REQUIRED 4.0 PERFORMANCE OF TRANSITION ZONE & BASELINE DROP SHOTS INTO THE OPPOSING NVZ,

REQUIRED 4.0 PERFORMANCE OF TRANSITION ZONE & BASELINE DROP SHOTS INTO THE OPPOSING NVZ, IS ONE OF THE MOST DREADED SKILL SETS OF INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS, THAT KEEPS THEM FROM REACHING THE ADVANCED LEVEL OF PLAY. WHY?

First & foremost, a player should consider the science and math involved in performing the drop shot from the baseline or transition zone. .

Phil Dunmeyer's Book, "PICKLEBALL 5.0," states that "a free falling pickleball dropped from 78 inches bounces 32 inches to 34 inches." If you hit the ball so its apex is 5 feet (60 inches) above court and 7 feet on your side of the net, which is directly above your NVZ Line, the ball drops into the opposing NVZ and bounces less than 34 inches in height, which is also the height of the net at the center.

This in turn forces your opponent to return the ball with an underhand stroke, stepping forward into the NVZ,  in an awkward underhand motion, to reach and return the ball up and over the net. This also prevents an opponents from hit a hard smashing forehand return, and creates a scenario for them to commit an unforced error.

More importantly, the balls slower speed and higher trajectory consumes more time for your opponents' to return the ball. Now the clock is ticking in your favor. You and your  partner have created a few extra milliseconds to advance forward.

A Millisecond is a thousandth of a second, equivalent in real time to the “blink of the eye.” Try this little experiment with a partner, ”see hour far forward you can move in 3-4 blinks of an eye. You may be pleasantly surprised how far you can advance forward.

The mechanics involve in a drop shot hit from the baseline or transition zone involve a soft underhand low to high LINEAR STROKE similar to a serve.

The distance between the baseline and the opposing NVZ is approximately 25 feet. The apex of the ball trajectory should be approximately 5 feet high above the court surface, and 7 feet in front of the net on your side of the court. This places the ball 5 feet directly above your NVZ line.

Hitting the imaginary air-ball target seems like an impossible task. This is wear a visual teaching aid works best. How many coaches on YouTube and in live Clinics use visual teaching aids?

Tape two 3 feet long wood dowels together and mount one end in a flat wood base to hold the dowels in an upright position. Now thread an orange colored outdoor (small holes) pickleball onto the other end of the dowel. You want to be able to slide the ball up and down along the top section of the dowel.

You will need a partner and a marked court (outdoor tennis courts work with a little temporary alteration . . . lowering the net to 34 inches with a bungee and chalking in the Pickleball court lines. A home-made   ball shagging tube, saves you a lot of back bending.

Position  the visual aid at your NVZ (7 feet inside the net) with ball 5 feet above the court. One partner repeatedly hand feeds the ball from close up (same side of court) so the other partner can return the drop shots.

You keeping repeatedly hitting the drop shots and adjusting the height of the ball on the dowel until you fine the right height that consistently puts your shots into the opposing NVZ from the baseline.    Trial and error and a lot of practice will determine  the imaginary air-ball target you need to drop the ball into the NVZ. Each player’s swing motion and shot mechanics vary. There its not one size fits all.

The end game is to find your ideal air-ball apex target to consistently hit drop shots into the opposing NVZ.

Remember the objective of minimizing the balls apex to 5 feet high at 7 feet inside your net is so the ball will drop into your opponents NVZ and bounce no more than 34 inches high.

The last statistic to bear in mind is that for every 1 inch of ball height, the ball bounces 0.44 inches.

One final note. In order  to consistently execute a Drop Shot or most any other shot that requires precise ball placement, you will need to learn how to perform the LINEAR STROKE.

The Linear Stroke is the key to precise ball placement. Precise ball placement opens the door to the 4.0 level of play. This is a must for any Intermediate to learn, who wants to advance to the 4.0 level.

I myself had to perform 8 out of 10 targeted drop shots, “forehand and 8/10 backhand” from the baseline, as part of the performance testing,  to qualify as a Certified Rating Specialist 4.0. Having the ability to perform the Linear Stroke on this and every other pickleball shot provided me with precise ball placing skills.

If you are serious about perfecting your drop shot from the backcourt, you can try this drilling process with a partner on your home court or a nearby public court.

OR you can do like a lot of other smart players have done, and attend the next COACH JOE’S LINEAR STROKE AND DROP SHOT CLINIC ~ TBA. I use several different visual aids to teach you how to perform the LINEAR STROKE AND THE BACKCOURT DROP SHOT.

My second book entitled INTERMEDIATE DOUBLES PICKLEBALL  GUIDE TO ADVANCED PLAY, has a lot more  and fresh illustrated drills on performing the BACKCOURT DROP SHOT AND THE LINEAR STROKE MECHANICS FOR PRECISE BALL PLACEMENT.

I may not have the reputation of a  highly successful competitive pickleball player, but my coaching skills are as good or not better than my writing shills. If you can explain how to do something clearly in script you can certainly teach it in live time. Maybe that's why many modern day coaches do scripted videos as opposed to putting their instructions in writing.