Stop Reaching Out

A lot of pickleball advice these days recommends hitting the ball "out in front" of you. I am not sure exactly how far out in front they mean, but - as you might expect - I have some issues with that advice.

Take a ball coming at you at the NVZ, above the net but not high enough to allow for an overhead slam. So you have your paddle in position for a backhand shot and you stick your paddle out further than a foot or so to hit the ball as quickly as possible. Notice when the paddle starts to face upwards - almost immediately. And where does the ball go? Yes, up. No wonder you have bruises from your opponents slamming the ball at you. So you have no control and very little power.

Now try this - use a bit of patience. Wait for the ball to be closer to you. Let's say your paddle is close to your chest and you wait for the ball to be six inches out. Now you have time to adjust your paddle angle to wherever you want the ball to go (preferably down), and you can generate a bit of power from a short backstroke. Now you very likely have a winner.

This "out in front" advice becomes even worse on forehand shots - I see tons of players simply sticking their paddle out on the forehand side, with their arm straight and their wrist bent as far as they can to present the paddle face to the ball. The result is a soft deadened shot, with little power and control. Sounding familiar yet?

Again, what if you waited a bit longer and turned your torso into more of a closed position. Your paddle is suddenly extremely easy to manage, giving you control and power to execute whatever you want.

So the key to all this is that dreaded "P" word - patience. Have the patience to put your body in a good position to take a good shot. Pickleball is like chess, not whack-a-mole. It is also one of the slowest games in the world. Use that to your advantage. Be patient.

And have a great day on the courts.

Michael Gauthier
Pickleball Strokes
​NDY (Not Done Yet)