Becoming a successful pickleball player involves mastering a variety of shots, each requiring dedicated practice and focus to elevate your gameplay and reach your maximum potential.
OnCourt OffCourt has created a Quick Stroke Fix Guide tailored specifically for pickleball to support your development as a pickleball player, whether you’re playing for fun or trying to go pro.
This guide offers thorough insights into every pickleball shot, emphasizing their significance and recommending practical kinesthetic training aids to expedite mastery of each shot, ultimately enhancing your overall game performance.
Drive
The drive shot in pickleball is similar to a groundstroke in tennis. In this shot, the player hits the ball with strength and speed, intending to drive it deep into the opponent’s court. This is a crucial offensive weapon and is often used to put pressure on opponents and create opportunities for winners.
A few common problems that negatively affect pickleball drives are a lack of spin, not getting under the ball enough, and having a poor pickleball grip.
These kinesthetic aids will help you with your drives by improving your grip, helping you put spin on the ball, and proper body rotation and swing mechanics.
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Grip problems
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Need more upper body rotation
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Need to hit more cleanly
PROBLEM
Need to learn spin
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Not getting under ball enough
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
Grip problems
Need more upper body rotation
Need to hit more cleanly
Need to learn spin
Not getting under ball enough
Dink
A dink is a type of shot hit with finesse and typically executed near the net. It is a soft, controlled shot that requires a gentle wrist motion to angle the ball over the net with minimal height and pace, keeping it low and close to the net. Dinking is crucial for precision play, strategic placement, and creating opportunities to attack.
A few causes of poor dinking include a lack of directional control, too big of a backswing, and grip problems.
Kinesthetic training aids can help you master dinking by improving accuracy and contact and helping you learn a proper grip.
PROBLEM
Grip problems
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Need to hit more cleanly
PROBLEM
Lack of directional control
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Grip problems
Need to hit more cleanly
Lack of directional control
Backswing too big
Volley
In pickleball, a volley is a shot where the player hits the ball before it bounces on their side of the court. Volleys are usually made close to the net and require rapid reflexes and accurate timing. They are crucial for aggressive play at the net and can be used to end points or intercept an opponent’s shots.
Poor volleys are often due to grip problems, poor wrist strength, and not making clean contact.
These kinesthetic training aids help players with their volleys by teaching them the proper grip, increasing wrist strength, and improving ball-striking skills.
PROBLEM
Grip problems
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Need to hit more cleanly
PROBLEM
Lack of directional control
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Not extending to contact
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Not snapping at wrist
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Droopy wrist at finish
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Grip problems
Need to hit more cleanly
Lack of directional control
Not extending to contact
Not snapping at wrist
Droopy wrist at finish
Backswing too big
Serve
In pickleball, the serve is the shot that begins each point, much like tennis. The player must serve diagonally across the court into the opponent’s service zone. A well-executed serve can establish the tone for the point, influence the game, and put pressure on the opponents. The player’s game can be enhanced by developing various serve variations, such as the drive serve or the lob serve, which adds versatility to their gameplay.
There are a few reasons players struggle with their pickleball serve like not hitting the ball clean enough, poor grip, and having too big of a backswing.
With the right kinesthetic training aids, players can learn better ball-striking skills, how to use the right grip, and how to serve with a strong, compact swing.
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Grip problems
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Need to hit more cleanly
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
Grip problems
Need to hit more cleanly
Return of Serve
The return of serve in pickleball is the shot used to receive an opponent’s serve. Players aim to return serves with accuracy, depth, and placement to gain control of the point early. Effective returns can neutralize the server’s advantage and set up opportunities to take the offensive.
Problems with the return of serve can be caused by having too large of a backswing, poor grips, or poor ball-striking skills.
Our return of serve training aids can help players develop a compact swing, learn the correct grip, and develop solid ball-striking skills.
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Grip problems
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Need to hit more cleanly
PROBLEM
Backswing too big
Grip problems
Need to hit more cleanly
Movement
Movement in pickleball refers to the player’s ability to cover the court efficiently, including lateral movement, quick changes in direction, and moving forward and backward. Good footwork and the ability to anticipate the ball’s trajectory are essential for getting into the right position to hit shots effectively. Additionally, maintaining balance and stability during play is crucial to avoid losing points.
There are many reasons players struggle with poor court movements, like having a slow first step, lacking acceleration, or undeveloped footwork.
Our kinesthetic training aids can help you with your movement on the court, improving your footwork skills, foot speed, and reaction time.
PROBLEM
First step too slow
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Lack of acceleration
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Not bending knees enough
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Slow footwork
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
First step too slow
Lack of acceleration
Not bending knees enough
Slow footwork
Miscellaneous
There are a few qualities in pickleball that don’t go into any specific category, so we’re putting them under miscellaneous. These things include hitting the net too much, trouble making decisions on the fly, and having poor targeting.
Our training aids are great for refining your on-court decision-making skills, accuracy, and power.
PROBLEM
Hitting in the net too much
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Trouble making decisions
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Poor targeting
PROBLEM
Hitting in the net too much
Trouble making decisions
Poor targeting
Kalindi Dinoffer is trained in multiple aspects of mindfulness in life and in sports, sharing on her blog MindfulKalindi.com. She is also certified to teach yoga, fitness, reiki, and MFR. Kalindi also serves as CMO at OnCourtOffCourt.com, a leading supplier of tennis, pickleball, fitness and yoga training aids and equipment and has been published in Tennis industry Magazine and Pickleball Magazine, and has conducted workshops at conferences around the world. In her spare time, Kalindi plays tennis, pickleball and table tennis and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and biking and cross country skiing in the winter.
