When I was a child, the last thing my mother said to me when I left the house was always, “Remember your manners.” It wasn’t, “I love you.” It certainly wasn’t “Behave,” (No need! I knew the repercussions of misbehaving!). It wasn’t, “Be home for dinner.” It was always, every pickleball single time, unfailingly, ”Remember your manners.” By the end of this brief article, these five intermediate pickleball tips will hopefully ring in your ears like my mother’s voice in my head some 40 years later.
DINK WITH PURPOSE
If you’re going to play at the 3.5-4.0 level, you’ll need to be able to dink early and dink effectively. Additionally, it will benefit you to understand what a purposeful dink is, and why you are dinking in the first place.
This is one of my top intermediate pickleball tips if you’re trying to get to a 3.5 or higher. Having controlled dinks in your arsenal is what separates the good players from the beginner players.
Why cross court? “dink” about it. From one corner of the non-volley zone to the other is about 20 feet. Whereas a straight dink is only about 14 feet from your non-volley line the non-volley line of the other team.
Furthermore, the center of the net is the lowest point.
All this equates to a greater margin of error and higher odds of pulling the dink shot off more consistently. Advanced players don’t just hit better shots, they hit higher percentage shots.
When you get that shot dialed in you can move the other team around by focusing on shot placement.
Dink Tips
When dinking a forehand shot you want to keep your wrist cocked at almost a 90-degree angle. This KEEPS YOUR WIRST OUT OF THE SHOT. It allows you to impart more of a swiping motion rather than a shot motion.
When hitting a dink shot consistency is key. By keeping your wrists locked and using your shoulder to hit the shot, you add consistency. Furthermore, that wrist cock lets you put backspin on the dink shot easier. Backspin allows you to hit the ball a litter higher knowing it will bounce low.
Also Check Out: 5 Tips to Keep the Ball Low In Pickleball
For a backhand dink, you’ll want to lock your wrist but more at a neutral position. The rest is the same as the forehand shot. You want to feel like you’re using your shoulder to engage the movement.
UNDERSTAND THE ATTACK
I think the attack at the non-volley zone (the kitchen) is the least understood and most mismanaged shot in all of pickleball. Contrary to what my regular opponent Steve (yes, his real name-I’m not protecting his identity!!) believes, not every ball is attackable.
My mixed doubles partner is a better pickleball player than I am. However, she is too patient. I can feel my opponents flinch before they do it, as they know their dink is sitting too high. Here it comes! Watch out!!! But nope.
Erin (no, not her real name-I’m not letting her know I realize she is better!) is remarkably and rightfully confident in her dinks, and so she simply dinks it back. Let them make the mistake, right? Well, not always.
My favorite shot in pickleball is my opponent’s unforced error. I literally had to do nothing to win that rally. It is always a winning strategy. However, as you move up in level, you cannot rely on waiting for your opponents to make errors and need to occasionally (and smartly) initiate an attack. If the ball is higher than the net, and you are in a position to attack it, don’t hesitate.
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