The Secret to Beating Bangers

Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Coaching Newsletter!

One of the most frustrating things is losing to someone who “doesn’t play the right way”.

In pickleball, that’s the feeling a lot of players have after losing to a team who simply refuses to dink or play the soft game.

But rest assured, there are strategies that you can use to beat these teams, and put them right in their place when they try to speedup at you.

Let’s get started.

Today, I’m going to give you a couple of key strategies for beating bangers in pickleball.

(I know that word made some of your blood boil 😡)

💡A banger is a player whose game is predicated around hitting the ball hard. The word “banger” usually has a negative connotation in pickleball.

Bangers give a lot of players trouble, especially in today’s game with such powerful paddle technology. They can also be frustrating to play, because some regard their play style as “not playing the right way”,since pickleball is widely considered a game of touch.

The most common advice I hear is to “make bangers dink.” In theory, this makes sense—you’d be forcing them to play a style that is uncomfortable to them. However, in practice, this is terrible advice. Resetting a banger’s drives and speedups can be very difficult, and unless you place your shot on a dime, you’re giving them a dead ball that they can rip again.

Instead, here are two strategies that do work against bangers, and how you can implement them:

Give them a taste of their own medicine—counterattack!

If someone hits the ball hard at you and you counterattack, you are giving them a much harder shot to respond to than if you reset it. If they drive at you from the baseline or in transition, you’ll be able to punch it low towards their feet, making another drive super low percentage. If you counter a speedup from the kitchen, they’ll have to respond with a re-counter, or a counterattack of your counterattack. If you’re playing someone who uses a big swing to speedup, they likely won’t be ready for your shot, or their re-counter will go out.

The biggest key to a good counterattack is having perfect preparation. You want your paddle to be up in your ready position, your knees bent in an athletic stance, and your weight on the balls of your feet. If your preparation is good, you’ll be very likely to hit a very authoritative counter.

Make them move!

If there is one universal truth in pickleball offense, it’s that it is always harder to attack when you’re in motion. Whether it’s a speedup at the kitchen line, or a drive from the baseline, it is significantly harder to hit an offensive shot if you have to run to get it. That means that when you’re playing a banger, you should be doing everything you can to make them move. Not only does it make their shot harder, but it means that they will be out of position for your counter. When your opponent attacks on the run, they are often leaving you an open court to counter to, which means that you don’t even have to hit that great of a shot to win the rally!

See you on the courts!

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

Watch this video until the end. The speedup exchange is a perfect demonstration of what we talked about above.

Did you catch it? The player on the far left sped the ball up, and the player on the near left responded with a forceful counter. The re-counter was then missed into the net. If you watch the pros play, you’ll notice that it isn’t often that they reset speedups.

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Insights from World No. 3 Ranked Pro James Ignatowich

Here’s a few tips to help you beat bangers:

1. Keep your paddle in front when handling drives.

2. Return high cross-court to give yourself more time to move into the kitchen. By hitting cross-court, you’re creating more space and using the geometry of the court to your advantage. Don't be afraid to send the ball high—it'll give you more time.

3. Use a short swing at the net. 

4. Split-step early and have a wide base so you’re ready to leave out-balls.

See you all for my next bulletin!

-James

^{For more from James, check out his Instagram and YouTube!}

If you want to start putting bangers in their place, there’s one shot that you need to learn. What is it? Watch Coach Matt’s video below to find out. 👇

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

• Trying to force bangers to dink is not the way to beat them

• When someone hits the ball hard at you, you should counterattack

• Make your opponents move! It is harder to attack when you are moving to the ball

Thanks for reading! We hope you can put these tips to good use the next time you’re out on the courts.

Reply to this email with anything you want to see in our future newsletters 😄 

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic