Backhand Flick vs. Backhand Roll - Learn the Difference in 1 Minute ⏰

Learn the correct body placement to hit better Attacks

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Hot Take 🔥

Decreasing Your Swing Size Will Lead to Higher Rates of Consistency

Have you ever wondered why rec players consistently have 1) bigger swings, and 2) more funky wrist movement involved in their strokes? I was just teaching a group of 4.0s - 4.5s that I won’t name (to save them the embarrassment of this callout) but let’s just call them “The Big Swing group.” Or, the “BS group,” for short. So, for whatever reason, this BS group was taking monstrous swings on all of their dinks and adding unnecessary, funky wrist movement to half of their shots. One guy was even lifting his left knee up every time he hit a forehand speed up, a move he called, “The Flamingo.” For the record, I told him to stop right away. I said that if anyone ever asked him where he learned that “move,” he didn’t dare tell anyone that he learned it from me. In sum, I was utterly shocked at the “BS group,” because it was almost as if they relished in the silliness of their unnecessarily large swings and funky movements. I didn’t want to stop them from having fun - so I simply asked them a few questions. 

“Have you ever observed the swings of the top pros, whether it be in a hands battle, dinking, or even a drop or drive?” Turns out, they didn’t watch pro pickleball. That was the least shocking thing I learned about this group.

My purpose in explaining this story is twofold - first, you should watch pro pickleball. That’s the easiest way to gain an understanding of the technique that they use. Second, simplicity is key. It’s no coincidence that the top pros have smaller swings than you do. My swings seem to shrink every year. In recently watching myself play a match from 2 years ago, I was surprised to see how big my swings were, and how much extra wrist movement there was.

So that brings me to rule of thumb number 1 - as you go up in pickleball level you’ll notice that the size of backswings generally get smaller and more compact. The higher the level, the faster the ball moves. So, how do we prepare to go up a level in pickleball? Practice shortening your swings (especially your volleys), and simplifying everything.

After all, there’s no need for any extra wrist movement on the soft stuff. Your wrist should be more or less fixed, with almost no movement at all. This doesn’t mean you should tense up and try to lock it on purpose, but you should not use your wrist if you don’t have to. 

So how do we actually practice shortening our swings and minimizing wrist movement? If you’re struggling with extra movement and swing size on your shots, the next time you get out there and drill, exaggerate the most simple possible motion to still execute the shot. Any movement that you may not need for execution? Don’t do it. For the purpose of this exercise, completely exaggerate it. Now, exclusively hit the shot that way for the entire practice. See if your consistency improves. If it doesn’t, reply and let me know and we can talk it through. Or, go back to your old technique, no harm no foul. But - I’d bet that this exaggerated small swing will improve your consistency.

After all, what’s more repeatable, a big swing, or a small swing? And that’s what pickleball is at its core - A game where the winner is determined by who makes more balls inside of the lines In conclusion: Exaggerate the simplicity of your strokes.

Where, When and How Hard to Hit Your Flicks 🤷‍♂️ 

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Featured Pro Tip: Hurricane Tyra Black

Tyra’s Tip

Hey guys! I heard it’s backhand flick week for the newsletter and James thought it would be fun to get my perspective on it. It’s one of the tougher shots in pickleball - especially coming from a tennis background where you don’t use your wrist quite the same. I’ll boil down my advice into three key points:

 1. Knee bend / lean

It’s super important to get low on the backhand flick for two main reasons. First, you’ll be able to better gauge the height of the ball the closer your eyes are to the net. This will help with shot selection. Secondly, bending and leaning in will allow you to get the ball as close to the peak as possible, and the higher you make contact the harder you can hit it.

 2. Spots To Attack

I’m sure some of you are familiar with the three common spots to hit your speed ups: middle, dominant shoulder, and chest. When choosing a spot you need to factor in where the ball is coming from, and how high the ball is. When an attackable ball comes from in front me, I usually prefer to hit it right at them or try to chicken wing them, because I don’t have to change the direction of the ball and can generate maximum power. When the ball is coming from cross court, a lot of times I’ll take that flick towards the middle, because I only have to change the angle of the ball slightly compared to if I was to go in front of me. But don’t go middle when the ball is too low - that’s a recipe for disaster!

 3. Anticipation

Something often overlooked is being ready for the next shot after your speed up. As a rule of thumb I usually assume my opponent will be “late” on their counter, because if you hit the right spot on the right ball, you should be at an advantage. For example, I’m I’m flicking the ball up through the middle from the left side, I’ll start to lean towards my forehand because the chances they will be early enough to get the ball back towards my backhand are low. Obviously this is super circumstantial and you have to be confident in your speed up to start thinking this way.

In order for Tyra to play at the highest level she needs top of the line equipment. Her paddle, the HURRICANEPRO, allows her to consistently make tough shots including the backhand flicks. If you’re looking for a new paddle and want to play like Tyra, make sure to check it out!

See You Next Week! 👋

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