It happens in every sport, pickleball included, some times your brain and body forget how to function together and you get the dreaded “Yips.”
In pickleball the “Yips” come in to play on your serve, when you start missing your serve in games, and you do not know why.
Coach Mary’s tip of the Week: Getting rid of the “Yips”
Let’s turn to some of our favorite online instructors for some help.
From @fun.pickleball: People get the Yips when their brain and body are not working together. To fix it, you need to change it up. The easiest way to do this is to let the ball drop lower prior to contact. You will contact around knee height, which forces you to get lower and be more athletic, and to accelerate through the ball. A clever, simple trick.
From Jilly B Pickleball: Jill Braverman emphasizes looseness, soft grip, remembering to calm your arm down, let it hang, like a whip or Gumby.
From tanner.pickleball: Tanner says he has hundreds of students who have come to him with the Yips, and these are some of the tips that he shares with them.
He says it is most likely that you are stiff -legged. When you bend your knees consciously, a low athletic stance, you will serve with more power and control.
Tanner says that where your chest and hips point, that is where your serve will go. Point your lead foot where you want the ball to go. Your body and back leg will naturally align your body.
Too much movement in your backswing. Slow that down, let your paddle arm rest naturally at your side, and let your ball arm just reach out in front of your hip. Pretend you have a sniper scope, and line your paddle up behind the ball. Line up your paddle straight back, not behind your body.
And a personal note on the Yips: I tell my students to stop thinking about it and stop worrying about missing. Go back to your mechanics. Athletic stance, short backswing, use your hips and shoulders, follow-through to your target and stand up.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Pickleball tip of the week: How to get rid of the ‘Yips’ on your serve
Reporting by Mary Barsaleau, Special to The Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mary Barsaleau, Special to The Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
