Pickleball Coach Dave

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Four-Player Cooperative Dink Ladder

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Build patient, low dinks and coordinated kitchen movement through increasingly varied cooperative patterns.

SkillDinking
LevelBeginner to Intermediate
Players4
Time12 minutes

Equipment

  • Pickleball paddles
  • Pickleballs
  • Pickleball court

Setup

Four players take normal doubles positions at the non-volley-zone lines. Use one ball. Begin with each player dinking straight ahead.

How to run it

1. Rally straight ahead and count every successful team contact.
2. At 12, change to crosscourt dinks while keeping one group count.
3. At another 12, allow any safe direction but keep the ball unattackable.
4. If the ball becomes high, catch it and discuss whether it would be attackable rather than speeding up.
5. After an error, name one adjustment, restart at zero, and try to beat the best total.

Coach Dave’s cues

Relax the hand. Keep the paddle in front. Contact in front and lift with the shoulder and legs. Use safe net clearance and recover to the line after each shot.

Watch for

Standing upright, flipping the wrist, taking a large backswing, backing away from the line, or blaming a partner for the reset. Respect the non-volley-zone rule and avoid stepping on loose balls.

Sources and further reading