Episode 4 - The Speed Up

This is episode 4 of our podcast for those who love pickleball but life be crazy!!

• Battled a little illness this week– Elli and Abby alone on a Saturday while rest of the family was at the volleyball State Championship game, which BCS won.

• Matt- Bad experience with a double cheeseburger

• Play this week- played much better together

Today our pickleball focus is going to be on the speed-up– our fourth and final stage of the pickleball point… but first we are going to get into our own speed-up and how we went from a couple with two dogs to a family with 5 kids! Now we’ll get into each of our kids individual adoption/birth stories in later episodes but here is a quick overview of how our family grew so big so quickly…

• Hannah was born 2 days after our home study was finalized…

• We had to wait a year to adopt again… and Olivia came 15 months later

• 2011/2012 we had several adoptions fall through

• 2012- big surprise- got pregnant… Emiline was born

• 15 months later go a call out of the blue that we had another match

• 6 months after Parker, we got pregnant again with Elinor (another 15 month gap)

• 5 kids 7 years!

So, the SPEED-UP… Where do you want to start with this topic

WHY AND WHEN?

• Ball is left high- into the green or yellow zone

• Good chance to win a point- numbers game

• Recognize opponent doesn’t handle speed well

• Dinking hasn’t been successful- other team is more consistent

• When you’re set and in a good position

  • Opponent is not set- may not be able to react well

WHERE?

• Not always backhand– often better to catch them on their forehand if they “guard”

• Dominant hand Shoulder to handcuff them

• Middle- to cause confusion

• Open Court where they may have to lunge

• Down is always best

• Body shots can sometimes be effective but they are kamikaze shots

HOW?

• Generate Power with legs, core, shoulders, Stay Compact

• Matt: Quick wrist flick

• Disguise it as much as possible- not a big backswing- they shouldn’t see it coming

• Keep your paddle up and knees bent to be ready for fire-fight

  • Don’t get caught watching–that isn’t always (usually isn’t) your winner

DRILLS?:

• Fast Hands drill at the line- next level- heals on line

• Simone- bean bag on head to stay still

• Dink Dink Speed up– take turns going from dining to speeding up

  • Check out a couple of these in the show notes- post on TikTok

Ok, we always like to end with something we are loving…

Abby: For the first time I bought something slightly ahead of when it became popular, the Lulu everywhere bag. Only $38, I love it and I bought it a long time ago!

Matt: Health– take it for granted when you feel well

Next episode will be really fun for you as Ryan Keirns will be joining us. Ryan is an awesome pickleball player and an even better dude. He was really the one that sparked my love for pickleball. You’re really going to enjoy our conversation as we talk about a wide variety of topics and hear Ryan’s story. And have a ton of fun in the process. You won’t want to miss it- Next time on One More Game…