Third Shot Drop Strategy

Yield: More Success Getting to The Kitchen and Scoring Points

One of the hardest challenges in pickleball is getting to the kitchen as the service team. So many times, we get stuck back because our opponents have the advantage of already being at the NVL and can push us back with shots at our feet.  We know we should be hitting solid third shot drops or drives, but the strategy of how to use these shots to flip the advantage is often overlooked.

Ingredients

• 1 Part Offense
• 1 Part Drop Technique
• 1 Part Team Strategy
• 1 Part Practice

Instructions

1. Let’s talk about offense vs. defense. Most of the time, we think if we are the service team we are on defense and the returning team up at the kitchen is on offense. But you will do well to turn that mindset around. The service team might have an advantage, but you, as the service team, are on offense. You are the only team that can score. You can hit with confidence and set your team up for greater success.
2. The first decision is to hit a third shot drop or drive. We will be focusing on drops here because drops still have a very real roll in pickleball. A good, aggressive drop will give your team more time to move forward and force your opponents to hit up on the ball.
3. Hitting an aggressive drop is all about timing and footwork. Move to the ball, let the ball come to you, and then accelerate forward through your shot with your paddle. No backswing is needed, but you do need to use your legs for balance and power and hit forward.
4. Now for the strategy. When we hit drops, we often think of going middle as that is the lowest part of the net, but to put pressure on your opponents, the kitchen corners are a better choice (both crosscourt and straight ahead).  The reason for this is two-fold. First, a shot to the corner forces your opponents to lean towards the ball, potentially resulting in errors or pop-ups. Second, it’s all about creating angles and smaller court space as your team moves forward.
5. What does moving forward look like? This is where practicing with a partner is useful. Because the person leading the team is not the player hitting the third shot. If you are hitting the third shot, I want your only focus to be on hitting the best shot you can hit. Your partner, on the other hand, should start creeping forward into the court. They do need to observe your hit long enough to make a judgment as to the placement and height of the drop, but after that, their job is to move forward and start pressuring the opponents.  The better the drop, the farther they can move.  And the more they move, the more you can move forward as well.
6. The final step is to move towards the corner where you hit the drop.  This is wedging into the corner and pressuring one opponent. What this does is make your court smaller with fewer openings for your opponents to hit the ball. It also forces your opponents to either hit to you or to try to hit a harder angle to avoid you.
7. Now it’s time to practice. One of the best drills for this is having two players at the kitchen line and two players back at the baseline working on hitting drops to the corners and moving up as a team. Keep the score 7-11 to make it even more competitive. The kitchen team must win 11 points; the baseline team must win 7.  

The more this pattern becomes your go to, the more confidently and offensively you can start to play off your third shots, and the more points you will earn!

Check out the full instructional video below.