CJ Johnson
Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest recently hosted brothers Ben and Colin Johns on their Live morning show. They got a few quick pointers along with an ominous warning from Ben to “stay out of the kitchen” before they took to a make-shift court in front of the studio. Ben and Colin are to the…
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How do you hit the reset shot from “no man’s land” without popping it up in the air? Recently, I shot a video with Laura Fenton Kovanda where we focused on the reset shot. That’s the shot that you use when you’re transitioning from the baseline to the non-volley zone. Afterward, the emails came in…
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You return from the pickleball courts, feeling discouraged and disappointed. How could you have made so many mistakes? Just a few days prior, you felt so excited and full of promise knowing that you’d FINALLY found the solution to your problem on YouTube! You watched the latest video and knew that was the answer to…
Read MoreThe one pickleball fundamental you have to understand
Pickleball is more than just getting the ball over the net and into the court. Pickleball is easy to learn but it can take a lifetime to master every aspect of the game.
The first fundamental that you have to understand is that the strategies when you are the serve team differ from the strategies when you are the return team. If you do not understand this difference, you cannot succeed as a player. Period.
When you are the serve team, you are at a disadvantage because of the Two-Bounce Rule. The disadvantage is that your opponents (the return team) will be able to move up to the NVZ line before you. Most successful doubles pickleball is played at the NVZ line. You must first neutralize that disadvantage and get you into position to win the rally and score a point.
When you are the return team, you have the positional advantage of being able to control the NVZ line first. You must maintain that advantage and make it as difficult as possible for the serve team to score a point.
Neutralizing when you are on the serve side of the ball and maintaining your advantage when you are on the return side of the ball is how you will win more rallies and, as a result, win more games.
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Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been focusing on some advanced non-volley zone strategies, punishing your opponents without having to hit it hard and getting out of trouble when you’re at the kitchen. Today, we’re going to take a step backward and focus on the dink shot technique. When I was editing one of…
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You’ve been pulled wide off the non-volley zone, but not far enough to hit an ATP(around the post). How do you get out of this jam? We’ve all experienced it. You’re at the non-volley zone engaged in a pickleball dinking game with your opponents. Suddenly you get a sharp angle dink shot, and your momentum…
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Is your only attack from the kitchen a hard-hit shot? If it is, you’re missing out on this advanced attack strategy. Some of you might be thinking, “a soft shot as an advanced non-volley zone strategy?” YUP! It’s an underutilized NVZ attack tactic. There is no doubt about it that the non-volley zone, or the…
Read MoreWhat if there was a pickleball drill that could improve your accuracy, boost your fitness, give you better footwork, increase your confidence, and enhance your touch? Would you want to know about it? Sound too good to be true? It can also increase your target awareness and help you understand how to control a shot…
Read MoreAre you suffering from a weak or inconsistent pickleball backhand? If you’re making one of these four common mistakes, you’ll have consistency and power issues. One of the most frequent things I hear is, “my pickleball backhand is worse than my forehand. What can I do?” No doubt about it. For most of us, our…
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