MASTER the 3rd Shot Drop in 2024

[@jkeiffer]

Maybe a comment for another video, but a lot of people don't know what to do about spin coming at them. I'd love to have you do a breakdown of how to return different spins coming at you. I can do this fine (but don't know how to explain), but so many other people struggle with it I think it would be a very helpful video. Also, do you always read the shot and know whether it is coming as top/back/flat spin? Would love to hear about that as well. Thanks!

[@atx.videos]

Love the screenshot summary’s.

[@johncincolapickleball]

bring them with you to the courts! glad its helpful

[@garymiddleton607]

Wow ! Articulating ideas and mechanics is a massive skill! Kudos! great communication clearly breaking down the things I’m trying to learn. Thanks!

[@Ireland2717]

Thank you for slowing down the shots after explaining. Really helps!!

[@johncincolapickleball]

No problem!

[@RickLeBeau]

John, this is your best work yet. You're really making great use of that "follow shot" technology (we see it a lot in golf and disc golf when the editor can track the moving object to show the trajectory in two dimensions across the frame of the shot). Anyway, for me, I think this is your best video yet, and I appreciate all of them.

[@johncincolapickleball]

thank you very much! your support is very much appreciated

[@jasonparolini7424]

Your Pickleball instructional videos are among my favorite of the many that I watch. Your instruction is clear and methodical and very helpful for someone trying to improve their game. The production quality is well above average. Thank you for continuing to produce these really high-quality videos that help The amateur nobody like me improve their game. Thanks again

[@johncincolapickleball]

You are so welcome!

[@bighank99]

John, I love watching you play, and your teaching skills are second to none. The side views of the shot showed the trajectory very nicely. I have one general axe to grind, and I apologize for airing here. I wish that the community would use the term "Third Shot Reset". We all know what a drop shot is from tennis, squash, badminton, table tennis etc. A drop shot is hit when the opponent is at the back of the court. The third shot reset of course is hit when the opponents are at front of the court, at the kitchen line. Using "reset" makes so much more sense and I believe would eliminate a lot of confusion.

[@rickcaruso9504]

Thank you John

[@johncincolapickleball]

you are welcome rick

[@Orbitald]

5:42 is my favorite part where you talk about shot choices and strategy. Do you have more videos focusing on common (and not so common) strategies for shot choice? How to the play a shot that sets up a shot? I would love to see that!

[@acarter2072]

Great lesson!

[@johncincolapickleball]

Thanks! 😃

[@Robb0h]

Awesome post! Thank you for uploading.

[@johncincolapickleball]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@bobbyennis]

Is this your court? Looks incredible

[@johncincolapickleball]

secret location...

[@scotttesar7156]

@@johncincolapickleball AMAZING location - you've inspired me with this!!!

[@rjsophia3712]

No. His court says “The Lab” on the wall.

[@scottrupp5433]

Great tips. Been watching a lot of your vids. Is that your house with court?

[@brianlane9534]

Well presented as are all of your videos.

[@johncincolapickleball]

thank you v much

[@weswes5876]

Lots of great info. Thanks!

[@johncincolapickleball]

Glad it was helpful!

[@calvinpage_pickleball]

Really good stuff here John, thank you 🙏

[@johncincolapickleball]

thank you! glad you enjoyed it

[@henry0712]

Another great video lesson.

[@johncincolapickleball]

thank you very much

[@joshc.6706]

Great video. Coming from tennis the third shot drop is very foreign to me. I’m not even a typical tennis player transitioning and just plays as a banger. However in tennis there’s no reason to specifically train this shot. This video really helped in understanding how and why to hit it with a purpose

[@johncincolapickleball]

im very glad it is helpful! i also come from a tennis background

[@joshc.6706]

@@johncincolapickleball ah gotcha. For sure. I’m still at the point where I’m using tennis instinct. I’ve been playing for 6 weeks and have gotten to 3.5. Ive gotten away with it but anything above 3.5 I get smacked around mainly because they understand the game better, which is to be expected. Hopefully in another 6 weeks I’ll be even better

[@johnzhang9669]

The best pickle ball lesson!

[@oregonu2b]

That’s good. Thank you JC.

[@johncincolapickleball]

No problem 👍

[@AnnMitt]

Is that your house with an indoor pb court, John?

[@martinkeigher5887]

Hi John. Many thanks for all of your video contributions, they are getting better with each new addition. Some coaches seem to advocate for using a slight eastern grip on third shots to aid with the spin, but do you think continental grip is just as good,( assuming you can generate the top spin and underspin motion on the ball using this grip.) ? Any advice most welcomed, but thanks again for all that you do to help us.

[@afterthesmash]

I've got guys in my rec league who fall short of being complete 3.5 players who nevertheless effortlessly pick off either back corner on their second shots with smoking topspin. If you aren't driving this to set up a fifth shot drop, this actually is one of the hardest shots in pickleball to fully control in recreational play.

[@jonathannyquist582]

Any thoughts on trying to keep the peak of the flight path on your side of the net? Some videos stress this.

[@allenronaldson4381]

Where is that facility?

[@mib6002]

What would be the pros or cons to a topspin / flat shot / backspin shot? Does it not matter as much?

[@RickLeBeau]

I was wondering that, too, and hope John will respond. In the meantime, I think that just having a variety of shots (topspin vs backspin specifically for your question) keeps your opponent from being able to settle in and gain the advantage of anticipating your shot if you're constantly returning with the same spin direction. Make your opponent react to each shot as if it were novel, rather than knowing he/she needs to just be six inches behind the landing spot (for topspin) or charging it more (for backspin). Keep em on their toes.

[@johncincolapickleball]

Yes thats a great point, being a predictable player (even if you are hitting great shots), can allow your opponent to adapt then anticipate your next move. can always throw in a 3rd drive to mix it up as well

[@johncincolapickleball]

pros: topspin: aggressive shot, dips near the kitchen line and make opponent think twice about volley or bouncing it flat: easy, can be very consistent backspin: (depending on amount of spin) different flight path and bounce compared to topspin and flat so can make opponent second guess choices at kitchen line. cons: topspin: risky shot, can hit top of net flat: can be predictable, usually easiest for forehand side backspin: can have a higher flight path, making the bounce attackable, practice make perfect

[@frank88ster]

Is choice of third shot drop depends on forehand or backhand? Absolutely spot on about where ball is going, and to who your opposition (skill level) hitting to.

[@kathleenmontavon8630]

To piggyback on your comment, it looked like topspin is always on the forehand, and backspin was always a backhand. Shouldn’t the goal be to have flat/ topspin/ backspin for both forehand and backhand?

[@jkeiffer]

@@kathleenmontavon8630 Yeah then you'd be deadly. But in general backhand slice and forehand topspin are great.

[@sirdaveo]

If you watch the video at about 4:00, for the underspin you say the swing is fairly level -- but the swing on the video starts at your knees and ends almost at your shoulder. So I'm a bit confused.

[@RickLeBeau]

I think the path of the swing is mostly flat with a slight upward trajectory. My view is that it starts closer to waist-level, and where it appears he is finishing at shoulder level is an artifact of the camera angle. It would be a natural motion to complete the follow-through higher than the contact point, I think. Just make that motion without a paddle in your hand, and you'll probably see that when you straighten your elbow, the tricep extension in that motion will result in your hand finishing in a higher position than where it was at ball-contact.

[@johncincolapickleball]

yes another great point @RickLeBeau, the follow through is a big part of the shot to make sure you are hitting the ball at the right time and place

[@johncincolapickleball]

good question, thank you for asking

[@Edarv517]

Nice video

[@AlphaTennisinPittsburgh]

Pickleball is America's fastest-growing sport and we like it #Pickleball

[@dasreich21]

Brilliant!

[@Catsailor143]

Intuitively it would seem a backspin 3rd shot drop would be very effective in that if hit too long or high it would remain low. Thoughts? And love your videos

[@johncincolapickleball]

yes i think youre onto something and thank you very much! sub to stay in the loop!

[@Catsailor143]

@@johncincolapickleball I’m already a subscriber. Hope you follow up on my thought

[@mib6002]

I seem to always struggle with third shots when there’s wind. Do you think this is a technique issue or maybe just not enough touches or practice yet

[@RickLeBeau]

You need to make sure you get both kinds of reps: Repetition, and Replication. John sold me on the value of the SpinShot Pickleball machine, which allows a player to see the same shot coming at him/her up to 80 or 90 times consecutively. Once you have seen a certain incoming shot enough times, you evolve your approach, your footwork, your strategy/tactics, and skill to be able replicate shots, and adjust to your errors.

[@johncincolapickleball]

great point @RickLeBeau, experience is the best teacher

[@johncincolapickleball]

the more you practice, the better you get, and the more you will be able to adapt to various situations. the good thing about pickleball is most of times your opponents are playing in the same conditions as you so can be an even playing field

[@shipwreck8847]

I like how after Pickleball Playbook did theirs. Briones and Cincola copied it and uploaded videos with the exact same techniques right after.

[@samuraistabber]

Haven’t seen Briones’ video but John’s presentation is way better that Pickleball Playbook’s. Theirs was bland and boring.

[@shipwreck8847]

@@samuraistabber I actually like playbook's channel. I think he goes into greater detail. But I do like that nice graphics that they had on this presentation.

[@johncincolapickleball]

thank you

[@johncincolapickleball]

try to make it simple as possible to understand and take with you to your local courts

[@greenlighttransport8320]

A good topspin drop shot is superior but the most difficult to get perfect.

[@liz-sy2lj]

when you say "across my body or cross court" do you really mean that you use the slice when it comes to backhand?

[@Cacheola]

You mean less margin for error on crosscourt drops... There's less chance for error; net is lower in the center, more space to work with, and less chance you'll pop it up vs. straight on

[@ictkeith3730]

Is this your house 😬