Top 5 Pickleball Drills to Try at Your Next Lesson

Is pickleball the fastest growing sport in the country? It’s catching on fast and more people of all ages are getting on the pickleball train.

If you’ve recently discovered the sport or you’ve been playing for a bit and want to improve your game, you may want to spend some time doing pickleball drills. Keep reading to learn about which pickleball drills will give your skills the most impact.

The 5 Best Pickleball Drills

If you’re taking pickleball lessons, then these great drills may already be in use by your trainer. Ask him or her about them and see if they think it’s a good idea to add them to your training.

You can also do these drills with other players. If you just discovered what pickleball is, don’t worry, these pickleball tips and tricks are great for players of any skill level.

1. Dinking

Dinking is essential to any pickleball strategy. This is a move that isn’t just an important part of your arsenal but should be your primary skill. Anyone that’s been to a pickleball training camp will tell you the same.

Dinking is hitting the ball softly and making it drop straight to the ground after it passes the net. Have your opponent stand across from you in the non-volley zone and spend about 5 minutes hitting the ball back and forth, working on your dinking.

2. Volley

A volley means hitting the ball before it bounces off the ground. This can be a move that throws off your opponent and allows you to control the pace of the game.

Spend 5 minutes hitting volleys back and forth with your opponent. Pick up the speed as you both get comfortable, trying to hit your opponent’s backhand. This is a great drill for doubles to practice together.

3. Groundstrokes

The opposite of volleys, groundstrokes are hitting the ball after it has bounced. Groundstrokes can be tricky as bounces don’t always come up to you in the same direction.

Spending 10 minutes returning groundstrokes to your opponent gives you a better idea of how bounces work and how to react to them. This will improve your reflexes and overall reaction time.

4. Lobbing

Lobbing drills give you time to practice not just lobbing itself, but also overhead returns. Alternate with your opponent, one person lobbing and the other returning with overhead hits.

You want to do this 30 to 40 times, so you may want to reserve your court for enough time to compensate.

5. Getting to the Line

Getting to the non-volley line quickly can be the difference between winning and losing. The player at the line has more ways to play the ball, but you have to be fast.

Alternate with your partner, serving them the ball and then running to the line before they hit it back deep. You can also work on your speed by running sprints back and forth to the line.

Ball so Hard

With these pickleball drills, you’ll see improvement in your game almost immediately. To start winning, reserve a court and get to training right away.