Pickleball! How to Figure Out Quickly How to Beat Your Opponent! Learn by Watching Others! 

RU-vid placed this video on my feed today. I really enjoy your analysis on all your videos. I'm learning more from your channel than any rec center class. Thank you. 👏🙌

Rory I use mostly 3rd shot drops, hardly ever hit hard but if I ever play you I'm going to do so with a backwards hat on.

I think the guy with the hat is better than you think. I've seen guys like him that have an excellent 2 hand backhand with top spin but will hit drop shots with their forehand. Saw it several times and at least once where he hit the 3rd shot drive which set up the 5th shot drop. I don't see a lot of two handed backhand players but the ones that do tend to have really good control with it and like you said are often tennis players. I was told that it is powered mostly by the rotation of the body and more with the non dominant arm. Good ones also engage the legs more. I think the third shot drive vs the drop depends on the opponent. Dropping in front of some taller opponents (6'2 or more) that have the reach and can snap their shots require such a fine window to have an effective drop that I prefer to drive it at them and set up the 5th shot. Long arms sometimes have problems with hard shots at their body.

RORY, would you be so kind as to post some of your games with your analysis. This would help us with on court self awareness, thanks.

I’m going to tell everyone right now the greatest flaw in pickleball. Warming up with dinks only. The warmup should be just like tennis, ground strokes, serves, volleys and overheads. Why on earth would you try your first serve of the day in a match. It’s soooooo dumb.

Whew! This was actually a better game than I thought it would be. The thin guy in orange was clearly the weakest player of the four. Maroon/White did well to take advantage of that. At 15:56 Thin Orange ran around his backhand; that put him out of position to advance through the Transition Zone. (Rory, it's not No Man's Land; that's tennis.) It cost him. Similar problem at 24:54; he ran around his BH, opening the court for a down-the-line winner by Maroon.

FYI, Skechers makes dedicated Pickleball sneakers

I don't think we can categorize players based on their paddle. I know a guy that has a cheap paddle (due to his funds), and he is excellent. His shoes are old and worn out, but he's quicker than heck. Remember, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Show up with a wooden paddle, skater shoes, and a dew rag. On another note, I can attest to the long arm problem, I'm struggling right now with handling 3rd shot drives at NVZ...but can take many balls out of the air on drop attempts. So, adjust based on your observations of opponents and be honest with your strengths and weaknesses.

Well done! Is it possible to make the mouse cursor larger so it would be easier to see. Asking for a friend!!! Thanks GOD, Guns & Gumbo

I look to see how big their beer gut is. More than 20-30 lbs, move them around LOB

I've yet to see a paddle, no matter how expensive, that makes you stand in the correct position on the court, anticipate opponents' shots, makes you move your feet or squat when required, or makes you choose the correct shot to play. Every time my opponents buy new paddles, I continue to beat them by the same approximate margin. I think spending excessive money on paddles should be waaaay down the list of ways to improve your game, but for most players it seems to be their first option.

You mention "no man's land" at 16:12 . Basically that's a term that teaching pros never use because the transition zone is often very useful (unlike in tennis ... where they never call it a transition zone).

Some of these are great tips. Some of them are iffy, and some of them are downright wrong. This guy sounds like a 4.0 haha.

I just bought a pair of the new Skechers pickleball court shoes. Are you saying they are no good and I’m not serious?

The PB commentators need to correct what a "Ping Pong Grip" is because it most certainly doesn't include the index finger being vertically oriented in the middle of the paddle. The index finger, for a shake hand grip (vs. penhold) is typically held horizontally at the base or bottom of the paddle, perpendicular to the grip.

The two handed backhand is exploding. Everybody should use it when the time is right. I make lethal crosscourt double backhand shots. More control, more feel. Tennis player, yes. But ironically never double hand. I swap hands occasionally to make a shot and have a pretty capable non-dominant hand, especially in badmonton. I think that's key

May I ask, why don’t you you like the ping pong grip? Asking for a friend.

Sketchers makes court shoes FYI.

Thin orange guy is actually a 5.0 DUPR player (4.98 to be exact)

1:47 I'm a McGuffin wannabe and wear sketchers

That 3rd shot at the 16 min mark was not as perfect as you would think it was. While the trajectory was good his weight transfer was not going forward. He got caught too close to the line and made the shot while backing up.

the woman in your next vid- Men vs Women- is wearing Skechers shoes. Maybe the brand is adapting. Enjoy the videos immensely.

In what world are these guys 4.5 players? 😮

i disagree. three decades of tennis/a life time of musicianship /and pickleball. Rarely the GEAR [for show] match the talent.

You are not as good as you think. Explain why the tall guy gets caught in no man's land after his third shot, and therefore, he gets a forth hit to his feet, which he misses. He hits the third shot while going back because he cheated up into the court after the serve, and thus, he had to move back to allow the return to bounce before he could hit it.

Playing in Skechers means you're not serious about playing pickleball? Bullshit!

Dude in the dark peach shirt just had a bad day. Probably thought about flubbing the opening serve. You have to get over mistakes quickly.