Hey Everyone! 👋

This Saturday is the DAY. I’m at the Chicago APP playing men’s doubles with Kyle “ThatPickleballGuy” Koszuta. At our last APP tournament, we took home 4th place. I know we will improve upon that this time!

I’m really looking forward to it. 😉🥳

Hopefully, you’ll get to watch us on Sunday on APPTV! 🤞

In today’s email:

• 🤫 EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Exactly Where to Aim Your 3rd Shot Drop 🎯

• ⏱️ Get your 60-second fix

• 💪 What I’m working on right now

Exactly Where to Aim Your 3rd Shot Drop 🎯

The Week 12 exclusive video covers the BEST spot to hit your 3rd shot drop.

For me, it’s all about hitting the 3rd ball to the middle of the court, targeting your opponent’s backhand. 👌 Here’s why:

📐 We eliminate their attacking angles

If you drop a ball in the corner, your opponent has the option to attack down the line, through the middle, or crosscourt. This gives them three places to attack, with only two opponents to cover those spots. 👎

✌️ The middle gives fewer options

When we drop down the middle, we give our opponent fewer options. For instance, if they decide to speed the ball up left or right, it goes out (assuming you let it go!).

This only gives two options – speed up down the middle or at their opponent.

👉 Of course, there are exceptions to this strategy, but it’s a good foundation for building your 3rd shot drop strategy.

For example, if you notice your opponents aren’t covering the sidelines well or they have trouble dealing with crosscourt drops, then drop there all day. 🫡

However, hitting a drop down the middle (and toward your opponent’s backhand) limits how aggressive your opponents can be, and it gives you a direct path to the kitchen – which is where you need to be to win more points! 👨‍🍳

🔔 Practice

Whether you’re practicing with a partner, a ball machine, or you are by yourself, set up a target where the right-side player’s left foot would be and practice dropping the ball to that spot. During a game, you can literally look at your opponent’s foot as that target. 👍

The Golden Rules of Pickleball 🏆🥇

There are THREE GOLDEN RULES of Pickleball. If you follow these, you’ll be a stronger player than almost anyone else around you. Here they are…

IN UNDER 60 SECONDS 👈

What I’m Working On Right Now

The main focus of my training this past week has been one thing:

Transition.

Getting to the kitchen is such an important skill – especially at the Pro Level.

When facing tough opponents, I tend to rush the transition zone, making too many unforced errors. When I play opponents that I know I’m stronger than, I’m perfect in transition.

That means the answer is only one thing… confidence.

You’ve probably experienced something similar. I’ve hit hundreds of resets from the middle of the court making sure I can prevent a mental mishap when the pressure is on.

Lately, my focus has been to ignore who is on the other side of the court and just focus on my game every time.

Until next week! ✌️

Tanner