Shea Underwood’s Top Pickleball Speed-Up Tricks: Shea Underwood, a well-regarded figure in the pickleball community, recently shared his insights on mastering speed-ups in a video featured on The Dink Pickleball’s Instagram account. In the video, Underwood provides practical advice on how players can enhance their speed-up shots—a technique used to surprise opponents by increasing the pace of the ball during play.
Underwood begins by emphasizing the importance of deception in executing an effective speed-up. “The number one thing for speed-ups is you need to make it look exactly like your dinks,” he explains. Dinks are soft, controlled shots typically played close to the net.
To create confusion, Underwood advises players to ensure that their paddle position, body stance, and overall movement mimic the setup for a dink. By maintaining this consistency, players can disguise their intentions and catch their opponents off guard with a sudden, faster shot. “Whenever you do this, you can easily just flick a ball, and they’re not expecting it,” he adds.
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To show his point, Underwood introduces a deceptive technique he refers to as “the Kyle,” named after a well-known move in pickleball circles. There are two main approaches to executing a speed-up, he notes: power and placement. Players can either hit the ball with significant force to overwhelm their opponent or place the ball strategically to exploit a gap or weak spot on the court. Underwood dives into both tactics, offering specific tips for maximizing their effectiveness.
“When the ball is landing in front of my left foot, I want to get down like I’m about to hit a backhand dink,” Underwood explains. He stresses the importance of keeping the elbow close to the body and maintaining a low stance. At the last moment, he advises flipping the paddle towards the opponent to change the shot from a defensive dink to an aggressive forehand. “The really important part of this shot is to make it look like you’re about to hit a backhand dink with your entire body language,” he says, showing the significance of maintaining a consistent and deceptive posture.
Throughout the demonstration, Underwood reiterates that the key to successful speed-ups lies in the element of surprise. By making subtle adjustments in body positioning and paddle control, players can mask their true intentions until the last possible moment. This approach can be particularly effective in keeping opponents on their toes and unable to anticipate the next move.
Underwood’s tips reflect a broader trend in pickleball strategy, where subtlety and precision are becoming as crucial as raw power. By focusing on deception and technique, players at all levels can develop a more dynamic and unpredictable style of play.
News in Brief: Shea Underwood’s Top Pickleball Speed-Up Tricks
In a recent video on The Dink Pickleball’s Instagram, Shea Underwood shared tips for mastering speed-ups in pickleball. He emphasized the importance of deception, advising players to make their speed-ups look like dinks by mimicking their body stance and paddle position. Underwood introduced “the Kyle,” a deceptive technique involving either powerful or strategically placed shots.
He demonstrated how to transform a defensive dink into an aggressive forehand by maintaining a low stance and close elbow, adding surprise to the shot. Underwood’s advice highlights the role of subtlety and precision in modern pickleball strategy, helping players enhance their unpredictability and effectiveness.
