90 Minute Pickleball Drill Routine

90-Minute Pickleball Drill Routine

This collection of drills is an attempt to cover the most important skills necessary for great pickleball play. Most drills were either derived or pulled directly from videos of top professional player/instructors such as Simone Jardim, Tyson McGuffin, Riley Newman, Catherine Parenteau, Sarah Ansboury, Corinne Carr, Dekel Bar, Michelle Esquivel and Steve Deakin. Below each drill, a video showing the execution of that drill or a similar drill is shared. The videos also teach proper technique. This drill session is composed of 10 total drills organized into 4 sets with 5-minute rest periods between sets.

Set 1
Cross-Court Diagonals Full-Court Dinking (5+5 minutes)
Figure-8 Half-Court Dinking A then B (5+5 minutes)

Rest/Rotate Partners (5 minutes)

Set 2
All Position Drop Shot Alternating A/B (15 minutes)
||: Dink, Dink, Dink, Lob, Drop :|| (5 minutes)

Rest/Rotate Partners (5 minutes)

Set 3
Kitchen Line Half-Court Volleys (5 minutes)
Dink, Attack, Reset (5 minutes)
Drive Shot A then B (5+5 minutes)
Forward Advancing Point Alternating A/B (5 minutes)

Rest/Rotate Partners (5 minutes)

Set 4
Serves and Returns Alternating A/B (5 minutes)
Overheads Alternating A/B (5 minutes)

Notes for all drills:
To ingrain good habits during drills, never play balls expected to go out, and make line calls on all balls not played. Don’t get lazy with footwork and technique. Between shots, return to a neutral court position, a ready paddle position and a balanced athletic stance. These drills are best with 2 players with access to a full court, but they are also effective with 2 players straight ahead on half of a court if sharing a court with another pair. Less desirable but always an option is to creatively modify the drills for 3 players in situations where there is an odd number of players. Drill leader is encouraged to use a timer to keep drills on schedule. If there’s any time left after drilling, play real games to finish off the session, or go back and spend more time on specific drills.

Quick Start Video Briefly Showing All Drills

Set 1

Cross-Court Diagonal Full-Court Dinking (5 Minutes + 5 Minutes)

Diagonal dinking with each player on even side of court for 5 minutes followed by diagonal dinking with each player on odd side of court for 5 minutes. Take balls out of the air whenever possible without overreaching. Try moving other player around by hitting to different areas of the court. Hit both forehand and backhand dinks as appropriate. Work on good footwork, lateral movement and returning to neutral position on court and neutral body/paddle position after each dink. If sharing court with another pair of players, one pair should start on the even side and the other on the odd side, allowing for the two balls to cross paths, then switch sides.

3-player option: Player A begins alone on one side of the net hitting 10 dinks to Player B on other side of the net who also hits 10 dinks. Player C waits midcourt behind Player B. After Player B hits 10 dinks, Player C steps into Player B’s position for the next 10 dinks as Player B walks around to midcourt behind Player A on the other side of the net. After 10 more dinks, Player B takes Player A’s place, and Player A walks around to behind Player C. Continue rotating in this fashion.

Play Video

Figure-8 Half-Court Dinking A then B (5 minutes + 5 Minutes)

Player A always dinking diagonally across the net and player B always dinking straight across the net. Switch roles after 5 minutes. Take balls out of the air whenever possible without overreaching. Work on good footwork, lateral movement and returning to neutral position on court and neutral body/paddle position after each dink.

3-player option: Same as Cross-Court Diagonal Dinking rotation above but straight ahead half-court rather than full-court diagonal.

Play Video

5 minute break and rotate partners

Set 2

All Position Drop Shot Alternating A/B (15 minutes)

Player A starts at kitchen line, and taking one step per successful shot moves backward to service line and then forward again one step at a time to kitchen line practicing arcing drop shots into Player B’s kitchen. Player A takes the step before Player B hits the return ball. Player B tries to place shots about 3-5 ft. in front of Player A’s feet each time. Players alternate after dropping player returns to kitchen line. Practice both forehand and backhand drop shots. If full-court is available, practice not only half-court straight ahead drops but also deuce court to deuce court as well as ad court to ad court diagonals.

Optional: For the last 5 minutes, the feeding player at the kitchen is allowed to attack any drop shot that is attackable—one that is hit too far or bounces too high—thus forcing the drop shot player to practice softly resetting difficult incoming balls. Although successful drop shots and resets should be returned as above (3-5 ft. in front of drop shot player), attack shots can be aimed anywhere in bounds.

3-player option: Player C waits off court near kitchen line and takes Player A’s position after Player A has finished drop shots and has also volleyed for Player B’s drop shots. Player A then waits off court to take Player B’s position on other side of net after Player B volleys for Player C’s drop shots. So pattern is A drop shots, B drop shots, C drop shots, A drop shots, B drop shots, C drop shots. And so on.

Play Video

||: Dink, Dink, Dink, Lob, Drop :|| (5 minutes)

Repeat this sequence: Player A dinks, Player B dinks back, Player A dinks again, Player B lobs over the head of Player A, Player A turns and runs to retrieve the lob by hitting a soft arcing drop shot over the net into Player B’s kitchen. Switch roles after each lob retrieval. This can be done on half-court straight ahead or either full-court diagonal. For safety and efficiency, turn to run rather than running backwards. See videos below for both lob and retrieval technique.

3-player option: Player C waits off court to take Player B’s position after Player B hits about 1 lob and 1 drop. Player B walks around to other side of net to take Player A’s position after about 1 more lob and 1 more drop. And so on.

Play Video

5 minute break and rotate partners

Set 3

Kitchen Line Half-Court Volleys (5 minutes)

Players stand at their respective kitchen lines. Practice volleying back and forth, beginning at a slow speed and speeding up gradually to as fast as possible while still maintaining the rally. Work together to keep the rally going. Practice returning to a neutral ready position after each volley. To practice limiting excess movement, place and maintain an object such as a wristband on your head.

3-player option: Player C waits midcourt behind Player B to take Player B’s position after Player B hits about 30 volleys. Player B walks around to midcourt behind Player A to take Player A’s position after about 30 more volleys. And so on.

Play Video

Dink, Attack, Reset (5 minutes)

Players dink back and forth on alert for an attackable ball. When one of the players recognizes an incoming dink that is high enough to be attackable, that player can choose to hit a speed-up attack. The player receiving the attack has only two choices: dodge the ball if it appears that it will go out, or neutralize the pace of the ball with a resetting block so that it drops softly back over the net to continue the dinking battle. This can be done on half-court straight ahead or on both full-court diagonals.

3-player option: Player C waits midcourt behind Player B to take Player B’s position after 1 minute. Player B walks around to midcourt behind Player A to take Player A’s position after another minute. And so on.

Play Video

Drive Shot A then B (5 minutes +5 minutes)

Player A is at or near service line, and Player B is at kitchen line. Player A practices both forehand and backhand drives. Player B practices returning those drives with volleys hit as firmly and as deeply as possible without hitting the ball out. Switch roles after 5 minutes. Alternatively, players can switch roles every minute.

3-player option: Player C waits off court near Player A’s service line to take Player A’s position after Player A hits about 10 drives and 10 volleys to Player B. Player A then walks to off court near Player B’s service line to take Player B’s position after the next 10 drives and 10 volleys. And so on.

Play Video

Forward Advancing Point Alternating A/B (5 minutes)

Player B at kitchen line feeds ball to Player A at service line, and Player A tries to move forward to kitchen line using drives and/or drop shots as appropriate. Player B tries to keep Player A back as long as possible by volleying returns as deeply and firmly as possible without hitting the ball out or in the net. Play the half-court point out any way players choose (but without lobs) including dinks, speed-up attacks, counterattacks, resets, etc. Players alternate roles after point is over as long as at least 3 shots were played by the advancing player. If full-court is available, practice not only half-court straight ahead but on the diagonals.

3-player option: Player C waits off court near service line and takes Player A’s position after 2 points. Player A then waits off court to take Player B’s position on other side of the net after the next 2 points. So pattern would be A advances, B advances, C advances, A advances, B advances, C advances, and so on.

Play Video

5 minute break and rotate partners

Set 4

Serves and Returns A/B (5 minutes)

Player A practices various serves (spins, speeds, heights, targets). Player B practices various returns (spins, speeds, heights, targets). Players switch roles after every 4 serves and 3 returns. If only half-court available, alternate diagonals with other pair on court, or practice straight ahead.

3-player option: Player B returns 3 and serves 4, then walks to other side of net to replace Player A while Player C returns 3 and serves 4. Player A then walks to other side. Then C walks to other side. Rotate in this fashion.

Play Video

Overheads Alternating A/B (5 minutes)

Player B hits lobs to Player A so that Player A can practice overhead smashes. This can be done on half-court straight ahead or both full-court diagonals. Players switch roles after every 4 overheads. Practice good technique and court safety—turning, trophy position, fast footwork, forward impact with wrist pronation, etc. If you have shoulder problems, go easy on this drill or skip it altogether. For safety and efficiency, turn to run rather than running backwards.

3-player option: Player C waits off court to take Player B’s position after Player B hits 4 lobs and 4 overheads. Player B walks around to take Player A’s position after about 4 more overheads and 4 more lobs. And so on.

Play Video

PLAY!

Play Doubles, Singles or Skinny Singles Games

After drills are finished, it’s a great time to incorporate what was learned into real play. Choose to play doubles, singles or skinny singles.

Skinny Singles is played and scored in the same way as full-court singles, but it is played on half of the court on the diagonal as well as half-court straight ahead. To avoid colliding with other players, only play skinny singles if a full court is available.

The side used for serving as well as receiving depends upon the scores of both server and receiver. If even, the player begins the point on the even side of the court. If odd, the player begins the point on the odd side of the court.

Sidelines for line calls are the court’s center line and the sideline where each player begins each point.

Example: Because both scores are even at 0-0, Player A begins by serving from the even court to Player B on the even court. The first point is played on the diagonal. Player B wins the side out. Player B then serves 0-0 from the even court to Player A also on the even court, and the point is played on the diagonal again. Player B wins the point and moves to the odd court to serve 1-0, because Player B’s score is now odd, but Player A remains on the even court to receive, because Player A’s score remains even at 0. The point is then played straight ahead on half-court. Player A wins the side out and serves 0-1 straight ahead from the even court to Player B on the odd court. Player A wins the point and then serves 1-1 from the odd court to Player B on the odd court. And so on. The video below shows an actual skinny singles game.

Play Video