Match forward movement to ball quality instead of rushing blindly from the baseline to the kitchen.
Equipment
- Pickleball paddles
- Pickleballs
- Pickleball court
- Three colored cones or verbal color cues
Setup
One player begins at the baseline, one feeder at the opposite non-volley line, and one observer safely off court. Assign green, yellow, and red to ball-quality decisions.
How to run it
1. The feeder sends a playable ball to the baseline player.
2. The player hits a drop or reset and calls the response: green for a low successful ball, yellow for neutral, red for high and attackable.
3. Green: advance several controlled steps. Yellow: make a limited move, split, and read. Red: stop, split, and prepare to defend.
4. The feeder plays the next ball to test the choice.
5. Rotate after eight sequences.
Coach Dave’s cues
Move, split, read, respond. Advance because the ball earned space, not because the drill began. Stay balanced when the opponent contacts.
Watch for
Calling the color from the intended shot instead of its actual quality, sprinting through contact, retreating without balance, or allowing the observer to stand in a ball path.