This Flow Chart Will Change Your Pickleball Play
Where is your head during points? Are you running through any of these thoughts mid swing - Where to aim, how to place the ball, get to the kitchen, be patient, wait for your shot, bend your knees, wait for your opportunity? That, is a lot to think about during a rally. Is that really how your rallies go? There are so many options to consider in the moment, dink, drive, lob, middle, left, right? Where do you hit the ball, or at least, where do you want to hit it? That is a lot, and it’s way too much thinking in the moment! Is this you?
Why not try to think ahead a little and simplify. Shot 1 leads to your second or third shot? Middle dink, leads to wide dink, leads to put away opportunity… Putting together a strategy before the game is much easier on your head than trying to pull it all together in the moment. Personally, I can’t even remember what I wrote in the first paragraph of this article, let alone a complex diatribe on placement, and I’ve been sitting in this chair, not moving or feeling the pressure of trying to get my serve in.
Thinking Ahead in Pickleball
I have watched many strategy videos and read articles about shot placement and, according to the experts, the optimal situation for an attack is when the ball’s flight is above the net, over the kitchen, and within your wingspan.
Now the actual attack will depend on where the ball is at the time. There are many attack options from the dink, to the drive, to even an offensive lob, but for now let’s focus on getting to the attack shot. I try to practice situational shots and visualizing myself in a game, making that same shot. That practice helps me focus on the shot during a non-pressure moment, rather than during a game and improves my chances during the game - “in the moment”.
So, I dink or drive the ball the during a rally with the intent being to set myself up for an attackable ball during the point. My short situational strategy is to hit a shot that is going to force an error. Good attackable opportunities set you up to force your opponent to make errors, which will help you win points about 70% of the time, but we’ll get to that number a little later.
So, for the pickleball flow chart fan (meant to be singular) in the audience, I’ll break this process down into small pieces for you. Start from the “Make a setup shot” shape and follow the arrows and decision branches:
Non-Flow Chart Version
So, for the other 99% of the people reading this, the above diagram suggests that you hit setup shots until you get an attackable ball. Once you get your chance, you (obviously) attack with a shot that forces your opponent off balance. Repeat this cycle until you win and get to dance like Brad Pitt. Hopefully it’s you and not your opponent doing the dances and please not the floss dance.
This describes a very simple but powerful strategy: waiting for your opponent to be at a disadvantage, such as being caught in no man’s land or popping a ball up. It makes you wait to attack the ball, only when you get an error from your opponent, otherwise hit set up shots until your chance appears.
To justify this strategy and the need for patience, check out these numbers from a study performed between 2012 and 2013 by Noel White, the club statistician at The Palm Creek Pickleball Club. Noel found that 70% of the time winning teams have less unforced errors (many times significantly less) than the losing teams. Waiting for your chance to attack, rather than trying to force it, will reduce your errors and increase your points won.
Just Remember
Keep it simple, wait for your opportunity and make your attacks count. It will improve your game and most definitely improve your chances of winning matches.
Setup, can I attack? – nope; Setup, can I attack? – yup; Go! Commence the dance!
