Our last few blogs have talked about the importance of both an on and off the court warmup. What we haven’t talked about is our opponent and what to look for during that warm up, because as we all need to be reminded, it’s not always just about us.
Use the warmup to size-up your opponent. You can find out a lot about your opponent within those first five minutes. Move them around a bit, hit toward both sides of their body, see how they react in all the situations. Hit different speeds and heights. What is their footwork? Their stroke preparation? For example, you may notice that they may spray their backhand dink on wider balls due to off balance footwork, but hit a great topspin dink on their forehand. Pretty useful information before starting the first point, wouldn’t you agree?
Take all of that info in and share it with your partner before the game/match begins. Good strategy will make all the difference when playing against equally skilled opponents.
Now, on to the “shot clock” part…
We all have a shot clock, meaning, how many balls can I hit (think consistency) before I get board/antsy and feel the need to smack the ball. This information can be collected from our opponents during the warmup and within the first few points. Some players can only engage in a dink exchange for 2 shots, before they tee off on the ball. Some players can hang in the dink for 8-10 shots before they get antsy. Hit toward the player with the shorter shot clock. If you can stay in the dink/point/rally and outlast your opponent’s shot clock, you will win the point most of the time forcing them to make the untimely error.
Pickleball, especially in the game of doubles, is often a game of patience and discipline, especially at the higher levels. Use this shot clock to help understand your opponent, and train yourself to be more patient and thoughtful with shot selection to create offensive opportunities. You will win more games, simply put.
Leave a Reply