Pickleball Tip of Week #24

Hey All,

This weeks tip is moving from baseline to NVZ after 3rd shot.

Deciding how to move up depends alot on your partners abilities. If i get stuck with a banger as my partner and he/she is going to hit the third shot, i dont even consider moving up to the NVZ as he bangs the third shot from the baseline.  Against great opponents, any movement up to the net now is a death wish. Great players will redirect my partners bang back at our feet if we are closer than the baseline. And the other downfall of banging the third shot from the baseline is that now , since we cant immediately come up to the net, we are susceptible to our opponents hitting a drop shot with us both back. Now staying back with a banger hitting the third shot does NOT apply if the banger is banging the third shot from "No mans land". He is close enough  now, that he may be able to overpower our opponents who are standing at the net. 

If i am lucky enough to be partnered with a great touch player who usually hits the third shot nicely into the opponents NVZ, i move up fairly quickly as my partner hits her third shot with the confidence that it wont get us killed.

If i play with a on again off again partner who sometimes hits a good third shot into the kitchen and sometimes gets it too high, i now have to think more. ( This is the application that requires the most decisions ). As i see the SERVE RETURN coming to my partner who is standing at the baseline ready to hit the third shot, i take about two steps into the court while i am watching closely how well my partner hits the third shot. If she hits a nice one that will drop into the kitchen i scoot QUICKLY up to the net. If my partner hits the ball too high which will allow our opponents to crack it back at our feet, i immediately recognize this and STOP ( about four or five feet into the court ) and split step and default to my backhand and get ready to a speedster coming my way.

Remember as you get more advanced and practice more and more the touch game, you are always looking for a ball that is smashed at you that you while you are stuck at the baseline that can still be hit softly back into the kitchen with no pace. This is the shot that takes you from a disadvantage situation (the baseline ) to a neutral one ( at the NVZ). .

So again............In a perfect world, this is how it should work. I see the serve return coming to my partner who is going to hit a nice soft shot into the kitchen. As soon as i see she hits a good one, i scoot up QUICKLY to the NVZ and she comes up quickly also , following her shot up.

jeff shank