There are a few key phrases and buzzwords that every pickleball player loves to say, like “Stay out of the kitchen!” or “0-0-2.” Another common term is the third shot drop. The pros say it, the players play it, but what exactly is it?

The third shot drop is literally the third shot in a rally or point, when a player hits or “drops” the ball into the kitchen on the opposing side of the net.

Catherine Parenteau shared some key tips for beginners to execute this shot correctly.

For the first drill, Parenteau recommends that you set your paddle aside and grab a pickleball with your dominant hand. 

First, stand on the baseline and toss the pickleball straight ahead or cross-court to land in the kitchen. Remember to follow through with your toss. 

“Usually, you want to hit your third shot drop cross-court because it gives you more time to get up to the kitchen line than if you were to hit the ball straight ahead. It’s a longer distance to go cross-court,” she explained. 

When tossing, keep in mind: 

-   Have one leg out in front to shift your weight

-   Don’t use an open stance

-   Don’t back swing

-   Start your hand where your back leg is and swing forward from there

The reason Parenteau has you start with tossing the ball is to get the feel of shifting your weight forward and the follow through. 

A common mistake for beginners is that they don’t follow through with their swing, so the ball doesn’t get over the net. 

After landing the toss on the target, it’s time to add in the paddle. Grab your paddle and Parenteau recommends a continental grip for beginners – but keep it loose.

“You don’t want it tight because when your grip is tighter it’s really hard to absorb on your paddle, so make sure you have a loose grip when you’re playing pickleball,” she advised. “You want to hit something soft.” 

Now, stand in the same position as the previous drill, don’t back swing, and drop the ball out in front of you to practice the follow through to drop to your target. Practice dropping several balls into the kitchen. 

After you get the hang of it, take it up a notch and run this drill with a partner. 

“My partner is going to feed me a return from the kitchen line and my goal is to try to hit a third shot drop right at her,” Parenteau demonstrated. 

Next, you switch to the other side of the court to run the same drill with your backhand. 

Additionally, Parenteau noted that players should hit the ball after it’s bounced once and comes back down for the second bounce. 

“My contact point is pretty low because I don’t want to hit it really high. I want to make sure I let the ball bounce, but I’m trying to hit the ball as it’s peaking and on it’s way down to the second bounce. I don’t want to hit it as it’s peaking, otherwise my contact point is going to be too high,” she said. 

These drills are the perfect start to help you start mastering the third shot drop.

Time to hit the court! 

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