Transcription
Are you a left side alpha or a right side beta? Now, these roles have been defining pickle ball doubles for years, but now the game is changing. Today, we'll break down the traditional roles and then I'll share how modern strategy is shifting everything.
Now, let's talk about the traditional role of the left side player. This player typically being the alpha means that it comes with a few more responsibilities. The first one being you cover a little bit more of the court. Now, because the left side player's forehand is in the middle compared to the right side player whose backhand is in the middle, this person's forehand is going to give them a lot more options and a lot more shot selection compared to somebody who's bunting a backhand on the right side. Because of this, as a left side player, you're typically going to take more forehands in the middle, even if it's on your partner's side of the court, because you can naturally do more with this. So here I can go inside out. I can go middle or it's very easy to go inside in. I can do that with dinks, but I also have the option to do that with speedups and I hide it very well because it's my forehand. And so this is the biggest reason why left side players are considered the alpha. But typically the player profile of a left side player is going to be taller with a little bit longer of a reach and initiating much more offense. Now, because of all these reasons, they are going to be the player that is typically dictating the tempo. So whether you're at the baseline or at the kitchen, this center line does not dictate whose ball is who, because you have the forehand, you're able to come over and take more balls and have more shot opportunities. And so that's why you see a lot of the top players such as Ben Johns or JW Johnson or Will Hows, when they get a ball over here, they'll still cup a dank even though it's not on their side in order to dictate the tempo and pace of the game. Almost always they're taking middle drops and middle danks 100% of the time.
Now, let's talk about the most common patterns and weapons as the left side player. The most commonly used pattern in all of pickle ball, and that's going to be the left to left crosscourt backhand dink. Because the left side player can control this middle ball as well, this is going to be more frequently hit than the right to right pattern. And so as a left side player, you have to be very, very comfortable hitting this backhand dink a 100 times in a row without missing. So this right here is what you'll see. As a left side player, you have to be very comfortable hitting this dink over and over again because then you get pulled middle with the forehand and then you have to get pulled wide and always come back. Now, while the crosscourt backhand dink isn't super aggressive, this is going to be a very consistent and wellplaced shot that's going to set up the point for you to then reach in and lean in on the next ball. And so now, in my opinion, this next shot is going to be the most important shot as a left side player for you to learn and develop over time if you're looking to get better. And that is going to be the two-handed backhand roll dink as well as the backhand speed up. So, notice how the two-handed backhand roll dink adds much more pressure compared to the slice. And this is exactly what you're looking for as a left side player in order to create offense. And it's also very easy to hide. So, you can see I can hold it and then pull cross or roll middle and they look practically identical. And notice the pace at which these are coming at compared to when you're hitting a slice dink. In my opinion, if you're a left side player and you're looking to grow your game, you will hit a much lower ceiling if you only have a one-handed backhand dink compared to if you actually learned that two-handed backhand. This is exactly why you've seen not only Ben John's, but also JW Johnson and many other players learn the two-handed backhand dink and speed up, because it's much, much better. It has a much higher ceiling than that one-handed backhand dink. And another one of the most commonly used patterns as a left side player is going to be that backhand flick out of the air. This shot is actually a staple of the best left side player in the game, Ben John's. And once again, just like you need offense off the bounce, you also need to create offense out of the air if you're a left side player. So the backhand flick is what creates offense out of the air. It takes your opponent by surprise. Now, as a left side player, dictating the pace and tempo of the game, you have to learn how to create offense out of the air, or else you're just going to be stuck resetting, resetting, resetting out of the air, and you're missing out on so many opportunities to create offense when you're the person who should create all the offense. So, in my opinion, if you're a left side player, you need to understand how to hit a consistent one-handed backhand crosscourt dink, a two-handed roll crosscourt dink, two-handed speed up, as well as a backhand flick. Those are going to be your key shots in order to develop your game to be the best left side player as possible.
Now, let's talk about how to hit counters. As a left side player, it's much more complicated to hit good counters because not only do you have to cover line and body with your backhand, you also have to open and cover middle with your forehand compared to the right side player who can just hit backhand counters for everything. So, in order to counter over here, you need to learn how to open. And what opening is is instead of sitting backhand and getting chicken winged all the way over here, instead when the ball comes crossbody, you actually open with your forehand to hit that counter. This is a super important trait as a left side player. On the right, this concept does not apply. If you're a left side player and you don't know how to generate offense, whether off the bounce or out of the air, then you're missing out on a lot because this is your responsibility as the left side player is to dictate pace and tempo and make sure that you're creating opportunities for you and your partner.
Moving on, let's talk about the traditional role of a right side player. Simply put, you are the rock. You are the solid setup support player that your big counterpart needs. In terms of court coverage, it's going to vary from the left side player. You're going to cover around 40 up to 50% of the court. And this is because naturally your backhand is in the middle, less reach, less responsibility. Some traits of a right side player is consistent, steady, and looking to always set up your partner. Almost always you see right side players using patience rather than aggression, opting to hit six, seven, eight dinks crosscourt before finally their partner gets involved looking to generate offense. The most common pattern for a right side player is going to be that forehand crosscourt roll dink. So naturally, your forehand roll dink crosscourt is going to be much easier to hit compared to your backhand dink on the left side. And why do we aim crosscourt? Because you have much more margin for air. The net's going to be a little bit lower in the middle and I have more feet to work with crosscourt compared if I'm dinking straight up right here. So the right to right forehand crosscourt dink pattern is going to be one of the most common for a right side player to play with. Now, why is the forehand roll dink in specific more important than any sort of flat or cup dink? And that's because it adds aggression. It's very easy to hide a speed up with a forehand roll dink compared to when you're cupping a dink, you don't even have the option to speed up. So, for example, when I'm hitting these forehand rolls, they're very well hidden. So, I can go middle. I can even go line if need be with this forehand roll dank. And the speed up looks identical to the forehand roll dink. But compared to the cup, notice how the ball is coming in a little bit more dead and it doesn't have top spin. It doesn't have much pace. This is simply just more of a consistent tool rather than an aggression tool. I cannot speed up with a cup dink, but with a forehand roll, I can. And in my opinion, as a right side player, though you're going to be the more consistent player on your team, you do need one consistent weapon as well. And my go-to weapon as a right side player is going to be the forehand speed up crossbody towards the middle. So why is this ball my go-to? Because the person in front of me, the left side player that we just talked about, has to debate between hitting that backhand counter or opening and hitting a forehand. And that will typically cause them to get jammed if I hit it in the right spot. And this is exactly why we develop our forehand roll dink because it's going to look identical to our forehand speed up. So, this is my most controversial opinion to date, and that is as a right side player, you need to develop no backhand shots outside of a backhand counter because you're going to be running around every single shot to hit a forehand. 70 to 80% of the shots that you hit on the right side should be hit as a forehand because anything past the center line or near your left foot, your partner in the middle is going to take with their forehand which therefore covers your backhand. Some of the best examples of this are Hayden Patricken or Gabe Tardio in specific where even if they get a ball coming towards their left foot and why is that? It's because even though you're reaching over your body to hit this as a forehand, you still have a better shot selection hitting this as a forehand than you do bunting it back with a backhand. The typical mindset of a right side player is a little bit different from that of a left. More so, the right side player views his role as I'm the setup man. I'm here to make my partner shine. I'm here to make balls and be consistent, which varies drastically from the left side player who's supposed to dictate tempo, rhythm, responsible for creating the offense.
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So, we just went through the traditional roles of a left side and a right side player, but let's talk a little bit about modern pickle ball. So, we've been seeing a shift in how the game's been played compared to 3 years ago because now the roles are much more fluid. And this is the modern right side player mentality is not just be consistent, not just be a wall, but also look to create your own patterns to create offense and put the ball away. You can see this in players such as myself, Gabe Tardio, or Christian Alan where if their partner on the left side is ripping a drive, they're actually going to look to come in and poach with their backhand rather than just stay back and look to get to the kitchen. Also, if we get a dead ball on the right side, we're not just going to roll it back crosscourt. We're going to look to create offense with a speed up, a lob, or an off pace ball in order to set up our partner as well as ourselves. So because right side players are leaning in, cutting off angles and looking to poach, we're seeing opportunities for both sides of the court to generate offense and win points. At the highest level, you see Ben John's and Gabe Tardio versus Andre Descu and Christian Alon. And they play very fluid where Alshon will step in the middle and play 60% even though he's playing on the right side. It all just depends on the current pattern on the court. Then that's how you're going to be able to shift from traditional roles to modern roles in pickle ball. I've seen this shift for the past year. It's made the game much more dynamic and unpredictable. And comment down below what you guys think of modern pickle ball versus the traditional roles in pickle ball. On the amateur side, are you seeing four O's and three fives, even four fives, switch to this type of role, or are they sticking to the traditional? That's it for this week. I hope you guys enjoyed. As always, comment down below if I missed anything or if you disagree with anything that I said. And as always, I'll see you all around.