Can anything be learned/gained from doing fast hands drills with both players in zone 2 (aka the transition zone)? Or will it just lead to players developing bad habits?
- Conner.
Hi Conner, Thanks for the great question. The short answer is: yes, most definitely.
Here’s the long answer:
Much of this game is determined by speed: How fast a person moves, how fast they can swing a paddle, how fast they can react, etc. Practicing fast hand drills from further back in zone 2, the transition zone, has several valuable benefits:
1. Power generation. When a player is given more time to react, like when in zone 2, then they can incorporate larger muscle groups to create more swing length and power. In doing so, the necessary muscles, tendons, and ligaments are then forced to develop to support the increased stress level.
Ultimately this can translate to more explosive power and speed when at the kitchen line where most firefights occur. The key is not overtraining this shot as there will indeed be a risk that you will develop too much muscle memory and take the paddle too far back when a shorter swing length is needed
2: Attackable balls in transition. The game is changing rapidly, and regardless if you’ve had to step back off the line or if you’re moving in after a 3rd shot, balls have become increasingly attackable in transition. This is due in no small part to modern paddle technology giving us all putaway power with heavy topspin from almost anywhere on the court.
It’s quite easy to overswing and overreact when attacked up at the kitchen, but when in the transition zone you have significantly more time to be deliberate, avoid the fight or flight mechanism, and still use near maximum power, safe in the knowledge that with some decent topspin, your ball can stay in the court.
3: Cardio! Winding up further and incorporating large amounts of external rotation (hip and shoulder turn) takes real work. It’s a wonderful mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise that will be sure to get the heart pumping and will certainly improve your endurance on the court.
It's important to understand exactly what role it should and shouldn’t play when it comes time for 0 - 0 - 2. You will often still have to reset balls in transition and you will still need to keep a much more compact swing length in fast exchanges at the kitchen, but adding this training exercise to your practice will improve your game, no question!
Thanks again for writing in, cheers Conner!
- Morgan Evans
Learn more about Morgan Evans and CoachME pickleball.
