Have you seriously not followed our podcast yet? Now is the ideal time to do so, and improve your game! This episode the Pickleheads give you 3 Pro Tips to improve your mental focus on the court, from non other than Novak Djokovic! Wherever you are on your pickleball journey, these 3 steps will help your pickleball game thrive! Don’t miss these vital pro tips as well as other pickleball news involving Jack Sock’s pro pickleball debut and some shocking sponsorship news! 

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00:00 Intro

01:08 Shocking sponsorship news

15:22 Three Steps for Focus on the court

16:17 Pro Tip 1

20:29 Pro Tip 2

26:14 Pro Tip 3

35:10 Jack Sock’s pickleball partner

37:00 New Merch!

We had an absolute blast with pro player, Patrick Smith and we hope you enjoy watching/listening! Pat teaches about the importance of fitness and overall health in pickleball. He also shares his secrets on how to juggle so many pickleball tournaments with a full-time job! The Picklehead hosts ask how Pat decides between 1&2-handed backhand counters and how YOU can improve yours! Stick around as we play a little game with Pat, 1-word answers only… and try not to laugh at his answers! Thank you for supporting our podcast. We wouldn’t be able to do it without you! Please take a second to FOLLOW! It really helps us out.

You can also follow us on Instagram and all social media: @pickleheadpod

Time Stamp:

00:00 Intro

01:00 Pat Smith joins the pod!

03:00 Pat’s recent success & medals

03:50 How Pat found pickleball

08:00 Juggling pickleball & a full-time job

10:00 Pat’s fitness routine

11:35 Injury & pickleball

15:20 The importance of stretching

17:20 How taxing are pickleball tournaments?

20:00 Individual talent vs team chemistry

25:05 How Pat decides between 1&2 handed backhands

28:40 Game w/ Pat - One-Word answers only!

30:28 Pat’s near-future pickleball plans

32:04 Recap

Today’s episode is a little different, in a good way… This time we answer YOUR pickleball questions! In an effort to help all of our viewers/listeners, we selected your specific questions that were posed to us on the podcast and social media. Questions ranged from windshield wiper speed ups to a slice drop step by step. Stick around and learn new ways to improve your pickleball game. Thank you for watching/listening! This podcast wouldn’t be possible without you! Please take a few seconds to FOLLOW the podcast on Apple and/or Spotify!

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00:00 Intro

00:55 Slice Serve details

07:37 Windshield Wiper speed-up

16:22 Service rule clarifications 

18:20 Lifting your elbow while dinking

33:35 Speed-Up tips

35:10 Slice Forehand Drop details 

39:08 How To cover for your partner

We’re back together this week to drop some pickleball knowledge and have a good time! We first talk about all of the absolute Chaos surrounding the professional pickleball scene. Next, Austin teaches us how to predict where our opponents are going to hit the ball! If you haven’t followed our podcast yet, your game might not improve as fast as you’d like it to… Do yourself a favor and FOLLOW now! Also, let us know what you’d like to learn about so we can teach it in a future episode!

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00:00 Intro

01:00 Profesional Pickleball Chaos

06:30 Fitness and Pickleball (Bring Sally Up)

12:20 How to Read Your Opponents Attacks

18:39 Drill or Die

23:05 Picklehead Merch is On The Way!

24:45 Pickleball Coaching App

This episode we talk about one of the most underrated shots in pickleball, the return of serve! As always, we try to give you the best instruction we can, in order to improve your return game. We talk in detail about the main types of returns, and when to use each. We cover depth, pace, backhand vs forehand, and Austin even pulls out the wooden spoon! Stick around for the full episode to see which return spin is trending and why. Thank you for your support! Please FOLLOW for weekly podcasts! 

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00:00 Intro

00:43 The 3 basic types of returns

01:19 Flat/basic returns 

01:56 Slice return

02:24 Topspin return

06:15 Forehand vs Backhand returns

12:30 Tip for 2-handed backhands

13:20 Wooden spoon for drilling?

18:49 Depth and Pace

22:16 Drill ideas for the return 

27:36 Who should you return to?

31:30 Just relax

This episode we talk about everything Serve related. Should the serve be a more dominant part of the game like tennis? Should it just be a means to an end? Should your serve be different when playing singles versus doubles? What constitutes an illegal serve and what is the consequence? We cover all of these topics and many more. Plus, Austin talks about funny pickleball drama with his mother-in-law. Don’t miss out!

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Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

03:00 Service rules

04:20 Penalty for an illegal serve

09:58 Should pickleball serves be like tennis?

13:40 Service tule clarification

17:30 Serve pace vs depth

21:05 Is consistency more important?

25:20 Is it my serve or yours?

31:26 Do pros play with a different ball?

37:26 Different playing surfaces like tennis?

39:30 Serve difference, singles vs doubles

This week on the podcast we talk about the importance of letting out balls go out. This is crucial in the game of pickleball so if you’re hitting out balls, we’re here to help you stop! How do you recognize an out ball? Believe it or not, there is way more than one way. Throughout the podcast we discuss each of these ways in detail. All of which can help you boost your skill level right away! Improve your game now, and don’t miss this episode! As always, thank you for listening. We can’t do this without you. Please FOLLOW!

Follow us on Instagram & all socials for DAILY posts to improve your game: @pickleheadpod

00:00 Intro

00:50 If it’s high, let it fly

01:50 How to recognize an out ball

10:50 Recognizing a big backswing

18:40 Unsure if a ball is going out?

This week on the podcast the Picklehead hosts explore why you should never underestimate or overestimate your opponents. This can be a huge competitive disadvantage so Austin and Spencer are here to give you a few tips on how to avoid doing it. Later, the hosts explore trick shots and dirty plays. Should they even be part of your pickleball game? Stick around until the end of the episode as Austin provides valuable insights that will help you improve you backhand dink! Thank you for your support in making this podcast possible. Leave us a review and please take a second to FOLLOW!

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Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:58 Underestimating/ Overestimating your opponents

08:18 Trick Shots: Are they necessary?

30:40 Dirty Shots: Do they have a place in the game?

39:34 Pro Backhand Dink Tips

This episode we dive deep into the Ready Position. What is it? Why is it necessary? How does it differ from other sports? Then, we get into the weeds a bit and go full Picklehead on the subject! We review different pro’s ready positions (or lack of ready positions), and try to understand what works for them. Knowing this can help you understand what ready position is best for your game! Please leave a comment and don’t forget to FOLLOW! Thank you for making this podcast possible!

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Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro 

01:18 The What and The Why

04:04 1 vs 2 handed backhand ready position

11:20 A trick to improve the two-hander 

18:29 Ready Position basics

19:00 An uncommon ready position 

22:23 The 10 o’clock position 

25:57 Wrist strength

27:28 Paddle tip pointed at opponent?

32:48 Which grip for ready position?

36:40 Ready Position and consistency

It really doesn't need to be this complicated... This episode the Picklehead hosts walk you through how to sign up and prepare for a pickleball tournament. We talk about the monopoly that is pickleballtournaments.com and how very user unfriendly it is. What skill level should you play? We will help you determine what your skill level is and which skill level to sign up for. These step by step instructions should help you own the court in your pickleball tournament and have a blast playing! Please FOLLOW if you find this information helpful. You make this podcast possible!

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Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

00:45 Determining skill level

04:20 Where to sign up for a tournament

07:55 How to search for specific tournaments

08:55 Age and skill level

10:57 How to sign up details

14:15 DUPR (rating system overview)

18:00 Preparing to play a tournament

21:26 Calling you own lines