I say you need a varied arsenal of deep serves. Forehand topsin, forehand slice sidespin, backhand topspin, and backhand slice sidespin. To practice these, I use a Ksports Tennis Rebounder Net to perform these strokes hundreds of times per session for muscle memory and accuracy. To build up confidence on court, perform the weakest of these 4 serves to your opponent when sending the ball to them when it is their turn to serve. The ball is not in play, so you can test your serve's spin and accuracy with no pressure or point at risk, many times during a match. It's harder for opponents to deal with 4 different well placed serves.
I agree that as long as the serve is deep a variety is beneficial. However it takes most players a lot of time to develop a variety of serves and players who aren't pros generally don't have unlimited time to devote to their game. Most players would benefit more from using that time to develop a great return followed by a amazing block volley and punch volley.
@@BetterPickleball Like I said, I use a Ksports Rebounder Net played of the first bounce off the rebounder plank (not the second bounce off the floor), that returns the ball every 2 seconds. I use a bounce serve, so the rebounder is good for practicing serving, as well as dinks and banger shots. It rained yesterday so instead of my usual cardio bike ride I used the rebounder indoors for a full continuous 60 minutes which is 1800 alternating forehand and backhand strokes with both topspin and slice sidespin for ingraining muscle memory, so very condensed training. this training works because I use all 4 types of serves with high confidence in Pickleball court play. I am only an amateur yet I can get in a lot of repetitive Pickleball training in just one hour. It does half volleys (a split second after the bounce) very well but not true volleys. For true volleys one can practice on a wall.
I agree that the pros do not need to try to use a hard/fast/spinny etc. serve, but I think this is because at their level anything they serve will be returned by the other team anyway so there is no advantage to be gained in serving. This is not the case with the 3.5 level folks I play with; if you have a really hard serve to return you can score a lot of points simply by making the receiving team miss the return.
Yes you are right, the pros look at the serve as the shot that starts the rally, it rarely is an ace. But if you can score off your serve, keep pushing your opponents! Eventually they will improve and be able to return those harder serves but that's how we get better!
Great coaching, guys! Am transitioning to the drop serve and the mechanics seem to work better for my body size. And big thanks for the 7 Great Tips at the end!!
I am confused. The very first serve did not go into the diaganol court. It went to the court directly ahead of him. I thought it had to be a diagnol serve
Hi Nance, I think you might be confused because the team serving is stacking. It's a strategy that allows players to play from the side of the court that suits them best. The gentleman in black serves on the diagonal and then moves to the other side of the court. If you're new to the game it's probably best if you put stacking to the side for now. If you're ready to learn more about it here's a video for you ua-cam.com/video/DQ2_epIfGu4/v-deo.html
You’re right I haven’t done much content specifically for a forehand. I’ll put it on the list. Until then you might want to check out the footwork tutorials. Many of the errors I see are related to the foot position
IAt 3:15 in, noticed the server hitting the ball in the court directly in front of him. Isn't the serve supposed to go to the opposite side of the court? Didn't see that in subsequent examples in the video.
They are applying a strategy called stacking. If you notice, the player in the black serves from the left side of the center line (which is cross-court) and then slides to the right side.
I tell my beginner friends that the two most important things in pickleball are the "Serve and Return of serve". You are not able to get a point if your serve is not in and give a point away if you're not able to return the ball.
I say you need a varied arsenal of deep serves. Forehand topsin, forehand slice sidespin, backhand topspin, and backhand slice sidespin. To practice these, I use a Ksports Tennis Rebounder Net to perform these strokes hundreds of times per session for muscle memory and accuracy. To build up confidence on court, perform the weakest of these 4 serves to your opponent when sending the ball to them when it is their turn to serve. The ball is not in play, so you can test your serve's spin and accuracy with no pressure or point at risk, many times during a match. It's harder for opponents to deal with 4 different well placed serves.
I agree that as long as the serve is deep a variety is beneficial. However it takes most players a lot of time to develop a variety of serves and players who aren't pros generally don't have unlimited time to devote to their game. Most players would benefit more from using that time to develop a great return followed by a amazing block volley and punch volley.
@@BetterPickleball Like I said, I use a Ksports Rebounder Net played of the first bounce off the rebounder plank (not the second bounce off the floor), that returns the ball every 2 seconds. I use a bounce serve, so the rebounder is good for practicing serving, as well as dinks and banger shots. It rained yesterday so instead of my usual cardio bike ride I used the rebounder indoors for a full continuous 60 minutes which is 1800 alternating forehand and backhand strokes with both topspin and slice sidespin for ingraining muscle memory, so very condensed training. this training works because I use all 4 types of serves with high confidence in Pickleball court play. I am only an amateur yet I can get in a lot of repetitive Pickleball training in just one hour. It does half volleys (a split second after the bounce) very well but not true volleys. For true volleys one can practice on a wall.
I agree that the pros do not need to try to use a hard/fast/spinny etc. serve, but I think this is because at their level anything they serve will be returned by the other team anyway so there is no advantage to be gained in serving. This is not the case with the 3.5 level folks I play with; if you have a really hard serve to return you can score a lot of points simply by making the receiving team miss the return.
Yes you are right, the pros look at the serve as the shot that starts the rally, it rarely is an ace. But if you can score off your serve, keep pushing your opponents! Eventually they will improve and be able to return those harder serves but that's how we get better!
Great coaching, guys! Am transitioning to the drop serve and the mechanics seem to work better for my body size. And big thanks for the 7 Great Tips at the end!!
Glad it helped Adam!
Great tips. I just started hitting deep and it's made a big difference. Next I'll try placement....yikes!!
Deep is most important. Lock that down first and then placement. If you can’t do both focus on deep. You got this!
I am confused. The very first serve did not go into the diaganol court. It went to the court directly ahead of him. I thought it had to be a diagnol serve
Hi Nance, I think you might be confused because the team serving is stacking. It's a strategy that allows players to play from the side of the court that suits them best. The gentleman in black serves on the diagonal and then moves to the other side of the court. If you're new to the game it's probably best if you put stacking to the side for now. If you're ready to learn more about it here's a video for you ua-cam.com/video/DQ2_epIfGu4/v-deo.html
Do you have any forehand tutorials up? I can't seem to find any. Thanks!
You’re right I haven’t done much content specifically for a forehand. I’ll put it on the list. Until then you might want to check out the footwork tutorials. Many of the errors I see are related to the foot position
Great info! My friend takes 2 steps on their serve. Its a very powerful serve but I havent seen pro players do this. Is it legal to take two steps?
As long as your friends feet are behind the line when the paddle contacts the ball. Rule 4.L.3. Not touch the court, including the baseline.
Awesome video, thanks CJ
Glad you enjoyed it Tony!
Great 👍 information and analysis thanks 🙏
Glad it was helpful!
IAt 3:15 in, noticed the server hitting the ball in the court directly in front of him. Isn't the serve supposed to go to the opposite side of the court? Didn't see that in subsequent examples in the video.
They are applying a strategy called stacking. If you notice, the player in the black serves from the left side of the center line (which is cross-court) and then slides to the right side.
I tell my beginner friends that the two most important things in pickleball are the "Serve and Return of serve". You are not able to get a point if your serve is not in and give a point away if you're not able to return the ball.
Great advice for new players!!
Make a serve matter...not only deep...locate the backhand side to land.
Depends on the player you are serving to.
Great points. Deep first then worry about placement or the type of serve. Think of them as a bonus.
Just constructive feedback… CJ’s commentary is well prepared. Tony has too many ums, uhs, right… this makes it hard to listen to and follow.
Not always easy to do but thanks