Once you hit an offensive lob, you are not simply getting the ball over your opponent’s head. You are inflicting chaos and forcing them right into a weak place.
In case you’ve been enjoying pickleball for some time, you already know that the lob could be a game-changer. However here is the factor: most leisure gamers deal with it as a defensive final resort.
💡
In response to Tony Roig, a senior skilled participant and coach at Higher Pickleball Academy, the lob is definitely one among your strongest offensive weapons, particularly when you’re 50 or older.
In a current video, Roig breaks down two particular lob methods that he makes use of in aggressive doubles play to place opponents in powerful spots and win factors.
Why the Lob Is not Only a Defensive Shot
Most gamers consider the lob as one thing you hit once you’re in bother. You are pushed again, your opponent is on the web, and it’s essential to purchase time. That is the defensive lob, and it has its place.
However Roig flips the script. He makes use of the lob as an offensive instrument to create chaos and seize management of the rally. The important thing distinction? Timing and placement.
Once you hit an offensive lob, you are not simply getting the ball over your opponent’s head. You are forcing them right into a place the place they must make a troublesome determination, recuperate shortly, or depart their associate uncovered.
5 Important Methods for Senior Pickleball Gamers
As a substitute of making an attempt to overpower your opponents, you’re utilizing technique and courtroom positioning to win factors.
1. The Non-Volley Zone Lob: Kitchen Management
The primary technique Roig demonstrates is the non-volley zone lob, typically known as the kitchen lob. This shot is hit from close to the web and lobs the ball over your opponent’s head after they’re additionally on the web.
This is why it really works: when each groups are on the web, you are in a stalemate. No person has a transparent benefit. A well-placed lob breaks that stalemate immediately.
Roig exhibits footage from the 2023 Nationals the place he and his associate use this precise shot to place their opponents in disarray. One lob creates a 2-on-1 scenario the place one opponent has to chase the ball whereas the opposite stays on the web. That is once you assault.
The location issues greater than the facility. You wish to lob over the weaker aspect or the backhand. You additionally wish to think about which opponent is much less more likely to recuperate shortly.
6 Cussed Pickleball Habits Costing You Factors
The definition of madness is doing the identical factor time and again and anticipating a distinct outcome. These six habits are patterns that repeat, and so they’re costing you factors.
2. The Baseline Lob: When You are Pushed Again
The second technique is the baseline lob. This one occurs once you’re pushed again off the courtroom and your opponents are controlling the web.
As a substitute of hitting a tender, defensive lob, you throw up an offensive lob that forces your opponents to make a troublesome overhead or retreat. In the event that they retreat, you’ve got regained the benefit. If they fight the overhead, they could miss or hit it weakly.
Roig emphasizes that baseline lobbing is controversial in leisure play. Some gamers look down on it. However in aggressive matches, it is a legit and efficient method.
The secret’s understanding when to make use of it. In case you’re in a grind and nothing’s working, a well-placed baseline lob can flip the momentum in a single shot.
What Makes These Pictures Work
- They create positional benefit by forcing opponents to maneuver backward or sideways.
- They disrupt the rhythm of a rally and drive fast selections underneath stress.
- They work particularly nicely towards gamers who depend on aggressive web play.
- They’re much less efficient in case your opponent has a robust overhead, however even then, the timing disruption helps.
The Setup Issues as A lot because the Shot
Roig factors out one thing essential: the lob solely works when you’ve set it up correctly. You possibly can’t simply randomly lob and count on success.
Within the footage, you see Roig and his associate grinding by way of rallies, transferring their opponents round, after which hitting the lob at precisely the suitable second. The lob is not the primary shot of the assault; it is the shot that capitalizes on the work they’ve already executed.
That is the place expertise issues. Youthful gamers may hit a lob too early or too late. Senior gamers who’ve been across the sport perceive the rhythm and timing.
💡
Not Each Lob Is a Winner
Roig is sincere about this: lobs do not work each time. Typically you hit one and your opponent crushes it again. Typically you do not hit it deep sufficient and so they assault it.
The aim is not to win the purpose with the lob itself. The aim is to create a scenario the place you’ve the benefit on the subsequent shot. In case your opponent has to hit an overhead from deep within the courtroom, that is a win for you even when they get it again.
The Key to a Killer Overhead: Angles, Not Energy
Too many gamers concentrate on hitting more durable as an alternative of hitting smarter. The overhead isn’t nearly energy; it’s about placement, timing, and courtroom geometry.
Why This Issues for 50+ Gamers
Roig emphasizes that these methods are designed with senior gamers in thoughts. You may not have the explosive energy of a 25-year-old, however you’ve one thing higher: expertise and courtroom sense.
The lob performs to your strengths. It would not require explosive athleticism. It requires placement, timing, and understanding. These are stuff you develop over years of enjoying.
In case you’re a aggressive senior participant searching for an edge in ladder leagues, tournaments, or spherical robins, including these lob methods to your sport could make an actual distinction.
5 Mobility Suggestions for Senior Pickleball Gamers
Aches, pains, and many years of wear and tear in your joints aren’t obstacles to disregard. They’re alerts to coach smarter.
The Backside Line
The offensive lob is underrated in pickleball. Most gamers see it as a defensive shot, but it surely’s really a robust offensive instrument once you perceive the best way to use it.
Whether or not you are hitting a kitchen lob from the web or a baseline lob from deep within the courtroom, the precept is similar: create a scenario the place your opponents are uncomfortable and you’ve got the benefit on the subsequent shot.
For senior gamers, that is particularly beneficial. You may not be the quickest or the strongest, however you may be the neatest. And typically, good beats quick.
