Improve Your Pickleball Game: Serving, Returning, and Driving Techniques from Pro Player James Ignatowich
Learn essential skills to take your pickleball game to the next level
Introduction
In this comprehensive 2000+ word guide, professional pickleball player James Ignatowich provides detailed instruction on how to improve three critical shots: the serve, return, and drive.
Drawing on footage from recent tournaments and clinics with amateur players, James breaks down proper form, swing mechanics, footwork, and strategy for each shot.
Follow his step-by-step guidance to add power, consistency, and control to your game. With the right techniques, you'll boost confidence in your shots, apply pressure on opponents, and win more points.
Whether you're new to pickleball or an experienced player looking to level up, this guide will give you the tools to reach the next tier in your development. Now let's dive in!
1. 6:23 How to Hit a Harder Serve 🏓
Hitting a harder pickleball serve requires full-body momentum shifting your weight forward, using your legs to generate power, and finishing with your swing carrying you inside the court. Follow these steps:
- Start stance with all weight on your back foot (right foot for righty player)
- Transfer weight forward as you swing, ending with all weight on front foot
- Push off back foot, driving momentum forward towards target
- Finish swing by stepping inside baseline, using momentum to carry body forward
- Make contact out in front of body, with paddle finishing inside court after follow-through
- Use core rotation to get full torque; power comes from legs/hips, not just arm
- Aim to hit 1 out of 10 serves slightly long as tradeoff for extra power
With forward momentum, leg drive, and rotation you can massively increase pace and force opponents to scramble on returns.
2. 8:53 How to Hit a Better Return 👀
To optimize your return stance, get as low as possible with a wide base to handle low-bouncing serves. Move through the ball to take time away from opponent.
- Widen base by separating feet roughly shoulder-width or wider
- Drop down into an athletic stance, bending knees to get as low as possible
- Adjust width/depth of stance depending on your height
- Tall players over 6 ft need an extra wide base
- Lower center of gravity improves balance, weight transfer
- Hitting zone shifts lower due to serve's flat, fast trajectory
- Strike the ball out in front, with momentum carrying you inside court
- Drive through returns aggressivley, moving forward to take time away
- Running through returns facilitates quicker transitions to net
With knees bent and feet set wide, you'll lower your strike zone, handle tough serves, and take control of the point.
3. 13:09 How to Hit a Better Drive 🏎️
To hit more consistent, strategic drives, refrain from swinging at full power. Instead, use 70% pace, aim low over the net with substantial topspin, and let the dipping trajectory win the point.
- Hit drives at about 70% of full power
- Moderate pace allows better control of placement/trajectory
- Less risk of hitting drive long if high topspin causes miss
- Should almost never miss drive wide or long
- Acceptable to miss 1 in 10 drives into net
- Shows appropriate net clearance, margin built in
- Aim to land drive 4-5 feet past kitchen line
- Midway between kitchen line and baseline ideal
- Maximum spin: accelerate swing low-to-high
- Aggressive 90% swing, 70% pace at contact
- Rip through the ball with paddle finishing high
- Generates heavy topspin for a dipping drive
- Dipping trajectory most challenging for opponents
- Forces opponents to pop the ball up or miss charged volleys
With less raw power but optimized spin and placement, your drives will limit opponents' options and enable you to win more points.
Guide Summary
Whether working on your serve, return, or drive, think about footwork first. Proper stance, weight transfer, and momentum into the shot establish consistency and control. Then dial in strategic placements and spins to tailor each stroke for maximum effectiveness versus your opponents. Mastering these advanced strokes requires patience through thousands of repetitions to ingrain muscle memory. But the payoff is well worth it - more wins, longer rallies, and more enjoyment competing at a higher level.
Improve Your Pickleball Game: Serving, Returning, and Driving Techniques Quiz
1. What percentage of full power should you use when hitting drives?
a) 50%
b) 65%
c) 70%
d) 90%
2. Where should your weight be at the start of the serve motion as a righty player?
a) Evenly distributed
b) On the back right foot
c) On the front left foot
d) On the back left foot
3. What shot has the lowest trajectory over the net?
a) Serve
b) Return
c) Drive
d) Dink
4. How much wider than shoulder width should your base be for returns?
a) Slightly wider
b) Moderately wider
c) Much wider
d) No guideline given
5. What percentage of serves is it acceptable to miss slightly long?
a) 5%
b) 10%
c) 15%
d) 20%
6. Where is the optimal location to land your drive shot?
a) Near the baseline
b) Halfway between the kitchen line and baseline
c) Near the kitchen line
d) No guideline given
7. To hit a harder serve, when during the swing should you transfer your weight forward?
a) At the beginning
b) In the middle
c) At contact
d) During the follow through
8. What shot is it acceptable to miss into the net approximately 10% of the time?
a) Serve
b) Return
c) Drive
d) None of the above
9. Why is it important to have forward momentum during the serve?
a) It looks more aggressive
b) It enables weight transfer
c) It creates paddle lag
d) All of the above
10. What is the main benefit of taking a wide base on returns?
a) More power
b) Lower center of gravity
c) Greater reach
d) Quicker side-to-side movement
11. According to James, what is the biggest mistake recreational players make on returns?
a) Hitting too low
b) Not taking enough risk with placement
c) Not having a wide enough base
d) Being too aggressive
12. What percentage should you swing at on drives while only hitting the ball at 70% power?
a) 50%
b) 70%
c) 90%
d) 100%
13. Why is hitting drives with topspin more effective than hitting them flat?
a) Creates sharper angle
b) Harder for opponents to return
c) Easier on the arm
d) Enables more power
14. What position should the paddle finish in onserves?
a) Above and behind the back shoulder
b) Across the stomach
c) Inside the court
d) Below the front hip
15. What tennis skill does James predict will translate well for Jack Sock in pickleball?
a) Serve and volley ability
b) Defensive retrieving
c) Slice backhand
d) Athleticism
Answer Key:
- c
- b
- a
- c
- b
- b
- c
- c
- d
- b
- c
- c
- b
- c
- d
Yo, let's talk some pickleball strategy, My rhymes will break it down naturally. Wanna amp up your serve and make it frightening? Transfer that weight and get momentum heightening.
Bend those knees real low on your returns, So you can smoke those nasty spins and burns. Set that stance wide like a power hitter, Smack those serves back even harder, ya dig?
When driving, think placement, not just pace. Keep it low, aim for that optimal space. Between baseline and kitchen is money, Use lots of topspin to make it funky.
I laid out all the key fundamentals, In my guide full of essential technicals. Then I flipped around and made a quiz, Test your knowledge on techniques that whiz.
If you put in the reps and master these tricks, You'll have your opponents feeling sick. Following these steps will make your game pop, Now get out there and show what you got!
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