The PERFECT Pickleball Third Shot Drop: Learn to Place It

Summary

In this informative video, the focus is on mastering the third shot drop in pickleball, a crucial technique for gaining an advantage on the court. The instructor emphasizes the importance of this soft touch shot, which allows players to reach the kitchen line swiftly and effectively. Through a practical drill and game scenario, viewers learn how to execute a low, controlled drop that keeps opponents on the back foot, ultimately helping them to 'crush' their competition in a fun and strategic way.

Takeaways

• 🏑 The third shot drop is a crucial technique in pickleball, allowing players to quickly move into the kitchen and gain an advantage.
• 🤸‍♂️ The goal of the third shot drop is to softly touch the ball, ensuring it lands just over the net and bounces within the kitchen line.
• 👫 Effective communication and coordination with your partner are essential for successfully executing the third shot drop.
• 🏆 Practicing the third shot drop regularly can significantly improve your game and help you outperform your friends on the court.
• 📈 The third shot drop is often considered one of the most important shots because it facilitates a rapid transition to the kitchen line.
• 🚫 If the ball is left high, opponents can hit it hard back, pushing you towards the baseline and hindering your progress to the kitchen.
• 🎯 Aim for a low trajectory with the third shot drop, making it difficult for opponents to intercept or hit a penetrating return.
• 💡 A good drill for practicing the third shot drop involves standing behind the baseline and having a partner feed balls while attempting to consistently drop them into the kitchen.
• 🌟 The third shot drop, when executed perfectly, can be a game-changer, allowing you and your partner to control the pace and direction of the game.
• 🏐 In a game scenario, the third shot drop can be used strategically after a deep serve and return, enabling both players to move up to the kitchen line swiftly.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the third episode of the pickleball tutorial?

The main focus of the third episode is teaching how to effectively execute the third shot drop in pickleball.

Why is the third shot drop considered important in pickleball?

The third shot drop is important because it allows players and their partners to quickly and efficiently get to the kitchen line, which can give them an advantage over their opponents.

What should be the goal when practicing the third shot drop?

The goal is to drop the ball into the kitchen, making it difficult for the opponent to hit it back aggressively.

How does the drill for practicing the third shot drop work?

One player stands behind the baseline and tries to drop the ball into the kitchen while their partner feeds balls from the opposite kitchen line.

What should the player do if their opponent takes the ball out of the air?

If the opponent takes the ball out of the air, the player should still aim for a low shot that just clears the net and bounces in the kitchen line.

What is the transition zone in pickleball?

The transition zone is the area where players move from the baseline to the kitchen line after successfully executing a third shot drop or a similar strategy.

How does moving opponents around affect the game?

Moving opponents around by dinking the ball can disrupt their positioning and give the server's team an advantage.

What is a 'nutmeg' in the context of pickleball?

A 'nutmeg' in pickleball is a very good third shot drop that results in a point, as it goes through the gap between the opponents.

Why is repetition important when learning the third shot drop?

Repetition helps players to master the technique and consistency of the third shot drop, improving their overall game.

How can the third shot drop help you crush your friends on the pickleball court?

By mastering the third shot drop, you can quickly get to the kitchen line and put pressure on your opponents, potentially leading to more points and a higher chance of winning.

Outlines

00:00

🏑 Mastering the Third Shot Drop in Pickleball

This paragraph introduces the importance of the third shot drop in pickleball, emphasizing its role in quickly advancing players to the kitchen line. The speaker explains that while the serve and return are crucial, the third shot drop is particularly effective for its ability to prevent opponents from pushing players back. A drill is suggested for practice, where one player attempts to drop the ball into the kitchen while the other tries to intercept, aiming for a low trajectory that's difficult to reach. The goal is to improve the skill of executing a soft, controlled drop that allows for a swift transition to the kitchen line, which is key to dominating the game.

05:03

🎾 Achieving A++ Third Shot Drops for Quick Court Coverage

In this paragraph, the focus is on the effectiveness of well-executed third shot drops in moving players swiftly into the kitchen, which is a strategic advantage in pickleball. The speaker praises Clint's performance, highlighting his successful third shot drops that facilitated quick court coverage. The paragraph also touches on the importance of moving opponents around during gameplay, which adds an extra layer of strategy to the game. The speaker encourages continuous practice of the third shot drop to enhance skills and enjoy a competitive edge on the pickleball court.

Keywords

💡Pickleball

Pickleball is a popular sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It is played with a paddle and a plastic ball, and the objective is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is unable to return it. The video script focuses on strategies and techniques to improve one's game in pickleball, particularly emphasizing the third shot drop.

💡Third Shot Drop

The third shot drop is a specific technique in pickleball where the player aims to hit a soft shot that lands just inside the kitchen line, making it difficult for the opponents to return aggressively. It is considered an essential skill to control the game's pace and position yourself and your partner closer to the net for a strategic advantage.

💡Kitchen

In pickleball, the 'kitchen' refers to the non-volley zone, which is the area closest to the net, extending 7 feet from the center of the court on each side. The term 'kitchen line' is used to denote the boundary of this zone. The video emphasizes the strategic advantage of getting to the kitchen line quickly using the third shot drop to gain a better position to attack.

💡Serve

A serve in pickleball is the player's first shot to initiate a point, aiming to land the ball in the opponent's court in such a way that it is difficult to return. A good serve can set the tone for the point and put the server in a favorable position to win the rally.

💡Return

A return in pickleball is the action of hitting the ball back after it has been served or played by the opponent. A strong return can neutralize the server's advantage and put the returner in control of the rally.

💡Baseline

The baseline in pickleball is the farthest back line of the court from the net. Players often position themselves behind the baseline to hit their serves and returns. The video script discusses the importance of moving from the baseline to the kitchen line after executing a third shot drop.

💡Transition Zone

The transition zone in pickleball is the area between the kitchen line and the baseline. It is a crucial area where players move to after a successful third shot drop, allowing them to be in a position to attack or defend effectively.

💡Drill

A drill in the context of sports, including pickleball, is a structured practice exercise designed to improve specific skills or techniques. Drills often involve repetition to help players refine their movements and decision-making on the court.

💡Dinking

Dinking in pickleball is a technique used to make a soft, controlled shot that lands just over the net and close to the opponent's side of the court. It is used to move opponents around and create openings for more aggressive shots.

💡Nutmeg

In sports, a 'nutmeg' is a term used to describe a shot that is played through an opponent's legs or between their legs and into the goal or scoring area. In the context of the video, it refers to a particularly skillful third shot drop that is threaded through a narrow opening, showcasing high-level play.

Highlights

The third shot drop is a key technique in pickleball that allows you and your partner to quickly get to the kitchen line.

Many players consider the third shot drop the most important shot in pickleball due to its strategic value in positioning.

The goal of the third shot drop is to softly touch the ball into the kitchen, making it difficult for opponents to hit it back forcefully.

A successful third shot drop keeps the ball low, just over the net, and ideally causes it to bounce in the kitchen line.

Practicing the third shot drop involves standing behind the baseline and having a partner feed balls to you, aiming to drop them into the kitchen.

The drill should mimic real-game scenarios where the ball is dropped while the partner tries to intercept, simulating pressure.

When the ball is dropped effectively, it allows the player to transition into the kitchen line and take control of the game.

A failed drop that results in a high ball allows opponents to hit a penetrating shot, putting you back on defense.

The third shot drop is not just about technique but also about getting into the right position on the court.

In a game scenario, the third shot drop can be used after a deep serve and return, allowing for a swift move to the kitchen line.

The transcript provides a simple drill for players to practice and improve their third shot drop technique.

The importance of moving opponents around when dinking the ball is emphasized for strategic gameplay.

The transcript includes a practical demonstration of the third shot drop in a game scenario with the instructor and a partner.

The transcript highlights the effectiveness of a well-executed third shot drop in quickly gaining an advantage on the court.

The transcript concludes by encouraging players to practice the third shot drop regularly to improve their pickleball skills.

Transcripts

I'm here to teach you how to crush your

friends out on the pickle ball

cour in this third episode I'm going to

teach you how to crush your third shot

drop well maybe not crush it okay I want

you to have a very soft touch here but

the point is is you want to drop that

ball into the kitchen with your third

shot now many people will say that the

third shot drop is the most important

shot to have in pickle ball I wouldn't

take it that far because you definitely

need to get your serve into the

opponent's opposite box deep okay then

you want your return to be deep and then

you want to make sure that you have that

third shot drop in your repertoire now

many people think it is the most

important because it allows you and your

partner to get to the kitchen line

quickly and efficiently okay when the

ball is left up high your opponents will

hit it hard back at your feet and it

will keep pushing you back and keeping

you towards the Baseline that third shot

drop will allow you to get into the K

the kitchen line as quick as possible

and crush your opponents on the pickle

ball

court okay here's an easy drill for you

to work on your third shot drop I want

you to stand behind that Baseline okay

you want your partner to be at the

opposite kitchen line she is going to

feed balls into me and I'm going to

continuously try to drop that ball into

the kitchen okay the key here is that if

she were to lean over and have her

paddle here you still want the ball to

drop so it's going to be difficult for

you to start out but that's the end goal

if she takes it out of the air that's

still okay as long as she's leaning okay

you want the ball to be low if it's high

if she's able to take the the ball out

of the air high and she's able to hit a

pen a penetrating shot at me or my

partner and that is not good okay so you

want to keep that ball low just over the

net and hopefully it bounces in the

kitchen line that's why it's called a

third shot drop so here we go my partner

Jamie Sue she's just going to keep

hitting the ball to me another good one

there okay just like that now if I hit a

good

drop okay I'm able it's a bad one let's

try one more

time I'm able to come up into the

kitchen

okay TI she's able to hit it

back and then I'm in the transition zone

okay once I get to the transition zone

again I want to make sure I get to that

kitchen line so let's try it one more

time back at the Baseline drop the

ball she's letting me come up a little

bit woo Nice Shot okay so a way for you

to crush your opponents is to get to

that kitchen line best way to do that is

to hit a third shot drop we just went

through a very simple drill for you to

learn how to crush your third shot drop

remember get in as many repetitions as

possible now I'm going to bring you over

to a game scenario in this situation I

will serve the ball okay so I am number

one I serve the ball I'm going to be

hitting it over to Jamie Sue Jamie Sue

is then going to return my serve to me

okay and then I'm going to hit a third

shot drop now she doesn't have to return

it to me she could also return it to

Clint in this scenario our job is to hit

a third shot drop remember a third shot

drop is dropping the ball into the

opponent kitchen that way we're both

able to go up and get to the kitchen

line as quickly and as swiftly as

possible so here we go I'm going to take

the ball remember I'm serving deep Jamie

Sue is going to try to return deep okay

and then we're going to hit a third shot

drop here we

go deep

serve okay I just messed that up because

it was just too good it was right

there okay that is not a third shot drop

that's a

drive okay but it was because I had a

very good deep serve right that didn't

allow her to have a very deeper turn and

then I was able to come up and I should

have smashed it anyway let's get back to

third shot drop here deep

serve okay deep return Clint's going to

drop it great okay now we're up at the

kitchen line very good we'll play the

ball out

nice great dinking look at this next

level stuff

here okay a very simple thing to make

sure you do here is move your opponents

around when you're

dinking

woo all right nice Clint that's a great

third shot drop by Clint let's try that

one more time great playing over there

ladies here we go deep

serve deep return nice clinch wo backand

third shot drop now we're talking some

Next Level stop whoa was so good it was

a

nutmeg awesome job Clint so both of his

third shot drops allowed us to move very

quickly into the kitchen because they

were

A++ that's a simple way for you to crush

your friends on the pickleball court I

bet they're not doing third shot drops

on a continuous

basis

[Music]