Should You “Disguise” Your Speed Ups?

Jul 13, 2023

Hey!

Before we keep going, welcome back to another edition of the blog. If you’re new to the blog and want to go back and check out past editions, go here!

Today’s edition has three parts: 

1. A Helpful Tip (Video) – How to Master the Third Shot Drop!

2. For the Pickleball Nerds – Is “Disguising” Your Attacks Overrated?

3. My Journey Playing Pro –Tourney Time in Denver!

A Helpful Tip (Video):

One of the most important (and difficult) shots in pickleball is the 3rd shot drop!  

And this week's video is one people have been asking me to make for months! So, I finally buckled down and made it! Sharing just about everything I know about how to hit the 3rd shot drop well (on the forehand side... for now).

If you have questions after watching, let me know in the youtube comments!

Enjoy!👇

For the Pickleball Nerds: 

Senior Pro Dayne Gingrich shares great content on his instagram. When he posts, I read.

A few days ago, he made a post that caught my attention because truthfully, it’s something I’ve thought about for a while, but hadn’t talked about.

The topic is: Is there too much emphasis on “disguising” your attacks?

I’ll let you read his thoughts below, then I’ll share a few of my own.

I agree. It’s given too much value, but don’t misinterpret what he's saying... “Too much value” is different from “it’s not important.”

I still believe everything I said in this video about speed up technique. Because the truth is, you don't want your dink to look wayyyyy different than your speed up. I believe you want to keep it as similar as possible. AND, after you’ve got that down fairly well, keep focus on location, pace, and your ability to win the point on the next ball (like he mentions Ben Johns does a lot).  

All in all, a thoughtful post by Dane. I’m a fan! You can follow him on his instagram at this link! @dayne_gingirch

My Journey Playing Pro Pickleball: 

I’m in Denver this week. I’ve been chugging water to acclimate, because it’s freaking hot here!

I’m pumped to play mixed with Dana Raugust, who’s my teammate in the Arizona Pickleball League on the Tempe Tornadoes.

And then, on Saturday, I’m playing with my good buddy Pesa Teoni, who just got drafted into Major League pickleball. Shoutout to him! He deserves it.

(shoutout Matt Bridges for the graphic!)

I’m a big fan of how they both play, and excited to go make some noise this weekend in the mile high city. 

I’ll let you know how it goes next week!

Kyle

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