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In the pickleball world we hear the word “drill” thrown around a lot.
“I need to drill more”, “it’s hard to find people to drill with”, and “I know I’m supposed to drill four times per week and play one” are some of the phrases that constantly get repeated.
Also, it’s common for some players to drill multiple times per week but still not get better, and for other players progress rapidly despite only playing a couple of times per week.
There’s a reason for that. Today, we’re going to break down the right way to drill, so you can learn how to get the most out of your practice.
Let’s dive in 👇
The number of balls you hit does not directly dictate your improvement rate. Let that sink in for a minute. Hours on the court ≠ improvement.
The quality of your practice is what makes the difference. In fact, one hour of high quality, targeted practice beats three hours of mindless drilling every single time.
Unfortunately, it’s common to get sucked into unproductive drilling routines that are fun but don’t really do too much to improve your game.
That being said, if you keep these few easy keys in mind the next time you structure your drilling routine, you’ll be well on your way to creating a productive practice:
Recognize what skills you need to succeed at your level. For example, if you are a 3.0-3.5 level player, you should not be hitting cross court dinks for thirty minutes. At that level, you are rarely getting to the kitchen and hitting dinks in games, so there’s no reason to work on them intently. Instead, you should be working on the first four shots - serve, return, third shot, and fourth shot since mastering those will have the most direct impact on your game performance.
Be honest with yourself on what skills you need to work on, i.e., what your weaknesses are. For example, if your forehand drive is your best shot, you might be tempted to drill your forehand drive when you practice. That’s natural: it’s fun because you have success with it! But your best shot probably isn’t the shot that needs improvement for you to reach the next level. Maybe your backhand drop is your worst shot. That is what you should be spending time drilling and developing.
Make your drills realistic. This one is similar to the first tip: you won’t get much out of drilling shots in a way that you won’t see them in a game. For example, if you are drilling your third shot drop, but your partner keeps giving you slow, flat, easy feeds, you’ll probably make most of them and gain a false sense of confidence because you are hitting them off a feed that is much easier than the returns you get in a game. To get the most out of your drilling session, your partner should be feeding you in a way that is similar to the shots and patterns that you see in a real game.
Add pressure to your drills. There is always more pressure in a real game than there is in a drill. At best, you have pressure in your open play because there are three other people on the court who you know want to have a good game, or at worst you’re playing in a tournament and there’s a championship on the line! Either way, when you’re doing a drill, no one cares if you miss, but in a game there is always pressure because of the perception that it matters. So, to replicate this in practice, find ways to add pressure to drills!
Plus one bonus tip: practice your footwork! I know it’s not fun, but your legs and feet are the foundation of your pickleball game, and having strong footwork makes a much bigger difference than you might think. Fast-feet exercises like ladder drills are all you need at a minimum.
If you apply those strategies to your drilling sessions, the improvement will come rapidly.
See you on the courts!
- Matt Slowinski (Co-Founder, Pro Player & Coach)
This is a perfect example of why you need to make your drills realistic and practice under pressure.
Look at the pressure that the far team is putting on the near right side player as she hits her drops and dinks. She is able to maintain control of the point because she has been in that position many times before, both in practice and in matches. If her drill sessions were just hitting drops off a partner’s slow feeds, she would not be able to get these shots back in the match!
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Insights from Pro Player James Ignatowich
Everyone practices their third shots by getting feeds from the baseline, but I like to practice hitting my serve first, then hitting the third shot.
When you’re playing a game, the third shot is always the shot you hit right after your serve. So practicing them together makes for a more realistic drill and is a more effective way to get your shots game ready.
-James
Go out for a drilling session.
That’s all your homework… just kidding! You’re not getting off that easy! I’ll give you something more specific to try.
During your next drill session, try one of my favorite drop drills that bakes pressure into it: Plus One/Minus One.
One player starts at the kitchen line and the other player starts at the baseline. The player who starts at the baseline is the one doing the drill and keeping score. The player at the kitchen feeds drops to the baseline player. If the baseline player hits the ball into the kitchen, they add one to their score. If the partner at the net is able to take the drop out of the air, the score stays the same. If the baseline player misses the drop, subtract one from the score. Before the drill, pick a number that the baseline player is trying to hit, the higher the number, the more difficult the drill. Once the baseline player’s score reaches that number, the drill is over.
Having to get to a score, i.e. make a certain number of shots adds pressure to the drill.
Well, that’s a wrap… so let’s recap what we learned this week about maximizing your drill sessions.
The amount of time you spend drilling does not directly correlate with how quickly you will improve, the quality of your drills does.
Be strategic with the skills that you need to work on, being honest with yourself regarding your level and weaknesses.
Add pressure to your drills and make them realistic!
Thanks for reading! We hope you can put these tips to good use the next time you’re out on the courts!
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- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic
