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Enjoy this really long kitchen rally. Notice how the guy on the top left covers well into his partner’s area of the court as needed.
Notice also how the rally ends. The first guy after all that time who tried to accelerate the ball lost the point. That’s so common in kitchen rallies to the point that it’s almost an unwritten law: The first one to accelerate the ball is on the side that will lose the rally, unless it’s a sure put-away.
Around the post, often called “ATP” is a shot that always gets the crowd on their feet. Here are a few pointers:
1. You may be so habituated to getting the ball over the net that you’ll miss opportunities for ATP. It helps if you’ve practiced the shot so many times that when you see an ATP option, you’ll take advantage.
2. Remember that there is no need for height. When you’re outside of the posts, there is no need to get the ball up in the air. It can literally skim inches over the ground.
3. The around the post shot must be a put-away, because you’ll be far out of position from where it is difficult to return to an ongoing rally.
4. Don’t do what I always seem to do, which is to try the shot when I’m not sufficiently outside the sideline. I always manage to hit the post instead of going around it! If you are a right-hander, then of course this is much easier when you are on the right side of the court.
5. In doubles, partner ought to maintain the usual 2 – 3 meter (6 – 9 feet) spacing, so that if you don’t put the ball away, the partner can more easily cover what might be returned.
6. If your momentum has carried you forward, and you are out of the kitchen, you can overrun the plane of the net after the shot.
7. You can run through the kitchen since when you hit the ball you’ll be outside of the kitchen.
8. Of course the best place to land the ball is just ahead of the baseline and near the sideline, well behind where your opponents are likely to be standing.
What Barrett Kincheloe is teaching in this short video are the fundamentals of pickleball ground strokes. For those who don’t know, a groundstroke is a somewhat nebulous term, but it generally means a long low shot from close to your baseline to close to your opponents’ baseline. He doesn’t talk much about topspin, which is also an important component of many groundstrokes.
The three main variations covered are wheelchair pickleball, beach pickleball and lawn pickleball. Some have some very strange rules such as a version in which one can pass the ball to one’s partner like in volleyball. I think it might be fun to see that in regular pickleball. Enjoy this well-made short video.
You’ll find both of these serves are easy to learn. They are semi-legal in that the ball is hit below the wrist and below the waist. However, some may dispute whether the strokes are truly underhand. The reason these would not work in tournament play is that they’d be called distractions.
The first serve is normal in most ways, except the paddle is swung around in two big, slow circles before hitting the ball. Optionally, you can put a spin on the ball as I am doing in the video. A little practice, and you’ll probably master this serve.
The second serve is more difficult. First, learn to toss the paddle in the air and let it spin one revolution before catching it. Then learn to do it with two spins. To protect your paddle, practice this over something soft like a carpet or lawn.
Work on holding the paddle vertically so that it doesn’t wobble in the air. If it wobbles, it will catch air, and the position of the handle after the spinning will become unpredictable.
Once two spins are so easy you don’t have to look at the catch, learn to throw up the ball simultaneously with the paddle. The throw must be high enough to allow the two spins to be completed before you hit the ball.
There is a tendency to hit this second serve above your waist. The trick is to learn to wait until the ball falls further.
You’ll find this second serve difficult on windy days, since the slightest puff will move the paddle, and you may miss the handle when you try to grip it.
This is Allyce Wilson-Jones playing with Hurricane Tyra Black against Anna Bright & Anna Leigh Waters:
Enjoy this short ESPN documentary about our favorite sport:
A couple of years ago, it was said that there were 2 million pickleball players in America, and that the number was expected to grow to 8 million. I think we may have surpassed that number already. Where will it end?
Is there a song about pickleball? You bet:
This inspiring 90-year-old pickleball player has 29 great-grandchildren. Meet Lois White who plays pickleball in Johnson County, Kansas, USA:
She’s not the oldest player. I doubt at 93 years old Ray Bloch is the oldest player in the world either, but he, too is inspiring!
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