New players often have trouble handling pace from more experienced players. As a result, they may gravitate toward focusing on the skill of adding pace to the ball. Intermediate level games are often full of fast and furious rallies that don't last more than a few hits; serve, return, drive for the third shot, smash, smash, and the point is over.
Students of the game learn the importance of having the ability to take pace off the ball, to slowing things down, especially when your team is serving. Because the return must bounce before the serving team hits the third shot, the receiving team (if they understand the fundamental strategies of this sport ...and they execute) will have a positional advantage with both receiving team players set at the kitchen line while the serving team is back near the baseline. The receiving team has the ability to hit better angle shots, they can hit more volleys, it is more difficult to hit balls to their feet because they are close to the net, and they have the best possible position to hit balls on a downward trajectory with power and pace.
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There are three pacing errors I see frequently in rec games. Two errors related to speeding the ball up when people should be hitting a slow ball and one related to the player choosing to hit a slow ball when they should be hitting hard and fast to their opponents.
Low Balls
The first common error I see is when a player decides to take a low ball and hit hard. Nine times out of ten, that ball is either going to hit the net or go out (if their opponents are thinking quickly enough). This is more true the closer you get to the kitchen line. You might be able to hit a low ball with a drive from near the baseline and still find the back of the court, assuming your opponents let it get past them. If your drive is low, this also makes it difficult for your opponents to attack it, harder to take pace off. So it's not necessarily a mistake to hit a hard fast drive from deep in the court, but I frequently see players trying to hit hard driving shots from the transition zone (mid court) at opponents who are set at the kitchen line on the other side.
This is not a good choice. This is a strategic error. If you are hitting from low to high, your opponents will more than likely be hitting a high ball down with just as much pace back at your feet or at an angle.
You might get away with this against less experienced players, but if you are trying to improve your game so you will be more effective against players of higher skills, learn to slow the pace on that low ball from mid court. You want to hit a soft shot with an arc, that rises over the net and drops somewhere near your opponents' kitchen line so they are forced to hit up from below the net.
Player is Pulled Out of Position
This is the second scenario when players often choose to hit a fast ball when they should be hitting a slower soft ball. If your opponents hit a shot at an angle that pulls you out wide near the outside line or if you have to cross the center line to cover the court because your partner was out of position, this is a bad time to try to fire off a fast shot. Next time you are at the court, walk over to the outside boundary of the court, then turn and look how much court is open behind you. If your opponents are at the net, all they have to do is have their paddle up to block your shot and put it down one of the gaps on the court. Even if your partner slides over to cover the lane you have left open, that opens an angle on their side of the court.
When you get pulled wide, get behind the ball quickly, stop before you hit so you are not moving through your stroke, then hit a soft controlled, unattackable ball that will give you time to get back into position.
Trying to win the rally every time you are hitting the ball is a mistake. Sometimes your best shot is a simple soft unattackable ball that allows you to get yourself and your partner back in the game so you can begin to build the point.
Not Attacking an Attackable Ball
There seems to be a stage in some players' pickleball development at which they have learned the value of getting to the net quickly and hitting dinks. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing, but if you become so focused on hitting balls that are unattackable for your opponents that you lose focus on attacking the balls they send you that you can attack, this becomes a problem.
Any ball you can hit from above the net is a ball that you can hit with some pace. The amount of power and force you can (and should) put on the ball depends on the amount of control you can hit with. It needs to be a ball that would hit the court if your opponents can't get a paddle on it. It does you no good to hit balls out of bounds. In general terms, the higher the ball rises above the net, the more you can hit down into your opponents' court, and the more power you can impart to the ball.
When your opponents hit a high floaty ball to you when you are near your kitchen line, they have made a strategic mistake. It is your job to make them pay for it. Don't let them off the hook by hitting a soft shot. It would be like folding when you have the best hand at the poker table.
It will take some practice to learn which balls you can attack and which balls you need to hit soft. As you progress in the game and you learn more types of shots, you learn how to read the point, and what your opponents are capable of, you will also adjust your game and tactics.
Lessons are a great place to practice and learn how to execute these concepts. For those who don't know me, my name is David Stefan. I am a certified pickleball instructor in Central Arkansas. If you are interested in a lesson, reach out.
I hope you find this helpful. Thanks for stopping by.
No Fun David
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