How Traffic Lights Can Help You Teach Pickleball

Until I talked with professional pickleball player Taylor Taylor (yes that is really her name and this is not a typo), I had never thought about traffic lights being analogous to attacking the ball in pickleball. But, if you think about it, the idea makes a lot of sense. When Taylor and other professionals teach their students, they talk about using zones of red, yellow, and green to know when to be offensive. And when to not.

The traffic light analogy applies to situations when you are near the kitchen line and the ball is coming to you either in the air or after it has bounced. If the ball stays low and does not get above your knees, it would be considered the red zone. So, this is a ball you do not want to attack, as it is likely to go into the net. Even if it makes it over the net, it's going to be moving in an upward trajectory so your opponent can then attack the ball.

The yellow zone is the area between your knees and just above your waist. In certain situations, this is an attackable ball. If you are in good position and ready to attack, this is a good chance to be offensive. The yellow zone, however, can also be a good time to reset the ball or to simply drop it into the kitchen. 

The green zone is anything above your waist and players of all levels should attack in this case. This is because you should be able to hit down on the ball. Go ahead and aim for a spot just behind your opponent's feet. More advanced players may even choose a different target like hitting at a right-handed players right hip or shoulder.

One thing to consider with the traffic light concept is that the more skilled you are in pickleball, the more you can be offensive, especially in the yellow zone. If you watch the professionals play here in 2021, they attack as much as possible when the ball is between their knees and waist. In years past, this was not true but the game is rewarding aggressiveness more and more. You just need to be consistent.