Pickleball skills
19 skills, beginner to advanced. 17 of them you can film on a phone and get measured. No fake scores.
Skills by level
You can film17 of 19 skills
Beginner 5
- Ready Position & GripEverything in pickleball starts from a balanced ready position and a relaxed grip — and because the game is built on the SOFT game (dinks and drops), 'soft hands' are central from day one. Ready position: knees bent, weight on the balls of your feet, paddle up out in front around chest height, balanced and ready to…
- The ServeThe pickleball serve is UNDERHAND and, unlike tennis, is mostly about consistency and DEPTH rather than power. You contact the ball below your waist, hit from behind the baseline diagonally crosscourt, with a low-to-high motion.
- Return of ServeThe return is your first aggressive opportunity and a key positional move: you can swing more freely than on the serve, you hit it DEEP, and then you FOLLOW THE BALL IN — moving forward to take the all-important net (kitchen) position. The combination of a deep return plus getting to the net is one of the most…
- The DinkThe dink is the most-hit and most-defining shot in pickleball — a soft, arcing shot from at/near the kitchen line that lands in the opponent's non-volley zone. It's the heart of the 'kitchen battle,' and the player who controls the kitchen line usually wins.
- Kitchen Rules & PositioningThe 'kitchen' (the non-volley zone, or NVZ — the 7-foot area on each side of the net) is the rule that shapes all of pickleball: you may NOT volley (hit the ball out of the air) while standing in the kitchen or touching its line. This is conceptual knowledge plus positioning, so it's coached here.
Intermediate 5
- The Third-Shot DropThe third-shot drop is widely considered the most important — and most touch-demanding — shot in pickleball. After the serve (1) and return (2), the serving team is stuck back while opponents own the net; the drop is a soft, arcing shot that lands in the kitchen and falls BELOW net level, neutralizing their attack…
- Forehand DriveThe forehand drive is your aggressive groundstroke — a firmer, faster shot (often with topspin) used to pressure opponents, pass them, or set up a put-away, frequently as a third-shot DRIVE alternative to the drop. It reuses the tennis-style kinetic chain (legs and hips driving rotation) but in pickleball's more…
- Backhand DriveThe backhand drive is the other-side groundstroke, hit either one- or two-handed. Many pickleball players favor a two-handed backhand for stability and power in the compact game.
- The VolleyA volley is any ball you hit out of the air (before it bounces), mostly at the kitchen line — and it's about quick reaction and PLACEMENT, not power. The defining principle: NO swing.
- Baseline-to-Kitchen TransitionGetting from the baseline to the kitchen line — the 'transition zone' — is one of pickleball's most important and trickiest movements, because the net team has the advantage and you need to advance without getting caught out of position. The keys are moving forward in controlled steps behind your drop/return,…
Advanced 5
- Cross-Court DinkingCross-court dinking is the staple of high-level kitchen play — dinking DIAGONALLY across the net rather than straight ahead. It's preferred because the diagonal is longer (more margin, the net is lower in the middle), it forces opponents to move laterally and stretch, and it opens angles.
- The ResetA reset is a defensive soft block that takes pace OFF a hard-driven ball and drops it gently into the kitchen — letting you neutralize an attack and re-enter the soft game, often from the transition zone under pressure. The defining skill is ABSORBING pace: very soft hands, a stable but 'giving' paddle, minimal…
- Overhead SmashWhen opponents float a ball high (a pop-up or weak lob), the overhead smash is your put-away — a powerful downward shot. It reuses the tennis-serve/overhead kinetic chain: turn sideways, point/track with the non-paddle hand, reach UP to contact the ball high and out in front, and snap down with the legs and trunk…
- Speed-Ups & Hand BattlesA 'speed-up' is suddenly attacking a dink or low ball with pace to catch opponents off guard, which often triggers a 'hand battle' — a rapid-fire volley exchange at the net where the quickest, most compact hands win. The mechanical skills are a quick compact attacking motion, and especially a READY paddle held UP…
- Footwork & Court MovementGood footwork ties the whole game together — and in pickleball it has a distinctive flavor: SHUFFLE steps (not crossing your feet), staying square to the net, split-stepping as opponents hit, and resetting to a balanced ready position after EVERY shot. Crossing your feet turns your hips away from the kitchen line…
Insane 4
- The ErneThe Erne (named after Erne Perry) is a spectacular, advanced shot: you jump or step to a position OUTSIDE the kitchen's side line and volley a ball — usually an opponent's cross-court dink near the sideline — before it crosses the NVZ line, contacting it from beside the kitchen rather than within it. It bypasses…
- Around-the-PostThe Around-the-Post (ATP) is one of pickleball's most spectacular legal shots: when a ball travels WIDE of the sideline past the net post, you can hit it AROUND the post — not over the net — and it can legally land in the opponent's court even below net height (there's no rule it must clear the net when you're…
- Soft-Game Strategy & PatienceAt the highest level, pickleball is won in the soft game through PATIENCE and intelligent shot selection — and this is largely a decision-making and tactical skill that a single video can't grade, so it's coached here. The core ideas: the dink isn't just to keep the ball in play but to MOVE opponents, create…
- Fall Prevention & Safe MovementThis is the most important SAFETY lesson in pickleball, and it's distinctive: pickleball skews older (most injured players are 50+, average around 64-67), and unlike most sports where sprains lead, FRACTURES predominate in pickleball — about 92% of fractures happen during FALLS (wrist and hip especially). Ankle…