To get better at pickleball, try the following:
- Practice your skills. It is important to drill, rather than go straight into a pickleball game. This is because, in a game (whether in a tournament or not), you are in a stressful, high-speed situation. Things tend to break down in stressful, high-speed situations, such as your pickleball mechanics. Practice your pickleball mechanics in a non-stressful environment. In other words, DRILL, DRILL, DRILL! It is so important to drill to commit the proper pickleball mechanics to muscle memory and to make your proper pickleball mechanics part of your habits. Generally, you must do any skill, such as hit a particular pickleball shot, properly at least 10,000 times to master it. This is worth reiterating—you must hit 10,000 of each of your dinks, drops, drives, volleys, serves, returns, lobs, overheads, etc.—the PROPER way—to master each shot and each skill. This means that you may need to hit a particular shot more than 10,000 times—say 20,000 times—to hit 10,000 proper strokes. So, emphasize quality on every shot!
- Find a pickleball coach. While it is important to practice each skill properly, you need to understand what the proper way is. One way to understand how to master each skill or shot on the pickleball courts is to find a pickleball coach, which you have access to at Pickler 24/7/365 with Pickler’s video lesson collection called My Pro Pickleball Coach. My Pro Pickleball Coach is a fraction of the price of one clinic or lesson, and features over 140 video lessons (over 7 hours of instruction!), as well as a corresponding e-book, that breaks down every aspect of the sport of pickleball, including pickleball mechanics, fundamentals, strategy, advanced concepts, and drills. Unlike other videos on the web, My Pro Pickleball Coach’s video and e-book collection is organized for you in one place, has one consistent message from start to finish, touches on every aspect of the game, and is taught by the best coach in the pickleball coaching business!
- Play with and against pickleball players that will challenge you. By playing with and against pickleball players that are as strong or stronger players than you, you will be required to step up your level of play. You will also have the opportunity to watch and learn their techniques and strategies in order to adapt or emulate in your own game.
- Work on your overall fitness. The better fitness you have, the more shots you will be able to track down, the easier it will be to move on the pickleball court, and the faster your reactions will be to the pickleball. You may also find yourself hitting the pickleball harder and exerting less energy to play, which means that you can play even longer! So, work on your overall fitness by cross training, lifting weights, doing pilates or yoga, or even participating in other sports.
What else do you do to get better at pickleball?!
