Pickleball Magazine 3-4 Courtesy of Pickleball Guru | Page 47

Quick Tip
PICKLEBALL INSTRUCTION
Teaching and
Learning Pickleball
from the Ground Up
BY ALICE TYM
T
here’s a propensity in racket sports to
initially teach with a grip then a swing.
Tennis used to be “shake hands, turn, step
and swing.” However, so many players who went
on to become great players began with soccer—
such as John McEnroe—or hockey, like Bjorn Borg.
I remember travelling from island to island
in the Caribbean on a State Department tennis
tour. Every former French island had tennis
players with excellent footwork but weak stroke
production. Every former British island had
players with excellent hitting mechanics but weak
footwork. French islands had kids who played
soccer. British islands had kids who played cricket.
What’s the relevance to pickleball today?
Ultimately, if you want to play pickleball at a high
level, you must start from the ground up. That
means footwork. Part of the early learning process
is learning how to move to the ball and how to set
up for each shot. The grip and swing matter, but
bad footwork will never produce a top player.
Footwork drills should begin at the get-go.
For example, when hitting forehand crosscourts,
players should practice by always returning to the
center tick between every shot, not camping out
in the forehand corner like a lazy player. Practice
doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent.
Overheads should be hit and followed by a quick
recovery and return to the non-volley zone (NVZ).
Assume the ball will always return and it will
return to the logical opening.
The game is predicated on good footwork.
Bend your knees, not your waist. Recover by
getting down and ready for the next shot. Learn
to accelerate efficiently. In track, we wrap a towel
around the runner’s waist and the coach holds
the ends of the towel from behind to provide
resistance. The runner must get down for power
acceleration. When a player stands up, he has
minimal force.
Teach and learn from the ground up. Then your
strokes won’t have to be compromised or modified
by inadequate footwork. •
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MAGAZINE
45