Tips to Improve Your Pickleball Practice Sessions

Practice Makes Perfect

We’ve all heard this many times before, yet in this sport many rec-players just play the game and they make no time to work on skills to improve their game.  Some may say that just playing more will make their game, and play, better.  But that’s not entirely true.  Let me explain…

In the mind-body connect we basically train our behaviors starting with our minds and then the body.  Not the other way around.  The mind trains the body in what we call “muscle memory”.  Muscle memory is not only the physicality of movement but the recollection of how we move and respond.  The way this works best is in controlled scenarios and repetition.  This is where practice does its magic as it affords us the time to focus and concentrate on how we want the body to move and respond.  In fact, I highly recommend a ball that slows play down so you can develop these skills such that during play, or competition, you’re able to call upon these fundamentals to excel or improve your game.

So what basic practices are the ones to do, especially if you practice alone?  Great question, and there is some prep you’ll need before just going out and hitting a bunch of balls.  Here’s what I would recommend:

1.)   Cones- these low-profile cones are “targets” that you can place on the ground in strategic locations on the court that improve accuracy.

(I use these principally for service placement, to refine deep serves, lobs, and center line services that split the opposing players)

2.)   Practice Rings- these are low-profile rings that you use to work on shot placement in areas that disadvantage the opposition (these rings can be placed in the kitchen or back near the service line, or in other strategic areas of the court)

Although these practices tools sound the same, they are different as they work on different skills as noted in their description.

If you can, go out with someone where the two of you can practice together.  Where one of you serves to the other repeatedly and then switch-off.  Then work on dinking and so on.  Speaking of serves, it is now becoming a big part of the game as effective serves can disadvantage your opponents from the start.  I’m not necessarily talking about fancy spin serves but strategic placement that puts the ball not just into play but stretches the other team awkwardly and then the advantage tips to you 

There’s nothing more frustrating than going out to play and having the shots you normally can count not happen!  This is not necessarily you just having “a bad day”, although it might be as we all have those, but this is where the investment of practice kicks in and saves the day, and potentially the game.

Happy practicing!