Unlocking Pro-Level Pickleball Secrets 👀 | James Ignatowich Show
Summary
TLDRThe speaker emphasizes the importance of consistent practice in pickleball, especially for players ranked 5 and above. They highlight the need to practice taking dinks out of the air to shrink the kitchen line and gain an advantage over opponents. The speaker also discusses the mental aspect of the game, stressing the significance of staying focused and engaged during practice to improve match performance. Techniques and footwork are also touched upon, with a focus on the efficiency and intensity that top professionals bring to their training and gameplay.
Takeaways
- 🏓 Consistent practice is crucial for improving in pickleball, as it translates to consistency in matches.
- 🤸♂️ Top professionals treat every drill and practice session as if it were a match, maintaining high levels of focus and intensity.
- 🧠 The mental aspect of pickleball is more about being present and focused than about strategic complexity.
- 👟 Clean and simple techniques with intense footwork are hallmarks of top players.
- 🏐 The ability to take dinks out of the air and control the kitchen line is a valuable skill that can give an advantage in men's doubles.
- 🚀 Attacking out of the air is often more effective than attacking off the bounce, offering less time for the opponent to react.
- 📈 Practicing with a high level of engagement improves the likelihood of success in matches.
- 🌊 A smaller margin for error is achieved with smaller, more controlled swings and less wrist action.
- 📊 The transition game and dinking strategy change significantly when moving from a 5.0 level to playing as a professional.
- 🔄 Improving at taking dinks out of the air can help shrink the kitchen line and increase pressure on opponents.
Q & A
What is the main skill discussed in the transcript for improving in pickleball?
-The main skill discussed is taking dinks out of the air, which helps in controlling the kitchen line and reducing the opponent's time.
Why is it important for players to practice with consistency?
-Consistency in practice leads to consistency in matches, allowing players to perform better and maintain focus during gameplay.
How does the speaker suggest one should approach practice?
-The speaker suggests approaching practice with the same intensity and focus as a match, treating every drill and play point with seriousness.
What is the significance of footwork for top pickleball pros?
-Footwork is significant for top pros as it allows for cleaner strokes and better control over the game, contributing to their overall performance.
How does the speaker describe the mental aspect of pickleball?
-The speaker describes the mental aspect as being about staying present and focused, rather than thinking deeply or strategizing like in a game of chess.
What is the speaker's opinion on the difference between top pros and lower-ranked players in terms of technique?
-The speaker believes that top pros have cleaner and more efficient techniques, with smaller swings and more intensity in their footwork, leading to fewer errors.
What change does the speaker notice when transitioning from a 5.0 player to a pro?
-The speaker notices a decrease in the space available for dinking and the need to adjust the technique to make dinks bounce closer to the kitchen line against pros.
Why is it advantageous to attack the ball out of the air in pickleball?
-Attacking the ball out of the air is advantageous because it allows players to take more time away from their opponents and potentially set up a downward trajectory, increasing the chance of success.
What advice does the speaker have for 5.0 players struggling with taking dinks out of the air?
-The speaker advises 5.0 players to practice taking dinks out of the air and shrinking the kitchen line to improve their game and make it harder for their opponents.
How does the speaker's approach to practice help in matches?
-The speaker's approach to practice, which involves full engagement and treating drills like matches, helps condition the mind and body to perform consistently in actual gameplay.
What is the speaker's strategy for speeding up in pickleball?
-The speaker prefers to speed up the ball out of the air, as it offers advantages such as being closer to the opponent and having a higher point of contact, increasing the likelihood of success.
Outlines
🏓 Improving Dink Skills and Court Presence
The speaker emphasizes the importance of improving one's dinking skills in pickleball, particularly taking dinks out of the air to control the game. They share personal experiences and strategies, highlighting the value of consistent practice that mirrors match intensity. The speaker also discusses the mental aspect of the game, suggesting that top pros maintain focus and engagement during practice, which translates to better performance in matches.
🧠 Mental Focus and the Art of Practicing
The speaker delves deeper into the mental side of pickleball, challenging the notion that top players are simply smarter. Instead, they argue that it's about being present and focused for extended periods. The speaker shares anecdotes about maintaining concentration during practice, even when it's not fun, and the importance of this discipline in translating to match performance. They also touch on the physical aspects of the game, such as footwork and stroke technique, and how these contribute to the pros' success.
🚀 The Evolution from 5.0 to Pro: Space and Technique
The speaker reflects on their journey from a 5.0 player to a professional, noting the changes in gameplay and strategy. They discuss the reduced space for dinking at the pro level and the need to adapt techniques accordingly. The speaker highlights the importance of controlling the kitchen line and the impact of pros' ability to take dinks out of the air. They also share personal insights on improving one's game, emphasizing the significance of practice and the transition from offense to defense.
🎾 Out of the Air vs. Off the Bounce: Attack Strategies
In the final paragraph, the speaker compares the effectiveness of out-of-the-air attacks versus off-the-bounce attacks. They share personal statistics and experiences, suggesting that out-of-the-air attacks are generally more successful. The speaker encourages players to focus on improving their ability to take dinks out of the air to shrink their opponent's reaction time and control the game. They conclude with a call to action for players to practice these skills and improve their overall pickleball performance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dinking
💡Kitchen Line
💡Volley
💡Footwork
💡Consistency
💡Mental Side
💡Strokes
💡Intensity
💡Training
💡Engagement
💡Strategy
Highlights
The importance of practicing taking dinks out of the air to improve skills in controlling the kitchen line and reducing the opponent's time.
The value of consistent practice in developing a consistent performance in matches.
Professional players treat every drill and practice session as if it were a match, maintaining high levels of focus and intensity.
The mental aspect of pickleball is not about being a genius but about being present and focused during play.
The transition from a 5.0 player to a professional involves adapting to the reduced space for dinking and the increased ability to take dinks out of the air.
Top professionals have cleaner and more efficient footwork, leading to better stroke technique.
The difference in training intensity between top professionals and lower-ranked players is noticeable in the footwork and stroke technique.
The recommendation for 5.0 players struggling with taking dinks out of the air is to practice and drill this skill.
The advantage of attacking out of the air over attacking off the bounce, and the strategic importance of this in men's doubles.
The anecdotal evidence from the speaker's own experience transitioning from a 5.0 player to a professional.
The significance of being able to make dinks bounce consistently on the kitchen line against male teams.
The impact of professional players' ability to take dinks out of the air on controlling the kitchen line and the dynamics of the game.
The importance of discipline and staying engaged in practice to achieve consistency in matches.
The role of footwork intensity in the training of top professional players.
The simplicity of pickleball and the misconception about the mental aspect being akin to playing chess.
The speaker's personal strategy of focusing on out-of-the-air attacks as the first choice in gameplay.
Transcripts
if you're a 5 that this might pertain to
where you feel like you're having a
tough time taking dinks out of the air
get out there and drill it because
taking dinks out of the air and just
dinking them back I'm not saying that
you have to be taking dinks out of the
air and speeding up every single one of
them but taking dinks out of the air and
just shrinking the kitchen line taking
their time away making them do something
else is a hugely valuable skill so for
me I'm always leaning in I'm always
leaning in I'm always trying to take
dinks out of the air if I can because it
also makes it way easier for me to speed
up out of the air when I do see that
it's a little bit high
[Music]
so
okay so we are back with another episode
of the James Ignat podcast um and one of
the questions that I have been asked a
lot see we're just we're just diving
right into it these days we're not even
you know it's been probably six seconds
and my first statement is one of the
questions I've been asked there's no
more down well actually I guess now
there is downtime because of the last 20
seconds of me talking about how there's
no downtime so um yeah we're working on
it here guys we're trying to get uh get
professional here but um anyways one of
the questions that I've been asked more
often than anything at these clinics is
how do the top Pros train how do we
drill and this is specifically as it
relates to onc court practicing so not
the offc court stuff we're going to get
into that into the next podcast Probably
sounds like a pretty good idea right now
we're just going to talk about how the
pros train and ultimately what are they
doing differently from players who are
not doing as well maybe what separates
the top 10 players and how they practice
versus guys that are you know 30 40 and
just trying to figure it out and maybe
not having the same results and I've
been exposed to a wide array of
practicing I've had the opportunity to
see how pretty much everybody practices
I think that's one of the coolest things
for me just you know playing with all
these different players going to the
tournaments getting to play wreck with
people who are just you know whether
it's been John's or it's just been
awesome that's actually one of my
favorite things about playing
tournaments is the wreck play beforehand
I think actually at MLP it's the best
you know you've got these cool matchups
right like you've got you know Ben and
Eric and Riley and Christian and just
kind of different teams that you
wouldn't necessarily see and then you
play wreck against them and I've had a
ton of fun doing that so for me I think
one of the things I've noticed um when
it's just drilling or even if it's wreck
play the guys that are really really
really good it doesn't really seem like
they take any points off you know
they're not really taking rallies off or
point points off and and what I mean by
taking it off is not giving their best
effort in one point and then giving
Better Effort in another point or rally
and that's something that I've tried to
do my best to implement when I practice
because it's easy to kind of play four
or five good points and then take one or
two points off and then four or five
good ones and then start to think about
something else and I think it's pretty
natural for the human mind to want to
think about other things and and kind of
drift in and out of focus and I know
that I do that all the time and it's
it's funny because how you train and how
you practice is evidently going to be
how you play matches uh I would imagine
that it's almost impossible to practice
one way every single time and then go
out there and play a match and be
different and somehow play your best
it's not really how it works you know
really you have to practice the way that
you train or the way that you would then
play a match so for me I think what the
top Pros do and I would maybe hopefully
include myself in that category as a top
Pro is for me every time I drill I am
taking it very seriously and I'm
treating it like I would a match like
every single time I play points or even
if I'm just dinking back and forth
there's been other Pros who have been
practicing with me and whether it's at
the tournament or or even just at home
in bokeh and they're saying like dang
you put a lot of effort into dinking and
a lot of effort into just you know
casual cross cour dinking dropping
whatever it is I'm like well yeah I mean
it's kind of my job right it's it's the
the reason that you're watching me today
it's been a pretty big part of my life
so I do take it really seriously and I
think that that is something that
separates the best players from players
who are maybe still very talented but
not having the same type of results it's
that consistency in practice because
consistency in practice will lend itself
to consistency in matches you can't have
consistency in practice and or sorry
inconsistency in practice and then try
to play matches and just be some rock of
discipline and consistency um if you can
that's amazing but I I really haven't
seen that too much so for me when I
drill regardless of who it's with or
where I am I am always fully engaged so
I'm not really thinking much at all and
I think I'm lucky to be at the point
where I don't have to think much because
I've practiced so much and I already
know the right shots for me and I know
my game and I'm comfortable with it so I
am fully engaged whether it's you know
dropping or dinking and I think that's a
big part of it and and it's you know
it's not always going to be fun I think
one of the easiest ways to stay engaged
in something is if you are having a lot
of fun doing it and we all know that but
what's tricky is being engaged in
something that isn't necessarily fun
like you're dinking back and forth with
somebody for the sixth time this week
right six days in a row and there's
nothing new or necessarily exciting
about it but you have to be fully
engaged and it's it's tough and I think
that is one of the reason reasons why
there aren't too many top Pros like it's
it is a select few people that are able
to always be that focused and always
take it that seriously but the mental
side of it is often overlooked but very
important and when people think of the
mental side of pickle ball I actually
saw this on on a Facebook group like
this This Thread about the mental side
of pickleball and how the top players
are mentally better and they're smarter
players and and they're just you know
they're playing chess um maybe I I don't
really think that the mental side of
pickle ball is actually as much of a you
know those those top players are smarter
and able to think more deeply about
pickle ball I mean maybe a little but I
don't really think that's what it is I
think what's going on when people say
that the top players are sort of better
mentally is actually just they're able
to be more present for longer periods of
time so they're able to focus more
deeply and be more in engaged for more
long periods of time there's not an up
and down you know very focused sometimes
not focused other times I think that's
the mental side of pickle ball and it it
is extremely important but it's not it's
not some chess match I mean pickle ball
ultimately is a pretty simple game you
don't have to be a genius to be an
amazing pickle ball player it is a game
where it requires some strategy for sure
and there is some Nuance but it's not
rocket science and the mental side of
pickle ball which is very important I
think the importance there is the
discipline and the just staying engaged
staying in the moment and actually a lot
of it is the absence of thought the ABS
being able to not think about other
things or think too much or get you know
lulled into the trash talking and
thinking this and that really it's just
staying focused and if actually if the
trash talking helps you focus then it
helps you focus but what I'm saying here
is that it's just about staying engaged
and being in the present when you play
and that starts with drilling because if
you are Drilling and you're practicing
and training and you're thinking about
going to Starbucks which I was today a
little bit I was I missed a reset cuz I
was I was literally I was thinking about
what I wanted to get from Starbucks
later and it just that can't happen so I
I you know had to do a little mental
reset right away and this is actually a
true story it sounds like I'm trying to
be funny um I suppose it's kind of funny
but you that's the type of stuff if you
have to be focused in practice to then
be focused in matches because practice
and matches are the same in the sense
that it's pickle ball you're you're out
there on a pickle ball CT and you need
to be conditioning yourself to treat
pickle ball every time like it is a
engaged focused process and that's how
you get better you don't get better just
kind of messing around uh that doesn't
mean you can't have fun you can have fun
but you have to be engaged and that's
how you get better
so I would say that was one of the
things I noticed probably the biggest
difference in how the pros train and I
think U one thing that you'll notice
with the top players I think there is
more intensity uh with the feet and I
think there's actually cleaner Strokes
with the top players I think that the
top of the top are very clean and simple
with their technique and I do think
they're a little more intense with the
feet um obviously I'm going to be the
one that's saying that cuz I'm the most
intense guy with the feet and if you
look at a guy like Ben JN
he actually does have good footwork and
people say it doesn't really look like
he moves his feet well he's really
efficient with his footwork and I wish I
could be that efficient it just doesn't
really work for me but he is moving his
feet well and I think that if you look
at guys like Riley or Christian or Tyson
there's a lot of intensity in the feet
and one of the things you might notice
as you go down and level even to just
like a high 5 they have a little bit
more funk in the technique I think that
the top Pro are very clean with their
technique usually it's smaller swings so
very small swings there's not that much
that can go wrong I think that the more
Funk that there is the more wrist action
and and generally just the larger swing
that there is I think that that lends
itself to some errors I think that
there's just less margin for error if
there's more things that are going on
when you hit the shot so um that's
another thing that I think separates the
top Pro top pros from others and another
thing I mean I I this is just coming to
my mind here but people don't really
realize I'm pretty new to this Pro
pickle ball you know I've really only
been a high level Pro for about a year
and a half and I just had a notification
on my phone that two years ago today I
had just lost in the finals of my men's
4 five doubles uh which is pretty
interesting when I look back and it's
like actually yeah it wasn't too long
ago where I was still grinding the 45
and the 50 and and trying to figure out
how to get good not that 45s and 5os
aren't good but how to get really good I
suppose and I remember it very vividly
like one of the things that changes so
much when you go from 5 to Pro is how
much space you have to dink into and how
much space you have to make dinks bounce
because for me when I was playing 5 I've
always loved the two-handed crosscourt
aggressive Dink and I can do it with
Pros I mean you've seen me I'm hitting
my two-handed backhand roll but I've had
to shorten it up a lot in the court
making it bounce maybe 6 in before the
kitchen line now and when I was playing
5 O's I felt like I had just invented
this two-handed crosscourt backhand dink
that I could make bounce you know 6 in
past the kitchen and I could really just
control the kitchen line because guys at
the 50 level aren't taking as many dinks
out of the air they're not super
comfortable with leaning to one side
leaning to the other side and really
just shrinking that kitchen and taking a
ton of balls out of the air making it
really tough for other people to control
the kitchen line and the pros do that
really well I think that along with the
transition game is the thing that
changes the most between 5os and Pros
because when I you know sometimes I'll
play with 5os and we'll do clinics and
we'll kind of do fun little games and I
feel like I've got an ocean to dink into
and it's not cuz 5os are like shorter
and they have less of a wingspan I think
what it is is they're just less
comfortable taking out of the air and
with the pros especially the top ones I
feel like if I don't make that dink
bounce in men's doubles 6 in before the
kitchen line they're going to take it
out of the air and potentially attack it
or at the very least just dink it out of
the air and take my time away so
ultimately I feel like the 5 O's are
just not taking as many dinks out of the
air they're not shrinking the kitchen
like the pros are and that's something
that really matters because if you are
able to you know I would say this if I'm
able to make dinks bounce on the kitchen
line consisteny consistently against a
male you know a men's team that's
probably not good I really feel like I
can control the kitchen line a lot more
in those situations but if I can't and
I'm playing against a team like Dylan
and JW where anything that they can
remotely take out of the air and attack
they will that shrinks the kitchen it
makes it almost impossible for me to set
up a lot of the patterns that I like to
set up and it just changes the entire
game game so that would be one thing
that I would recommend right away that I
keep seeing over and over if you're a 5
get better or you know I mean not all
5os right but if if you're a 5 that this
might pertain to where you feel like
you're having a tough time taking dinks
out of the air get out there and drill
it because taking dinks out of the air
and just dinking them back I'm not
saying that you have to be taking dinks
out of the air and speeding up every
single one of them but taking dinks out
of the air and just shrinking the
kitchen line taking their time away
making them do something else is a
hugely valuable skill so for me I'm
always leaning in I'm always leaning in
I'm always trying to take dinks out of
the air if I can because it also makes
it way easier for me to speed up out of
the air when I do see that it's a little
bit high so high 5os lean in take dinks
out of the air shrink the kitchen line
because ultimately in men's doubles out
of theair attacks are better than off
the bounce attacks anyway I found at
least I've had a lot more success and I
love speeding up off the bounce but I
think statistically and I've gone back
and I've done some of the stats of my
matches the you know speed ups that are
from out of the air I'm pretty sure
there's a higher chance of those
succeeding than off the bounce attacks
that doesn't mean there's no place for
off the bounce attacks but speeding up
out of the air is always going to be my
first choice and I think it should be
most people's first choice I mean you're
closer to the other person so you can
take more of their time away might be
easier to get a downward trajectory on
the ball because you can make contact at
a higher point with one with a ball
that's out of the air than one that's
off the bounce there's a ton of reasons
for that we might have to get to that in
the next episode but we're just going to
leave it at this if you're looking to
get better and better and better
especially if you're already pretty good
at dinking get better at taking dinks
out of the air because you might not
notice it but you're taking your other
person's time away you're making it
harder for your other for your opponent
and
that's the main thing so we're just
going to leave it at that I'm going to
get some food thank you very
[Music]
[Applause]
much
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