Pickleball Tip of Week #7

This week we will discuss communication and not taking your partners ball.

Almost every time the ball comes back to my partner and i to hit the THIRD shot, i will say mine or yours. This is one of the best and easiest times to communicate with your partner. How many times has the ball come down the center with you both standing at the baseline and you either let the ball just go between you or you are late in hitting the ball and do a terrible third shot. You have plenty of time to call this one out as the ball is traveling from baseline to baseline.

Next, when the ball is down the middle and you are in the middle of a point you should call out whos ball if there is even a chance of indecision.

Next , if your partner calls the ball as theirs , YOU better not take it unless you hit a winner. If i call the ball mine and move to hit it and my partner takes it, 99% of the time i will now be OUT of position and we will loose the point.

Lastly on lobs, or balls hit hard at your team. I hate playing with a partner, and i go back for a lob and my partner does not verbalize  if it is good or bad. I am moving back , watching the ball and my partner is just standing there with an excellent view to see if the ball is going to be in or not and whether or not i should hit it or let it go out. So everytime my partner should say , "good", "NO", or "bounce it" if they are not sure. It takes all the decision away from me so i can concentrate on hitting a good return as opposed to thinking whether or not i should hit the ball