Dinks and Third-Shot Drops
It’s funny, when I first started playing I kept seeing a lot about third shot drops and dinks. I looked at the rating guidelines and even saw dinks and 3rd shots had their own category. Coming from a tennis background, I was amused by how much I was seeing people talk about just these two specific shots and skeptical as to how important they could actually be. At my first open play, I was pulled aside and asked if I knew what a dink and 3rd shot drop was. I didn’t know specifically but I just laughed and said something along the lines of, “I think so, if you were to just show me what it is Im sure Im capable of doing it.” After a few months I started playing a ton and gradually started playing with more advanced players. I learned very quickly that the emphasis on 3rd shot drops and dinks is quite warranted. From the start I was able to hop into a game and hit solid returns and have intense back and forth volleys at the kitchen line. My tennis background allowed me to do that. I think thats why pickleball is so appealing for all skill levels and ages. You can hop into a game and still have fun, intense points even if you aren’t playing it the “right” way. It’s all relative to who you are playing with. If I grabbed 3 other good tennis players and introduced them to pickleball we would just be smacking the ball around and having fun points. If none of us were dropping it in and using actually strategy, it would still be pretty fun. That being said, once I started to play with better players you really get to see the importance of consistent drops and good dinking. You see the strategy and opportunities that unfolds around those shots. Once I was able to hit a solid, consistent drop I felt like I improved tremendously. I made this post because it just funny to think how skeptical I was at first, how I doubted the importance of the dink and 3rd shot drop. If you have good hands at the kitchen line, good forehands and backhands, and develop a consistent drop and dinking game, you will start to see a rapid elevation in your game.
