When matches aren’t enough to get your skill to another level, it’s probably time to hit the practice court. There are a few games that I really enjoy incorporating into lessons or practice sessions of my own.
These games are simple and will focus on important aspects of actual gameplay. They are great for practicing specific skills or shots and with time, hard work practice will always pay off. These are a few of my favourite mini games...
Full Court Kitchen
I call this game Full Court Kitchen because the game is played in the parameters of the non-volley zone. It’s a great workout, focuses on kitchen play and it is especially good practice for singles, when you’re at a level where cat-and-mouse occurs in your rallies.
Serving rules all apply: underhand, serve starts on the right side, cross-court and points are only earned when you’re serving. You also will switch sides as you score points as per usual. A shot that lands out of bounds is a fault.
What you will quickly realize is just how much ground it actually is to cover an entire non-volley zone. Is this realistic to doubles pickleball? Very rarely, more likely never.
However, as mentioned, it can be good practice for higher level singles play and most importantly, this game is especially useful for getting more touches in at the net, but in a game mode as opposed to just drilling
I also find that it’s really helped increase my awareness of the trajectory of the ball - the dinks that land at the feet are harder for someone to control, so this game will improve ones anticipation and ability to read where the ball is heading before it bounces.
Finally, as you become more familiar with this game, you can use it as an opportunity to learn how to read your opponents body language and direction of their paddle.
I personally like playing this game when there are three people, because someone gets to sit off and take a break every two games. My recommendation would be to ease into this game.
Start with a lower score - first to 5 points, perhaps - or with four people and in a doubles format, making it less ground for each person to cover. Just remember not to hit those balls that you’d normally volley outside of the kitchen, as they are considered “out of bounds” in this game!
Target Practice
I haven’t gotten creative enough to label this game and I’m sure there’s a proper name for this game somewhere, but as this generic name implies, the game is about accuracy.
Each player starts by placing a series of discs in and around the non-volley zone. I usually start a person off with 3 discs but have gone up to 5. The disc(s) can also be on or touching the non-volley line or sideline.
On the opposite side, diagonally or head on, the other player will set up a series of discs as well. Each player places a ball on top of each disc. The object is to knock off the balls that are placed on the other person's discs, while rallying back and forth.
Strategically, I like using a few offensive dinks to get the opponent moving. Once they give me a high dink, it will buy me more time to place the ball and I'll take my shot at knocking a ball off of one of the cones.
Progressively speaking, you can start by placing the cones in what would be considered a popular area (ex. bottom right side of the kitchen, closer to the sideline) and eventually start moving the cones to other areas (ex. closer to the net, forcing the other player to hit shallower, more difficult shots).
I find that this is a great game to introduce to people when they could use some encouragement to incorporate more dinking into their game.
It shows a person that there’s more to dinking just to get the ball over the net, there’s actually areas in the non-volley zone that are more favoured to place the ball and it also encourages a player to increase their overall focus and awareness.
For the higher level players who I coach, I will incorporate fitness into this game. My favourite example is when a player knocks a ball off the cone the other player has to run a quick suicide (using the length of the court).
It might not be a fan favourite amongst the students but I really enjoy incorporating fitness into a session whenever I can.
Photo credit: Total Sport Solutions Inc.
Pepper
This is a simple game of volley exchanges at the net and the focus is to maintain control during the fast exchanges. You want to be confident that you can stay in these rallies for not just one or two shots but as many as it takes for the other side to make an unforced error or for you to create a put-away shot to end the rally.
Posture has a lot to do with successful volley exchanges, so keep in mind that the upper body should be upright, with the stability coming from the feet and legs. Aim to keep the head up and looking straight ahead.
The shot should come from the shoulder and by keeping an open wrist you increase the ability to accelerate through the ball upon contact.
As you become more comfortable with this area of pickleball, you’ll likely need to progress the mini game to increase your skill level. One way to progress is by increasing the speed - keep in mind this is a cooperative drill.
It can easily be turned into a mini game by playing up to a certain point (ex. first to 7). I also like hitting backhand to backhand and then forehand to forehand then diagonally (forehand to backhand) and vice versa.
Skinny Singles
This is such a great way to practice aspects of doubles pickleball when there are only two players available to practice. The focus is to play a game, typically up to 11 win by 2, but only using half of the court.
Some variations of this game is that receivers will switch sides as the server scores points - so that players are always cross-court from one another. However, the version I strongly prefer is to play the corresponding side based on the points that you have.
For example: if you’re scoring at 9-6 then you will stand on the odd (left) side of the court and the player who has 6 points stands on the even (right) side of the court, thus making you play a rally head-on.
Realistically, in doubles pickleball, rallies are played head-on and diagonally, so like I said, this can be great doubles practice when there are only two of you.
I’ve seen additional variations where a player is allowed to hit ATP (around-the-post) if the shot presents itself.
Drilling and getting the repetitive touches in is incredibly important if you want to increase the level of your game. Mini games are a great way to intertwine into a drill session, to end a drill session with or to alternate (ex. one practice is drilling the next practice is mini games).
There’s so much flexibility and ability to incorporate mini games into your practice and to take the emphasis off of recreational games. Challenge yourself to try new games, come up with your own variations and progressions and be sure to make your sessions intentional!
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