I’ve coached players at almost all levels and universally I see one dinking pattern that people get wrong time and time again today I’m going to tell you what that is and how we’re going to fix it with my dinking Golden Rule beginners who just learned how to dink all the way up to Pros you see that.
Crosscourt pattern over and over again I’m going to give you the advantages and disadvantages of hitting crosscourt and more importantly I’m I’m going to give you my Golden Rule to know when you should go back crosscourt or when you should be changing up that pattern for something else let’s talk advantages first there’s two main things number one.
When you hit it crosscourt you’re going to create more angle which is going to pull your opponent off the court and potentially give you more windows to hit winning shots through the second one is since that crosscourt dink is a longer distance all things.
Being equal you can hit a more aggressive crosscourt dink than you can to the middle or down the line also we’re able to hit over a lower part of the net so your crosscourt dink has the potential to be a lot more aggressive because it can be a little bit flatter and a little bit harder.
You can angle the ball we can hit more aggressive but there are disadvantages to the crosscourt dink as well and there’s two main ones number one when you hit the ball crosscourt that ball has to cross over the front of the body of your opponent so even if it’s going to land in the kitchen if that Ball’s a little bit High when it crosses in front.
Of them they can reach in and pick it off and have an attack opportunity so you might think okay well I’ll just hit it shallower in the court that could be dicey too if you hit the ball too shallow and a crosscourt then it’s going to end up going on a wider angle and have a potential ATP opportunity when we’re hitting.
Crosscourt especially in the wrong situation those margins can get very slim in general I think of my crosscourt dinks as being my offensive or aggressive dinks where I’m looking to cre opportunities in the point Straight Ahead or playing to the middle as more neutralizing dinks more maybe setting up my point or getting myself out of.
trouble hey guys I want to give a quick shout out to cell Kirk for not only supporting supporting me as a player but supporting my YouTube videos as well lately I’ve been using this power air which is an awesome paddle super poppy great spin really maneuverable and fast if you want to see this or anything else.
That they have check out the website and make sure to use my code to get a free gift card with your purchase so having said all that here’s what I consider the golden rule for when I’m going to go crosscourt versus when I’m going to play in front of me so if I’m standing on the kitchen line my outside foot in this situation.
Would be my right foot because it’s closest to the outside of the court so what I’m going to do is I’m going to draw an imaginary line that comes off my outside foot going straight to the net if the ball coming to me stays inside that foot so say we’re here that’s inside I can go wherever I want I can hit there I can hit middle I can go.
Crosscourt if the ball crosses is that imaginary line and ends up out here now I’m not going to play back crosscourt anymore I’m going to play either in front of me or to the middle so if we have a ball that’s outside that line I’m going to play there I’m not going to try to hit that shot and hook it back across my body.
Crosscourt it so you know me you know I’m not going to give you advice that I can’t give you good reasons to back it up so why do I have this rule in place well there’s three main reasons number one is just the execution of the shot is difficult if that ball goes out past me for me to be reaching out to my right side and.
Moving that way and then trying to hit the ball back the opposite direction is just a difficult shot it’s not natural it’s not what our body want wants to do because of the way we’re moving and so the execution is is pretty tricky to pull that off consistently the second reason is the wider you go the more your window.
Shrinks to get the ball back crosscourt and I’ll explain what I mean so if that ball is moved past my outside foot that means I’m probably moving wide to get it so right now we’re pretending that you’re my opponent the camera right now is where you’d be if I moved you wide on a dink so say your target is to go back crosscourt to that spot from where.
You’re at you can see that if I’ve moved over covered the middle and I’m reaching in your ability to get your shot back to that Target is not there I can reach in and cut it off before the ball is able to get there so the wider you move the smaller your window shrinks to get the ball back crosscourt by me the third and final reason is when you hit crosscourt.
Your next coverage responsibility is to get back to cover the middle to help your partner out if you’re stretched and you’re moving wide moved past my outside foot and I’m moving here I’m not going to be able to get back in time to cover middle for that next shot versus if the ball is inside this foot I can hit and almost immediately be back to the middle.
In time to cover for my next coverage responsibility so if that ball is moved past my outside foot and we’ve now determined that I don’t want to take it back crosscourt then what is the right shot typically the safest play is going to be able to go to the middle third of the Box in front of you you could go down the line the problem with that is.
If you’re playing against somebody who’s good at an Ernie they have that opportunity but if I can make the ball bounce in the middle of that box in front of me that’s the safest play that’s going to be almost unattackable the other valuable part about doing that is when you play in front of you if that player in front of you decides to play.
The ball back to you that ball is no longer moving on an angle so it’s harder for that person to get the ball back outside your foot so when they come right back at you you’re going to be able to keep that outside foot outside the ball and now you can resume with a good strong crosscourt shot that you know you can hit under control and get.
Back to cover the middle don’t forget to screenshot this so you can have it save and take it out next time you’re on the court w
Pickleball Dinking 101- The Golden Rule #pickleballtips #pickleballstategy
Learn how to dink smart with our ultimate guide to mastering the ‘Golden Rule’ of Pickleball. I will teach you the best pickleball tips for dinking. Learn how to improve your pickleball strategy to take with you next time you play. If you are a pickleball beginner or pro there are always ways to improve your game.
I explain the differences between cross-court dinking and dinking in front of you, helping you understand the pros and cons of each approach. Our breakdown includes practical examples and easy-to-follow advice to improve your dinking strategy. We’ll take a look at my pro pickleball footage to learn from real game experiences. Stick around till the end for our comprehensive dinking guide, designed to help you master the art of dinking in Pickleball.
Music: 2001 by DonVayei
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:19 Pros
01:30 Cons
02:23 Dink Strategy
02:55 Selkirk
03:21 Dinking Golden Rule
04:29 3 Reasons Why
06:39 the Right Shot
07:42 Guide
rule #1 is to never miss a john cincola video
The problem is players can either make the most comfortable shot they can at the expense of placement, or try for placement at the expense of error.
Low level players should do the former but many videos only teach the latter.
Why do you dink back to the middle 1/3 of the box and not the 1/3 that's closer to the center line? Seems like your opponents will have easier reach to the middle 1/3 right?
Great video, John!
Myself and a group of thirty players (3 to 3.5) are never dinking like the pros do. We are all still at the whack-a-mole stage of hitting everything hard. How can I/we stop this and what's the benefits of dinking versus striking all the time? This deserves a video?
Great video as usual! Thanks
Great info 👍 John Good luck on MLP in Dallas this week.
I see that Cloudbreaker in the Selkirk ad 👀, something tells me this guy throws an easy 400
Yo…. Where are you recording this video from?! That place is incredible!
I like the screen shot at the end! Thank you!
Sick home court arcade