Joe Frasca
First Five Shots
This course is only available to people who have participated in the First Five Shots Clinic.  It contains some of the key concepts covered in that clinic.
Want to get better Fast?
Q: What’s the single biggest (not only) difference between a 5.0 and a 3.0 pickleball player?
A: The 5.0 player consistently gets to and plays most of their shots from from the NVZ.
You could probably play 0.5 to 1.0 higher than you do now by just getting to the NVZ AND being comfortable there!
So why don’t players just do that?
Because the difference between theory and reality is greater in reality than it is in theory!
- Players don’t understand how much it matters
- They have habits from sports where it doesn’t matter as much (e.g., tennis)
- They don’t know how to get there (15 feet seems simple but it’s not)
- They don’t feel advantaged when they get there (can’t create stress)
- They don’t feel comfortable there (get stressed)
How do you know if it's affecting your regular games (symptoms)?
- The entire match has lots of points played, but few scoring points
- You have trouble winning points
- You seem to get caught up in banging games even though you don’t want to
- The ball never seems to touch kitchen
While pickleball points can go on for 60-70 shots, the First Five Shots (FFS) are critical to the nature and length of point. If the first 5 shots are unattackable and everyone gets to or makes significant progress to the NVZ, it’s likely that the point has been equalized with evenly matched teams having an equal chance of winning. If those conditions are not achieved, the receiving team will likely have a distinct advantage and the point will likely be short.
Important
By accessing this information, I hereby acknowledge that it is copyrighted and valuable intellectual property of Joe Frasca and NeuroAthlete. I agree to use it for personal use only and that I am permitted and even encouraged to share what I have learned with pickleball friends and playing partners while giving credit to the authors. I understand that I may not use this information for any commercial purpose without the express permission of Joe Frasca or NeuroAthlete.