5 Things To Do Before Your Third Shot Drop

Attack Window Drill, Gear Review, Warm-Up Games, New Study on Injuries, $99 Pickleballs, Mom and Daughter Open New Club, Humor & More

Author

FIT PICKLER
August 06, 2026

Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

  • 5 Things To Do Before Your Third Shot Drop

  • Why Good Players Still Need A Warm-Up Game

  • DRILL OF THE WEEK: The Attack Window Drill

  • Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Lower Back Strengthening Exercises

  • Scientific Study Reveals What Researchers Are Learning About Pickleball Injuries

  • NEW SECTION: GEAR REVIEW: TopSpinPro Pickleball Training Aid

  • The 2026 Major League Pickleball Player Awards Ballot

  • Costly Noise-Reducing Solution Has One Cape Cod Town In An Uproar

  • Why I Built A Pickleball Club With My Daughter

  • HUMOR: On My Way To Play - Ignoring All My Responsibilities

  • Coach Mary Will Be Back Next Week

🥷SKILLS

5 Things To Do Before
Your Third Shot Drop

5 Things Before the Third

The third-shot drop gets plenty of attention in pickleball, and for good reason. A well-executed drop can neutralize the serving team’s disadvantage, give both partners time to move forward, and start turning the rally in your favor.

Most instruction focuses on the swing itself. Players work on soft hands, paddle angle, and trying to land the ball in the kitchen. Those details matter, but they are only part of the picture.

By the time the paddle meets the ball, much of the shot has already been decided. Strong players do not just make better swings. They arrive at contact in better position, with better balance, and with a clearer idea of what the ball is asking them to do.

Here are five things that should happen before the paddle ever touches the ball.

1. Move Your Feet Before You Move Your Paddle

One of the most common mistakes is letting the paddle prepare while the feet are still trying to catch up.

💪 Health & Fitness Section

Why Good Players Still
Need A Warm-Up Game

Can We Get A Mulligan?

Most players have experienced the same pattern.

The first game feels a little clumsy. Shots that normally come easily are slightly off. The feet feel slow getting to the ball. Reactions seem a fraction of a second late. Then, somewhere during the second game, everything begins to click.

The ball looks bigger. Movement becomes smoother. Timing improves. The same player who struggled through the opening few points suddenly feels comfortable again 

It is easy to assume the first game was simply "bad pickleball." In reality, there is often much more happening. The body needs time to prepare for the unique demands of the sport, and those changes do not happen the moment players walk onto the court 

Pickleball Asks More Than Most People Realize

A warm-up is not just about raising body temperature. Pickleball requires the body to perform movements that rarely happen during everyday life.

🥷 Drill of the Week:

The Attack Window Drill

A Smashingly Good Drill!

One bad speed-up can erase an entire dink rally. The Attack Window Drill trains you to recognize the difference between a ball you can attack and one you should attack.

Learn how better shot selection can make your speed-ups more effective.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Lower Back Strengthening
Exercise To Relieve Pain

⚕️ HEALTH NEWS

Scientific Study Reveals What
Researchers Are Learning About
Pickleball Injuries

A (Much) Closer Look

A recently published study, "Injury Epidemiology and Risk Factors in Older Pickleball Players," published in the peer-reviewed journal Geriatrics, looked specifically at injuries among older pickleball players and asked a simple question:

Who gets hurt, what kinds of injuries occur, and are there common patterns? The answers are encouraging because they suggest many injuries are not random bad luck. Several common risk factors emerged that players can actually do something about.

⚙️ GEAR REVIEWS
 
TopSpinPro Pickleball Training Aid

NEW FROM PICKLER JUNCTION: The Pickler Junction Team’s reviews go above and beyond a simple thumbs up or thumbs down. They pull together independent testing, verified buyer feedback, community opinions, and objective performance data to show where the TopSpinPro Pickleball Training Aid shines, and where it may not be the right fit, depending on how you play. Note: Review will list MSRP, link will show sale price if available.

Shopping for new pickleball gear? Reply here and we’ll tell The PJ Team what to review next!

🏓 PRO NEWS

The 2026 MLP
Player Awards Ballot

Mixing My Metaphors (Not a real rendition)

The MLP season awards are down to the fans, but one name stands above the rest. Anna Leigh Waters has put together another dominant season, while a breakout star has emerged in the race for Most Improved Player.

See who made the case for MVP and Most Improved Player, and why these picks stand out.

🗞️ NEWS

Costly Noise-Reducing Solution
Has One Cape Cod Town In An Uproar

🤫 Shhhh This Will Solve Everything!

After eight years of complaints over pickleball noise, one town thinks it has found a compromise, involving an unusually expensive new ball. Players say the solution creates a whole new set of problems, and the fight may be far from over.

Read why this latest proposal has sparked so much controversy and what's at stake if no compromise is reached.

👏 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Why I Built A Pickleball
Club With My Daughter

A mother and daughter set out to build Seattle's first purpose-built indoor pickleball club, but the story starts decades earlier with an Olympic rower, her father, and a shared belief that sports can bring people together and leave something lasting.

Read how one family's love of sports grew into a 20-court pickleball club built around community, connection, and the next generation.

🤣 HUMOR

🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY

  💪 Mary Will Return Next Week!

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