3 Tips To Hit An Offensive Lob in Pickleball
A certain level of confidence is needed to hit offensive lobs in pickleball. First, you must be confident that you can hit it over your opponent’s head. Second, you need to have enough touch on it that it doesn’t go out of bounds. And lastly, you have to put it in the perfect spot so that they can’t just slam the ball in your face.
It’s a shot that can really score you some points and win you some matches, but it can also be costly if you don’t do it correctly.
Today, we’re offering three tips to develop a better offensive lob in pickleball.
Why the Offensive Lob Works
Typically, when players are up at the non-volley zone (NVZ) line, they expect two things to happen; either a dink or a speed-up. Adding a third option, like a lob, is effective because it plants a third thing in their head and gives them more to think about whenever you’re both up at the net together.
Another reason it’s so successful is that it forces them to turn around and run back to the baseline. This causes them to be completely out of position, and they’ll have difficulty returning the ball to you. Even if they are able to get it back, the chances are you’ll be in a great position for an easy putaway.
A Good Offensive Lob Looks Like a Dink Shot
When you dink the ball, your body looks like it’s going to do a squat before bringing your paddle from low to high without bending your wrist. Because you don’t need a lot of force on a dink, it’s done mostly with your lower half. You’re going to use the same motion for a successful offensive lob. But, instead of stopping your arm and elbow around waist high, you’re actually going to follow through to make the ball go higher and farther.
The biggest mistake players make is that they think they need to use their arm and wrist to get more height and power on the ball. However, you actually want to use more of your legs and simply push or extend your arm so that your paddle ends up at about chin level.
Creating this visual against your opponent makes this shot even more deadly because they won’t know it’s a lob attempt until the ball is over their head and they have to start retrieving. If you use your wrist and arms and aren’t able to disguise it as just another dink, they may recognize the shot early and make it to the baseline quicker for a better return shot.
You should practice this motion with your forehand and backhand.
Here are three tips for making your offensive lob awesome.
Tip #1 - Notice Your Opponent’s Position
Ideally, when you perform an offensive lob shot, you want your opponent to be all the way up to the NVZ line and preferably have their weight leaning forward. If they aren’t at the NVZ line, then you risk them slamming the lob back into you or being in a great position to make a good solid shot. It’s the surprise factor of this shot that really sets it apart from others.
Having them at the NVZ line and with their weight forward–because they are anticipating having to get low for a dink–is the prime position for when you want to strike with the offensive lob.
Tip #2 - Don’t Hit the Lob Right Away
Tip number two is to use the lob following a series of dink shots between you and your opponent. Using a lob too much can make you predictable, and your opponent could start preparing themselves for it. You want to use it sparingly to make it most effective for you. To set it up properly, allow a series of dinks to happen first, then surprise them with the lob.
Tip #3 - Lob it High
Perhaps the worst thing you can do is lob the ball too low and allow your opponent to smash the ball right back at you. When you practice your lobs, practice hitting them high and almost straight up in the air. Remember, you don’t want the ball to go beyond the baseline, so hitting a lob too low and too hard can cause you to lose the rally or a point.
The goal of the offensive lob is to force your opponent back, putting them into a tough position so that they cannot make a solid return shot. Ideally, even if they are able to return it, you’ll have a great chance of an easy putaway.
Bonus Tip - Practice!
Lobs can be daunting. But, as we all know, you’ll never succeed if you don’t try. While trying it in a game is better than not trying it at all, you’re actually going to get really good at it when you practice it in non-competitive conditions. Think about it. If you do it poorly in a game and your opponent smashes the ball in your face, how likely are you to try it in that game again? Not very.
Instead, grab your partner or practice with a bucket of balls, and really focus on nailing the high offensive lob that lands just inside the baseline.
Conclusion
The offensive lob is a tremendous shot to add to your shot arsenal. With these tips, and with the help from this video from PrimeTime Pickleball, you’ll be an expert lobber in no time!
