'm really enjoying it most of the time.
I just want to try Pickleball also, since it seems lots of fun and there has to be some "magic" in it for being so successful in the U.S. and doesn't seem to slow down.

The craze came along at a perfect time for us (wife). Declining tennis skills because of age … constant reminder of the level we use to play … lost interest in USTA. We have been laughing and improving at this stupid new game for 18+ months. We beat young people as partners every week … that’s fun. We never played mixed doubles tennis … so this is new (and yes not always without some tension ). We have been spoiled … all indoors (Lifetime) … never on wood floors … so that timing was also lucky.

 

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

The craze came along at a perfect time for us (wife). Declining tennis skills because of age … constant reminder of the level we use to play … lost interest in USTA. We have been laughing and improving at this stupid new game for 18+ months. We beat young people as partners every week … that’s fun. We never played mixed doubles tennis … so this is new (and yes not always without some tension ). We have been spoiled … all indoors (Lifetime) … never on wood floors … so that timing was also lucky.

By the way, how has it been for the joints overall? I've read it can be tough on the legs especially. Doubles seem to involve lots of knee bending
Ideally, I'd like to be able to play with my nephews and why not, my 40+ sister and brother in law also.

 

[ByeByePoly]

By the way, how has it been for the joints overall? I've read it can be tough on the legs especially. Doubles seem to involve lots of knee bending
Ideally, I'd like to be able to play with my nephews and why not, my 40+ sister and brother in law also.

We were lucky and both arrived at 65 pickleball with no joint issues … a miracle for me my knees are fine considering how much tennis singles I played.

My biggest issue hasn’t been joints … it has been tight calves, achilles soreness, arch soreness. Game is a biaaaaatch on calves, so calves and everything connected below it. Our lower backs would get sore initially … low bouncing wiffle and dinking … but that didn’t last long. I do regular body weight squats now … and use massage gun on calves before playing, and everything much better now. Oh … had my first ”jumpers knee” early on … and a jumpers knee eccentric stretch on inclined board made that go away. I have a routine of massages and stretches before I leave house … soon it will be duct tape. I use massage gun on calves and two spots on shoulder … and manual massage of right forearm (prior bad tennis elbow near end of my tennis … never had tennis elbow in four decades of tennis).

If someone middle age and up was going to do just one thing to prepare … I would say squats. I was never a gym/weights guy … but body weight squats seem to be useful for me. Also heel raises always suggested … I do that some but don’t stick with it.

 

[sureshs]

Declining tennis skills because of age

Why not just take it easy and play more casually/ No reason to switch to Pickleball just because you are losing in tennis.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Why not just take it easy and play more casually/ No reason to switch to Pickleball just because you are losing in tennis.

You will make someone a good life coach.

 

[sureshs]

Last week, one opponent in doubles caused me great pain. He would return my serve (and others' serves) in a way that the ball barely made it over the net and dropped a foot from the net, causing me to rush into the kitchen and barely make contact.

How does someone achieve this kind of return of a deep serve? It seemed almost physically impossible for a ball to have such a trajectory. He wasn't slicing it either.

It was far superior to the standard third shot drop.

I think he was using a very low-powered paddle, but still the control, return after return, was unbelievable.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Last week, one opponent in doubles caused me great pain. He would return my serve (and others' serves) in a way that the ball barely made it over the net and dropped a foot from the net, causing me to rush into the kitchen and barely make contact.

How does someone achieve this kind of return of a deep serve? It seemed almost physically impossible for a ball to have such a trajectory. He wasn't slicing it either.

It was far superior to the standard third shot drop.

I think he was using a very low-powered paddle, but still the control, return after return, was unbelievable.

Short crap returns terrible strategy ... crush them.

Good players generally don’t return short because the idea is too keep serving team back as much as possible. But depending on server’s mobility, can cause issues.

This is what I would try. Deep serve always the answer … but as you said it was off of deep serves:

- try deep slower serve but with lots of height … it will give you a split second more time to read the planned short return
- cheat inside the baseline a little right after your serve. We don’t generally do that because you can get caught at feet forced to backup, have to weigh your options for that opponent (maybe their deep return is nonexistent)
- another option is low deep serve with pace making them move across baseline to hit ros … usually a player can’t hit as precise a drop on the run
- sidespin serves can end some of those type of players fun and games

I play tight on baseline sometimes on return of serve … totally against the standard pickleball instruction. One day our 5.0 instructor asked why I do this. I said because not many here hit a serve with enough pace to cause me to miss the return if I have to backup a little … and proficient right off bounce from tennis. But many, some by accident hit a crap serve just past kitchen line. With two hamstring injuries at the end of my tennis ... I choose backing up a little on some returns. Obviously exceptions … hard servers that never hit short … I stay further behind line with those players.

 

[sureshs]

Short crap returns terrible strategy ... crush them.

Good players generally don’t return short because the idea is too keep serving team back as much as possible. But depending on server’s mobility, can cause issues.

This is what I would try. Deep serve always the answer … but as you said it was off of deep serves:

- try deep slower serve but with lots of height … it will give you a split second more time to read the planned short return
- cheat inside the baseline a little right after your serve. We don’t generally do that because you can get caught at feet forced to backup, have to weigh your options for that opponent (maybe their deep return is nonexistent)
- another option is low deep serve with pace making them move across baseline to hit ros … usually a player can’t hit as precise a drop on the run
- sidespin serves can end some of those type of players fun and games

I play tight on baseline sometimes on return of serve … totally against the standard pickleball instruction. One day our 5.0 instructor asked why I do this. I said because not many here hit a serve with enough pace to cause me to miss the return if I have to backup a little … and proficient right off bounce from tennis. But many, some by accident hit a crap serve just past kitchen line. With two hamstring injuries at the end of my tennis ... I choose backing up a little on some returns. Obviously exceptions … hard servers that never hit short … I stay further behind line with those players.

I tried to throw in the occasional high serve. This guy still returned it the same way.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I tried to throw in the occasional high serve. This guy still returned it the same way.

Just play someone else

 

[sureshs]

Just play someone else

I play only one a week for one game and cannot choose people. I am not rich and retired and playing daily like you.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I play only one a week for one game and cannot choose people. I am not rich and retired and playing daily like you.

Sounds like you need a life coach … just listen to that 2nd voice in your head.

There are a lot of working age players at the courts 10-12 weekday mornings … a mystery.

 

[sureshs]

Sounds like you need a life coach … just listen to that 2nd voice in your head.

There are a lot of working age players at the courts 10-12 weekday mornings … a mystery.

Are they really "working?"

 

[ByeByePoly]

Are they really "working?"

I don’t pry … I have a wife for the investigative reporting.