In my videos I pick apart the play of the players on the court. I point out what they do right and what they do wrong. I'm hopeful that by watching, you can see their strengths and weaknesses and learn from watching them play. I hope doing so helps you become the best pickleball player you can possibly be.
Today, I played a few several games of rec ball. After playing, I took the time to reflect on my play, especially the last game. During my last game, I played with a banger who did not show any skills in being able to make a 3rd drop shot or any other drop shot. He just banged away against an opponent who had fast hands. Anyway, while I was reflecting, I suddenly heard Rory's voice give me some instruction--do not move blindly to the NVZ. Then, I thought of this video. Next, I realized that my partner had no drop shot game and that is just the way it is. And, I did not understand how his play was affecting my play. I now know that if I am playing with a banger, who is not willing or able, to drop shots, that I need to watch what they do and not run blindly to the Kitchen Line, lol. Additionally, I was frustrated with playing with this person, because he would pop up the ball and I would be hammered because I was at the NVZ--I do not have fast hands. However, if I play smart, by watching and understanding my partners style of play, I will be able to pick better tactics. I was angry with the guy, but if I would have followed Rory's advice, I would have approached the NVZ differently, and I WOULD HAVE USED MY DROP SHOT SKILLS WHEN I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY! Going forward, thanks to you Rory, I cannot take a victim stance and blame my partner for certain kinds of play. I have to be smart by using my drop shot skills, even if my partner does not. My partner kept popping up the ball and I was just a sitting duck at the line. If I would have been at the baseline or the transition zone, I would have been able to make drop shots to slow down the bangers. Thanks Rory.
You're very welcome. That's really kind of you to say. I don't know if you had ever played with your partner. If not, when playing with a partner for the first time, you have to either discuss what type of game he plays before starting, or, figure it out within a few few shots and adjust to what he's doing. Again. Thanks so much. I really appreciate you watching.
The third shot drop is a very difficult shot to make. IMHO, it's more than likely done at the 4.0 level on a consistent basis. Probably not so at 3.5. Just watched a tournament at the Vernon pickleball association, and that is what I observed.
I just played in the tournament yesterday. The level was 3.5 to 4.0. I played four games to 15. It was the first time I had played outdoors in 6 months. I was concerned about the wind having an effect on my third shot drops. Over the four games, I missed three third shot drops. I was pretty happy about that. My opponents also played more of a soft game with third shot drops instead of drives and there was a lot of dinking. Last month, I played in a tournament in a different state and it was just the opposite. All of my opponents were power players and did not have much of a soft game. So, I guess at times, you never know what you're going to get. Thanks for watching.
It's interesting. I saw where the female on the losing team played doubles at the 5.0 level with a different partner. She and her partner won it. Just goes to show how much difference there is between the 5.0 level and the professional level. Thanks for watching.
I love watching your videos Rory. You provide me with so much indispensable instruction! Before I played a DUPR event in Fresno, California, I practiced some basic shots using my net and my inexpensive ball machine. First, I hit over a hundred serves, with the goal of getting the serve to within 3 feet of the baseline. The deeper the better. Second, I hit 120 backhand shots trying to mimic return of serve. My goal was to hit the return of serve to within 3 feet of the baseline using a low arc on the ball to give me time to get to the NVZ--I always hear you say hit it deep. Third, practiced my forehand just like my backhand, with you voice telling me to hit it deep. Fourth, I practiced drops from the back of the court, both forehand and backhand--hit 120 balls each side. Then, I went to the DUPR event. I had enough confidence that this 63 year old hack felt confident I could give bangers a run for their money. I did! I hit a few drops right in the kitchen and so did my partner. We were able to slow the bangers down and get them to play the dink game, of which they had little experience because all they do is drive, drive, drive. Thanks Rory for your instruction and inspiration.
That's awesome. It makes me happy to know that players are actually learning strategy from watching my videos. That's a great way to practice. Sometimes when I'm playing against bangers and I hit third shot drop, they actually have little idea of what to do with it. Like you mentioned, they're usually playing against opponents who just bang it back.
Bernard is no joke! Plays senior pro on a NLP team... I have seen him dominate at the senior pro level at times. Did not seem to have his A game going for this game. Great match to watch though.
Very enjoyable video! These four pb players are a joy to watch and learn from. On the complete opposite end, I'm playing 🤡 clown show pb with other 2.5 - 3.0 players in rec open play. There is zero strategy at the lower level. It's hard drives, pop-ups, smashes, and bash. It's exhausting and not fun. *sigh*
I hear you. I did a video about that. Everyone wants to play and there are many, many players who have no idea how to play. It's more like smash ball than pickleball. Thanks for watching.
I totally agree, I play with people just like you described who have no idea that this is how you truly play pickleball. This was a joy to watch, it was like each shot had thought .
So ratings are hard in my opinion, and you may be higher than you have thought. You may need to play in more tournaments or other events/leagues with various players to really determine your level. One thing I've found is that sometimes I'll look at a game and think I could do that or play with them but upon playing you realize that what they are doing may cause you to struggle more than you do against lower-level players. They may be able to move you around more and set up finishes. As I noted in my response I feel like our group plays that same but that is playing other players in the 3.5 (+/-.5) because we do mostly 3rd shot drops, resets and lots of dinking. It's when you try those same things against a much better player that you realize they make it harder for you to do the same things and have the same success rate. Just my take. It's also not a knock on any other level of player.
Well, if you're a 3.0 player and you think you must be 4.0 because you don't think these players are 5.0, I suggest you play against either one of these teams. My guess is, you would score no more than three points. Sometimes video does not give a true story of how good they are.
If you want to bring receipts, post some game footage of yourself for us (unedited, not a highlight reel). Almost everyone thinks they’re better than they actually are until they watch themselves on video.
Nice game, These are definitely high level players. Execution was shaky in the beginning. I disagree with the title though. This is not an example of a soft game. Although there were soft game elements in it you can see that both sides were attacking any opportunity given and that there were many short points. Speed ups, overhead smashes, and drives are not part of the soft game. Shot selection was good. At the pro level 3rd shot drives are used more often then 3rd shot drops. This to me is an example of a balanced game where all shots were used. I've been to a lot of tournaments and there are very few true finesse players at high levels. The best players are all power players. Video time 17:40 It is a 3.5 fallacy that you can win on others unforced errors at higher levels. You need to setup the point and force the error the majority of the time which these players do. What soft shots allow you to do is to go from a defensive position to a neutral position which is important. From a neutral position then you need to use your offensive weapons to force a point winner. Oftentimes you can use dinking to setup a pop up but in the end 90% of shots end with a power play.
@@pickleballpick-apart9787 I don't think it's soley the paddles. There's a lot of tennis players transitioning into the sport where as before it was just pure bred pickleball players. And these players posses the technique and ability to hit some hard shots even with gen 1 paddles.
What a great game. The play was really good and for me personally more fun to watch than points over in 2-3 shots. I would guess some of the 3rd shot drives are from the players watching as the game is changing with new paddle technology and general play styles at the pro level. While our general group ranges from 3 to 4 I would say we play very similar to this. Better players in the group will force everyone into the slow game. Even though we do mostly 3rd shot drops and have many points with good rallies at the nvz I don't think we would have anything for these teams. Their control, positioning and simply talent would take advantage of our errors and cause us to make more errors than normal.
Nice analysis. We had just beaten that team the day before very easily but it’s seems like they realized that they had to be much more patient in this game which they did. I think we were expecting a different game at the beginning so we were off a bit. After we switched sides I decided to stack so I could control the game from the left side. It worked but the guys played well and came up with the win. Two very nice guys with great games. Thanks for posting, I was looking for this match. I made couple uncharacteristic errors missing some drives from some short returns. Although these were the right shot, dropping these balls would have been a better option because the drives had to be to perfect to gain the advantage.
Thanks for watching the video and thanks for commenting. It seems a lot of times, in tournaments, you will beat a team in the round robin, then, face them in the medal round and lose. It's happened to me more than once.
I sent 5 through the contact us link on the Printables website. The shirt is awesome. It’s just too small. I would recommend anyone looking for pickleball swag to check out your store.
I play with a guy that all he does is cut slice almost 95% of the time. He is very very good at placing the ball in singles. However, doubles he’s good also against 3.0-3.5 players. Anything above that must work on the fundamentals to get better.
What a comeback! That happened several times in our mini tourney today lol. Rory, pros used to primarily hit backspin returns and some still do. The reason most switched is because a 3rd shot drive countered with topspin is lethal. It's got not nothing to do with backspin that makes those wimpy, lofty returns and everything to do with trajectory and power. I rip deep backhand backspin returns & drives that barely clear the net and have ample time to reach the nvz... they're tough shots I guarantee you'd struggle with. Mind you, I run thru most returns like you coach ppl not to do, haha ;)
@@pickleballpick-apart9787 Yessir, this channel All Drive No Drop Pickleball. This game would be good. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE---U-3AaZ5Fs.htmlsi=8DIvmUIhOFo4KkHU
@@pickleballpick-apart9787 Nothing can be 100% accurate- but once enough individual data is entered it is actually pretty close. DUPR s were close as was the game. @PaddleTapperscan help solve the issue. DUPR predicts game scores too. enter duprs of players and see how "off "the prediction was. If any prediction alogo could be 100 % accurate- there would be no need for tournaments- Y'know- everyone enters the tournament-> organisers do a DUPR analysis- > results announced-- actually playing is soooo.. droll! One wonders if Southern Boy's DUPR is lower than he feels it should be ?🙃
Thank you for this. I’ve been watching pros play and trying to pick up on their technique, but watching players closer to my level along with your commentary is very helpful. Do you have any videos showing good examples of third shots? I haven’t paid any attention to that shot when I’m playing, and I’m seeing the importance after watching this video.
Yes. I have a few focusing in on the third shot. In my opinion, it's the most important shot in all of pickleball. I have 207 videos. Look for third shot in the title. Thanks for watching.
Never thought that the team in the far court was going to win. Loved the comments about scoring runs. Last week my partner and I were down 4-10. After a LONG battle we won 17-15. Fun but boy was that tiring!!!
Had those too. Never give up. Was playing a competitive league match game, my serve as Server 1, we're down 4-10. Battle. We lose that point, but in the mindset of opponents, they thought it was their serve, and win, and went up to paddle-tap. We walked up and I was like "ummm....wasn't that my serve and now it's my partners?" But no one seemed to know, even my partner (! We were already really tired from several previous match games)...then start to walk off court, with me going "wait a minute...". Scorekeeper comes out and says "no, that wasn't a winning point, just a lost serve for Server 1 (me). So my partner serves 4-10-2, and we proceed to win the game 12-10. An unforgettable game for us!
I didn't think most of these players were 3.5. Their form and follow through on shots was lacking, with the exception of some of the dinks. There were a lot of unforced errors, especially on some kill shots. Thought they were closer to 3.0, so I was surprised to hear some of the comments to the contrary.
Lady in orange was very good with dinks, but felt she also missed several put-a-ways by playing defensively. Her paddle was always low so when the ball was a little high, she was not really ready for them. But all were excellent players.
Rory, you criticize every lob. At 5:10, all 4 players are at the NVZ so there is a neutral position advantage. Susan lobs the ball deep causing her opponents to switch sides with one running cross-court for the ball. That was a well-executed lob that got her opponents out of position giving her team the advantage. Susan's team won the rally but that is not the measure of an effective lob. Susan used the lob to move one of her opponents back away from the NVZ, giving her team the position advantage. Even if they lost that rally, which they didn't, the lob was an effective strategy. You say "There it is again, another surprise lob attempt. It just doesn't work." That was an excellent lob, not a lob "attempt" and YES, it did work. Susan's opponents deserve credit for the manner in which they defended against a lob. The person running for the ball should never be the person that the ball was lobbed over because of the degree of turn required at the beginning and end of the run. They also had the good sense to work as a team and immediately switch sides. At 17:03, with both opponents at the NVZ, Susan lobs the ball to move them back and give her team the advantage. You say "and another failed lob attempt" then during that same rally you say "Keeping Mike back. Good job" Susan's lob was the reason Mike was back.
At 1:08, red shirt hits a 3rd shot drive. Green dress advances then stops in the transition zone. You say she should run to the NVZ line. I vehemently disagree. You must guage the effectiveness of your partner's 3rd shot before advancing. You generally want to maintain a defensive wall by staying with your partner, forward and back and shading left and right. On a return of serve, you return and run to the NVZ because your partner is already there. You are running to form the defensive wall. (@ 6:35 she stays back) After your partner's ineffective 3rd shot, running to the NVZ creates a massive gap for your opponents to target. In addition, if the ineffective 3rd shot is in the kill zone you need to stop, get set and ready to defend with your partner, not running. At 2:25, after her successful 5th shot drop, she and her partner, both in the transition zone, should have advanced to the NVZ. At 10:30, both are back and defending. She has a great reset shot and both advance to the NVZ. Perfect!
Sorry but this reminded me of rec play, just bang bang done. Was looking forward to seeing a game like that 3.5 one where the players hit the ball 30-40 times, that was exciting. I know these players are excellent , just not what I expected to see at the pro level.
You called the first point wrong about Luke running blindly forward. Watch his head once he gets in front of her his head turns to watch the ball off the paddle face, then immediately split steps. That is how he was able to get a paddle on the ball and get it over. I will give you that to far forward when he did it but at least did give his team a bit of a chance by reading the ball.
Don't think so. I love it when players do that. Usually, they're not very good at it. However, I have seen one player on RU-vid that is really good doing it. But, just one. Thanks for watching.
