Just Pickle Me
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Pickleball player lunging for a low ball on a sunlit outdoor court

Third-shot drop ladder

Land drops in the kitchen from three depths and move forward behind them.

Level
intermediate
Players
2 players
Duration
15 minutes

Setup

One player at the kitchen line feeding, the other at the baseline with a bucket of balls.

Reps

10 drops from each of three positions: baseline, transition zone, just behind the kitchen

How to run it

  1. 1Feeder hits a medium-pace ball to the baseline player.
  2. 2Baseline player drops it into the kitchen and takes one step forward.
  3. 3Feeder dinks it back; the player drops again, moves again, until they reach the kitchen line.
  4. 4Reset to the baseline and repeat. Track how many drops land in the kitchen out of 10.

Watch for

  • Popping the drop up over the kitchen
  • Charging the net behind a bad drop
  • Hitting with the arm instead of the legs

Make it harder

The feeder may attack any high drop; the baseline player must reset and keep advancing.