The most forgotten shot in pickleball

I get this question a lot. “Why don’t pros lob more?”

It’s a good question, because when you're first learning the game, lobs feel like a pretty solid strategy. And honestly? They are.

But then. . .

. . . you start playing better players who read the lobs earlier and have better overheads. And suddenly, that “great strategy” stops working so well. So over time, you just… stop trying them.

Until one day, you realize: You haven’t hit a lob in months.

And listen, it's no coincidence there are only a handful of pros out there known for lobbing. 

Callan Dawson was the first I remember going full lob-mode. Off the bounce, out of the air. Short hop. He did it all. Still does when I see him on the APP Tour. 

Matt Wright—the 48-year-old wizard—has gone through lob-heavy phases too. And when a guy with speed ups like his starts tossing balls over your head, you know it’s intentional.

Allyce Jones (aka Mighty Mouse) lobbed me silly last year in mixed doubles. And I tell ya what. It was freaking annoying. 

And then there’s AJ Koller, always out there on Instagram preaching the gospel of the third shot lob. And lobs in general.

Now, at the highest levels, this shot is a rarity. But should it be?

Anna Bright didn’t think so last weekend in Las Vegas. . .

In her semifinals match against Ben Johns & Anna-Leigh Waters, she lobbed 23 times (no, that’s not a typo). That’s more lobs than I’ve hit in tournament play this entire year.

And these weren’t panic lobs. They weren’t bailouts or desperation heaves.

These were dink-volley lobs—executed while all four players were up at the kitchen. And I’ll tell ya what. . .

THEY WORKED WELL!!! 

Anna actually talked about this in her new newsletter (which, by the way, you should 100% subscribe to—she’s smart, hilarious, and her pickleball IQ is off the charts).

Here’s what she wrote:

Seriously, you should subscribe. Just click here 👇

See, I think we often get so fixated on speedups that we forget the principle behind the speedup. It’s all about finding ways to apply pressure & gain small advantages.

Think about when you’ve been lobbed multiple times (if you have). How did you adjust?

Two things likely happened.

You:

1. Backed off the line a little, making you more susceptible to aggressive dinks.

2. Leaned back on your heels and BOOM! A speedup catches you off guard.

See, to be a real threat in pickleball, you want your opponent constantly guessing.

Are they going to dink? Speed up? Lob?!

And that kind of uncertainty creates mental overload, which is the enemy of good pickleball.

Now, the good news about this is, it doesn’t take 23 lobs to make this happen. It can be done with 1 or 2 well-timed (and well-placed) lobs early in a match.

A quick story. . .

After watching Anna last weekend, I showed up to my rec game yesterday with one goal in mind: lob.

And lob I did. 😂

And something clicked for me while playing. Players are often taught to “lean in” to take more balls out of the air, which is good advice. HOWEVER. Playing against someone who leans in a lot makes them the perfect lob target.

Because leaning in is the opposite of being ready to defend a lob.

And the truth is, the lob doesn’t even have to be that good if it’s taken from out of the air while your opponent is leaning in. The surprise alone will do the trick.

BTW, if going this in-depth on lobs gets you excited, a full Lob Series is dropping right now inside ThatPickleballSchool.

One video every week for 7 weeks in a row.

People are already loving it:

So, if you want to become a LOB MASTER that knows:

• Exactly when and where to lob

• How to disguise your lobs for max effectiveness

• And you want to see real match footage from multiple angles…

Now’s a great time to start that 7-Day Free Trial.

And even if you don’t, try lobbing more the next time you go out and play, because if it’s good enough for the #2 player in the world. . .It’s probably good enough for us.

-Kyle