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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 Dink Shot: Part 1- Definition & Examples

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I’ve covered many pickleball strategy topics in the nearly-two-years since I started my monthly newsletter, however it was recently brought to my attention (shockingly!) that I haven’t talked much about the dink shot — how to hit it, why you need it, etc.  So (at long last) here are my best tips, tricks & strategies for hitting the dink shot.

First off, there are probably a good number of you (who may be relatively new to the game) who have never heard of the dink shot.  No worries, we’ve all been there, Part 1 of this article series will be a great way for you to get up-to-speed on one of the most important elements of pickleball.

Then, there’s probably also another good chunk of you who have heard of the dink shot but are positive that it’s a shot only for sissies, weaklings or children–and certainly not a shot that any man’s man or woman’s woman would ever hit… [Read more…] about The Dink Shot: Part 1- Definition & Examples

The Dink Shot: Part 3 – How to Perfect the Dink

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Pickleball Strategy from the Pickleball Guru

Get Your Paddle Up, Out & In Front of Your Chest Before & After Every Shot

This is true for every shot, of course, but especially when you are at the net, you need to be ready for a high fast shot, or a low soft shot, so keeping your paddle up in the ready position between each shot is crucial.

The other tips to hit a good dink are… [Read more…] about The Dink Shot: Part 3 – How to Perfect the Dink

Pickleball Drill: Walk the Kitchen Line

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Pickleball practice drill written by Jacquee Ware, a fan of the Pickleball Guru.
Two players start at the opposite ends of the kitchen line across the net from each other.  Then doing nothing but dinks, using both the forehand and backhand shots, walking the kitchen line placing the ball just in front (they use their forehand dink shot) or behind (using the backhand shot — no fair running around to the forehand of the player across the net.  This allows for a player to get really comfortable at the kitchen line with the dink game and allows a player to learn how to place the ball where they really want to instead of just “guessing” where it’s going to go. Also, the practice helps keep the ball low to the net instead of sending it high for someone with very long arms or a poacher to put away the ball.
It’s really helped me out in pickleball. I used to do it a lot playing tennis, but since I really was a baseliner most of the time, it only helped when I was at the service line. But, I was able to get to a lot of shots that most people thought were winners and able to control the ball to wherever I wanted to place it (that is, again, once I got there!).
If you have a tip or drill that you’d like to share, send it along and we’ll post it here.

4 Secrets to Get Your Dropshot to Go Where You Want (and Not Where You Don’t)

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Last month I had someone write in asking for advice on how to better calibrate their drop shot.

Unless you’re a nationally ranked player, (and even then!) I’m sure you can relate to having days (or… ahem… entire pickleball careers) when you can’t seem to get the darn ball over the net from the back of the court without giving your opponent a cream-puff of a put-away shot to slam back at your feet.

But wait, there’s more!