Third Shot
Most players choose their third shot before the return even lands. They've already decided to drop, or they've already decided to drive, and the ball gets no say. That's how the same player hits a great drop on one point and dumps three drives into the net on the next.
In college mixed doubles, I drove the third shot no matter what. I felt that if I didn't, I'd lose the point. After about a year of that, with only marginal success, I started watching the pros and realized I was playing inefficient pickleball. The drive is meant to set up aggression when players are crashing. If no one's crashing, it doesn't help, and it does more harm than good. That's when I understood the decision tree: you let the return decide the shot instead of forcing one.
The Promise
By the end of this you'll stop guessing between a drop and a drive. The return already told you which one to hit, and you'll know what to read.
Before You Start
Spotting this in your own matches is the hard part. My 1:1 online coaching does it with you: weekly film review of your own matches, one correction at a time. Launching soon.
Get coaching info →Rule 1
The whole decision fits in two rules. The first rule: if the return is short, drive and crash. The second rule: if the return is deep or wide, drop and move in.
Hayden Patriquin runs both halves across a few points in mixed doubles. On the first point he's pushed back in the court and hitting over to his partner's side, so he rolls a drop. On the next point the ball is short, which is his cue to drive, down the line at the woman. Both times he moves in behind the shot.
The follow-in matters as much as the choice. The drop and the drive end up in the same place, because you're heading to the kitchen after either one.
Watch Hayden Patriquin Run the Whole Decision Tree →Most players have a fixed mindset, and they don't follow in behind the shot. The decision tree fixes both.
Rule 2
Reading the return doesn't mean you owe anybody a drive. If your game is built around drops and getting to the kitchen, you can keep it. Driving is powerful, but if it isn't creating value in your matchup, you don't need it.
This pro point shows it cleanly. One team gets a perfect setup to drive crosscourt, and they pass on it. Their strength is getting to the kitchen line and playing from there, so the risk doesn't make sense for them. In the next example another team lands in almost the same spot and goes for the drive. They get punished, and it takes them forever to reach the kitchen line. The team that dropped got there with one simple shot.
Watch Why Passing on the Drive Is the Right Call →Nobody has to become drive-heavy. A deep return sends you to the drop anyway. And on a short return, the drive only makes sense if you're confident in it.
Rule 3
Pro footage is full of shots that work because of the reps behind them. JW Johnson hits one here: a floated third shot drop in the wind. He's a pro, so he can get away with it. For most players it's a losing play, for two reasons.
The first reason is that there's almost no reward. A floated ball doesn't create pressure or an advantage. The second reason is the risk. The higher bounce gives your opponents every option in the book. Ben Johns can speed it up off the bounce, or send a hard dink crosscourt, and you've handed him the choice.
Watch the Floated Drop That Hands the Point Away →At lower levels this shot doesn't win you points. It gives them away. Watch pros for the patterns they repeat, and be careful with the shots they can afford to miss.
| Return | What it tells you | Your shot |
|---|---|---|
| Short | Your cue to drive | Drive and crash |
| Deep or wide | You're pushed back and need to get in | Roll a drop and move in |
| Any, when the drive isn't your strength | The risk doesn't pay | Drop and get to the kitchen |
All three points come down to information. The depth of the return picks between the drop and the drive. How much you trust your drive decides whether you take it when the decision tree says to. And the pro clips you watch need a filter, because some of those shots only work for the people hitting them.
Over my college days I finally learned this concept. A few months ago I got the chance to play Major League Pickleball, and in mixed doubles I was able to perform against some of the best players in the world, largely because of it. I was in control. I decided what shot to hit based on their return, never before the point. That led to me making almost 100% of my third shots in both men's doubles matches, and a very high rate in mixed doubles as well. I highly encourage you to take this into your own game.
You don't have to be drop-heavy or drive-heavy. Wait for the return, then hit the shot the return tells you to hit.
1:1 Coaching
You know what to look for now. The fastest way to make it automatic is someone pointing out every missed read on your own footage, every week. That's the 1:1 coaching I'm launching: weekly film review, a written check-in, one correction at a time.
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