Why 99% of Pickleball Pros Swing This Way…(Full Breakdown Included)

this right here is my friend Katie perer she's a  50 plus player she's played in some pro events she   often even when she's playing with men will play  the left side because of her ferociously powerful   forehand she just knows how to rip it whether it's  off the ground out of the air if she gets a ball   that's just kind of sitting there it's going to  get punished and the other team is going to have   a lot of trouble handling that shot even if they  do get their paddle on it it's just going to be   a probably a weak reply unless they can at least  get it down and deep which is probably the best   they can do with with that shot and it's probably  coming hard again so today I want to cover exactly   how you can generate massive power like this on  your forehand anyone can achieve massive forehand   power if they know the mechanics of how that gets  done and if they get to work on implementing that   into their forehand mechanics so we're going to  break down Katie's forehand step by step so first   thing here is the initial turn which we call  the unit turn all right so what do we notice   here she has her hands together as she turns so  she turns her two shoulders together often I see   people in this position just from here just take  their paddle back so they'll they'll keep their   shoulders like this and just reach back with  their arm and send their paddle back that way   notice how that's not what Katie does here she  turns okay let's pause it right here at the end   of your unit turn you can see she still has her  non-dominant hand her left hand on the paddle   you'll see many players with big forehand do that  they'll keep those two hands together until the   absolute last moment after the turn when they  release and and let this paddle come back just   a bit further not too much further remember  we're not reaching back this way but we do Let   It Go and it goes a little back bit back further  and we'll talk more about that so notice how her   hips are turned at this point but her shoulders  are more turned okay that is one of the keys   to getting a massive forehand is to get these  shoulders more turned I often people see people   have their hips and their shoulders parallel you  do not want that you need to get bring get these   shoulders around you need to get the hips around  too but the shoulders more so than the hips that's   key to get a good initial coil and what what  we call separation between the shoulders and   the hips that is very important to do and most of  that gets done in this initial move no notice how   her eyes are tracking the ball she has a pretty  wide base in her feet that is slightly open her   shoulders are relaxed I do see a lot of people  kind of get their shoulders pinched towards   their ear especially when they initiate the swing  later this whole move is just a very relaxed yet   well-timed turn to get set up for the swing so  again we call this the unit turn so here's the   second part of her big forehand which a lot of  things are happening here she she's finishing   up her coil then sends this elbow forward along  along with the shoulder turn along with the hips   releasing and notice how this paddle lags back  right there okay so let's pause at that move we'll   go into it slowmo notice her elbow goes forward  notice how her paddle lays back right and it's   she's very relaxed so all Pros do this her paddle  is pointed somewhat this way she's very relaxed   in her shoulder and her arm she then sends this  forward all while uncoiling her shoulders and   her hips which will help her send that elbow  and that that shoulder swinging around and   then this the paddle and the wrist right here  they get left behind that's what's called the lag the key to ripping fast for hands is to get  the fastest paddle speed going through the ball   at the time of contact you want to transfer  as much energy onto that ball and this lag   that happens this paddle being allowed to retract  back from the looseness and the stretch in this   forearm when she propels everything else forward  causes that paddle to lag back to relax back and   then it has to catch up with the rest of the  body so it slingshots forward and bang right   into contact she's getting max speed right through  this location here which is ultimately L where she   contacts ball the ball will see in a moment and  that unleashes a huge amount of forward propulsion   into the ball but as far as the swing goes it's  more of a rotational swing but because of this   lag and the explo explosion we get a lot of power  straight to through that ball very briefly we're   headed directly through it and all that energy  is going straight here into the target ultimately   where she's aiming at whether that be crosscourt  down the middle or down the line This Way let's   look at that lag and release into contact in full  mode motion here lag and forward lag and relax   boom so this part of the Swing that's happening  here is the key key part of how it ends up being   so powerful a lot of people are just arming it  at this time and they hike their shoulder into   their ear and then it just everything goes badly  here you can see the shoulder is down it's like in   the socket and she just she's just swinging that  arm freely letting that paddle drop back and then   release forward that's hugely important you have  to allow it to happen you can't force it to happen   get out there and be relaxed as you possibly can  be and just let it go if you're hitting the fence   and the ball's going astray don't worry about it  keep letting it flow keep letting it rip you'll   ultimately learn how to control it but first you  have to understand the feeling of this relaxed lag   and release into contact okay here's the end  of the Swing From just before contact through   contact and the Finish really this this is just  the deceleration portion after you've contacted   you can let start letting that swing slow down  and just let it go over your shoulders there's   nothing forced going on here everything's already  happened notice the the transfer of the weight   from the back foot to that foot and ultimately  this foot's going to land here once we show   the full swing again to catch the weight look at  that rotation so it's all about loading up really   well and that starts with the unit turn and then  just letting it rip with a relaxed motion power   assisted from the hip rotation and the shoulder  release and ultimately letting that paddle that   lagged back snap through and really get fast  through contact and then finish up and round   that's what it comes down to so video yourself and  then compare to what you see here I'll now show   the full motion so that you really have a good  clip to compare two a nice and slow motion hands   together separate when it's time and hit and relax  here release get the paddle pointed that way lag   back and snap through Katy just has a very clean  modern forehand this is the way that all the top   players for the most part hit it if there's  any differences it's just stylistic they're   all doing all the core things I talked about in  terms of the separation of the angle of the hip   and the shoulders getting the paddle pointed that  way after a unit turn letting that paddle lag back   and then just letting it go forward getting that  elbow going forward and everything just explodes   into contact you look at Ben John's you look at  Anna Lee Waters McGuffin anybody look at their   forehand all the key fundamentals talked about in  this video are present for them as well if you're   enjoying this video please go ahead and subscribe  to this channel so that you don't miss out on any   future videos as they come out also please go  ahead and give this video a like and uh ring   that notification Bell when you engage with the  video it definitely helps us get this information   out more broadly to more people and we appreciate  it thanks so much okay here we're going to talk   about some footwork pattern differences this is  the forehand we've been looking at up until now   didn't really have to move it kind of came more  or less right in her vicinity from the split step   she'll turn and plant this foot and then transfer  her weight into that foot and the spacing between   her back foot foot and contact between this  shot and that shot will be as best as she can   do it here she had to back up a little bit pushes  off this foot does this little Shuffle crossover   step plants this back foot here and then turns and  pivots again notice how it's it's all looking very   similar the only difference here is that she sent  this foot back and then transfer to that foot a   little Shuffle step before she does essentially  the same thing but here she had to back up   and here she didn't but look how everything  else looks really similar she had a slightly   later contact here that's okay the contact  really can range anywhere from like here to there so here it's a little later here it's a  little more in front next here we're going to   look at movement when she had to go to the side so  in this case to her left and in this case a little   bit to her right but notice after she gets there  everything is very similar right very similar   so let's just talk quickly about some footwork  adjustments here always the split step happens   always split step she slides his foot back slides  back and then just does a little bit of shuffling   just to make sure she gets the right spacing so  let's see it on slow-mo here again steps here   shift back shift back shift back and shift back  so she just incrementally but quickly just gets   her feet in position so that she can get this foot  right right where she wants cuz that's the key leg   to establish good spacing between you and the ball  you want that good spacing here the spacing you'll   see after she plants it there boom to contact  it's roughly similar so that's how you want to   get your foot set the same so that your spacing  from your back foot to the ball is the same so   that your motion can always then be the same and  you can transfer your weight appropriately in both   cases look loads here transfers there loads her  weight here onto this foot and and then rotates   and transfers the weight there this leg just  naturally comes forward to catch her weight after   the transfer it does the same thing here boom it's  a little less pronounced here load transfer the   weight catch the weight here and then split step  again boom to get ready for the next shot there's   always always a split step between each and every  shot whether it's big or small that's how the best   do it so that they can get the absolute best  positioning on each shot all right now let's   take a look at the difference between the more  inplace forehand groundstroke which is this one   and the forehand swinging volley where she moved  up in the court to take that as a swinging volley   look how the Motions are not that all that  different we'll just take a look at contact here so what we see here is the lower contact  after the bounce and here she took it out of   the air so she was able to get it nice and high  so that she can rip it more forward here she'll   have to h a little bit more up to clear the net  and she's of course further back in the court on   this one further up on this one she can be more  punishing here I believe she hits um a winner   off of this one this is the side view from the  clips we saw at the very beginning where she had   a ground stroke followed by a finishing volley  winner on the ground stroke you'll see that her   stance a little bit more open here because she  really transferred a lot of weight forward she has   a more neutral stance so her feet are in line with  each other in this way and here they're not this   is what we call like a semiopen stance and this  is what we call neutral where her left foot steps   directly forward from her right foot let's take a  look at these in motion again as you can see all   the same components are there so hands together  we get the turn we get the load we get the coil   we get the lag let's see that that lag which is  like the key to everything okay here you see we   get that paddle pointed to the side right and then  there's the leg as she as this comes forward and   everything releases to to get that paddle moving  as fast forward as we possibly can boom into   contact and the Finish follow through all right  love watching that forehand it's a thing of beauty   so that's how you're going to rip your forehands  whether they be on the ground or out of the air or   moving left or moving right or moving back that's  you're going to get massive power no matter what   is if you hit it like this and just uncoil into  it with this rotational swing and slingshotting   that paddle head forward and getting it going as  fast as you can which again can only be done with   a relaxed motion to let that paddle basically drag  back and then has to catch up to the rest of the   body that is all the energy is rotating forward  and it just flies through contact that's how it   gets done again I highly recommend you video  yourself and throw it up on a screen compare   it to Katie's forehand here and get to chipping  away and that's how you're going to build into   those massive drive forehands that just rock it  right by people and win points for you or force   them to cough up a weak shot and you just do some  cleanup on that very next shot one two boom boom   get out there and get to work on it as helpful as  we think the tips we're sharing in today's video   are there's more to achieving success on the doubl  court want a complete a toz step-by-step blueprint   for playing winning doubles pickle ball check out  our dominating doubles system today go to doubles   system.com to learn all about it if you enjoyed  this video please like comment and share for more   Pro Player pickleball tips techniques strategies  and more on how to take your game to the next   level please visit Primetime pickleball.com  you'll find a clickable direct link in the video   description below thanks for watching we'll see  you in the next one and until then Happy pickling