Learn the One Shot Top Pros Practice Most: the Reset

"It is much better to hit the world’s highest, worst reset that still makes it over the net and forces your opponent to put the ball away than it is to miss the ball in the net."

Dr. Reset here. Arguably the most important and unique shot in pickleball is the reset from the transition zone.

This shot is crucial in pickleball, as it enables you and your partner to move from a defensive court position in the transition zone to the kitchen, where you can play offense.

There’s a reason the pros practice resets more than any other shot – it is crucial to success.

Here are my two keys to hitting better resets that will you help you move out of the transition zone and up to the kitchen.

Pretend you are a baseball or softball player setting up to field a ground ball

If you are familiar with fielding a ground ball, this crossover sports analogy should already make sense to you. If you aren’t, watch this video on fielding a groundball, and pause it at the 48 second mark (no need to watch beyond that time stamp). 

What I want you to take away from this baseball instructional video and apply it to your resets in pickleball is two-fold. 

First, look at the positioning of the baseball player’s glove. I want you to place your paddle where their glove is.

• When preparing to hit a reset, your paddle should almost be touching the ground, nestled just in front of you, with your arms slightly bent.
• You should feel as if you are about to catch the ball on the paddle face.
• You don’t want to overextend your arms, as that will inhibit the touch and feel you need to redirect the power of the ball and land it softly in the kitchen right in front of your opponents.

Keeping the paddle low and almost on the ground allows you to read the incoming ball that you will reset and make subtle adjustments without compromising the paddle face or touch.

Secondly, the crossover metaphor of fielding a baseball is helpful because it stresses the importance of getting the lower half of your body down in an athletic position.

Decision Matrix: When to Attack or Reset in Pickleball

Pickleball is really all about two key factors: your court positioning and the height of the ball. This matrix decodes the game for you.

The Dink PickleballThe Dink Media Team

Watch any top pro hit a reset.

• They are in a deep squat, legs shoulder width apart, ready to adjust to the ball as it bounces towards them.
• Standing upright with narrow legs is not an athletic stance and sacrifices the athletic positioning your body needs to hit a reset.
• One tweak from the baseball instructional video is how bent over the baseball player is. For resets, I want you to pretend you are doing more of a squat, and don’t hinge over at the hips.

Keep your back straighter and sink back into your legs more like you are sitting down. This will help you keep your posture and maintain the more open paddle face you need to receive the ball and hit it back with enough arc to clear the net and land softly in the kitchen just in front of your opponents.

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Pick a bigger target and refuse to miss short

One common mistake I see a lot when teaching amateurs is their unwillingness to hit multiple resets when trying to reach the kitchen line.

There is zero rule in pickleball that says your first reset must be perfect. In fact, I would argue that the average number of resets hit before a team can make it to the kitchen line is over two, if not three or four.

With that said, never miss a reset into the net.

• Missing in the net is a double-sided killer.
• You are giving you and your partner zero chance at moving forward, and you are also preventing your opponent from potentially making a costly unforced error (which we love).

Again, this may seem obvious, but I guarantee you that most amateurs miss resets into the net because they are trying to hit too good of a shot on the first resettable ball.

As a follow up, make your targets bigger.

Resets are predominantly a defensive shot, meaning it’s even more important to aim for the spot that gives you the best chance to succeed and stay alive.

A lot of the time, that is the middle of the court, where the height of the net is the lowest and it causes your opponents to have to communicate about who will take the ball.

Cross-court is also great, as the distance between you and your cross-court opponent is greater than the distance between you and your down-the-line opponent, meaning you have more room to work with when hitting your reset.

For resets, I like the mantra when in doubt, hit the middle as a reminder of where to target. And remember, stop trying to hit perfect resets.

The best part of this sport is you are almost never out of a point, no matter how bad of a shot you hit or how bad of a court positioning you are in.

Dr. Reset out. Now go practice and I will see you next time.

Professional pickleball player Eric Roddy has teamed up with Jittery Joe’s to release a new pickleball coffee – The Kitchen Brew. Whether you are hitting dinks or chasing dreams in the Kitchen, our medium roast gives you the perfect boost to power through every game. Start your day right, both on the court and in your cup!

You can purchase The Kitchen Brew on the Jittery Joe’s website.