My wife and I played earlier today and I tried to remember things I have learned in the
past that can help improve your game.

After watching the pros last week at the US Open Pickleball Tournament in Naples
Florida, I remembered that hitting the ball hard is effective, but not as effective as
slowing the game down by dinking.

Dinking is when you hit the ball low and just over the net into the "kitchen". The kitchen
is defined as a 7' area on either side of the net. If someone slams the ball at you, try
dinking the ball back if you can. I have seen dinking wars back and forth, that result in
the ability to slam the ball back if the opponents dink comes to you high enough to be
able to get a good hit on it.

You can only hit the ball while in the kitchen if it bounces first. You cannot hit a volley
while there. If they dink to you, that means you have probably drawn them forward
enough that your subsequent slam is unable to be struck back since they are still in the
kitchen.

When I played this morning, that opportunity came several times and I was able to hit a
winner.

I would suggest to anyone interested in playing pickleball to do a search on YouTube to
see the pros. You can learn a lot.

Mike Dippel
http/telnet hobbylinebbs.com
Home of Hobby Net

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