PlayTime Scheduler is excited to partner with our friend Dustin Davis of Pickleball Health to bring you great videos every month on strategy, technique, and ways to stay healthy on and off the courts. This month, Dustin brings us two simple tips to help you increase your hand speed at the net. Watch the video now!
 

1. Keep your paddle out in front of you at all times.
   This ensures you are ready for anything your opponent hits at you, as well as drastically increasing your hand speed. How does contacting the ball out in front increase your hand speed? Think of it like shortening your commute to work (or to the pickleball courts). By keeping your paddle out in front of you, you shorten the distance your paddle needs to travel to reach the ball. Think about it – if a ball starts out in front of you but is traveling towards your left or right, the further the ball travels away from your opponent, the more the ball travels away from your left and right. This makes you reach further and take more time to get there. If you could contact the ball earlier – before it is further to the side of you – then you would arrive much faster! In addition, you can see better in front you. Have someone throw you a ball and try to catch it with your hand against your chest. Try again with your hand out in front of you…..much easier the second time wasn’t it?! Hand eye coordination training and reaction speed take time to build yet still rely on and are improved by these tips.
    
2. Minimize your backswing.
   The ball doesn’t care where your paddle came from before it was contacted. The only thing that matters to the ball is how it was contacted. Physics, baby! This means that if you can generate enough power without taking a backswing and simply accelerating into the ball then you should do just that! Why? The more backswing we take, the more variables we put into the equation and the more likely we are to make a small error in timing or direction and knock the ball off course or miss the sweet spot of the paddle. Think about how much more being 10 degrees off line with your tee shot in golf sends the ball towards the trees than 10 degrees off of your chip. The greater the distance, the more precision required! The pickleball court isn’t that big, and placement is more important than power, if we have to choose just one. The great news is that quality paddles have plenty of power and your opponents are often only 14 feet away. Your opponent's paddle-side shoulder and shoe laces are begging to meet your new shiny pickleball……let them!

Short backswing, contact out in front, aim for their paddle shoulder or shoe laces. Rinse and repeat. The best thing is that you can practice these two tips against any and every player you ever share the court with. Hop on PlayTime Scheduler, find a match near you, implement these tips and you will be an even better player the very next time you play!