Pickleball Dink Improvement Tips: Tanner Tomassi, a pickleball expert, shared three simple steps to stop popping up dinks, a common mistake in the sport. These tips focus on improving paddle positioning, eliminating wrist movement, and stepping correctly to ensure a better game.
Step 1: Keep the Paddle in Peripheral Vision
Tanner Tomassi explained that players should keep their paddle in their peripheral vision, meaning it should always be in front of them. This helps avoid hitting the ball with improper positioning. He compared the setup to a brick wall behind you, advising that the paddle should never be too far back.
“Your paddle should never leave your peripheral vision. I can see the paddle here, I can’t see it here. When I teach students, I tell them to pretend that a brick wall is behind you. Your paddle should never hit that brick wall. Always out in front.” – (Tomassi)
Step 2: Use Shoulder, Not Wrist
The next tip from Tomassi is to stop using the wrist when hitting the ball. He emphasized that players should focus on pushing the ball with their shoulder and keeping the wrist locked during the shot. This technique results in more control and less chance of popping the ball up.
“We should never be using our wrist to make contact with the ball. What we should be doing instead is telling ourselves to push the ball. Push with our shoulder and keep that wrist locked.” – (Tomassi)
Step 3: Step Behind the Ball
The final step Tomassi highlighted involves stepping with your lead leg behind the ball. This is more effective than reaching for the ball, which can lead to wrist flicks and mistakes. By stepping, players can push the ball with their shoulder, resulting in a cleaner dink.
“Wherever the ball bounces on your side, you want to try and get your lead leg behind the ball like this to hit the ball as opposed to reaching. When we reach for the ball, we tend to flick with our wrist. When we step, we can push with the shoulder.” – (Tomassi)
News in Brief: Pickleball Dink Improvement Tips
Tanner Tomassi shared three simple steps to improve dinks in pickleball. He recommends keeping the paddle in peripheral vision, using the shoulder instead of the wrist, and stepping behind the ball instead of reaching for it. These tips help players reduce mistakes and improve control during games.
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