Dinkville Teams Up With Top Pickleball Brand Selkirk
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Trying to elevate your game? Connect with a Dinkville Instructor for Private Lesson
Looking to take your game to the next level? Reach out to our Dinkville Preferred Instructors who would love to work with you! Use Key Word: DinkvilleDiscount to get a special rate! Click here to see our instructors.
October 6-8 First Responders and Rachel's Garden Charity Tournament
Peay Park is hosting "Heroes On The Court" a First Responder Tournament on Friday Night October 6th. This will be a fun night to honor our local heroes and support them as they battle for the top spot in Pickleball. We will also have a Dinkville Charity Tournament that October 7-8 benefitting Rachel's Garden Playground. There are 56 total teams signed up currently so sign up to play today here. More Information about Rachel's Garden Foundation click here.
Dinkville Partners With Selkirk
As Dinkville continues to grow to over 2500+ members in Middle Tennessee, Selkirk has become the main Pickleball Brand Partner to support future events and activities for Dinkville. We are very excited about this Partnership and look forward to swagging out our members with Selkirk merch and equipment!
Great American 9/11 Pickleball Marathon
Already planning on playing Pickleball Saturday? Go ahead and Sign up here to Play, Donate, and Share your virtual experience while thousands play while honoring our Country and First Responders.
Upcoming Middle Tennessee Events
Get To Know Dinkville Member Patrick Reynolds
Who are you? Patrick Reynolds. Retired New York City Fire Department
When did you start playing? Feb 2023
How did you get started with Dinkville? Followed up an email invitation
Why do you love Pickleball? Great exercise. Nice people
What is your favorite shot? Drop shot on serve
What are your goals this year? Improve my game up a level in rating
Advice for new players? Enjoy Yourself
Up Your Game Sponsored By Selkirk
How to improve your third shot drop in pickleball
When people are just beginning to play pickleball, they often don’t realize the difference between offense and defense. Typically, players feel like they are on offense when they’re serving, as you can only score a point when serving. However, the opposite is true.
When serving, you start the point on the defensive because as the serving team, you must follow the two-bounce real. The pickleball two-bounce rule states that the ball must bounce twice before players can volley. This means the serving team must let the receiving team’s return bounce, thus giving the receiving team “control” of the net and an advantage to start the point.
To see the two-bounce rule in action, watch pickleball official Maddie Toren’s brief tutorial.
What is a third shot drop?
One of the most important tools to regain control of the point as a server is the third shot drop. As the name suggests, the third shot drop is a shot used in the third shot scenario.
A third shot drop is a soft, low shot that lands just over the net in the non-volley zone, or kitchen. Because the shot is low, it is difficult for the opponent to volley, allowing the serving team to move to a more offensive court position closer to the net.
Why is the third shot drop so important?
If you want to be competitive with your pickleball game, you must be able to consistently perform a third shot drop, or reset, to move from a defensive court position to an offensive court position.
Here are three keys to mastering the third shot drop, which will help you successfully move from defensive to offense.
1.) Move from your shoulder — not your wrists — when executing a third shot drop
A successful dink in pickleball uses the shoulder as the guiding point when striking the ball, not the wrists. Dinking errors are commonly made when players attempt to finesse a shot with their wrist instead of their shoulder. The same holds true with drop shots.
Just like with dinks, if you do not keep your wrist locked, you will be striking the ball with two hinge points — your wrist and your shoulder — which can lead to an error. A clue that you may be using your wrist rather than your should is if you find a lot of your drop shots land short or in the net.
To become a master at the third shot, ensure you hit the shot in front of your body, keeping your wrists tight and letting your shoulder be your guide.
2.) Using follow-through extension in your third shot drop execution
The biggest difference between a dink and a drop is found in the follow-through extension. When executing a third shot drop, you’ll need the ball to travel a further distance. So, you’ll need to hit the ball harder than you would a dink.
However, you still need to hit it with enough finesse that it doesn’t sail past the non-volley zone. How do you do this? You use the natural motion of your arm to help propel the ball forward. When hitting the third shot drop, think, “It’s a dink shot with more follow-through.” The bigger the follow-through, the further the distance the ball will travel.
To truly hit the perfect third shot every time, it will take muscle memory. You should practice this shot from varying distances and court positions, similar to how a basketball player practices a free throw from different spots on the basketball court. The key is to drop the ball into the non-volley zone with just the right amount of follow-through extension.
3.) Footwork matters when hitting a third shot drop
The type of shot you hit is largely dependent on the type of shot you’re receiving. You must be in a proper position to hit each type of shot in your arsenal, which means moving your feet.
When it comes to the third shot drop, you should be positioned near the baseline so you have the best chance of striking your third shot in front of your body. If the return is short or off to the side, you must move your feet to be in the best position to execute the shot.
Lunging, falling, flailing, and rushing to get underneath the ball are all indications you were out of position and your subsequent shot will likely suffer. Make sure to use proper pickleball footwork to get yourself in the best position to hit the ball.
How do I stop popping up my third shot drop?
There’s nothing more frustrating than popping the ball up on your third shot, leaving the door open for your opponents to smash the ball back at you.
Do not get discouraged if you lose some points at first with some less-than-ideal third shot drop attempts. It is a necessary tool in advance to a higher level in pickleball and is well worth the time to make it a staple of your game.
Take some time to learn what’s causing your pop-ups and how to fix the issue in this video from pro pickleball coach Mark Renneson:
Bonus tip - Using the third shot drive
Having a predictable shot selection always gives an advantage to your opponent. If all of your third shots are always drops, your opponent will be waiting for your shot — and likely have a plan to attack.
To keep your opponent guessing, it’s important to mix in a timely third-shot drive. Although the third shot drop will be the preferred shot for many players, a well-timed drive can complement the drop to help keep your opponents on their toes.
Today In Pickleball
A Chaotic Labor Day Weekend
The weekend was full of first-time champions and tiebreaker matches to 15.
Let's start with Tina Pisnik and Martin Emmrich, who have signed with the PPA Tour but were behind enemy lines in Chicago.
The duo took out the reigning champs Andrei Daescu and Susannah Barr in the quarterfinals. On Sunday, they went the distance in a heated final against Genie Erokhina and Spencer Lanier, winning 9-11, 9-11, 15-11.
- The women's doubles final was also pushed to a final game to 15. Alix Truong and Vivian Glozman turned last week's bronze into gold on Sunday. They squeaked by Megan Fudge and Susannah Barr.
- If you want to see pickleball resemble tennis, watch Dominique Schaefer and Salome Devidze slug it out from the baseline. Schaefer outlasted Devidze and won 11-5, 5-11, 11-4.
- Men's singles went to Jaume Martinez Vich in a nailbiter game to 15. Martinez Vich battled through the loser's bracket for gold and landed a SC Top 10 highlight to cap off the win.
- Men's doubles also saw a first-round loser take the scenic route through the loser's bracket. It took 7 back-draw wins for Stefan Auvergne and John Cincola to reach the final, and they made the most of it. They took the best of three and a game to 15 to double-dip Daescu and Rob Nunnery.
The APP Tour makes it three weekends in a row and heads to Avalon, NJ for the New Jersey Open this week.
Ben Throws Gas at Wrigley
Chicago was the place to be for the end-of-summer festivities. We had our first taste of MLP’s upcoming season last night courtesy of an exhibition match at Wrigley Field between the Bay Area Breakers and Chicago Slice.
- The teams squared off on a court laid down at Gallagher Way just outside of the stadium.
- The hometown team was also recognized on-field before the Cub’s game.
- First overall pick and member of the Slice, Ben Johns, delivered a heater for the first pitch. Not bad.
Tour Wars Mini Update:
Season 2 of MLP is only two weeks away, and we’re still receiving mixed signals on whether things will proceed as planned, or if there will be a re-draft.
Apparently an important meeting today will consist of an owners vote and final decision on how to move forward with the remainder of the 2023 MLP season.
And on the note, our final update on the Tour Wars player signings:
- MLP: 100 Total & 33 premier drafted players
- PPA: 55 Total & 15 premier drafted players
Now we wait and see if there are any flips…
Join the Dink for a Mixed Doubles Showdown at Nolensville High School on September 17
- Mixed Doubles combined DUPR/Rating 8.0
- Round Robin followed by single elimination
- $750 Cash Prize, Custom Paddle Trophy
One very cool aspect is that we will be streaming the finals on The Dink YouTube channel with over 25,000 subscribers. Sign up here
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Thanks,
Landon Hallam
Dinkville President