If You Aren’t Doing This on Your Third Shots, You NEED to Start Now!

Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Coaching Newsletter!

There’s been some talk recently about the drop shot being dead.

While that is not true at all, the strategy behind it is certainly changing. And with that, we’re seeing the drive and the drop working together like never before.

One of the best strategies to get to the net is to drive and drop, not drive or drop. Today we’re going to break down the third shot drive, fifth shot drop pattern, hear from a top pro on the when and why of using it, and much more!

Let’s get started.

There is one massive, but very key difference in the way that amateur players and professional treat the third shot drive.

Amateur players drive to win the point, while professional players drive to get established at the kitchen.

It’s true that the third shot drive is offensive, and when well executed it certainly has the potential to earn you free points and pop ups. That being said, the better you get, the more often your third shot drives get returned by your opponents.

But even if your opponents return every drive you hit, driving is still an excellent strategy. Let’s break it down.

We all know that the third shot drop is an effective way of getting to the kitchen line. It is a slower shot, so it gives you time to get to the line, and shots that bounce in the kitchen can be difficult to attack.

The problem with the third shot drop is that the farther back in the court you are, the harder it is to get the ball to bounce in the kitchen. That’s why the third shot drop is such a difficult shot to master, and also where the third shot drive can help.

When executed correctly, drives are more difficult to attack than drops. Even if your opponent gets a good handle on your drive and returns it, it is likely that it will fall about halfway between the kitchen line and the baseline. It is way easier to hit a drop from this position than it is from the baseline. Again, the closer you are to the kitchen, the easier it is to hit a drop. So a third shot drive can set you up for a much easier fifth shot drop opportunity.

That’s the goal that the pros have when they are hitting their drives! They aren’t necessarily trying to hit a winner, they’re trying to get an easier drop opportunity so that they can transition to a neutral position at the kitchen.

This is a relatively high percentage play. Of course, you want to make good third shot decisions, and not hit drives that are below your knees or with your weight falling backwards, but as long as you’re driving the right ball, you should get an easier drop opportunity.

Just make sure you avoid the temptation to keep driving multiple balls in a row. After the first drive you typically want to hit only drops until you have transitioned all the way to the kitchen.

See you on the courts!

- Matt Slowinski (Co-Founder, Pro Player & Coach)

Pay close attention to the transition pattern that the team on the far side uses. Take note of where the player on the right hits her third shot drive from and where she hits her fifth shot drop from.

Notice that her third shot drive was from behind the baseline, but her fifth shot drop was from well inside the court. Even through they didn’t win the rally, you can clearly see this pattern in play.

Easy on the Eyes

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Insights from World No. 4 Ranked Pro Andrei Daescu

Over the last 2-3 years with the paddle technology allowing for more and more power the 3rd shot drop has become increasingly difficult. Returns of serve are coming in faster and deeper than before which makes it harder than in the past to slow the ball down and drop it in the kitchen.

As an adjustment you see more and more players across all levels including the pros driving their third shot in order to enhance their fifth shot drop. The purpose behind it is to drive the third shot low so the next shot coming in will be a flat volley which will have a lot less spin and pace than the return of serve which is an easier ball to drop the ball in the kitchen.

This type of pattern is very effective also on windy days and under any other conditions where dropping the ball is challenging, think of the third shot drive as the set up shot for the fifth shot drop.

See you all for my next bulletin!

-Andrei

^{For more from Andrei, follow him on Instagram, and feel free to check out his sponsors Proton and LEORÊVER and use code “andrei10” for 10% off!}

Coach Matt recently did a video on the third shot drive, fifth shot drop pattern. Check it out so you can see it in action! Pay close attention to where he is hitting his drives and drops from in the demonstration. Notice how much easier the looks when he hits it from closer in the court.

Well, that’s a wrap… so let’s recap what we learned this week:

• The drive is a transitional shot, not a shot that you should be trying to score with

• We use the drive to set ourselves up for an easier drop opportunity

• The closer you are to the net the easier it is to drop

• Drive the third shot and drop the fifth. Resist the temptation to hit multiple drives in a row

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