I am currently taking a
couple of days off of play to rest my aging body. I went yesterday to
watch mainly 3.0 to 4.0 players. This weeks tip is geared toward those
players who are intermediate to low advanced ( 3.0 to 4.0 ).
It
is VERY frustrating as an instructor to watch these players play. If
they would just make a few slight changes they would play SO much
better. I feel sometimes like good info is heard but then when play
starts, all that good info goes by the way side.
YOU HAVE
TO PLAY WITH CONTROL. I constantly make the comment that players below
4.5 live to hit winners. This is NOT how you win pickleball. You have to
change your priorities from hitting winners to NOT MAKING MISTAKES.
Watch youtube videos of 4.5 and 5.0 play. These higher level players
make highest priorites of not making mistakes. By not making mistakes, i
am talking about the following:
1) Dont try and hit a
winner when the odds of that shot being a winner are low. I like to make
the analogy of my one friends who is a world class swimmer and holds
several softball records. When he plays golf ( not one of his better
sports ) he tries to hit every drive 300 yards. He has the hardest golf
swing of anyone i have ever played with. Unfortunately 5 to 10 percent
of the time he actually connects with the ball and hits it 300 yards.
75% of the time he mishits it and it goes 50 yards. It is awe inspiring
when he hits it 300 yards, and that is the only shot he remembers. His
score is terrible. But he is always trying to impress. This is what i
see intermediate players doing. They want to hit that low percentage
shot that everyone goes oooouu, awwww. But they dont remember the 75% of
the time when that shot ends up a looser.
2) Dont try and
hit a winner off a winner. When someone hits a great shot on you , your
goal is to just get it back and not give it back where your opponents
can hit a winner. I see so many people that have a drop shot hit on them
when they are back at the baseline and go running forward and now
instead of taking the pace off the ball and dropping it into the
kitchen, they smash it trying for a winner.
3) When you do
have a winner to hit ( like an overhead smash at your opponents feet )
there is no need to go 110%. Go at 90-95%. I see so many players overhit
a winner and it ends up a looser.
The next time you are
at play, watch your 4.0 and below players playing and see if what i am
saying is not so. Their main concern is to hit a winner at any cost. Now
watch 4.5 or 5.0 players either in person or on youtube if you dont
have that skill set where you play. 4.5 and above players points
generally last MUCH longer than intermediate players. Why?????? Because
the are not in the mind set that they have to end the point now. They
have confidence. They know that if they can go longer than their
opponents without making a mistake, they will probably win the point.
Again,
watch play while you are waiting. See how many points are won, and how
many points are lost. MOST POINTS ARE LOST do to someone making a
mistake. That mistake might be over hitting a winner. Trying for a
winner before a winner is there. Popping the ball up on a poor dink or a
poor lob. Trying for a winner off a winner. ETC .
YOU
HAVE TO GET INTO THE MINDSET OF OUTLASTING YOUR OPPONENTS. NOT HITTING
WINNERS. Yes you do want to hit a winner when a winner is there, but not
before the shot is there nor going 110% on that winner. You will not
believe how powerful you will feel when you develop CONTROL of your
shots ( hitting the shot where you want to ) and CONTROL of your mind
with your shot selection ( chosing the correct shot to hit ).
Sorry
if i constantly harp on certain issues. But i keep seeing the same
things over and over again where i think some things might need to be
discussed several times before it finally sinks in to some.
jeff shank
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