Since our last newsletter, we received a question for some practical advice on how to remember to keep your paddle up on the pickleball court. As a reminder, keeping your paddle up and ready helps by cutting down your reaction time to hit the pickleball. You only have a fraction of a second to react, so doing as much as possible to be ready before your opponents hit the pickleball is important.
Keeping your paddle up and ready is important. Although it is an easy concept, many pickleball players forget. To help you remember:
- Before every point, as you get in your ready position, raise your paddle in front of your body (or give yourself another mental cue , like gripping your paddle with two hands before the serve) as a reminder.
- When you are at the Kitchen Line, you should be able to see your paddle in your periphery. If not, then your paddle may be down.
- If you get beat by your opponents, before you go to the next rally, ask yourself if you were slow to react to the pickleball because your paddle was down. If so, remind yourself to keep your paddle up and go back to the first bullet.
Bottom line: Keep your paddle up and ready!
