YOU CAN DO BY YOURSELF THIS WINTER
Anyone bitten by the pickleball bug knows that half the joy of playing is the community and camaraderie we share with the groups we play with. Even an “off” day on the court is still filled with smiles, laughs, and jokes with our partners and opponents.
For the players in warm locales, there’s no off-season for the pickleball addiction. However, when the winter arrives (or already here) we have to find a way to keep up. While some might be fortunate to have an indoor spot to play weekly, for most of us it means less pickleball- or no pickleball at all! As gut-wrenching as that is to say, it doesn’t mean we can’t use this time to stay sharp and improve our games.
So, here are 4 pickleball drills anyone can do to improve their play during the winter. All of these drills can be modified to the space you do have- whether it be an open room in the basement, a garage door, or braving the cold for some time off the backboard of a local court.
1. WALL DINKS
The first pickleball drill is Wall Dinks. Two observations- 1) every time I watch the pros, I’m stunned at how precise they are and how rarely they come up short on their dinks, and 2) I can’t think of any greater frustration in my own game than when I mis-hit a dink and leave it short! So, what could be a better use of practice time than working on your dinking? If you generally work from home a couple of days a week, in lieu of a post-lunch afternoon walk, on pleasant days, you can start taking your paddle and a ball to a park adjacent to your house with a tennis backboard. Start each session hitting 100 dinks with your forehand and 100 dinks backhand…you’d be amazed at how much it will improve your dinking during games. Add a “target” for increased precision, and it’s stunning how fast you can get a lot of dink work in. As a bonus, when you dink off a wall, you really have to exaggerate bending your knees and getting into your legs or you’ll quickly end up with a sore back.
2. WALL VOLLEYS
The second pickleball drill is Wall Volleys. Other than a well-executed Erne or ATP, there’s probably nothing much more satisfying than winning a hands battle at the kitchen line. However, we’d venture to guess that this is one thing that most of us aren’t practicing regularly. Along with the dinking routine noted above, another drill you can take to practicing on lunch breaks is volleying the ball off the wall. Try to get to 100 in a row (which is hard), and generally don’t stop until you at least keep in the air 30 consecutive times. This obviously improves reaction times, but it has the side benefit of reminding us how important it is to keep our paddles up and in a ready position to be prepared to handle quick shots from our opponents. As you get used to it, try alternating between your forehand and backhand so you have to practice moving your paddle quickly across your body
3. SERVE, DRIVE, & DROP
The third pickleball drill is Serve, Drop, & Drive. This one requires a little more space, though you can modify it to make it work in a 20-foot garage. In this drill, hit a sequence of 3 shots- hit a serve at full-speed, then a drive, and follow that up with a drop shot. Hit the serve with some pace, and in doing this drill as part of your park routine, you can really improve your overall accuracy. It’s always good practice to hit these so it’s something you can have “in the bag” when you do need it. It’s also a great reminder of how important it is to move your feet to be in a position to hit a good drive. And we think that we speak for every pickleball player in speaking to the importance of an effective drop shot- we all could stand to practice dropping from the transition zone more often.
So, as bummed as any of us are to have to take some time away from the pickleball court in the winter months, it doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can do to keep our skills sharp before we can say “0-0-2!” with our pickleball pals again!
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