Purposeful Pickleball Drills For Players: Players trying to improve at pickleball often spend hours drilling. But according to a new video, just doing drills isn’t enough — doing them the right way matters most. The video features four simple drills and explains how using the right mindset and technique helps players get better faster on the court.
The drills were demonstrated to help pickleball players avoid wasting time and focus on what truly improves skills. Instead of just hitting balls back and forth, the drills push players to focus on positioning, technique, recovery, and real-game situations.
Doing Drills with Purpose
In the video, the speaker begins by stressing how important drilling is to become a better player. It offers more reps than playing games and allows players to focus on specific shots. But he also warns that not all drills help.
He says, “There’s no magic drill that’s going to fix everything. The key to good drilling is how you approach the drill and how you focus.”
He explains that players must drill with a clear goal. Hitting the ball without thinking doesn’t help. Players should ask themselves where and why they’re hitting a shot.
Dinking with a Plan
The first drill shown is a crosscourt dinking drill. The video explains that many players do this drill without moving or focusing on shot type or spin.
“I’ll see a player stand on the corner… and they’ll stand like this and hit the ball back and forth 100 times,” he says. But in real games, players move, adjust, and choose shots with care.
He advises players to dink with purpose—deciding whether to hit topspin, slice, or aim wide. Each shot should be made with a plan in mind.
Improving Hand Speed with Volleys
The second drill focuses on hand speed at the net. Fast volleys are key to staying in control during quick exchanges. The speaker shares that players should spend one-fourth to one-third of their drill time on this skill.
“If you can’t counterattack… and your opponents figure that out, then you’re in a lot of trouble,” he says.
The drill involves volleying back and forth at the kitchen line. First, players focus on one type of volley, like backhand-to-backhand, to perfect technique. Then they switch to forehand volleys. Finally, they add randomness to train reaction speed too.
Practicing Offense and Defense
The third drill is called the “roll and reset” drill. One player stands at the kitchen line, playing aggressive shots. The other is in the transition zone, working on blocking and resetting those shots.
The speaker explains, “We’ve got this give and take… one person that’s trying to play a ton of offense, the other person that’s trying to handle everything they throw at them.”
A common mistake he sees is the net player hitting soft shots, making it too easy. He says to stay aggressive: “Make sure we stay super aggressive on the fourth and make this person’s resets here difficult.”
Drop or Drive? Learn to Switch
The fourth drill is the “drive and drop combo.” One player is at the baseline, the other at the net. The baseline player alternates between driving the ball hard and dropping it softly.
This trains both players to handle different speeds and make quick decisions. “Changing tempos in pickleball is such an important skill,” he says.
He adds that after a few minutes, the drill changes. Instead of switching between drop and drive every time, the player chooses what’s best for the situation. If the ball is easy and in front, they drive. If it’s short or off-balance, they drop.
Training with the Right Focus
Throughout the video, the key message is that good drilling is not about time—it’s about focus. Every shot must have a purpose. Each drill can be helpful or useless depending on how it’s done.
“You can make it basically where you get nothing out of it or you can make it where you get as much as you need out of it just all based on how you approach it,” he says.
The speaker ends by reminding players to take screenshots of the drills so they can use them during practice.
News in Brief: Purposeful Pickleball Drills For Players
A new pickleball training video teaches players how to drill with purpose. It features four drills—dinking, fast volleys, roll and reset, and drop/drive combo. Each drill includes expert advice to help players improve faster by focusing on technique, reaction, and smart decision-making rather than just hitting balls.
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