Stuck In Neutral When It Comes To Improving? We've Got Three Things To Focus On

Pickleball is addicting for most people because of how quickly you can make improvements and see those improvements pay off.

However, this improvement journey can be as equally frustrating as it is fruitful. Here are three things to focus on if you feel like your development journey has become stagnant.

Focus more on fitness and get in shape

For all you singles players out there, this is a no-brainer.

For doubles players (the majority), this might be a little more surprising. Playing pickleball at a high level, even doubles, is physically demanding. We all know how mentally challenging it can be to hit the same shot 50 times in one point, but it's also physically challenging.

I see so many amateurs become frustrated or claim they aren’t getting any better. One of the biggest restrictors to development is physical fitness, especially at the higher levels (4.5+).

In order to hit your shots more accurately, powerfully, and consistently, your body needs to be able to withstand the exertion and energy needed to hit those shots. There’s a reason so few pros and high-level players are not in phenomenal shape – it is too hard to reach and sustain that level otherwise.

For me, I try to spend at least one-third of my time training off the court. Whether it is light weightlifting, running, explosive workouts, or cross-training with something fun like tennis or rock climbing, I am making sure to spend time away from the pickleball court to improve and maintain my fitness.

Another way to quickly improve your fitness is to pretend that you are playing a tournament every time you practice. Even if you are drilling, bring the same physical and mental intensity to your training and practice sessions as you would to a tournament. This will help you simulate the mental and physical stress of the highest level of competition, and it will challenge your body to get better and fitter every session.

Eliminate the baseline from your practice routine

I almost titled this "focus on the soft stuff."

I guarantee 90-95 percent of amateurs know how to drive the ball and are comfortable doing so both in practice and in matches. Very few can rely on their resets from the transition zone or the ability to hit 1,000 good dinks in a row to set themselves or their partners up to attack.

The truth is, most amateurs will start to plateau around the 3.5-4.0 level. It is easier to achieve that rating – simply learn how to play the game and get enough reps in that you eventually can out-hit and out-power lower-rated opponents. That is not a bad development plan. However, to get over that development plateau and reach the upper levels of the game, you are going to have to master the soft stuff.

Once you reach that 3.5-4.0 skill rating, I would put away the drive and the power shots for good. Save them for tournament play or when you need to let off some steam against your family during rec play. Instead, work to master the transition zone, specifically hitting resets from all areas of this part of the court.

Start a foot inside the baseline and work on landing good, safe resets back over the net in front of your opponent of both wings (forehand and backhand). Then take another step or two forward and do this again. Then again. Then again, until you find yourself at the kitchen.

Once you are at the kitchen, practice hitting resets off your opponent's speed ups. Then work on dinking to all areas of the kitchen off both wings. Mastering these two areas of the court will allow you to compete with 4.5s and 5.0s, and you will notice that your plateauing development will start to trend upwards again.

Work on your decision making

Shoutout to those who like to watch pickleball – this one is for you.

Arguably the best way to practice your decision making on court is to watch good decision makers. Head over to YouTube or PickleballTV and watch the professionals play. Their decision making is almost flawless, and if it isn’t, that is usually the main reason they lose (unless they just get outplayed, which happens).

Good decision making is one area that will help you overcome stagnant development. In addition to being out of shape and being a one-trick, power-hitting pony, not making good decisions will lead to you doing the same (bad) things over and over and will stunt your growth as a player.

Watch what the pros do in different scenarios. Are they missing serves and returns at 8-8 in the third, or are they just focusing on making a neutral shot to start the point? Are they hitting a random speed up instead of continuing to move dinks around the kitchen? Are they driving 90 percent of their thirds or hitting drops on them?

These are the decisions to keep an eye out for when you are watching. Then, head to the courts and incorporate these same decisions in your drilling and rec games.

If you can master these three items, your development as an amateur pickleball player will continue to grow exponentially.

Enjoy the grind, and remember, you can’t dink all day if you don’t start in the morning.