Transcription
Okay, let's face it. 99% of pickleball players don't use the correct strategy, and odds are, you still have a few things you need to work on too. But if you can master the four strategies I'm going through today, you'll be in the top one percent of players. So, if you want to be in the top one percent of players, make sure to understand all of these strategies.
All right, the first strategy that we're gonna go through is the strategy of how to counter-attack. Counter-attack, or a counter, is when I attack off my opponent's attack. Usually, this happens off of a speed-up, which looks something like this.
Thank you. In this situation, the ball is usually going too fast to try and drop the ball into your opponent's kitchen. So, your best bet is to counter-attack rather than give your opponent an easy shot. And because there's so many players that are bangers, a lot of the time, you need to beat them with your counter-attacks.
So, looking at the best targets to hit on counter-attacks. I don't have much time to think, so it's best to have automatic responses in place. So, looking at our best targets when someone speeds the ball up at me and I want to counter-attack. Like I said, I don't have time to think about where I want to hit the shot. So, the things that I want to do every single time are: one, keep the ball low. Right? So, I don't want to give my opponent a high shot that they can kill on the next ball. If they don't give me a super high ball, I'm not gonna be able to go at their feet, but I want to try to keep that ball as low as I possibly can. So, if they do give me a higher shot, then it does make sense to go at the feet because that makes it very challenging for them to hit a good shot on the next ball. Other than that, I want to try to keep the ball out of my opponent's strike zone. So, I can aim more down the middle. I can aim more line. The key thing though is that I stay out of this area. So, a lot of players when they're in these hands battles, they sit on their backhand volley like this. Now, if I hit into this area, it's actually very easy for them to react. So, you don't want to be in this backhand area with your counter-attacks because it makes your opponents have an easier time on their next shot.
In terms of technique, there's a few different ways you can do a counter-attack, and I'll show you them all now, from easy to hard.
Foreign techniques I just went through aren't really necessary, but as you start getting better and better, you might want to start throwing them in. If you're just getting started though, the basic backhand and forehand counters are perfect. The main thing though on your counter-attacks is that you don't try to hit through your opponent. Remember, avoid this area and go for weaker points like down the middle, the right shoulder, low to the forehand, and you'll be great.
The next strategy though is the strategy of using gaps on your opponent's side. There's only ever three gaps on your opponent's side: this one, this one, and this one. Key is knowing when to target each one. By moving your opponents around, certain gaps will become much larger. The key to attacking smart is identifying which gaps are open throughout the point. And when your opponents are back, what's important to know is that you can actually create your own gaps.
Thing to remember, guys, is that a lot of the time when you're aiming for gaps, going down the middle is going to be your safest bet. So, remember this: down the middle solves the riddle. Moral of the story is though, when your opponents are back, you need to be careful in picking the right targets. You don't make it too easy for them to move forward.
The next strategy we're going to go over is when you should move forward when you're the team that's back. So, when should you move forward and when should you stay put when your opponents are up? So, now I'm going to give you one very simple tip that lets you know whether or not you should move forward or stay back, and it all depends on where your opponent is making contact with the ball. So, assuming you hit a drop or a drive, your opponent's probably going to either hit the ball off the bounce or off of a volley, right? So, all you need to know is that if your opponent is making contact with the ball low, okay, you have a green light to move forward. If they're making contact with the ball low, that means they have to hit up, which makes it easier for you to go in. So, if they're hitting it low, specifically below the net or below their knee, that's your cue to go straight to the kitchen. Okay. If they're hitting it at a medium height, let's say around the height of the net, that's your yellow light. Okay, so you want to move in a little bit. If I'm back, I want to move in a little bit, but I probably want to pause somewhere right here, wait for that next ball. Okay. If they're hitting it high, that's your red light. You do not want to come in if they have a high, easy shot like this that they can pound right at your feet. So, let me show you some examples of this.
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An important thing to keep in mind though is that you can't consistently win from back here if your opponents are up. Step one is to make your way in, then you can strike. Think if you're attacking a city that has a big wall around it, you need to get inside the wall before you can do any damage. If you're just shooting bows over the wall, you might get lucky, but you're not gonna have any real success until you move in. So, it's totally fine if it takes you a few balls to get into the kitchen, as long as you play it smart, you should be able to get in consistently, which 99% of players can't do.
The next strategy we're gonna go over though is the strategy of how to be dynamic with your partner, and there's three main aspects of that that I want to cover. So, the first aspect of this that I want to go over is that as you're moving forward and backwards in the court, you and your partner generally want to be tethered to being at the same depth. So, as I start moving forward, generally I want my partner to come with me, right? So, if we're gonna go to the transition zone, we should both be right here, and if we make it to the kitchen, we should both be getting to the kitchen at the same time. What we don't want is for one partner to be up and the other partner to be back. What that does is it creates an easy target for the opposing team to hit it to the person that's back and get easier shots that way.
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The next aspect of this though is a question we get so much on this channel, and it's which player is supposed to cover the middle. In general, if the ball is coming from the center of the court, the forehand player is usually more aggressive and covers the middle. From the sides of the court, the net team shifts over, and usually the player opposite to where the ball is coming from will cover it. Anyways, covering the middle is super important, so make sure to send this to your partner so they stop stealing your balls.
The last aspect I want to talk about in terms of being dynamic with your partner is stacking. So, stacking is when you're the serving team, and the serving player is actually standing on the inside, and their partner stands on the outside. And then when I hit the serve, I slide over. So, this gives me the ability to do is it gives me the ability to always play on the same side when I'm serving. So, let's say I'm a player that really likes the left side. By stacking, I can make it so that whenever I'm serving, I'll always end up playing that left side. And if you watch pros play, you'll see that they're always doing this because it works. By designating yourself to one side, you're gonna get more used to it, and your partner's gonna get more used to their side, and both you're gonna play better. So, make sure you and your partner understand stacking if you want to give yourself your best shot to win. If you get those four strategies down, you're definitely in the top one percent of players. You want to get there even faster though? In this video, I go through 10 tips that every player needs to know, but unfortunately, most don't.
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Oh.