There’s a kind of player you see at almost every court. 

Some call them the “bangers,” I call them “power only” players.

The ones who hit everything hard, no matter what ball they receive or what position they’re in.

And if you’re nodding right now, it’s because you either know this player or. . .

. . . you are this player.

Now here’s the interesting part. This strategy can actually work really well for a while.

Because many opponents aren’t used to that much pace. So the power player can win matches just by overwhelming people.

But eventually, they hit a ceiling.

They run into someone who doesn’t panic when the ball comes fast. Someone who can absorb the pace and send it right back. And suddenly, the power player can’t figure out why they’re not winning anymore. That same strategy that used to win games, stops working.

Now, consider #1 in the world Anna Leigh Waters.

If you only watched the highlights of her matches, you’d see her attack balls most players wouldn’t even attempt.

So it’s easy to assume that her success comes from being the most aggressive player on the court (which is partly true).

But watch an entire match and you’ll see plenty of third-shot drops. You’ll see neutralizing shots when she’s off balance. You’ll watch her slow the game down, sometimes just for a shot or two as she sets up her next attacking opportunity.

In other words, the most aggressive player in pickleball spends a surprising amount of time NOT hitting the ball hard.

And that’s the part most people miss.

See, the soft game isn’t passive. It’s what makes the power game even more dangerous. 

Which leads to the real lesson here.

Power is a great weapon in pickleball. But the very best players are the ones who learn to balance it with patience.

It’s knowing when to hit hard and when not to.
It’s knowing when to speed up and when to neutralize. 
It’s knowing when that backhand flick will win you the point, not lose it.

And listen, this isn’t easy. I get it.

But in my last four years teaching, this is one of the core skills that separates good players from great ones.

In fact, I believe in this idea so much that I spent over 50 hours studying matches and pulling clips to build two, easy to understand lessons around this topic.

In those videos, I introduce a simple framework called the Advantage Scale, which helps you recognize what phase of the rally you're in (there are three).

Because once you understand which phase you're in, the decision of when to hit hard and when not to becomes clear and the game starts to finally slow down.

If you’re curious to learn more, you can watch both of those lessons inside my online pickleball school

And the good news, you can try the entire school free for 7 days. Click here to check it out.

See ya next Friday!

-Kyle 

P.S. When you join thatpickleballschool, shoot me a direct message inside and just use the super top secret code word, “BALANCE” so I know you came from this email and I’ll direct you to the videos. Okay its not that top secret but still use the word. 😂