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Week 71
Welcome back to the Road to Pro!
One of my first pickleball coaches told me that letting out balls go is the second-hardest skill in the game. He was right. I played out balls for years, and every one of them was an immediate lost point.
Here's why this skill is worth learning: every ball your opponent hits out is a free point for you. Most of the time, they're hitting shots out because they're trying to body bag you or fire a drive they think you can't return. But once you learn to read the shots that are going out, you can use your opponent's power against them.
The good news is that you don't need faster hands for this. You need three reads, and they all happen before the ball ever reaches you.
Contact height. A ball your opponent hits from below the net has to travel up to get over it. When someone swings hard at a low ball, it usually sails long. And if a fast ball is coming at your shoulders, remember this saying: shoulder high, let it fly. The closer your opponent is to the net when they're swinging up and hard at the ball, the more likely that shot is going out.
Backswing and spin. Topspin makes a hard shot dive back down into the court, but a ball with no spin or backspin carries. A big backswing without topspin is a good sign the ball is going long.
The angle. Shots aimed down the line or to the far opposite corner have plenty of court to land in. But a sharp crosscourt angle runs out of court fast and often goes wide. Keep your eye out for those angles, because they're hard to execute, which means free points could be coming your way.
Feel free to watch this video I made a while back, where I dive a little deeper into what to look for and how to develop the skill of letting out balls go.👇
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If you watched the video, I challenge you to try the drill at the end and start developing this skill.
Feel free to send this to a friend who hits every ball, even the ones obviously going out!
See you in the next one.
- Shea
