How to Improve Your Quickness on the Pickleball Court

Today I played pickleball with a new and very skilled group of players. Afterward, I heard them talking about my game and one of the things they said is that I'm very fast. Thanks to good genes in the area of athleticism and lots of fast twitch muscle fiber, I have been blessed with natural ability. But now with two bad knees, I've had to find other ways to become fast on the court rather than just relying on being athletic. So here are a few tips which have helped me and I'm also adding in one from a Pickleball Fire podcast interview with teaching professional Ben Paquette.

Side to Side Movement

Footwork is really important in any sport which requires you to be fast. When I came into pickleball a lot of the movement on the court is very similar to racquetball. So it was natural for me to shuffle side to side rather than doing a cross over step. The cross over is common in tennis and it does its job in that sport since you have more time to move if you are playing against a baseliner. Because pickleball moves so fast when you are at the kitchen line, you really don't have time to cross over. I try to stay away from this movement as much as possible and it definitely makes me faster on the court when I shuffle side to side.

Anticipation

Being able to anticipate where a shot is going can also help you to be faster on the court. Most recreational players, even if they are advanced competitors, show you exactly where they are hitting their shots. Just look at the angle of their paddle, the direction of the paddle, and how high they are hitting the ball. All of this helps you to anticipate where the ball is going. Also, knowing where they should be hitting the ball from a strategy perspective can help you anticipate the next shot. For example, players should be targeting each others backhand in a rapid fire rally so be looking for the ball to be coming in that direction.

Lose Weight

When I had Ben on the Pickelball Fire podcast, he said his game improved the first two years he played. Then he asked some professional players, who he had a chance to compete against, what else he needed to do to play at the higher levels. They said he needed to become faster. For him, that meant losing more than 50 pounds and he is now cat quick on the court. But of course, it’s different for everyone.