The Pickleball Breakdown with Jilly B and Scott C

Fact: We all want a partner who is better than us. But how do we find them, convince them to give us a try, and then hang onto them long enough to ride into the gold medal sunset together? It’s not easy, but Scott & Jill provide seven winning strategies to finding great partners in Episode 9 of the Pickleball Breakdown. They also answer your burning questions:

-Is it better to win at a lower level to attract a good partner... or to perform well but not win at a higher level? 

-Can offering to drill with a better partner be a first step to convincing them to play? 

-Is traveling to train really worth it? 

What strategies have YOU used to find your perfect partner? Email us or drop a comment in YouTube and definitely don’t miss our next episode on how to play the left side: proper patterns, combinations & mindsets to become the best left side player you can. 

00:00 Intro

00:40 #1 WIN baby WIN (at the right level)

3:00 Is singles skill a doubles harbinger? 

4:45 #2 ASK (nothing ventured, nothing gained)

9:20 #3 Quid pro Quo 

13:18 #4 How to be opportunistic 

16:10 #5 Just show up 

18:25 #6 Be a great right side player! 

21:04 #7 Create the partner you want to see in the world 

--

Jilly B is a top 25 ranked player, 10x medalist on the APP Tour, MLP MVP & Champion. Scott Crandall is a top senior pro, Coach of the Bay Area Breakers, and the 2023 MLP Coach of the Year. Jill & Scott discuss no fuss pickleball strategy to improve your game. Thirty(ish) minutes, every Wednesday at 2:00 PT (ish).

Jilly B & Scott C reveal the three keys to being a good partner by sharing real moments where they themselves have failed. Jill reveals her experience playing with a top 20 male pro who wouldn't stop coaching her and analyzing points DURING their match. Scott & Jill share their on-court partner communication pet peeves and Scott addresses the 3 things to NEVER do to your partner. Jill discusses a large partner-related flaw she has: "Illogical positivity". It turns out partners don't want to actually hear "it's all good" when it may, in fact, not be all good. Scott shares tips on how to meet you partner "at their energy level" and the duo discuss a top pro who likes to punch their paddle because "they play better angry." But do they?

2:00: Step 1 - Figure out your partner’s motivation 

5:15: Step 2 - Meet your partner’s energy 

9:15 How to avoid rec level mixed drama 

12:30 Is an ideal partnership two opposite play styles? 

15:30 Tennis attitudes vs pickleball attitudes 

19:55 “We” language vs “You” language 

22:45 Illogical positivity isn’t for everyone (I guess?) 

32:05 Don’t coach your partner. Ever. 

36:00 Jill & Scott’s on-court communication pet peeves

45:00 How to prevent the dreaded internal spiral 

52:25 Listener question: “How to deal w/ Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde type of partner” 

55:00 Can you play your best angry? 

56:55 3 things to NEVER do to your partner

59:50 Sneak preview on the next episode: How to get good partners

Did you know that there are four different types of power at the kitchen? We've got counters, speedups, handspeed (fire fights) & put-aways. And each of these shots requires very different skills. Learn how to get your hands faster, increase your put-away power and where to sit on your counters in this episode of the Pickleball Breakdown.

The game has changed--are you keeping up? Learn from Scott & Jill on how to dominate with power from the back court. We divulge the secrets to driving the ball like a pro, crushing your serves, and we tackle the important question: should you change your return style to hit it harder? 

Other burning questions we answer:

-How do you know if you're being aggressive enough? 

-How many shots should your average rally be? And is it different for men vs women's doubles and why? 

-Does the power game have to be a low margin strategy? 

--

00:00 The philosophy of the power game

3:15 Once you learn the rules you get to break them 

5:08 Does the power game have to be a low margin strategy? 

7:20 How do you know if you should be more aggressive or less?

10:30 Why are women’s shorts shorter than men’s? 

12:20 How to serve HUGE

17:44 How to drive the ball like a pro  

30:20 Offensive drives vs defensive drives

32:08 The power return 

35:20 How can you practice the power game? 

____________________________________________________

Jilly B is a top 25 ranked player, 10x medalist on the APP Tour, MLP MVP & Champion. Scott Crandall is a top senior pro, Coach of the Bay Area Breakers, and the 2023 MLP Coach of the Year. Jill & Scott discuss no fuss pickleball strategy to improve your game. Thirty(ish) minutes, every Wednesday at 2:00 PT (ish). 

For inquiries about lessons with Scott, email: [email protected]. For Jilly B inquiries, email: [email protected]

____________________________________________________

Follow Jill and Scott on Social Media:

Follow Jilly B:

⁠https://www.instagram.com/jillybpickleball⁠ 

https://www.facebook.com/jillybpickleball 

https://twitter.com/jillybpb

https://www.tiktok.com/@jillybpickleball

⁠Follow Scott Crandall:

https://www.instagram.com/socal_lefty/⁠

This is the shot that separates the great pros from the good...the good pros from the wannabes...the 5.5s from the 5.0s. It’s where all players separate their level. Join Scott & Jill as they breakdown one of the most under rated and under practiced shots in the game: The 4th shot.

We'll answer your burning questions:

- Should you always take the 4th in the air?

- Where should you aim it when you're in serious trouble?

- When the 3rd is driven, how does your 4th change?

00:00 Intro

1:03 What is the 4th shot? 

2:43 Should you always take the 4th in the air? 

3:40 The shot that separates the great pros from the good. The good pros from the wannabe pros. The 5.5’s from the 5.0s. It’s where people separate their level. 

4:30 Where should you aim the 4th? 

7:44 The new school 4th shot bounce rip

10:36 How to handle a short-hop 4th? 

12:25 4th Decision tree

15:05 Should you play more conservative if you’re receiving? 

17:00 Why the fourth is the first chess move of the point 

18:40 When in doubt, drop it in the kitchen 

19:19 How to handle being driven at for the 4th?

23:06 Hit 4ths like Ben Johns

26:25 How to hit 4ths when you’re unwinding the stack 

31:00 The 4th shot ERNE

33:50 Next Episode: The Power Game

Join Scott & Jill as they breakdown one of the most important shots in the game: the 3rd & 5th shot drop, drive and the hybrid. Have you ever been stuck for ten minutes on the same score, unable to get some points? Well, that's your 3rd and 5th shot telling you to be better. We answer your burning questions:

Join Scott & Jill as they breakdown one of the most important shots in the game: the return of serve. The return is truly unique—you won’t hit another shot in pickleball like you do your return. It’s one of the most misunderstood and mis-taught shots. We’ll answer your burning questions:

The worst thing you can do in pickleball is miss a return of serve. Let us help you turn your return from a liability into a weapon.

The serve is a HOT topic right now and Jilly B & Scott C break down everything you need to make your serve a weapon:

Do you love the lob? 

Let's break down a shot I hate and love. I hate it because I’m not great at doing it, (I heard from someone it’s kind of hard to be good at something you don’t practice) and I love it because I love when someone does it to me. 

Close your eyes and visualize where the lobs should land.

Questions we will answer:

When should someone lob? 

Where should we lob? 

What are the different lob styles? 

Should you lob off the volley or the bounce?

Why don’t I lob more? Do we not do things that are not effective on us? 

How to avoid the panic lob?

What about 3rd shot lobs? I fucking love these. Need to start doing them again. 

What about lobbing from baseline on defense? 

All that and more, inside the episode.

What should we discuss next week? Comment below. 👇

SEGMENTS:

0:00 Intro/The Lob

3:05 Defensive Lobs vs Offensive lobs

4:09 When should you lob? or not!

5:30 Where to aim the lob?

11:40 Should Both Players Chase Down Lobs?

14:05 You just got lobbed, now what?

18:15 Lobbing on a lob/defensive lobs

23:30 The 3rd Shot Lob

25:40 Spin: Volley lob vs bounce lob

29:30 Punishing the lob

33:03 Dancing with the lob you brought

36:04 Can you practice alone?

_________________________________________________________________________

Jill Braverman is a top pickleball pro who plays both the APP, MLP and PPA events. Scott Crandall is the coach of the Bay Area Breakers and a top senior pro residing in Orange County, CA. For inquiries about lessons, email [email protected]. 

________________________________________________________________________

Follow Jill and Scott on Social Media:

Follow Jilly B:

⁠https://www.instagram.com/jillybpickleball⁠ 

https://www.facebook.com/jillybpickleball 

https://twitter.com/jillybpb

https://www.tiktok.com/@jillybpickleball

⁠Follow Scott Crandall:

https://www.instagram.com/socal_lefty/⁠