How to hit the backhand ATP in 1 minute ⏰

Two Handed Backhand ATP vs. One Handed Slice

⬆️ Click The Video Above ⬆️

Hot Take 🔥

4.5s and below should be drilling 60% of the time ⏰

Drilling is more important for 3.0s - 4.5s than it is for 5.0+ players. It’s no secret that what goes on in 5.0+ games is significantly different from 3.5 games in almost every way. Sometimes, it’ll look like two different sports entirely. In some ways, 3.5 pickleball is more fun. It’s less structured, there’s hardly any dinking, and frankly, you never know what will happen next. However, for these reasons, it’s arguably even more important for 3.5’s to develop a consistent drilling routine. Since there’s less consistency of point structure in 3.5 games, drilling is the only way to develop that consistency!

5.0+ games typically consist of structured points where players are getting a variety of consistent repetitions hitting dinks, drops, speed ups, and more. 3.5 games don’t have that same structure. To break out of the 3.5 level, you need consistent repetitions hitting the same shot over and over, which is what 3.5 gameplay lacks. That’s why drilling is absolutely necessary for players of this level. 

For 3.0-4.5 players in general, I would recommend a drill/play ratio of 60/40, in favor of drilling. This is only for those who are very serious about getting better - I understand that drilling can be “boring”, and that’s ok. If you just want to have fun and play games all of the time, that’s cool too. As long as you don’t list my newsletter as one of the reasons you aren’t getting better :). 

For 3.0-4.5’s, the drills don’t need to be complicated. Get a drilling partner and dink back and forth, work on drops with one player up at the kitchen and one at the baseline, and practice volleys, resets, serves and returns. While these drills are pretty straightforward there are certainly some best practices to follow in order to get the most out of them. That’s what our next newsletter is for. See you next week.

Learn the forehand flip speedup through the middle in 1 minute ⏰

The Biggest Opening in All of Rec Pickleball 🤯

⬆️ Click The Video Above ⬆️

Featured Pro Tip: Connor Garnett

The Backhand by Connor ⬇️

Is the twoey "two handed backhand" the shot everyone is going to be hitting? 

Coming from tennis and originally batting lefty in baseball, the two handed backhand, "the twoey," is something that has always felt natural to me. I personally love hitting the shot and I find the key pieces to hitting a successful twoey are 1) Strong left hand involvement 2) Compact swing 3) Utilizing the Kinetic Chain.

Before we get into the twoey itself, deciding when to hit the shot is just as important. The twoey comes in handy when you want to add additional power on a shot. The spots that jump out are a baseline drive, a higher ball at the kitchen when you have more time and while dinking to add more of a punch behind your shot. With that being said the one handed flick, one handed counter when an opponent goes at your body and a slice dink are still extremely useful shots to have in your bag of tricks.

HOW TO HIT THE TWOEY

1) Strong left hand involvement - The left hand is one of the most important things on the backhand. You will see some players working on hitting lefty to build that strength. Make sure that your right hand is along for the ride but the left hand does the bulk of the work. Start by dipping the paddle tip to gain spin and throw the left hand across which will naturally finish across the body. I will put my left pointer finger on the back face of the paddle to get additional feel and allow me to come around the ball. This allows me to even generate some side spin through this when dinking.

2) Compact swing - With the left hand on the paddle it helps keep a shorter swing than what we see on the forehand, but it is key to make sure that once your right shoulder (inverse for a lefty) hits your chin the backswing is big enough. The power comes from the kinetic chain in point three.

3) Utilizing the Kinetic Chain - I have seen people through clinics and other coaching events overuse the arms for power; however, until the hips bring the paddle out on contact my upper body is still and then I will add a swing with the arms to get topspin and add additional torque. This employs the bigger muscle groups (i.e. Legs, hips, core) for the bulk of the power and the the smaller ones for the finish and spin

🚨 Make sure to Subscribe to Connor’s YouTube channel for a chance to win his largest Giveaway with over $1000 worth of prizes and 3 lucky winners. The giveaway will be live next week! 🚨

See You Next Week!

1 LAST THING

Send us a reply on how often you Drill vs. how often you Play Games!

⬇️ Click the link below to get caught up on what you’ve missed ⬇️