Tips - How to improve

Do

1. Contact the ball in front of your body

2. "Serve and Stay"

3. "Return and Run"

4. "Paddle Up!"

5. Move with your doubles partner side to side. They take a step to the right, you take a step to the right. They take a step left, you take a step left. This is especially important at the NVZ line. Stop when you've reached the middle line.

6. Drill to improve your skills and consistency.

7. Drill to improve your judgment, "Should I volley or let it bounce?" "Should I advance, hold, or retreat?"

8. If your drives are going out, take off pace until they start going in. Then gradually increase pace.

9. If your drops are dropping short, start missing long and then gradually dial it back. Most 3.0-4.0 players don't have a good roll volley so even if you miss a drop long, they can't hit a winner off of it.

10. "Head high, let if fly!" So at the NVZ line, if a drive is above your shoulders, let it go out, don't hit it.

11. If you have arm pain, get diagnosed by your doctor. Ask for a prescription for physical therapy. Record video of your PT doing all of your assigned exercises and stretches. Follow their directions for frequency and reps.
    RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Use ice packs after you play for 20 minutes on and then 20 minutes off and reapply as needed for pain. Use paper towels or a thin cloth between the ice pack and your skin. I use these ice packs for my wrist, and a larger one for my knees.  Reusable ice packs are the best way to reduce pain and inflammation!
    I also use a Rolflex Arm & Leg Massager from Amazon. I know it looks odd, but it really works! Costco also sells the Sharper Image Massager, a large one and a compact model. The smaller one is great for portability and uses USB C, but the larger one is so much more powerful. These massagers are often discounted $20 or more.

12. One way to improve is to play one level down with your off hand. So if you are a 4.0 player, play with 3.0 players with your off hand. This will make your footwork sound. This is a great technique since you can then play with a much larger pool of players.

13. If you can't reach a ball with your dominant side backhand, your off side forehand will have 2 feet extra reach. Try it!

14. If your drives are going long, take off pace until they start going in.

Don't

1. Attack balls that are behind or far to the side of you so that you have to reach. If the ball is not in your bubble, don't speed it up.

2. Attack a ball at the NVZ line that is too shallow or too low with a smash directed down. Instead, do a punch volley if high enough, or a roll volley if the ball is at or below the net.

3. Be in a rush to get to the NVZ line. Take your time. It's not a 100m sprint, but more of a 400m race. Take your time and assess whether you should advance, hold, or retreat.

How to improve

1. Buy a 5 gallon bucket from Harbor Freight, Home Depot, or Lowe's. This will hold 50 balls.

2. Buy 50 Franklin X-40 balls. Color default is Yellow. If you get any of the other colors, rec players may not want to use them. However, non yellow pickleballs get stolen much less frequently and are also easy to spot which ones are yours when in a busy rec situation. Quantities of 100 are usually cheaper, but not always. Price per ball will vary from $1.60-$2.30 so check it throughout the year.

3. Read through the Player Skill Rating page from USA Pickleball. Use the Skill Assessment sheets to place yourself into a skill level. 

4. Then use it as a checklist for shots you need to work on in order of priority. As you progress, move up to the next level Skill Assessment sheet.

5. Take pickleball classes from good coaches. The only way to tell, is to take a lesson from them.

6. Take pickleball camps

7. Take private or small group lessons to help you get over any obstacles impeding improvement. I recommend taking a lesson with a trusted coach every 1-6 months depending on how fast you are improving.

8. When playing a rec game, don't focus on winning. Focus on a particular shot or skill you need to improve on.

9. Use this website as a resource to find information and the best pickleball videos on YouTube

10. Take video of yourself doing each shot and playing rec games. When reviewing footage, you'll be able to spot bad habits you have that you would not otherwise know about without selfie video. You can also use the videos to track your progress. How you play now compared to a year ago will be very different.

11. Get to the courts early in the morning and drill. Watch this video for directions. 

12. You can also do drills against the wall. I actually don't recommend a ball machine unless you have a court in your backyard. Ball machines are heavy, take time and effort to get into and out of your car and to the court and set up and then you have to pack it up again. Practicing alone or with a drill partner is ideal.

13. Dinks need a drill partner, but footwork, drives, serves, lobs, and drops can be practiced solo.