Strategy Questions
How Strategic Is Your Pickleball Game?
Good mechanics matter, but as your game improves, so does the competition. Strategy becomes the difference.
There are countless pickleball videos online covering shots, techniques, and strategy. But watching someone explain a strategy isn't the same as recognizing the situation when you're on the court. See how many of these 20 strategy questions are already part of the way you think about your game.
If a question makes you stop and think, Payton Bond's Pickleball35 App and Book bring the related strategies together with detailed court illustrations and explanations, so you can study what's happening on the court and understand what to do and why.
Optional Strategy Assessment: As you go through the questions, choose the status that best describes where each area fits in your game. Your progress and results will be summarized as you go.
Questions
- Do you consistently hit deep serves and returns, and understand why they are so important? Do you try to win points with your serve or return and end up giving away free points through unnecessary errors?
- Once your serves and returns are consistent, do you intentionally target them? What is your targeting strategy?
- Do you consistently reach the NVZ (Kitchen) after returning serve? What do you do when you find yourself caught in the transition zone as your opponent hits their third shot? Do you have a plan? What is your thought process for consistently gaining the line?
- Do you understand stacking and why it is so important? Do you stack when playing with an opposite-handed partner? Do you actively assess your opponents' handedness before a game or point begins? How does this impact your strategy?
- Do you have a plan when your opponents are stacking? How does it impact your serves, returns, and third-shot decisions?
- Do you use spin shots, and do you understand how to handle opponents who use a lot of spin? Do you understand the physics of pickleball spin and how it affects both your shots and your opponent's shots?
- Do you actively communicate on the third shot? Do you call shots and move in front of your partner to take forehands whenever possible?
- Do you have a go-to third shot? Do you have a plan before the point even starts? Do you understand when it is better to hit a drive versus a drop shot? When driving the third shot, do you use the Shake and Bake or Drive and Reset strategies with your partner?
- Do you use third-shot drops consistently, and do you understand why they are one of the most important shots in pickleball?
- Do you intentionally target your third-shot drops? What is your strategy for placement?
- After hitting a third-shot drop, how do you assess its quality before moving in? What are you looking for? What is your plan for advancing through the transition zone to reach the kitchen? Do you understand and use a split-step while moving through the transition zone? Do you understand the concept of a 5th-shot and 7th-shot drop?
- Do you understand how to defend effectively against third-shot drops? Do you understand volley placement and when to volley versus dink, or are you simply reacting without a plan?
- Do you understand what a reset shot is, when to use it, and why it is one of the most important defensive shots in pickleball?
- Do you have a plan when someone hits a lob? Do you use overhead smashes effectively? Do you know how to chase down a lob while switching correctly with your partner? If you hit a lob and recognize your opponent is going to let it bounce deep, what is your plan for your court positioning and next shot?
- Do you poach the third shot? Do you know when it is effective, how it helps your partner, and when it should be avoided?
- During a dinking rally, do you focus on pinching the middle and tethering? Do you know when to use a cross-court dink versus a forward dink?
- Do you attack dinks at the right time? Are you patient? Do you know what a dink fake is? Do you know what a dink fake lob is? Have you ever attempted an Erne or an ATP (Around the Post)?
- Do you know what attributes define a 3.0, 3.5+, and 4.0 player? Can you accurately assess your current level of play?
- Do you stay patient when rallies become difficult or the game is not going your way? Can you avoid rushing points, stay composed under pressure, recover quickly from mistakes, and continue making good strategic decisions when momentum shifts?
- Are you a good partner and opponent on the court? Do you communicate and encourage your partner, trust them to play their position, handle middle balls and line calls appropriately, and maintain positive sportsmanship with your opponents regardless of the score?
Your Strategy Assessment
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