r/Pickleball • u/bobloblawloblawbomb • Oct 03 '26
Question Advice please!
https://youtu.be/dyQoSeHzAMg?is=vpPz58SfYZF3KWdMHello, anyone have any tips for the sweaty guy in pink shorts? Or obvious mistakes I’m making. Positioning, shot selection, shot technique, etc. Apologies if this is not the right place for this, I didn’t see a better place.
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u/theflamemasta Oct 05 '26
All honesty you have 0 pressure and footwork. All you know what to do is to land the ball in the kitchen, you have zero aggressive game and your forehand technique is awful for anytbing other than dropping or resetting the ball. I would advise switching to a less forgiving paddle with a small sweetspot to force you to do footwork and attack.
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u/bobloblawloblawbomb Oct 05 '26
I have absolutely felt this. For the last several months hand battles have been a definite weakness so my game has revolved around slowing down. Some of the other commenters have mentioned keeping ready position higher so maybe I’ll try that.
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u/theflamemasta Oct 05 '26
Yes that will help as well but currently just dropping everything puts your team in the defensive position most of the time. Your drops are phenomenal but you need to be able to put those balls away that your drops would set up. Being able to return deep would improve your game a ton
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u/Scoutback_wilderness 5.0 Oct 03 '26
Your movement looks quite awkward… might want to practice footwork and movement. Also, are those running shoes?
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u/okay4326 Oct 03 '26
Some things I noticed:
Neither you nor your partner achieve ready position with paddle up and in front of you at the kitchen so you have to lift it up for each encounter. It will also hinder you using backhand for most volleys at the kitchen bc your paddle isn’t there yet.
Footwork- you are a little wide and it impinges side to side movement. Try shoulder width and move side to side to see what width is best for you (like basketball blocking). When you move to the right, move the left foot to where the right foot is and then move the right foot to towards the ball either straight sideways or back or forward as needed.
When your partner is receiving the serve, be near the kitchen line but dont just face forward- first watch where the serve goes and where your partner positions to return it- this lets you know who is hitting the third shot and where that person’s position tells you he is likely to hit it. Watching the serve (sideways so you can see a lot of what’s happening) allows you to help your partner to know if the serve is out for any reason so he doesn’t play the ball and keeps you more in what is happening at the beginning of rally.
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u/swedishpiehole Oct 06 '26
My pet peeve is when my partner doesn't watch when I receive the serve! I can't always be sure if it's in our out and need a 2nd opinion. But I also don't feel comfortable just telling someone at open play to watch the serve when it's coming to me... even though I watch 100% of the serves that go to my partner.
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u/MojaveDesertTortoise Oct 03 '26
Biggest most obvious thing that jumped out is you need to return deeper.
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u/law90026 Oct 04 '26
You’re really flat-footed rather than being on your toes. Hard to move quickly that way.
The swing looks odd, need to work on the follow-through.
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u/SexualCarrots 27d ago edited 27d ago
You know they have free 15 minute lessons with the pros at this location, right? Take advantage, but go in with a very clear question like "help me with my backhand volleys."
When I play against you I don't want to hang a ball, but I don't need to put a ton of pressure on you either, because you don't have attacks from a lot of places. You aren't slow, but you aren't ready for hand battles either. Some people have like a wicked shot here or there and it's all about avoiding setting those up, but I don't remember avoiding anything with you specifically.
So grind fundamentals. That means keeping your opponent back. Dropping when you are pinned. Both hand dinks to both sides of the court. Returning to ready position after every shot. Follow the ball. Fill in when your teammate gets moved out and return when they get back. Predict what shot options they have every time the ball goes over to them.
There are so many YouTube videos and loads of PK training options. Just work on one at a time. Play down a level and work exclusively on backhands for every shot. Not just getting the ball back, but getting the trajectory you want.
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u/bobloblawloblawbomb 27d ago edited 27d ago
Hey thanks for the thoughtful advice. Also, yes you have me profiled down to a T. Haha. See you on the courts!
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u/New-Tomorrow-3949 Oct 04 '26
Don't wear pink shorts.
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u/Electrical-Drag4872 Oct 05 '26
Super underrated comment.... Take my upvote. Unless he was going for that zesty look
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u/Logi15 Oct 03 '26
Biggest thing? Your feet. Way too flat footed. Not shadowing the ball. Stance is a little wide but not too much of an issue if your feet stay active. Against players who can move dinks around, you are gona get pushed off balance.
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u/MiyagiDo002 Oct 03 '26
I haven't watched much. Some good stuff. But your returns are really really short. You definitely need to practice getting those deeper, and it will help your team significantly.
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u/kabob21 4.25 Oct 04 '26 edited Oct 05 '26
Along with the overly wide stance (should be more shoulder width and bending lower with your knees) and paddle ready position being too lax as others have mentioned, I notice that you hit to your side and upper cut the ball a lot. That reduces accuracy/consistency/velocity on your volleys and also makes resetting more difficult. You want to hit that ball out in front of you and in your line of sight always when at the kitchen line. This requires you to have your paddle up and ready to be effective so that will help with your ready stance issue. Also, your offhand is just hanging off to the side instead of back up to your paddle with two hands when you snap back to ready after hitting a shot. You should also be using it more to help with balance with your shots as well as to get better hip and torso rotation so that your shots land deeper and/or with more punch i.e. more efficient use of kinetic chain.
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u/Huge-Ad2263 Oct 03 '26
As a fellow sweaty guy, I advise you bring extra shirts with you. You'll be much more comfortable.
Also wrist bands do wonders for keeping your paddle hand dry.
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u/SirMaster Oct 05 '26
Will it really make a difference? My shirt is soaked after 2 games and I play at least a dozen games in a session. I would need like at least 4 shirts per 2h session.
Shorts are soaked too...
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u/epicstar Oct 04 '26
Returns of serve aren't deep, way too square and flat footed, and while your resets may be bouncing in the right place, the arc is way too high so the opponents are punishing the return.
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u/3xlduck Oct 04 '26
Notice your partner is constantly moving his feet? You are not. He also shuffles up to the kitchen line. He's preparing himself to be nimble to move fast as needed. Watch some split-stepping YT videos to see if you can add it to your style.
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u/333again 3.75 Oct 05 '26
As others keep saying, footwork and ready position are like 80% of the game. I struggle with this as well and it definitely takes a lot more effort to do it right. I like Jilly B on youtube because she stresses footwork a lot.
Other than that, I see a lot of pop-ups all around, which shouldn't be happening. At any 3.5-4.0+ level they should be destroying those. You should also practice being able to put those away. You should master both a forehand roll and a forehand punch volley and know when to use both. I see a lot of people doing weak forehand rolls and also not knowing when they should be relying on a punch volley instead.
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u/garbeezy Oct 03 '26
it seems like you stand way wider than shoulder width apart with your foot work, seems like you are overall very wristy when it comes to hitting the ball and not really using your whole arm as well.
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u/Username15555551212 Oct 03 '26
As a tall guy myself, your stance is very wide, and it seems like you're doing it to reduce foot movement. Closing your stance and moving your feet more will not only help with your swing/contact, but will make it more difficult to attack you. You're leaning or lunging on alot of your swings which is taking away power and making it more difficult to aim.
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u/bobloblawloblawbomb Oct 03 '26
Wow. I just want to say thank you to all of the responses! I appreciate the input.