The pandemic and resultantpickleball maniathat swept the country changed everything.
The pickleball serve is literally the opposite motion of the tennis serve.
I see people serving above their hip all the time, Todd says.
I see people serving from high to low.
I see people not following over their shoulder.
I see them not aiming, theyre just kind of hitting the serve to hit.
professional pickleball player
So what I like to tell people if Im coaching them is have purpose with your serve.
How can you establish that purposeand killer form to boot?
Here are Todds top tips for developing a stronger pickleball serve.
6 tips for a stronger pickleball serve, according to a pro
1.
With your body position.
Wherever your shoulders are pointing, youre most likely to aim the ball, Todd says.
If your shoulders are every which way, then the ball is going to go wherever.
you better keep some movement in your wrist, but still maintain control.
How would you then do that with your paddle?
professional pickleball player
Keeping their wrist loose and really swinging through the ball is important.
I like to start with my paddle where my right hip is, Todd says.
see to it not to lift that head until after youve made contact.
When you toss the ball up, you definitely want to keep your head down, Todd says.
Build consistency before building speed
For Todd, accuracy takes precedence over speed.
In fact, trying to hit too fast before youre comfortable with your serve can mess up your aim.
Consistency is key first, Todd says.
Todd recommends aiming to hit the ball a couple feet over the net.
Use your warmup to practice
Most pickleball players probably arent playing in professional tournaments like Todd is.
But not seeing the improvement you want to can still be frustrating even if youre just playing for fun.
You go out and play games and thats where the fun is, right?
But the improvement is in the repetition and the drilling.
You start to really get a feel for those shots.
As long as you have intention in your warm up, then its kind of like youre drilling.
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