How I Turned My Pickleball Serve Into A WEAPON
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- čas přidán 17. 12. 2023
- #Pickleball #PickleballSingles #PickleballPro
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How I Turned My Pickleball Serve Into A WEAPON
Today, I'm working on improving my pickleball serve. I've went through several iterations of serves without finding one that was good enough for singles. But this one is insane.
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Let’s hear those punishments 👇
As your punishment, give me a brand-new Selkirk paddle for Xmas please and thank you.
My serve is very very similar, but a get a little more whip action on my wrist and my Gearbox Pro Power Elongated gets great top spin on the ball. Players below 3.5 will have consistent trouble with returning it. 30% of the balls go in the net or are long on their returns. 20% get returned properly, but a whopping 50% gets a weak return which allows for more options with your 3rd shot.
Also, what I have found is if you play against an intermediate player for two games in a row, they give themselves the room and start to get in a rhythm of being able to consistently return it. So what I have done is change it up with a soft/short/serve which forces them closer. And closer and closer. To the point they have to put their feet on the line…and you guessed it, I bring out the big return again. Then they are very unsure where to stand. By then, the game is close to over.
I really enjoyed your video because our serves are so similar.
Love your philosophy on the serve! It’s like being a pitcher in baseball. Gotta hit different spots with different speeds. Great stuff
1) I’ve been experimenting with a radar gun. I think you can add 5mph or more with a bigger, full take back (backswing) in the style of Ben Johns. Yours is about 1/3 of his. No need to shorten it for the timing and stability of an incoming shot.
2) But what really matters is the speed after the bounce, at the baseline, at the time the opponent hits it. Arrival speed? Radar gun only records the highest speed of the ball’s flight, which happens immediately after contact, then because the ball is so light compared to its size/air resistance, it immediately begins slowing down to its terminal velocity (about 130mph for a human skydiving). This effect is stark in pickleball but it happens even in baseball. Best pitchers get about 105mph out of the hand, but I read somewhere that it’s more like 80mph crossing the plate, and that’s with a ball with a much more favorable mass to air resistance ratio. I bet your serve is about 52mph off your paddle (Jon Kew’s best routinely hit 55mph)-what do you think it is at the opposing baseline? Whatever it is, it’ll be a little better the further forward your contact is, so stand as far forward as possible. Plus, assuming you’re tall enough that your waist is above the net, and you’re striving for the highest legal strike height, geometry says your advantage in clearing the net is better when you’re further forward as well (study Dekel “The Hulk” Bar’s serve).
3. Your swing path and paddle position at ball strike is what John Cincola calls a “bowling ball” stroke mechanic, ie paddle and arm all aligned downward) and he highly recommends against it. Get that paddle slightly above level on the backswing. If you can get the springy-ness of your wrist just right, during the forward swing the elastic series element of those muscles will cause the paddle to bounce up from its bottommost position, increasing the “up” vector of paddle head speed, increasing topspin. Do it right and there’s no amount of forward “push” (speed) that won’t also generate enough topspin “brush” to get it down before the baseline. I’ve mastered this with my backhand (a “snap backhand” a la Dan Roditi and Jay DeVilliers) but am still trying to find the right k constant in my forehand (tension, springy-ness… f = -kx).
4. A lot of pros are going to fully open stances (McGuffin, Parenteau, Bright) because they think it increases power. I think semi closed is best, but that the real benefit of fully open is that it brings the right hip and arm as far forward as possible, maximum speed-at-baseline.
You’re a stud for going in to this much detail. Thank you for real 🙏
Agreed, excellent analysis! Thanks!
Thanks for all the details and tips! Question on your #3... How up should the paddle be above the backswing. If the bowling ball stroke has the paddle at 5 or 6 o-clock. Are you suggesting that the paddle be at 2 o-clock? Also, on your springiness of the wrist comment, are you suggesting caulking the wrist back at the start of the forward stroke to achieve the springiness or are you suggesting something else to achieve the springiness? Thanks
@@brianr8861 This'll be a long explanation, but it's really not as complex as all this will sound. To take advantage of the elastic series element of the muscles of the arm (the rubberband-like quality of muscles--think bouncing a bench press off your chest, or bounding up stairs) in addition to the contractile elements (the conscious force developing--think a slow, controlled bench press with a short pause at the bottom, or going slowly upstairs with no bounciness), the paddle/hand should be juuuust above level (for topspin) and maybe even juuuust in front (for speed) with respect to the forearm.
Here's why: after the takeback/backswing, there is the pause-point (every stroke has a spot where you can hold it before starting again in order to get the timing just right), and then you start your arm/hand/paddle moving forward. This part of the swing path is not just forward: , it is also before it , with the , then the follow through that continues over the opposite shoulder.
During that split second transition between the swingpath going from DOWN to UP, the paddle will be forced down, which the elastic series element will resist (if you get the tension just right), said resistance becoming stored energy. As the swingpath continues forward and up, the paddle will be forced well below the plane of the wrist and bounce of its downmost point, springing into upward paddle head motion and releasing that stored energy to do so.
Strike the ball after that downmost point and before the top edge of the paddle goes above the top edge of the wrist.
In the video, Shay starts with the paddle head at full-down (as does Jordan Briones, who recommends it specifically). This is good for control, but it removes the elastic series element and reduces your upper limit on spin generation and even forward speed.
@@bryandbakercan you do a full video breaking down technique for a great serve? I’m trying to get my serve insane. I’m assuming basically just copy this serve right now, but start with more of the back swing motion rather than start down already, serve as forward as possible, and what else?
found this one really helpful!
Love the concept of weaponizing the serve. Didn't Morgan Evans have what he called the "whip serve" several years ago which involved move of total arm movement through the strike or whip like? I have been trying this sort of serve and then mixing in some power cut and other times some little top spin.
I think the serve is a lot like a golf swing. You wind up your core, then unwind for power. The arm is the last thing on the kinetic chain to unwind so it whips through the swing. I think the right arm could start down at your side, then move it back to parallel to the ground. While doing this, start the weight shift forward. Now you're ready to unwind.
Will you also use this technique for your forehand drives where you don't pronate your wrist up?
Good one!
Road to pro baby!
Just like tennis. To get power it's all in the legs when hitting a forehand.
Big facts
Great vid.
Nice. I’m fairly new to pickleball but working on learning a serve that has a bit more power. I will try to practice this on my wife this week. One question: is that Hiawassee? We were just playing up there with my entire family a couple week ago. Great place.
Yeah! That’s my hometown. Love it up here
Nice video! Being a Strength Coach at the university level, we can never resist a punishment! 😃 We will keep it easy, 20 lateral slide line touches, (touching with hand of course). You must stay in a good athletic position the entire time, and do it within 1 minuet. Lets see it as the opener to your next video! 💪
I love it! I played D1 Football and really connected with my strength coaches there. You guys are seriously awesome. I’m gonna put all of these in a wheel and choose one at random. Next videos are already edited but I’ll post it as a short 👍
I think this video would be more beneficial if it showed your follow though or even in slo mo.
Your punishment is to give me your ball machine 😂😊
Are you using continental grip and does wrist break at ball contact? Great serve
Not continental for me. More Eastern 👍 wrist is breaking a little but I think it’s not as consistent when it does.
It's the Christmas season - the next practice you need to do in an elf outfit (including the green tights)
Lol love this
@@sheaunderwood Merry Christmas from Atlanta
Enjoyed the video Shea! 20 burpee push ups for you!
Straighten game closet 😊
That’s actually very similar to a serve I’ve been developing
I know the best punishment you have to give me the Sellkirk luxx
Pickleball paddle
Please
Punishment?....sign your paddle and send it to me!
You have to give away 3 $250 Selkirk coupons
were still gonna get it back...
Or course! The goal isn’t to ace, the goal is to get a bad return that I can follow up on with an advantage.
As punishment: offer a lottery and the winner gets 4 hours of play, training and tips from you.
Play with players you’ve never met and only lob it 😂
HAHAHA this is great 😂
Try slowing the video down
Ya, please show us in slow motion.
Punishment: Re-edit the video showing you striking the ball with the follow-thru from the side point of view.
Lol valid. That’s a good point. Will add it to the list
Aloha Shea. I sent you a message on Instagram.
I really liked your video on serving. Do you have a video clip that just shows your serve from the side and includes your follow through and doesn't cut away to the ball? I wanted see how you come through the ball and where your right foot ends.