When Drills Hurt Your Game: The Hidden Risks of Repetitive Practice in Pickleball

When Drills Make You Worse: The Hidden Risks of Repetitive Practice
Pickleball players are often told to drill their way to improvement. Hit more drops. Hit more dinks. Repeat the same footwork pattern until it becomes muscle memory. But what if that repetition, instead of making you better, is quietly reinforcing the wrong habits? What if some drills, done the wrong way or in the wrong context, are not helping at all—and might even be making you worse?

It’s a counterintuitive idea, but one supported by both sport science and countless examples on court. Not all practice is good practice.

Why Drills Can Go Wrong
Drills are meant to isolate and strengthen specific movements or decisions. But many players, especially at the recreational level, focus on quantity over quality. They repeat the same shot in the same way, with little pressure, little variation, and no meaningful feedback.

This creates what some coaches call false confidence—a sense of progress that doesn’t hold up under match conditions. The issue isn’t the idea of drilling itself. It’s how drilling is applied.

Here are some of the most common ways it goes wrong:

1. Drilling a Flawed Technique
When players practice a shot with poor mechanics, every repetition further engrains that mistake. A third shot drop with the paddle too low, a dink without proper grip pressure, or a drive with an open shoulder—all of these become harder to fix later if repeated uncorrected.

Without feedback or video review, many players don’t even realize they’re drilling something wrong until it shows up in matches. By then, it’s no longer just a bad shot—it’s a habit.

2. Practicing Without Decision-Making
Real rallies require constant decisions: where to aim, whether to drop or drive, whether to reset or attack. But many drills remove this layer entirely. Players are told, "Just hit ten crosscourt dinks," or "Hit twenty serves down the middle." These drills might build a sense of control, but they don’t teach how to read the play or adapt to opponents.

When match time comes, the lack of decision-making under pressure becomes obvious. Players freeze, second-guess themselves, or make poor choices they never rehearsed in training.

3. Reinforcing Lazy Movement
Static drilling—especially at the kitchen line—often leads players to stand flat-footed. They reach rather than shuffle. They lean instead of adjusting their stance. Over time, this teaches the body that minimal movement is “good enough.”

But in actual points, that lazy movement shows up in late steps, off-balance hits, and recovery mistakes. The drill created a comfort zone that doesn’t exist in real play.

4. Training Without Pressure
Drills usually remove consequences. If you miss a dink in a drill, you just pick up the ball and go again. But in a match, every miss matters. The lack of stakes during practice leads to a false sense of security. Players think they’ve “got it,” but under game pressure, the shot falls apart.

This is especially true for third shot drops. A player might hit 20 smooth drops in a row in practice. But when their heart rate is up, the score is close, and opponents are charging the net, the drop suddenly floats or dies into the net.

5. Relying on Symmetry and Predictability
Many partner drills use patterns: “You hit to me, I hit back to you.” But real pickleball is not symmetrical. Your opponent might hit into your feet, lob suddenly, or roll a topspin dink. Drilling only predictable exchanges builds rhythm, but not resilience.

A one-dimensional drill prepares you for a one-dimensional opponent—and those are hard to find above the beginner level.

How to Tell If a Drill Is Hurting You
Here are a few signs that your drilling routine might be reinforcing the wrong things:

You feel confident in warm-ups or drills but shaky in actual games

You rarely change pace, depth, or direction during drills

You don’t record or review your technique

You’re practicing the same shot without a specific tactical purpose

You improve in practice but plateau during competition

If these patterns sound familiar, the fix isn’t to stop drilling—but to drill smarter.

How to Make Drills Match-Ready
Add Constraints
Instead of endlessly dinking, try a “three dinks then attack” rule. Or play out points where one side must drop and the other counters. Constraints mimic real decision-making and force adjustments.

Use Randomness
Incorporate reactive drills. Have a partner feed balls unpredictably to forehand or backhand. Mix in resets, volleys, or sudden lobs. The less predictable the feed, the more game-like the drill becomes.

Film and Review
Watching your own technique—even briefly—reveals flaws you may not feel. Video doesn’t lie. A simple clip of your footwork or drop shot can guide more productive reps.

Simulate Pressure
Keep score. Set a target number. Add a consequence for missing two in a row. These light stressors help prepare you for how a shot feels when it counts.

Work in Short Intervals
Instead of doing 50 dinks, do 10 reps with focus, then reset and adjust. Quality always outweighs quantity, especially when forming habits.

Conclusion
Drills are a cornerstone of skill development in pickleball, but they are not automatically helpful. The wrong repetition reinforces the wrong instincts. When done without purpose, variability, or pressure, drills create illusions of progress that crumble in match play.

The solution is not to abandon drilling but to approach it with intention. Focus on the “why” behind each drill. Build game-like conditions. Seek feedback. Drill with purpose, not just for motion. Because in the long run, how you practice is how you’ll play.