Thanks for taking the time to review… and I may have hit my last backhand return! lol! Think I hit it because it seems safe to me. But everything you said makes sense! I appreciate the review!

It's hard to convince people that simple, solid court positioning can improve their game significantly. It requires no skill, you don't have to master a specific shot, it only requires commitment to stand in the right damn spot. When I want to see how skilled players are, first thing I look for is do they get to the line, properly, after returning serve, and second, do they give themselves space behind the baseline when serving, returning, and waiting for the return to be hit to them.

Nice mix of 3.25-3.75 play. Not sure if fatigue had set in, as when it does, paddles drop and players lack crisp returns and movement to correctly position themselves. If Mr BH would return serve 5'-6' behind the baseline, then move forward on his BH slice return, the ball stays much lower, moves much faster and is a much more difficult return for opponents (I hope you try this, it works) and his forward momentum will propel him further forward prior to split stepping, maybe even to the NVZ. Overall, I'll bet they classify themselves as 3.5 or 3.75, as 3.0 players have no clue how to hit roll volleys, top spin dinks, speed ups, solid (not hard) overheads, etc. They will become much better by adding lobs and resets when appropriate, good intermediate play guys!

I'd say between 3.25 and 3.5. With some tweaks they could all be 3.5. Stop the pitty pats (far court guys) and white shirt guy just have forward momentum on your BH slice return (I overuse my BH too :-) It's easy to critique when you're not playing though :-) I'm glad you're not critiquing my play, Rory---I commend white shirt guy!

I think the near court lines were also confusing and i noticed a number of times the players were set up not at the non-volley line but at the second line which was actually then in the transition zone. Just poor court design

I’m a tad confused by comments regarding “running around” to get a forehand return of serve. I’m being coached to not run around but to have an effective back hand serve return when/if needed..which is rare since most are served to my forehand. If the player in white could nail/improve his backhand return and make it to NVZ in time wouldn’t that be just as effective as learning to run around the serve to return with the forehand?..and kudos to server who consistently served to opponents backhand!

I think these players are 3.0 - 3.2 because I think a 3.5 player should be able to get a 3rd shot drop or reset with 5th or 7th shot.

8:20 in attempt of backhand again. He needs to start the swing a tad earlier. He is hitting the ball to far back into his body.

the younger players were probably 3.5 while the older players were around 3.25 but not that far apart like you said the younger players had far better paddle position at the NVZ and quicker hands

White's BH isn't so much the problem as his positioning. He persistently moves two steps inside the baseline when he should stay back until he has the right play on the ball. White, you prevent yourself from crisply moving to the NVZ when you're backing up to hit your return ... or your third. (My BH is my best shot on returns. I love playing people who run around their backhands; they're often out of position because of it. This creates a lot of openings for my partner and me. I also have a tough time partnering with those who run around their BH; they're often out of position.)

Thx for ur channel! Rly learning from it. I have a ques abt what my instructors are teaching me. When the serving team hits the 3rd shot, both players should stay back if the 3rd shot is high (easy to smash) or a drive (likely to be returned deep). Do you agree? I always thought both players were meant to get immediately to kitchen line. Appreciate u

Some basic errors in positioning particularly the one player who was hitting returns off his back foot and then can't make it in to the NVZ. Just a bad way to start a return and reflective of low 3.0 play. Paddle positioning is bad at times for two of the players as noted. Not a lot of great third shot drops - some were popped up. Still some great shots and demonstrations of hand speeds for volleys. Except for maybe one player as a group they are not low 3.0. Probably upper end of 3.0 or near 3.5 with more consistency needed.. Many deep serves and several deep returns which is one of first things I look for as an instructor in trying to assess players. But some returns were too short. Hard to assess everything off a video versus seeing it live. Not much consistent demonstration of split steps coming in to the NVZ when the ball will be there before making it to the NVZ. Some great skill and position awareness demonstration at times by a couple of players like the one example seeing the player in white hitting a return off his back foot, the player patiently placed a short dink to the path of the deep player for a winner.

The players I play with (3.5) would put away all of those balls .. almost everyone hits forehand returns and makes 3rd shot drops or drives (5th drops) so now I’m thinking if you think this is 3.5 we are 4.0. 😊

frosty n steve team is playing lower than 3.5 as a team. The guy in black is probably higher than the guy in white. The mistakes being made are more obvious against the guy in white because the other team has figured out he's the weaker player and are clearly hitting to him more frequently, even when the guy in black is out of position. The other team is strong, with a greater 3.5 ish play as a team, and it seemed more comfortable dinking, and were very good at making shots to set up points by targeting the guy in white and not hitting to the better player. I can't really say if either of the other team is weaker as they worked well together that overall they were playing above 3.5 while the nearer team was playing below 3.5 because the guy in white was clearly the weaker player and was being targeted because of it. It's interesting how the chemistry of two players can factor into such a game. If you and your partner play well together, you both can be lower skill level as individuals yet play to a much higher level as a team. In this case, the other team just out played the nearer team. switch things up and it could be an entirely different game.

I think the majority of comments on their skill level is off. In spite of some errors and positional mistakes, these guys are all decent players. I can see why the guy in white prefers his slice backhand return. I think he should stick with it, and just use forward momentum to hit it back so that he can make it to the NVZ in time. He actually showed some excellent touch on some of his drop attempts, and that's more than most 3.0 players can say. At 13 minute mark, I had no problem with the player in white trying to put it away instead of using touch volley. Player in light blue is athletic and his weight was shifted forward...he very well could've made it to the NVZ if player in white used a touch volley. And he would've gotten a "free" pass to the kitchen. They had some decently long dink rallies, which is definitely not like typical 3.0 players, whose rallies typically end in 4-5 shots or less. Multiple players show speedup ability, which is also not common at 3.0 level. Some footwork mistakes in non split stepping. My guess is that these players are in the 3.5 range. Curious to know the answer.

Is there a way to submit video for you to review? Would love for you to watch some of the videos I've posted and provide feedback!

At least 3.5.

3.5

3.0 at best. White shirt guy has got to stop hitting his backhand. Maybe he can’t turn his hips to get to his forehand. If this was a competitive match we’d hit every single ball to him.

Could you review one of our games

They are 3.5 if they were a little better they would be 4.0

far court players and player in black is 3.5 .The player in white is 3.0 .

Ok my big thing with this game like I love pickleball but everyone I see always plays in the no volley zone next to the net playing the dink game. That is not the way to play. I have seen so many people get blasted in the face. I have blasted many players playing close to the net not to be mean or on purpose but like your choosing to stand that close to the net. where the ball is coming. So I blast the ball at them to teach them back up. don’t play there not smart. one can get injured and I score so many points because it hits them or they were not fast enough to hit the ball or my spin just makes the ball they hit back goes out a lot or in the net. The way to play is where every player plays way back by the baseline like when the game first starts like on the serve. that is where to play the game. one it’s more fun 2 lots more time to react to the ball and better ball positioning 3 safer for way better angles and more options with forehand backhand crazy fun spin shots sky balls power hits and very fun spin shots makes the game way more fun and love taps where the ball barely goes over the net or hits in the middle of the court not super deep or super deep just depends.

3.5

3.5