I Took a Lesson With a Pro to Fix My Crappy Overhead | ft Amrik Donkena

[@t81629]

You listened to the people and brought back Amrik!! Best teacher I've seen, thank you. Can you please have one where he teaches rolls and hand battles?

[@wolf-xf6hf]

Honestly this might be the most useful video you’ve ever posted. I have horrible overheads and only have about 10-15% depth perception and this video was a god send

[@RegalOrb]

Yeah, I fully support Chris making videos showing his lessons and growth, because it helps us all.

[@HM-gm1kn]

I know it’s not but why does this comment feel like a slap in the face lol

[@groot3371]

I really enjoyed the video. Thank you for bringing back Amrik. He is an excellent teacher in how he breaks down every component of the shot. Also, he simplifies every step, so you can concentrate on different components separately then bring it all together. Hopefully, you can bring Amrik back for more lessons. Thank you, Chris and Amrik.

[@KO1967]

Thanks Crhis. Everyone please, please, please be careful with respect to pronating your arm. When swinging (or throwing) and having your hand end up facing outside your body can be extremely hard/damaging to your arm (shoulder/elbow). Some people have really flexible shoulders and have no problem doing it but it is putting stress on your rotator cuff that could be damaging. It's the same reason you do not see many pitchers throwing screwballs. Similarly, volleyball players will pronate to cut the ball away from their body. When hitting an overhead definite snap that wrist at the end and finish flat but be careful pronating outward past flat. If you're not someone with freaky shoulder flexibility you could end up needing rotator cuff surgery at some point. I've had it and it's no fun

[@65atBestPB]

Yeah … probably good advice for any swing changes … add reps gradually. I will throw in this warning … probably should be first in any pickleball overhead lesson: Do not backpedal … Do not backpedal … Do not backpedal. 😮 When I see newbies show up and backpedal I’m one of the first to warn them how dangerous that can be. 1) turn sideways immediately 2) shuffle step if you can 3) crossover steps if you must and can 4) when in doubt turn and run to baseline or just let it go

[@65atBestPB]

In tennis, we all warmed up our serve before a match so overhead motion ended up also being good to go. After decades of tennis serving I was lucky with no shoulder injury or soreness. Then dropped tennis and played pickleball for last 18 months … usually three times a week. Pickleball has been first time shoulder got sore … made no sense because no more overhead serving. Then it hit me … shoulder is going to atrophy some without weekly tennis serve. We hit underhand wiffle serves so that should be little stress. But look at brother Chris at start of video swinging overhead like a wild man. ❤ We all do this (but not like that 😂) … and I’ve never seen anyone in pickleball warm up overheads. Now I’m that guy … paddles up and swinging second paddle with cover on it beside the court.

[@lucasg4170]

Yeah the extreme pronation is not necessary. I played volleyball as an outside in college and that was only used for very specific shots

[@boombangpow889]

As someone who dislocated their shoulder doing exactly this, I cannot press this warning enough. BE. CAREFUL.

[@65atBestPB]

@@KO1967 Something occurred to me to add to the discussion. The other extreme is also true … Chris hitting very hard overheads without shoulder internal rotation and pronation is also a risk to the shoulder. The isr/pronation is what makes it more effortless. I was watching a head tennis pro give an overhead lesson. This was indoors with a tall curtain behind the court near the wall. He was visually making the point how much these arm roll movements reduced the effort in the swing. He challenged the drill participants to bounce an overhead over the curtain from the net. Wild violent swings followed … not much success. He then grabs a ball … faces square to the net with no body rotation … and effortlessly snaps his arm with isr/pronation easily clearing top of curtain. So my point is if you are going to learn an aggressive overheads in pickleball (I’ve seen good players without them), both are true 1) be careful and take your time adding isr/pronation 2) but aggressive overheads without it (Chris) also is a risk to the shoulder. Also … I think overheads are just like other strokes … after contact a relaxed follow through … let the arm, racquet, paddle take their natural relaxed path. Another good way to hurt yourself is trying to do some artificial breaking/stopping of the swing. If you isr/pronate to square contact on overheads, and the relaxed follow through rotates a little more this is what is supposed to happen.

[@ericasuncion]

Amrik is a good communicator - communicating complex concept in a simple way. In badminton, we envision the hitting side elbow over our ear prior to forearm pronation release. Good stuff 3.5 @ best

[@DominationRD]

Amrik is a dope teacher

[@joshc.6706]

This is a really cool video. I’m a former competitive tennis player. Shoulder injury prevented me from playing in college. This is extremely well explained and breaking down every single aspect of the overhead. You prefaced that tennis players might not need this video. I’d say yes and no. While 95% of the time ex tennis players can do this shot over and over with the same positive result, the other 5 percent can’t be discounted. If something is inconsistent it’s such a well explained video, it’d be easy to figure. This shot with ex tennis players is so instinctual that if something goes wrong we might go so fast we might not even pick up the issue.

[@m.malouf6830]

Left PB this morning with one thought - I need to improve my overhead, and you dropped this video. Thank you!

[@pickleball_tomorrow]

One of the best coaches I have ever seen.

[@johnnyguy9442]

So awesome. Love this instructor- excellent teacher. Completely changed my perspective on overhands

[@carsonharris2285]

Love these videos, Amrik is such a great teacher. would love to see more!

[@MsHenri50]

Thanks to both of you. It’s amazing all the pieces to the puzzle. I will try one piece at a time. For me, throwing the ball really did put most of the pieces together in my head.

[@khpickleball]

Timing of this video is perfect for me. Finishing a week of overhead errors and couldn’t figure it out. Great tips here. Thank you!

[@chrisBDS]

My only tip to add is to prevent the waiter's tray position. Notice how after Amrik as his paddle drop from the rotation, what leads upwards is the side of his paddle and not the face of the paddle up. It'll help with the acceleration and power. And when you get good with it, it'll make your body hit more loose and whip-like instead of muscling it. Open the face like that will make you less in control of the hit. Think the palm of your hands face the back of your head instead of towards the sky.

[@jgonzo-san]

Saw another video on this exact shot earlier and this one definitely gets into the nitty gritty steps. Huge improvement in just a few simple adjustments. Great video!

[@StrongMindandBody]

Wow Chris such a great tutorial--being a PT I appreciate all the mechanics that Amrik detailed. When he coached the shoulder movement--the one thing I thought of was that the shoulder was externally rotating in the loading phase and then strongly moving into internal rotation. Personally it (that initial External shoulder Rotation) helped me find that starting position--which loads and pre-stretches the internal rotators so they can really explode--or his pronation cueing.

[@65atBestPB]

Another great lesson with Amrik … he is excellent at communicating technique changes. I’m going to throw in some observations and of course opinions ;) about tennis serves and overheads. Who knows how much of it we should bring to pickleball … I am still working it out 18 months into pickleball. I suggest that anyone that likes to verify technique or instructions with their own eyes go watch Federer serve and overhead slow motion youtube videos. You can pause and advance one frame at a time. I have watched Fed’s forehand way too many times. ;) - Amrik using throwing motion was perfect, serve and overhead are throwing motions like throwing a football - throw racket and paddle edge toward ball prior to pronation … provides full pronation range of motion - don’t preload in paddle behind back in ready position (trophy position), keep it up which allows it to drop right as you are going into throwing … waiting to last moment part of kinetic chain - used to use term “back scratch position”, now thinking drop hand over throwing shoulder for max power - the tilt of the shoulder line is important … for right hander right shoulder starts down in trophy position and rotates (around torso) with right shoulder coming up and left going down - I think the main power source is shoulders and arm, hips are a much weaker sibling - I think thinking about hips too much, particularly thinking a hip move first is a good way to screw up strokes including serves and overheads … this is what I mean: Think of a tennis forehand … let’s say semi open stance. Full body rotation before swinging will be hips turned past feet, and from there shoulders turned past hips. When Federer is in full rotation, the moment his hips start unwinding his shoulders start to unwind. Has to … by definition if at max coiled everything has to unwind together. So instead of thinking hips first power move, think smooth unwinding of torso and shoulders then followed by arm passing shoulders in final throwing motion. Everyone learns different, but if the “hip powering thing” throws you off consider the full hips+shoulder turn, and then hit with shoulders and arm … the supporting kinetic chain will do it’s thing. My two handed backhand ended up good to go with very little thought about hips. Edit: Forgot to mention, we tend to talk about “hips” as one thing, but they are two. On many strokes including overheads we have often shifted all weight to one leg before uncoiling, which then becomes the only leg/hip we can power from. If we hit a closed stance two handed backhand, right handers rotate over right leg/hip only after shifting body weight to it. A good way to screw up two handed backhands is starting your swing before fully weight shifted. This happens with overheads where you weight shift to one leg before uncoiling. Watch a Federer overhead video and note when hips start to uncoil only after planting on his left leg.

[@65atBestPB]

Federer hits overhead with hips airborne … and he hits serves and forehands airborne. What a troublemaker. Replace “xxxx” in link below with “http” and paste into a browser. xxxx://kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZS2laCYbp2jgKssi=V6OmvfFUOO0rNT8A

[@65atBestPB]

Federer hits overhead with hips airborne kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZS2laCYbp2jgKssi=23EoLwAWcCK_fxn7

[@65atBestPB]

Federer hits overhead with hips airborne “kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZS2laCYbp2jgKssi=23EoLwAWcCK_fxn7”

[@65atBestPB]

Federer hits overhead with hips airborne https: //kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZS2laCYbp2jgKssi=23EoLwAWcCK_fxn7

[@JonBLodi]

I really appreciate you sharing your journey to improving your game, Chris! The overhead is one of the few strokes that I didn't have to completely re-learn when moving from tennis to pickleball. One thing that helped me get it right years ago was simply remembering to touch my spine between my shoulder blades with the top of the paddle. That was a physical reminder that I have my paddle fully back and ready to whip up to meet the ball. Hope that helps!

[@GIO_RUBBLE]

what a great instructional video thanks so much Amrik is top notch .........wish I had him in my hometown!!!!!!!

[@holg3070]

It was nice to see your progression.

[@danielst.germain554]

This was 100% amazing. Perfectly explained.

[@apoormansmachete401]

When you break out the black ace, you know it's gonna fly hard.

[@kurt16950]

this... i needed. Now, to drill this and develop this as muscle memory!

[@MotlyUele]

Awesome video, great instruction! Plus, That B&B Shogun is lookin' gooood!

[@Liquidice611]

Another S tier lesson video. Watched 3 times. Thx for the instruction. Gonna summon my old pitching days :)

[@estefanresendez]

Harold and Kumar: Pickleball edition. 😭🤣 awesome video

[@thangzawna]

😂

[@SnapShot83]

This was such a helpful video and my overheads are night and day after a few sessions. Can’t wait to keep working on this and that quick hip rotation. More videos with Amrik please!

[@hunter_greene]

I can attest to the pronation and off hand involvement being absolutely crucial to having powerful and controllable overheads. I have between 5-8° loss of extension in my right arm from an elbow issue I didn’t get addressed quickly enough and people still comment about how hard some of my overheads are. I attribute that to a tennis player teaching me how to use those techniques when serving. Wish I still had full extension for the extra snap but with the rest of the formula and a properly weighted 14mm Black Diamond I don’t have too much trouble putting the ball away.

[@murphpawz]

I boxed and played baseball and that transfered to a very strong overhead. I watched a video very early on where the instructor just touched on overheads and compared it to a baseball throw. This clicked well for me and my overheads can be deadly, but sometimes inconsistent depending on fatigue. This breaks it down so well and it is nice to understand the fundamentals.

[@DianSusiana98]

This video is very useful. I'll practice more.

[@wallyhustad3686]

This was excellent- Thanks Chris

[@mccgunter]

When I hit the lotto I’m hiring Amrik!!

[@oldschoolmusiclover1]

Best video ever on this!!

[@TennisObsessed]

Great video, and Chris you did an awesome job at the lesson! Much improved! I'm ready to work on my overhead now, too.

[@steven469]

Praise PBS.. I’ve been trying to figure out my overhead and my coach just had to move to play mlp.. we worked on drives/drops/sinks and some hands but had not reached overheads.

[@DannyBPlays]

This seems like something that could majorly injure a newer player. I think anyone below 5.0 doesn't need a phenomenal overhead. Just focus on side angles and those can easily end a point. When I get to 5.0 and beyond, I'll look to this video

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

Great lesson - but one thing worth mentioning: Yes, tennis converts are naturals at crushing overheads, but so often they can't get out of their tennis mindset of trying to end points by pummeling the ball into the middle of the court hard enough to bounce clear into the bleachers, only it's a pickleball - not a tennis ball - so it doesn't bounce into the bleachers, it just makes it easier for the other team to smack a hard drive back. If a ball is high enough above your head that it would bounce above the net height, it's usually far more aggressive to just let that bounce happen, and then hit the ball at a flatter angle to the ground so it maintains its horizontal velocity and skids on the ground instead of bouncing straight up. Sure, it gives your opponents more time to set up, but you know what also does? A ball that's smacked directly into the ground after it bounces - it just sits up and floats at 0 g's right in front of your opponents torso. I see pros make this mistake all the damn time. But Thomas Wilson does a great job at this bounce strategy.

[@vladjax_pb]

Got a video link where Thomas Wilson does it? Just want to see an example. Or anybody else that does it.

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

@@vladjax_pb kzbin.infoUgkxXQv8AXOqN72gd0XqPszMIx3Q_extcydu?si=VF1y1wxDsCQDt-Xn

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

@@vladjax_pb Your wish is my command: kzbin.infoUgkxXQv8AXOqN72gd0XqPszMIx3Q_extcydu?si=VF1y1wxDsCQDt-Xn

[@JacobJoelMayeda]

Amrik is dope

[@Hutaro.o_]

I love Amrik!

[@airwalkmike]

AMRIK!

[@RickLeon7]

Absolutely helpful… Thanks Chris !! 🫡

[@thehiddenfamily]

As an ex tennis player this something I still do at home practicing the hip rotation along with the pronation. I would ask add Chris not only in your overheads but your high forehands could use some more hip rotation as well. Ben Johns does this very well when he has a high forehand. Might be good to look at his and compare them to yours now that you know what to look for. Maybe this will get you out of 3.5 finally 😂

[@wolf-xf6hf]

A good way to think about the weight transfer and hip rotation is if you are trying to skip a stone as far as possible. You will really load up on the back leg and the hips will automatically try to turn as fast as possible

[@ViewsandLikes-xb4mk]

Great video. Just in time for my hip training

[@t81629]

How much harder does Amrik want you to hit? No one is returning your overheads at the end 🤣 Those slow mos of Amrik at the end were great addition.

[@JoshWilliams-tv9gz]

Great video and much needed for my game.

[@stymeron]

Great video!

[@MikerMorin]

Dude great video! Way to go!!!

[@terogan]

Chris beefing up. Working out is working. And hoping this cures my princess slam. 😅

[@josephtube24]

This video was very helpful, one of areas that I need improvement with. Thank you Chris! RESTROOMS -->

[@kabnis2022]

Great video! My main question is should the paddle drop behind the head as you are tracking the ball or as you are rotating your hips forward?

[@gww23]

Amrik does a good job but I have to disagree on one point. The first move is your weight shift. Planting your foot allows you to get your hips into, just as in a golf swing or a football quarterback. You can see this well in the portion of the video you show his slow motion overheads. Especially where he takes a step back to hit. Just as a quarterback get the snap and takes a step back putting his weight on his back leg then plants his front long to shift his weight forward to bring the hips, body and arm through.

[@redequal7457]

This is a great video. Thank you. However, there is one thing that is missing in the video. It is not explained how the hip turns from an open position. This is done by pushing off the right foot.

[@danmakesvideos3951]

whats the best paddle on the market right now ?

[@LindaShananhan]

In short. To get your right arm in the correct position, think of smelling your armpit.

[@65atBestPB]

Question … can we include links in youtube comments? I’m used to posting relevant player video in tennis technique discussions. When I hit save in yahoo app with a link included in comment it doesn’t save.

[@joanc551]

bookmarked

[@LouisBrown19]

Thank you Chris and Amrik. Is Aizec the photographer for the video?

[@edq.7193]

Hips don't lie ;)

[@benjaminleavitt3666]

Where exactly is the ideal contact point? Was it 45 degrees up and in front of you?

[@joshc.6706]

So I was a former competitive tennis player. You absolutely want the ball in front of you. It’s hard to answer entirely. It’s a feeling and timing thing when you know you know. Not too far in front where you’re reaching having lean to hit directly down on the ball. If you get it too directly over top of your head the shot will most likely sail long. For me my effortless power comes a very loose wrist and a lot of wrist snap on contact to bring the ball down into the court. This along with everything else talked about with pronation turns your arm into a whip, and the wrist snap essentially is the crack or the release of all that potential energy. A drill we use to do in tennis that translates to pickleball. Go to the kitchen line. Hold the paddle in the position you’d hit an overhead. With your non-dominant toss a ball up and only use your wrist snap to hit the ball in the court.

[@zeruth467]

2:35 THAT CAKE CHRIS. You may not put a ball away but 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@fsnicolas]

That's the basic badminton swing. I think it's similar or nearly identical to the tennis serve as well.

[@richardwilliams3916]

Brilliant video. Chris I am visiting the Phoenix area in August. Could you send me a way to contact Amrick (sp) to take a lesson while I am visiting.

[@PickleballStudio]

We are in Minnesota, not AZ

[@geraldburke600]

What paddle did use it look like shogun

[@khpickleball]

Yup 👍🏼

[@EthanNguyen-m5d]

Cake real or what?

[@Pickleandrepeat]

this guy is literally ray from everybody loves raymon or that old tv show

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

Or WHAT old TV show? Ugh finish your thought or just end the sentence earlier for the love of all that is holy.

[@Pickleandrepeat]

@@AllHijinksNoHighDinks lol u cant read

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

@@Pickleandrepeat No, you don't have the insight to even understand what you wrote. You wrote "Everybody Loves Raymond (*FTFY) or that old tv show". So there are two options: Everybody Loves Raymond...or some other old tv show. How is anybody supposed to know what "that old tv show" show is? Unless were you referring to Everybody Loves Raymond as "that old tv show"? Because if that's the case, it would have been far more clear if you had phrased it as "or whatever it was called".

[@Pickleandrepeat]

@@AllHijinksNoHighDinks typing warrior i see. not gonna read any of that. you must have no plans on the 4th to type something that long.. whats wrong, ur local pickle courts closed? LOL

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

@@Pickleandrepeat I didn't nitpick a typo. I just expect people to form thoughts fully instead of just brainfarting out whatever pops into their head. But since you asked, I played for 3 hours today and I fucking dominated. O'Doyle rules.

[@lmliterallyBatman]

Ermm, actually thats not how a golf swing works. The arms actually start the downswing, that's how shallowing happens.🤓☝

[@luckyuliveHI]

Throw a football... It will teach you everything you need to learn

[@CaveWyatt]

You played tennis, right? It’s the same stroke.

[@AllHijinksNoHighDinks]

No, obviously he didn't. That's the whole premise of the introduction.

[@joshc.6706]

You can tell he didn’t or if he did it wasn’t at a high level. The overhead is really one of the only shots a competitive tennis player doesn’t need to adjust to their pickleball game. It’s almost entirely the same stroke just with different equipment. It’s a pretty good indicator if someone has a tennis background. If someone naturally is not swinging hard but the ball is coming off the paddle like a rocket, they probably have a tennis background

[@El_Guap]

Baby doll we’ve been telling you forever you have no no power. What’s funny is that Amric is giving you instructions with the worst paddle in the world

[@ajfloresii]

First 10 seconds were so cringe 😅

[@brandonblume1456]

Great video and great advice but way too much over explaining. Say something one time and practice. Dude loves to hear himself explain how smart he is.

[@samuraistabber]

Chris, on your take back, make sure you can tap the back of your head with your paddle. That will ensure it’s in the proper position for the overhead.