Sooo helpful! I am a beginner and your logical progression of position is the roadmap I need! I feel like a beginning driver watching the lines in the road to stay in my lane. Your big picture of how to move thru receiving and making a shot thru the four stages in doubles will be a game changer for me. Thank you!
Thanks John, love your understandable instructions. One addition I'd like you to add to this lesson is pointing out where the improvements should go to based on who is going to return the ball. I see a lot of "ready" without a correct "improvement". Thanks again.
Top Notch content. Love it. Especially coaching on court position; thanks for taking the trouble to dissect a point by slowing it down. Really helps a rec player like me because I don't always know what I'm looking at when I watch competitive play. This helps me know where to look: the goal of any good coaching!
LOVE this content John. And, I'd also love a couple follow-up videos that you mention you didn't have time to talk even more detail about how to improve one's position and the movement one should make when you're not the one hitting the shot. This is so good! So important and separates the amateurs from the pros! for sure! Thanks again, and hope there can be some follow-ons.
I have learned so much from your videos! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I’ve noticed that we beginners are terrible at the I-improve part….hence all the missed shots down the divorce line. 😮 What I would love to see is your coaching evaluation of an amateur game. What they did wrong, how to fix it, etc.
John, great content on all your videos. Adding to the count of all beginners, get caught up in watching the shot vs repositioning/improving - thanks for pointing it out as an easily cured bad habit
Hi John You Improve my game a lot. For my self your the best teacher, coach on the web. It s the first time in my life I’m writing to somebody on you tube. Hope to met you one day at a tournament! If you come to play Phoenix , Mesa or Tucson please take one minute to tell me, I will do the travel to see you with my wife. Sorry if I did some mistake when I wrote, I just learn English. I’m from Montréal , Canada and now spent my winter in Tucson Az Waiting for your next video ! Thank you again
This video is exactly what I needed at this point in my game development. As an elementary teacher for 15+ years, I also applaud you on your exceptional teaching style from your introduction to what is being taught, the breakdown of steps, and closing summation. Nicely done! ⭐️ 😉
Excellent content on how and why it applies to every shot. It's easy to get a little lazy on the improve step and watch instead of move and to not have paddle in right position on ready step especially when at NVZ.
John, great vid. I was hoping you would show some regular 3-3.5 amateurs making these mistakes so I could identify with them. Also, like how your improve implies adapting to your partner’s moves/position - which may be problematic.
I have a question regarding paddle placement. I have been noticing many players tend to carry the paddle lower even at the net. I on the other hand like to have my paddle up around my chest (I usually stand lower with knees bent) and in a flatter position. I find I am ready for the quick hit at me and can usually(-ish) minimize the chicken wing reaction. Plus, it allows me to block and punch the ball more easily. Yay/nay? I remember holding my racket lower before but one day had an opponent absolutely drill the ball at me. I managed to get my paddle up somehow and just got the ball over the net, but the follow through with my paddle slammed me in my face (my mouth) and caused a lot of discomfort and blood (tooth cut into my bottom lip). From that point on my paddle came up to where I have it now. Feedback please. Thanks.
I commented on this video four months ago. Since then, I've incorporated this into my game with great results. However, I had to adapt it slightly along the way. * ready * react / PAUSE * SHAPE / execute * improve PB gets super fast, so react/pause/shape/execute are sometimes in continuous overlap. "Shape" covers making your shot selection, and especially dinking with purpose. "Shaping operation" is jargon from the Ukraine conflict. Even before you initiate the kinetic element, you are constantly shaping the engagement by the disposition and placement of your troops and equipment. There shouldn't be any shot where you aren't trying to impose your will on the other players in some small or large way. Of course, once you finally get your paddle on a loose ball, shape turns into snipe PDQ. And then there are the impatient whipper-snipers who constantly sniping before their time, also known as sniping up, with middling results against more disciplined opponents. Carpentry: Measure twice, cut once. Pickleball: Shape thrice, snipe twice. The biggest skill I'm working on right now is forcing my opponents to snipe twice. I'm always trying to get my paddle behind the first snipe, even if I merely chip the ball into a buzz saw. From time to time I've managed an A+ reset with a half volley off a hard smash. But these glorious moments are still hours apart. Nevertheless, at the higher levels, I know that the first snipe is usually just an appetizer. Postscript: I often add READ to ready, because I'm often lazy about watching my opponent's swing mechanics. And I sometimes add SLITHER to improve, because I often take some indirect, curved routes in order to sow confusion in my opponent's shot selection. This works to a degree in intermediate play. In advanced play, I don't think there's much opportunity to slither around.
John this is an interesting video. You've done a good job with it. Even though each item is obvious, it seems you're saying that we can mentally "groove" this 4-step sequence, almost like a trained dancer ... they continue to flow throughout their number. We can use this to avoid getting mentally lazy after a good "Execute" step.
Thanks - always clear. I guess I am sometimes guilty of not improving quickly enough - perhaps admiring my shot 😊 but I do think the idea of your partner thinking and being aware to move across to narrow angles or coral the opponent hitting ear shot is critical and certainly not used enough at lower levels
"Improve" what a great concept to examine. Too often players are lazy and just stay where there are. I struggle with anticipating (hence committing slightly) instead of being neutral.
I just didn’t understand that first example where the player on the left side of the court reached over hit the ball? What’s prevents the server from hitting wide ?
In my rec play, if anything I overdo the improve phase, sometimes to the detriment of finding perfect balance in the ready phase. Based on other videos on this channel, and my own observations, many rec players suffer from blending react and execute. Also, if you have a random partner who is not used to playing beside an active player who improves continuously, it sometimes creates confusion about who is taking the ball. Any movement at all is interpreted at lower levels of rec play as definitive intent to strike the ball. I'm still pretty green a year into this sport, but if there's one thing where I'm distinctly above average among the more competitive group, it's my incessant drive to improve my court position. I'm sure this hails from a wasted youth playing video games in actual arcades, during the golden age of arcade gaming. I get behind more balls and then do less with them than anyone else playing at my current level. Brain skills: elite. Hand skills: joystick only.
Can't we all agree that the middle two steps ("react" and "execute") can be taken for granted, as it is literally impossible to even play poor pickleball without reacting to incoming shots and executing your own shots? The more salient take-away is to make sure you are in a "ready" position before the opponent shoots, and to "improve" your position after your own shot. People can and do fail to do those things.
Yeah, that’s very true. Everyone is gonna react and execute without thought. However I still think it’s important to understand and be aware of each of these steps because they all work together. If one of the parts isn’t done right it causes lag in the chain and the whole thing falls apart.
I came back here more than a year later, in reaction to a more recent video from John, where he claims that the difficulty of the 3rd shot drop is overrated. In my opinion, he forgot his roots here. It is true that the "execute" part of the 3rd shot drop is only moderately difficult. That's not the hard part. For the 3rd shot drop, it's the "improve" part that's especially gnarly. First off, how much you improve depends greatly on the caliber of your execution. This is a difficult assessment for a beginner, and it needs to be done fast. In fact, for the 3rd shot drop, the actual patterns is ready, react, execute, ASSESS, improve. There's a whole extra step crammed in, and it needs to be extremely brisk. Secondly, not only do you need to improve, but you need to improve in a coordinated way with your partner. For this improvement phase, in particular, it takes two to tango. For your partner, the process is actually ready, react, improve, ASSESS, improve again. Ideally, your partner is in a very specific position while you execute your 3rd shot drop, a step forward and a step off to the side, feet and torso turned maybe 45 degrees, and neck turned further, to carefully analyze your shot selection and execution. To get into this position, your partner must have already completed a small react/improve loop while the ball was inbound. So now you BOTH need to assess at the same time, and the assessment needs to be in agreement. Are you dropping back, holding firm (side by side, in the split position), stepping forward together, or rushing forward as a unit (after perfect execution)? Most 3.0 players don't even have a side-by-side split step in a low crouch with their paddle tips pointed downward, combined with the hand skill to make a soft chip from between the legs or after a quick lunge to one side or the other. Additionally, in mixed open play, the ability of your opponent to take a drop to the center of the NVL off the volley and do something useful with the ball is all over the map. Depending on my opponent, I might assess my situation as terror, or a free romp all the way to the net. Six inches difference in ball height when the volley connects makes all the difference in the world against an aggressive opponent. I didn't have half of the necessary ancillary skills around the 3rd shot drop until I had played pickleball for close to two years. All these other things had to also mesh together before my 3rd shot drop progressed to being a weapon. This was _long_ after I could reliably hit it to within a foot or two of my desired target. My 12 foot drop now generally lands on a pinpoint, but my error cone around my 20 foot drop continues to need work. Not a problem. I'm getting excellent reps at digging the ball out of my feet again after it is smashed back to me in the many cases where I fluff the margin.
Great teaching style. As a beginner, I find your videos to be the most understandable, and helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks. Love all your instruction videos. Keep posting them.
Thanks, will do!
Sooo helpful! I am a beginner and your logical progression of position is the roadmap I need! I feel like a beginning driver watching the lines in the road to stay in my lane. Your big picture of how to move thru receiving and making a shot thru the four stages in doubles will be a game changer for me. Thank you!
Thanks John, love your understandable instructions. One addition I'd like you to add to this lesson is pointing out where the improvements should go to based on who is going to return the ball. I see a lot of "ready" without a correct "improvement". Thanks again.
Anoter great video. I LOVE watching the slow mo commentary. Able to look at paddle position so much more!
thank you!
Well done! Love the visuals and how you break complex ideas into easy steps.
Top Notch content. Love it. Especially coaching on court position; thanks for taking the trouble to dissect a point by slowing it down. Really helps a rec player like me because I don't always know what I'm looking at when I watch competitive play. This helps me know where to look: the goal of any good coaching!
that means alot! thank you very much
I love the advice. Makes me realize I'm just standing around a lot. Thank you.
Fundamentals always important at all levels thanks John I watch all your video lessons
Phenomenal graphics, clip coverage and teaching. Thank you John.
Great video John. Surprisingly there are very few good TH-cam videos on Court Movement and Positioning. Well done. Thanks!
Thanks, there’s a lot of nuance to good positioning so it can be a tricky thing to teach
@@johncincolapickleball So true. More of this sort of content dealing with tactics and strategy is needed. Well done! Keep it coming. 👍
Very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
I watched a few of your matches from Vegas on TH-cam. You were great!!!!!!
John great stuff easy to teach and follow. Love the highlighted videos and the use of RREI.
Thanks. Great stuff as always. Like the 4 simple words to trigger what you should be doing on the court.
LOVE this content John. And, I'd also love a couple follow-up videos that you mention you didn't have time to talk even more detail about how to improve one's position and the movement one should make when you're not the one hitting the shot. This is so good! So important and separates the amateurs from the pros! for sure! Thanks again, and hope there can be some follow-ons.
also love when you went through Kyle's movements, your movements and Dylan's movements (skipped Zane :)) ha! all good.
Thank you for this video!
You are so welcome!
Great videos. Breakdown of points is really helpful
glad it is helpful!
I have learned so much from your videos! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I’ve noticed that we beginners are terrible at the I-improve part….hence all the missed shots down the divorce line. 😮
What I would love to see is your coaching evaluation of an amateur game. What they did wrong, how to fix it, etc.
Guess I could send him videos of me playing! 😆 But good idea!
John, great content on all your videos. Adding to the count of all beginners, get caught up in watching the shot vs repositioning/improving - thanks for pointing it out as an easily cured bad habit
Yeah, for sure. This is one of those things you can take to the court immediately!
Hi John
You Improve my game a lot.
For my self your the best teacher, coach on the web.
It s the first time in my life I’m writing to somebody on you tube.
Hope to met you one day at a tournament!
If you come to play Phoenix , Mesa or Tucson please take one minute to tell me, I will do the travel to see you with my wife.
Sorry if I did some mistake when I wrote, I just learn English. I’m from Montréal , Canada and now spent my winter in Tucson Az
Waiting for your next video !
Thank you again
Great stuff as always! Thanks John!
Very helpful John, i sometimes use a similar 4 word pattern from military combat ei.
OODA which is, Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.
This video is exactly what I needed at this point in my game development. As an elementary teacher for 15+ years, I also applaud you on your exceptional teaching style from your introduction to what is being taught, the breakdown of steps, and closing summation. Nicely done! ⭐️ 😉
thank you from one teacher to another
Excellent content on how and why it applies to every shot. It's easy to get a little lazy on the improve step and watch instead of move and to not have paddle in right position on ready step especially when at NVZ.
Thank you John. I appreciate the high-quality content you consistently share. Larry
Clear and concise. Thanks.
Excelent vídeo, I will use with my clients
Please do!
Awesome content John!! Thank you!!
Another great video. Imma head out now and start "Improving."
John, great vid. I was hoping you would show some regular 3-3.5 amateurs making these mistakes so I could identify with them. Also, like how your improve implies adapting to your partner’s moves/position - which may be problematic.
a video like that is in the works! subscribe to stay tuned
I have a question regarding paddle placement. I have been noticing many players tend to carry the paddle lower even at the net. I on the other hand like to have my paddle up around my chest (I usually stand lower with knees bent) and in a flatter position. I find I am ready for the quick hit at me and can usually(-ish) minimize the chicken wing reaction. Plus, it allows me to block and punch the ball more easily. Yay/nay? I remember holding my racket lower before but one day had an opponent absolutely drill the ball at me. I managed to get my paddle up somehow and just got the ball over the net, but the follow through with my paddle slammed me in my face (my mouth) and caused a lot of discomfort and blood (tooth cut into my bottom lip). From that point on my paddle came up to where I have it now. Feedback please. Thanks.
Great content!
I commented on this video four months ago. Since then, I've incorporated this into my game with great results. However, I had to adapt it slightly along the way.
* ready
* react / PAUSE
* SHAPE / execute
* improve
PB gets super fast, so react/pause/shape/execute are sometimes in continuous overlap.
"Shape" covers making your shot selection, and especially dinking with purpose. "Shaping operation" is jargon from the Ukraine conflict. Even before you initiate the kinetic element, you are constantly shaping the engagement by the disposition and placement of your troops and equipment. There shouldn't be any shot where you aren't trying to impose your will on the other players in some small or large way.
Of course, once you finally get your paddle on a loose ball, shape turns into snipe PDQ. And then there are the impatient whipper-snipers who constantly sniping before their time, also known as sniping up, with middling results against more disciplined opponents.
Carpentry: Measure twice, cut once.
Pickleball: Shape thrice, snipe twice.
The biggest skill I'm working on right now is forcing my opponents to snipe twice. I'm always trying to get my paddle behind the first snipe, even if I merely chip the ball into a buzz saw. From time to time I've managed an A+ reset with a half volley off a hard smash. But these glorious moments are still hours apart.
Nevertheless, at the higher levels, I know that the first snipe is usually just an appetizer.
Postscript:
I often add READ to ready, because I'm often lazy about watching my opponent's swing mechanics.
And I sometimes add SLITHER to improve, because I often take some indirect, curved routes in order to sow confusion in my opponent's shot selection. This works to a degree in intermediate play. In advanced play, I don't think there's much opportunity to slither around.
great insight! thank you very much for the great ideas
Great stuff here.
Question : can you bounce the ball first before serve ? And can you hit a backhand serve ? I see everyone doing a forehand serve.
I’m definitely guilty of not improving both after I execute and after my partner executes thank you for pointing that out.
No worries!
John this is an interesting video. You've done a good job with it. Even though each item is obvious, it seems you're saying that we can mentally "groove" this 4-step sequence, almost like a trained dancer ... they continue to flow throughout their number. We can use this to avoid getting mentally lazy after a good "Execute" step.
Thanks - always clear. I guess I am sometimes guilty of not improving quickly enough - perhaps admiring my shot 😊 but I do think the idea of your partner thinking and being aware to move across to narrow angles or coral the opponent hitting ear shot is critical and certainly not used enough at lower levels
Yeah, I agree. Learning to improve position and do it quickly can be one of the toughest skills to master.
"Improve" what a great concept to examine. Too often players are lazy and just stay where there are. I struggle with anticipating (hence committing slightly) instead of being neutral.
I just didn’t understand that first example where the player on the left side of the court reached over hit the ball? What’s prevents the server from hitting wide ?
In my rec play, if anything I overdo the improve phase, sometimes to the detriment of finding perfect balance in the ready phase. Based on other videos on this channel, and my own observations, many rec players suffer from blending react and execute. Also, if you have a random partner who is not used to playing beside an active player who improves continuously, it sometimes creates confusion about who is taking the ball. Any movement at all is interpreted at lower levels of rec play as definitive intent to strike the ball.
I'm still pretty green a year into this sport, but if there's one thing where I'm distinctly above average among the more competitive group, it's my incessant drive to improve my court position. I'm sure this hails from a wasted youth playing video games in actual arcades, during the golden age of arcade gaming. I get behind more balls and then do less with them than anyone else playing at my current level. Brain skills: elite. Hand skills: joystick only.
Can't we all agree that the middle two steps ("react" and "execute") can be taken for granted, as it is literally impossible to even play poor pickleball without reacting to incoming shots and executing your own shots? The more salient take-away is to make sure you are in a "ready" position before the opponent shoots, and to "improve" your position after your own shot. People can and do fail to do those things.
Yeah, that’s very true. Everyone is gonna react and execute without thought. However I still think it’s important to understand and be aware of each of these steps because they all work together. If one of the parts isn’t done right it causes lag in the chain and the whole thing falls apart.
@@johncincolapickleball Fair enough, and I appreciate the response.
P.S. You're really good at pickleball!
In the first video example why Did Kyle Yates return the ball and not his partner who is in the diagonal position?
I suggest you use another shape for the ball. Disk for the players and a sphere for the ball to make it easier to follow you.
I came back here more than a year later, in reaction to a more recent video from John, where he claims that the difficulty of the 3rd shot drop is overrated.
In my opinion, he forgot his roots here. It is true that the "execute" part of the 3rd shot drop is only moderately difficult. That's not the hard part. For the 3rd shot drop, it's the "improve" part that's especially gnarly.
First off, how much you improve depends greatly on the caliber of your execution. This is a difficult assessment for a beginner, and it needs to be done fast. In fact, for the 3rd shot drop, the actual patterns is ready, react, execute, ASSESS, improve. There's a whole extra step crammed in, and it needs to be extremely brisk.
Secondly, not only do you need to improve, but you need to improve in a coordinated way with your partner. For this improvement phase, in particular, it takes two to tango.
For your partner, the process is actually ready, react, improve, ASSESS, improve again.
Ideally, your partner is in a very specific position while you execute your 3rd shot drop, a step forward and a step off to the side, feet and torso turned maybe 45 degrees, and neck turned further, to carefully analyze your shot selection and execution. To get into this position, your partner must have already completed a small react/improve loop while the ball was inbound.
So now you BOTH need to assess at the same time, and the assessment needs to be in agreement. Are you dropping back, holding firm (side by side, in the split position), stepping forward together, or rushing forward as a unit (after perfect execution)?
Most 3.0 players don't even have a side-by-side split step in a low crouch with their paddle tips pointed downward, combined with the hand skill to make a soft chip from between the legs or after a quick lunge to one side or the other.
Additionally, in mixed open play, the ability of your opponent to take a drop to the center of the NVL off the volley and do something useful with the ball is all over the map. Depending on my opponent, I might assess my situation as terror, or a free romp all the way to the net. Six inches difference in ball height when the volley connects makes all the difference in the world against an aggressive opponent.
I didn't have half of the necessary ancillary skills around the 3rd shot drop until I had played pickleball for close to two years. All these other things had to also mesh together before my 3rd shot drop progressed to being a weapon. This was _long_ after I could reliably hit it to within a foot or two of my desired target. My 12 foot drop now generally lands on a pinpoint, but my error cone around my 20 foot drop continues to need work. Not a problem. I'm getting excellent reps at digging the ball out of my feet again after it is smashed back to me in the many cases where I fluff the margin.
I liked video but detested the background noise. If you need to fill up that space, use something like a heart beat or rhythmic tone.
Why doesn't player D hit the cross court shot to A? He would gain more time.
Got my own pickleball court…ok 6 words…+ machine
Great content!