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Paddletek Bantam TKO-C 14.3mm— From Destin Perry

This paddle has great pop and a well-rounded feel, perfect for intermediate and advanced players.

The timing of the Bantam TKO-C’s release was interesting, coming right between the Joola Gen 3 bans and new foam tech releases. While many companies are chasing power with “Gen 3” technology, Paddletek’s focus on stability and versatility was refreshing. This paddle feels a lot like a tennis racket, which I appreciate as someone who plays both sports.

Performance Insights

My serves were consistent and fast, and groundstrokes and volleys felt controlled. The steel balls in the head guard added a nice weight around the impact area, making it feel solid. However, some users have mentioned that these balls can loosen over time, causing a rattling sound. It hasn’t been a deal-breaker for me, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Community Feedback

Diving into the reviews, many players love the new grip shape. It feels more secure and comfortable than previous models. A heads-up though, it’s a bit louder than other paddles, which might be a consideration if you play in a noise-sensitive area.

View at Pickleball Central with discount code PORTAL10

Five Basic Drills to Improve Fast— From Kyle Koszuta

Hey everyone, it’s Kyle Koszuta from ThatPickleballGuy. Here’s one big problem I see: a lot of players say they want to improve and get from a 3.5 to a 4.0 or a 4.0 to a 4.5, but the challenge is they only play recreational games and never drill. The hack, or the secret, to improving faster and accelerating your growth is to drill. It’s not always the most fun thing in the world, I get that, but like Kobe Bryant once said— Actually I’ll just tell you the story.

Kobe Bryant was in a gym one time, and another guy came in to watch him train. The guy’s famous for training in these crazy ways with unbelievable workouts. The guy sat down and watched Kobe train, and Kobe did the exact same fundamental move for two hours. The guy was sitting there thinking, “This is so boring. Why is he doing this?” When Kobe finished, he came over, and the player said,

Kobe looked at him and said,

So, if you want to improve fast, you have to do what my friend Sam Allen always says: Master the boring and start doing things that will help you improve your game faster, a.k.a. drilling. Here we go.

Drill #1: Cross Court Dinking

The first drill you can do is a simple cross-court dink. You go with a partner and work on cross-court dinking with them. No pressure on it right now; you just want to get the ball down in the kitchen. If you can take one out of the air, do it.

The most important thing in any of the five drills I’m going to give you is that you have a focus area and an intention for what you’re trying to work on. For this drill, you might work on balance while you dink. A lot of times, people get off balance, and when you get off balance, it causes you to pop the ball up in the air. So, stay balanced and low in a stance.

After you’ve done this for three to five minutes, turn it into a game. A very basic one that I see pros do all the time is to play a game to five or a game to seven.

Drill #2: Backhand Dinking

What we do on one side, we also do on the other side. So, the second drill is backhand dinking. It’s the same thing: go back and forth, maybe put a five-minute timer on. Choose an intention; for example, focus on taking balls out of the air to give less time to the opponent.

Turn it into a game by playing to five or seven points, and put into practice what you just focused on during your drilling.

Drill #3: Third Shot Drop

A third shot drop in pickleball is a strategic shot typically executed by the serving team after the serve and the return of serve. The goal of this shot is to gently hit the ball so it lands in the opponent’s non-volley zone (also known as the kitchen).

For this drill, one player is at the kitchen line, and the other is back at the baseline. Try to use half of the court (highlighted in green).

Practice on both sides, and turn it into a game called 7-Eleven. The person at the kitchen tries to score 11 points, while the person at the baseline aims for seven points. This drill helps both players work on their shots and reaction times.

Drill #4: Blocking

At beginner levels, you don’t always dink a ton because people don’t get to the kitchen. One of the most important skills to learn is the ability to block a ball. Everyone loves to hit the ball hard, so you have to be ready to block.

One player rips balls while the other focuses on blocking them back. The key is to be in a ready stance, keep the paddle up, and use tight, compact punches. This drill will help you handle fast-paced shots and improve your blocking skills.

Drill #5: Skinny Singles

The final drill is putting it all together in a game of skinny singles. This one-on-one game is played on a smaller portion of the court, incorporating forehand and backhand dinking, third-shot drops, and blocking.

Serve cross-court, and if you win the point, move to the other side and serve down the line. Keep playing and rotating sides based on the score. This game tests your skills and lets you practice everything you’ve worked on. The main thing to remember is to keep the ball within the green highlighted area while you drill. So if you’re serving cross court, aim for the green highlighted area in figure one. If you’re serving down the line, target the green highlighted area in figure two.

To Wrap Things Up

Next time you go out to play, try incorporating these drills into your routine. Even just a few minutes of drilling before playing can make a significant difference in your game. Remember, you’re not just practicing for who you are now, but for who you want to become. For more tips.

Resets: How to Avoid Missing Deep— From James Ignatowich

Hey guys, this is James Ignatowich, and today I’m going to cover how to miss deep when you hit resets, instead of missing high or hitting into the net. Remember, the goal of a reset is to neutralize your opponent’s attack by hitting a soft shot that lands in the kitchen, forcing them to hit upwards and reducing their offensive advantage. But you can’t always execute perfectly, so let’s learn how to miss.

First off, you obviously shouldn’t miss into the net because if you do, you’re out of the point. But you also shouldn’t miss high because if you give yourself too much margin for error with height, your opponent will be making contact above their shoulder (Figure 1). This is especially detrimental in men’s doubles, as it’s the last thing you want.

I believe you should give yourself a margin for error as it relates to depth, meaning you should aim to miss deep, so to speak. For example, when you hit a reset, you want it to bounce inside the kitchen, right? That’s obvious, we know that.

But if you can’t pull that off, you should try to miss it just past the kitchen line (Figure 2) while maintaining a low trajectory, so you don’t get crushed. The opponent will still either be hitting up on the ball or making a pretty flat return.

However, if you aim too high and miss by 3 feet, they will probably smash it too hard. For more tips.

See you guys next week ;)