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Pickleball Strategies, Tips and Tricks; Pickleball Lessons, Coaching, Clinics and Bootcamps

Pickleball Coach, Prem Carnot, The Pickleball Guru will teach you to play Smart Pickleball; Pickleball Strategies, Coaching, Bootcamps and Clinics

The Pickleball Reset

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Some people hate to play against bangers!

And that’s understandable – it can be very difficult, especially if you try to outbang your friendly neighborhood banger!

A while back, I sent out a few tips on playing against bangers.

But there’s more…

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out a bootcamp sneak peek on why it’s so important to be able to reset the point against a hard hit pickleball.

This month’s newsletter deals with the how to reset the point against bangers!

I’ve Said This Once or Twice…

First thing: you’ve got to have your paddle up!

The slam is coming over the net – having your paddle hanging down below the net means you are going to lose precious time bringing your paddle up to try to meet the ball.

In fact, if you don’t have your paddle up, you increase the chance of getting one of those pickleball tattoos!

In addition to having your paddle up, I recommend having your paddle out, as far from your body as you feel comfortable with it.

More on this in just a moment!

Relax

I know in the heat of a banging pickleball rally, we have that adrenaline pumping and enter that fight or flight response. You either want to bang back, tightening up the body, or you want to move out of the way!

That’s why I recommend the Zen Method – you are calm and your body is relaxed. 

Your knees are slightly bent, and the grip on your paddle (really important!) is about a four or five on a scale of one to ten, with a ten being what I refer to as the death grip!

Here Comes the Slam!

When the slam comes, your body works in coordination to respond to it. I recommend lifting up with your legs, and pulling your paddle into your body.

Why?

For those that have ever played baseball or softball, when receiving a catch, you probably pulled your glove into your body slightly to absorb the impact of the ball. 

Pulling your paddle into your body absorbs more of the impact, taking the speed off the pickleball.

And if all goes well, the pickleball falls into the Kitchen!

Why This Is So Effective Against Bangers

First, this takes the banger out of his or her rhythm!

Second, the banger may not even be ready for a simple drop into the Kitchen! He or she has just unloaded his or her energy into the slam and is certainly not expecting the ball to come back!

Which may present you with an easy pop-up that you can slam back!

Third, you are now controlling the pace of the game! Remember, bangers like the high-speed pace; drops and dinks, not so much!

And If You Want to Learn More about How to Play Against Bangers (and Much More!)

Then please check out the video below – why my bootcamp is the best and most individualized pickleball training available!

 

 

Pickleball Footwork!

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Good footwork is critical to advancing your pickleball game!

You’ve got to know when to move forward, when to stop, and when to move to side to side!

I even made a short video which shows the type of footwork you need on the court! 

Begin Moving Up

I hang back for the third shot, and watch my partner take it. I see that it’s a decent drop, so I move forward just a bit.

Right before my opponent strikes the ball, I stop so that I’m in position and ready for the fifth shot.

I make a drop into the Kitchen and advance to the line.

And this is all part of the transition game – advancing to the line to take away the advantage of the receiving team!

And yes, that fifth shot was made in No-Person’s-Land! As I’ve remarked many times at my bootcamps, you’ve got to go through No-Person’s-Land to get to the Promised Land (i.e., the Kitchen!)!  

At the Line

So that’s moving up to the line. And your footwork doesn’t stop there!

When at the Kitchen going into a dink rally, that’s where you need to move side to side. 

Notice that when my opponent goes crosscourt to my partner, I shift all the way over to the middle of the court to cover the middle third alley!

And when my partner goes back crosscourt, I shift over to get in front of the ball. 

You can’t just stand in the middle of your box! You’ve got to move side to side to stay in front of the ball! This will prevent your opponent from being able to push the ball behind you, because that’s when the trouble really starts!

Ready to Be Coached Up on Your Footwork?

There’s one spot now open for the bootcamp in Richmond, Virginia! (Be sure to use coupon code WEBINAR for $500 off!) Plus there’s Bootcamp Express, also in Richmond, for only $497 if you use coupon code EXPRESS

Also, check out my clinic and gear pages!  

 

New Pickleball Rules!

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The USAPA was certainly busy during 2020 with a revised rulebook for 2021! 

You can check out the new rulebook here! Alternatively, you can check out the Alternate 2021 rulebook here (this one attempts to simplify all the rules for you!). Don’t want to plow through the entire rulebook and want everything summarized with explanations as to the changes? Then check this out! So here’s the deal – much of the changes are for referees and reffed games, so you can breathe a sigh of relief!

But there are two MAJOR changes that will certainly have an impact on your rec play – the elimination of the service let rule and the drop serve! 

No More Service Lets

Apparently there are some cheaters out there in the pickleball world! And this is the reason there are no more service lets!

That’s why they made these changes – during a reffed game, a player could yell out a let (even though it wasn’t one!) and they would have to replay the point!

So here’s the situation – if the ball ticks the net and still winds up in the proper court (past the Kitchen line, of course!), the ball is LIVE and in play! 

Yes, that means when a serve hits the net, it bounces very short in the court, and there’s no way that you can return it, the serving team is going to win that point!

The Drop Serve

First off, the drop serve is a provisional rule for 2021, which means it could go away in 2022! (The USAPA will be evaluating it throughout 2021.)

The concept of the drop serve has been around for quite a long time. Why the drop serve? Because the other service rules (upward forward motion, paddle head below the wrist, strike below the belly-button) which can be difficult to call correctly, don’t apply! 

That’s right! You can hit the drop serve however you want!

Here’s how it works – you stand behind the baseline (the other rules for serving still apply) and you DROP the ball (onto the playing surface if you like, the ball doesn’t have to be dropped behind the baseline) and serve it from the bounce. You can strike the ball however you want – forehand, backhand – and with as much spin as you like!

The key word here is DROP, you can’t toss the ball in the air or throw it down to get a higher bounce!

Hence the name, the drop serve!

What the Middle of the Pickleball Court Really Means

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When I was living in France, I was fortunate to become friends with Bjorn Borg, one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

There’s’ no denying his greatness, but his style of play was, well, kind of boring.

I asked him about his style of play, and Bjorn replied that he was trying to get the ball over the net one more time than his opponent. 

And pickleball is no different!

I always recommend that you take the high percentage shot, the shot that you are most likely to keep in play.

Which is why I recommend going to the middle. 

But what is the middle?

The Middle You Are Looking For

Pickleball courts have that nice centerline that runs along the middle.

But that’s not the middle that I’m talking about here!

The middle I’m talking about is that oh-so-sweet spot between your opponents. 

There’s confusion between your opponents, and it’s an extremely high percentage shot! 

The Pros Know This, Too

If you’ve ever watched pro matches, you probably remember a good number of Ernes and around-the-post (ATP) shots.

But the vast number of winners are those shots that go in between the players.

Even though the pros have amazing touch and placement, they know the best option is to go to the middle.

And the Biggest Myth in Pickleball

“Forehand takes the middle” is probably the biggest myth in pickleball! 

If you’re following my recommendation for how to cover the entire court, you know that you have to move side to side to cover most of the court, leaving one alley exposed.

When you and your partner shift to the left, there’s probably a backhand in the middle third of the court!

So should the forehand move over to the shot?

No!

The person in the middle third of the court takes the shot!

And More…

Check out my gear page for the Slam Master training paddle, the best outdoor balls on the market, and much, much more!

Plus, come out to one of my clinics, bootcamp, or Bootcamp Express!

Want more information about the middle? Check out this webinar!