What’s an easy shot to learn that can improve your game tremendously? It’s the soft return! In this episode of Pickleball 411 we are fortunate to have 5.0 players Bob Youngren and Gail Dacey talk about the benefits of the soft return.  They discuss what it is, why it’s important, and how you can improve your technique. Great for beginning or advanced players, the soft return can take your game play to the next level. Watch this video and learn more about the soft return today!

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5 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for this and all the videos you’re making. They are a great help to players but also to instructors because they reinforce the tips and techniques we teach. It gives credibility to the ideas I promote when much more experienced and higher-level players say similar things to what I’ve been saying. So thank you so much. You are really contributing a fantastic tool to our wonderful, addictive sport.

  2. again no closed captions. I’m deaf.

  3. I have to disagree. Soft and deep is certainly better than hard and short, but is nowhere near as good as hard and deep.

    I see two obvious flaws: (1) teams are rarely even. If you lob back the return, the stronger player can, and should, always play the ball. That’s bad for you.
    (2) The soft third shot is very delicate – hit too soft, and it doesn’t clear the net, hit too hard, and it sits up for a smash. It is very easy to control a lob return, but a hard, deep return is tricky, and many third shots go awry.

    The receiving team has a big edge, and a lob return essentially brings the point back to neutral. Why should we give up our edge?

  4. I’m going to target the new player. Some have played other racket sports and others have not. Familiarity is good but you must remember that Pickleball is similar to an extent yet can be very different. The reason being the difference in equipment, both paddle and ball. Hitting against a wall with the ball and paddle will get you in tune to the bounce and timing. Try bouncing the ball on your paddle first before going to the wall. It’ll get you focused on the sweet spot better and give you a feel for the ball. Yes you can toss it up off of the paddle and trap or catch it with the paddle. You’ll get more proficient at this soon and it’ll help you see the ball better when you hit it. Develop a nice relaxed swing to hit it back and forth. Try to always hit that ball in front of you before you follow through all the way towards your target. If you consistently find you’re hitting the ball late use a shorter backswing so as to time it right apenabling you to hit it in front. It makes a huge difference in your confidence level as well. Too many people start swinging too late, in order to hit it in front. Anticipate the direction and speed of the ball better so you can be responding sooner with paddle back (backswing/windup) . Now start your forward swing as the ball approaches and hit it in ‘front’ of you (contact point) so you can reach out toward your intended target area of the court. It will soon be easier if you prepare yourself in this way and improve your game.
    Once you’re able to consistently rally back and forth several times w/o having to run it down each time you’ve got it down and can now start to get creative in good time. Experiment with different shots and it’ll be a lot of fun. Timing the ball this way is crucial to developing a versatile and enjoyable game and style. Be yourself and do what comes naturally, just do it better.
    Cheers!

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