This week in Five Dink Friday:
• The blooper reel that gave me a black eye (and a reality check)
• Why pros only have one forehand—and you have 500
• The split-step fix that’ll make you faster instantly
• Drills to level up your footwork (if you’re brave enough to do them)
• How to handle anyone who says they “don’t like pickleball” 🥋

This blooper reel had me in stitches.
Some clips are hilarious.
Others are downright painful to behold.

I’ve witnessed a few of these in my short pickleball career…
Haven’t yet seen the full head‑dive into the net,
…but I have smacked myself in the face with my paddle.
(Check my LinkedIn banner here if you want to see the damage.)

Oh, and there was the time a ball deflected weirdly off my partner’s paddle, straight into my eye.

Black eye.
Possible detached retina.
Protective eyewear now lives on my face.

💬 What about you?
What’s your worst pickleball injury?
(Maybe next week I’ll focus on how to prevent the most common ones… just for fun.)

Confession: I didn’t come from tennis. (Shocking, I know.)

So when I see a former tennis pro break down pickleball stroke mechanics, I’m all ears. That’s the kind of intel that upgrades your game instantly.

This week, I watched a 40‑minute breakdown by Universal Rackets that showed exactly how better positioning—and the footwork to get there—can make every shot more accurate, more consistent, and way harder to beat.

Too long, didn’t watch? Here’s the TL;DW:

💡 Golden Rule
Pros have one consistent contact point. Rec players? Five hundred different swings (and maybe a prayer).

📍 Positioning 101

🎯 Pro Contact Tips

🚫 Mistakes to Avoid

If you’ve got 40 minutes, watch it. Consider it a free footwork lesson worth a private coaching fee (you actually only need 20 minutes cuz you can 2x the playback speed, and if you're anything like me, just 13.3 min. if you 3x it).

Last week’s Five Dink Friday was all about training in-game awareness and shot selection.

This week? We’re focusing on footwork.

You can’t get into Goldilocks positioning (see #2 above) if your feet can’t move fast enough to put you there.

Here’s the #1 move every former tennis or badminton player does without thinking—
…and almost every pickleball player does wrong:

The split step.

Most pickleball players:

What the pros (and former raquet sport players) do:

💡 How to Fix It

I’ll quit trying to explain it and just have you watch it (cuz you know what they say, “a picture speaks a thousand words,” and if that’s true, then a video speaks a million!):

Think of your legs like loaded springs—your goal is elastic rebound.
Too high a jump kills speed. Stay low, light, and ready to pounce.

If you’ve been planting on your heels or jumping too late… fixing your split step could be the fastest speed upgrade you’ve ever made. Thank me later. :)

The split-step video above included a taste of footwork drills. But if you want to get faster, cover more court, and stop looking like you’re running through molasses when someone goes for a winner, the 8 tennis footwork drills in the video below can take your movement—and your game—to the next level.

Since those ^^^ are pretty intense, here’s a pickleball-specific drill you can use as a cool down. It’ll keep you light on the balls of your feet after your split step, so you’re ready to lunge in any direction at a moment’s notice.

Will I personally start grinding these drills every day?

Probably not.

Why? I don’t know… maybe I’m lazy now.

But at least I know exactly what I’d need to do to level up.
(And knowing is half the battle, right?)

I guess the real question is: will you do them?

Look, I’m a peaceful person.
I believe in kindness.
I believe in sportsmanship.
I believe in community.

….
But if you tell me you “don’t like pickleball”?

(Kidding… mostly.) 😜

That’s a wrap for this week’s Five Dink Friday!

If you enjoyed this edition, forward it to your favorite partner (or that friend who really needs better footwork).

Oh—and to close the open loop… remember the Decision Dilemma from a few weeks ago?

Sturgis vs. MLP weekend?

Y’all overwhelmingly voted for me to stay (my husband says the survey pool was stacked… he’s not wrong).

So I’ll be here—watching the pros, hitting the clinics, and taking copious notes.
Don’t worry—I’ll be back next week to share all my learnings with you right here.

– JP

P.S. I made two free guides this week, which you can grab on LinkedIn:

📘 Pro Tips Guide – 8 Tips from Zane, Callie, and Coach Kyle to Instantly Improve Your Game

Pros aren’t better because they have magic paddles.
They’re better because they’ve trained habits you haven’t… yet.
Here are 8 things Zane, Callie, and Coach Kyle do that you can steal immediately.
(Grab the guide before your next match—your partner will thank you.)

👉 View & Download on LinkedIn

📘 Reddit Deep-Dive Guide – Smartest Tactical Advice Pulled from the Reddit Trenches

Sometimes the smartest pickleball advice isn’t coming from a pro clinic—it’s buried in a Reddit thread with 14 random usernames and a GIF of a cat.
I dug through the chaos so you don’t have to.
(Download my Reddit Roundup—your brain will feel 5.0 after reading it.)

👉 View & Download on LinkedIn