We recently heard the following advice from pro player Callie Jo Smith’s and is deceptively simple: make balls and get to the kitchen. That may not sound flashy, but it is one of the clearest windows into what winning pickleball actually looks like.
A lot of rec players think a “pattern” means a clever sequence like drive, speed-up, body shot, winner. Pros often mean something more basic and more brutal: a repeatable way to win points more often. And in doubles pickleball, that usually starts with two things:
- You keep the rally alive with enough quality to stay in it.
- You and your partner work your way to the kitchen line.
That is the real angle here: success in rec pickleball is not built on spectacular shots. It is built on patterns that improve your position.
If you want a technical way to say it, here it is:
A winning pattern is a sequence that raises your odds of reaching a stronger court position while lowering your odds of making an unforced error.
That is why Callie Jo’s advice matters so much.
First, “making balls” is not boring advice. It is performance advice.
Rec players hear “be more consistent” and tune out because it sounds generic. But consistency is not just about playing safe. It is about preserving options.
⮕ If you miss your third shot, the point is over.
⮕ If you overhit your return, your pattern never starts.
⮕ If you attack too early and dump it in the net, you never get to your advantage position.
In other words, consistency is what gives every other tactic a chance to work.
This lines up with sports-performance research. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that psychological factors such as self-confidence, attention, emotional control, and self-regulation are meaningfully associated with athletic performance. In practical pickleball terms, that means your “pattern” is not just about where to hit the ball. It is also about whether your mind stays organized enough to keep executing simple, high-percentage choices.
That is why so many rec players fall apart when they try to play above their current consistency level. They are trying to run advanced patterns on a shaky foundation.
What “making balls” really means
It does not mean bunting the ball with no purpose. It means:
- choosing targets with margin
- keeping the ball unattackable when possible
- making your opponents hit one more ball
- and avoiding low-percentage hero shots early in the rally
A lot of players lose points because they are trying to win the point before they have won the position.
That is backwards.
Why getting to the kitchen matters so much
This is the second half of Callie Jo’s advice, and it is the part many rec players understand vaguely but not deeply enough.
You win more points from the kitchen because it is the strongest neutral and offensive position in doubles pickleball. USA Pickleball’s own strategy content says your chances of winning go up dramatically when you get to the non-volley zone line and play from there.
Recent pro-rally analysis built from more than 34,000 rallies makes the same point even more bluntly: getting to the kitchen is the single most important doubles goal for new players, because teams that fail to establish there are playing the point from a weaker geometric position.
Why?
Because at the kitchen you can:
- take time away from opponents
- volley more balls before they drop
- angle dinks more effectively
- attack from above net height more often
- and control the tempo of the rally
⮕ From the baseline, you are usually defending space.
⮕ From the kitchen, you are usually applying pressure.
That is the positional truth underneath Callie Jo’s advice.
The pattern is not “third-shot drop only”
This is the part many rec players misunderstand. They hear “get to the kitchen” and think the answer must always be: third-shot drop, no exceptions.
But there are multiple ways to get there:
- drive and drop
- drive on the third, drop on the fifth
- or driving and crashing
This logic matches current coaching guidance very well. USA Pickleball says that after a third-shot drive, the fifth shot drop is usually the next smart play because the drive is a transition shot, not usually the end of the point. Better Pickleball makes the same point: a controlled third-shot drive can be used to set up an easier fifth-shot drop and help you work your way forward.
So the real lesson is this:
There is no single mandatory shot. There is a mandatory mission: get to the kitchen in a controlled way.
That is a much more useful way to think.
What a winning rec-player pattern actually looks like
For most beginner and intermediate doubles players, a winning pattern is not:
- huge serve
- huge return
- huge drive
- body bag
- chest thump
It is usually more like this:
Pattern 1: Deep return → controlled third → move forward under control
If the return is deep and keeps the serving team back, you buy yourself time. Then you choose the third shot you can actually make with quality — drop if you can, drive if that is the better ball — and move forward behind it.
Pattern 2: Third-shot drive → weaker volley back → fifth-shot drop
This is one of the most practical patterns in rec play. The drive is not the winner. It is the pressure tool that makes the next drop easier.
USA Pickleball and other coaching sources explicitly support this sequence.
Pattern 3: Controlled drive and crash
This works best when the drive stays low enough that your opponents cannot comfortably attack down on it. If you drive and rush forward behind a ball they can hammer at your feet, that is not a winning pattern. That is volunteering for stress.
The key point is that all three patterns are trying to solve the same problem: how do I improve my court position without blowing up the rally first?
That is the pattern mindset rec players need.
The sports-psychology angle: why players abandon good patterns
Here is where the article gets more interesting.
Most rec players do not lose patterns because they forget them. They lose them because under pressure they stop trusting them.
Mental fatigue research shows that fatigue hurts technical and decision-making performance in sport, with meaningful effects on skilled execution. In pickleball language, that often looks like this:
- you stop building the point
- you rush a speed-up
- you attack the wrong ball
- you stop moving with patience
- you go for the spectacular shot because the rally feels emotionally uncomfortable
That is why “make balls” is so important. It is not just a tactical instruction. It is a psychological stabilizer.
When players are under pressure, they often need a pattern that simplifies decisions:
✔ keep the ball in play with quality
✔ get to the kitchen by the smartest route available
That is much easier to trust than trying to invent a new plan every rally.
The biggest misunderstanding: consistency is not passivity
This needs to be said clearly.
A lot of rec players hear “consistency” and think: soft, passive, scared, no pace.
That is not what strong consistency means. Strong consistency means:
- you can hit with enough shape and purpose
- while still landing the ball often enough to keep pressure on the rally
⮕ A controlled third-shot drive is still aggressive.
⮕ A deep return is still aggressive.
⮕ A good fifth-shot drop is still aggressive in the strategic sense because it helps you take the stronger position.
So do not confuse “make balls” with “play timid.”
The real idea is: play with enough margin that your pattern survives.
How to know which route to the kitchen is right for you
Beginner and early intermediate rec players often need this filter:
Use the third-shot drop more when:
- you have time
- you are balanced
- the return is not driving you off the court
- and you can actually land it with shape
Use the third-shot drive more when:
- the ball sits high enough
- you are more comfortable driving than dropping
- or the drive can produce a weaker next ball
Use the fifth-shot drop as your safety bridge when:
- your third-shot drive did its job but did not end anything
- you need one more controlled ball to advance
- and the next contact is easier than the third
That last one is a huge unlock for rec players. Too many players think the third shot has to do everything. It does not.
Sometimes the third shot just has to make the fifth shot possible.
At a Glance: Which Route Gets You to the Kitchen?
| Situation | Best option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You have time and feel balanced | Third-shot drop | Easier to move in behind it |
| The ball sits up or you trust your drive more | Third-shot drive | Can pressure them and set up the next ball |
| Your drive worked but did not end the point | Fifth-shot drop | Helps you move in on the next shot |
| You need one more safe ball before advancing | Fifth-shot drop | Gives you a cleaner path to the kitchen |
Simple takeaway: The third shot does not have to do everything. Sometimes it just needs to make the fifth shot easier.
Practical cues for rec players
If you want to actually apply this, use simple cues:
⮕ “Make this ball useful.”
Not amazing. Useful.
⮕ “Kitchen is the goal, not the shot.”
This keeps you from obsessing over whether the third should be a drop or a drive.
⮕ “Drive to set up, drop to arrive.”
Simple, clear, and very practical.
⮕ “One more good ball.”
Great for transition play and for calming the urge to force.
⮕ “Can both of us get up behind this?”
That is the real doubles question.
What to practice if you want this pattern to hold up
If Callie Jo’s advice is going to become part of your actual game, your practice should reflect it. Do not just drill isolated winners. Drill the sequence.
A strong rec-player progression would be:
- deep return, then recover
- third-shot drive to the middle
- fifth-shot drop off a volleyed reply
- move together to the kitchen
- then play out the point from there
You can also reverse the emphasis:
- third-shot drop only
- move in under the ball
- split step before the opponent contacts
- then reset one more ball if needed
The point is not to make one shot look pretty in isolation.
The point is to make the pattern playable.
