Leigh Waters is one of the top pickleball coaches in the game.

Unlike other pro players and coaches who post countless training videos and talk strategy on podcasts, Waters generally keeps her winning strategies quiet and rarely reveals her secrets.  

So whenever Waters does share some knowledge, we listen. 

On a recent episode of the Talk Pickle To Me podcast, Waters provided some drill tips for amateur players that her daughter - World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters - enjoys, too.

1. Consistency Drills 

“You have to do the consistency drills, which are super boring,” began Waters. “When I coach Anna Leigh and Christian Alshon, I make them dink from every direction and they have to make 100 on their own ball. It’s so monotonous and boring, but it makes you work your brain.” 

“You have to figure out how to apply pressure on yourself in practice, somehow. And those consistency drills are more about applying some kind of pressure. It’s funny because in pickleball, the game used to be all about dinking cross court 400 times and whoever could outlast the other person won,” Waters continued. “It’s really less about being able to dink 100 times because that’s not going to happen in a match. It’s more about being able to make consecutive balls to a target under a little bit of pressure. You really have to be able to do those monotonous types of drills.”

2. Develop Weapons

Like Waters said, consistent dinking and target drills won’t win you a match.

With that in mind, she recommended adding drills to develop weapons in your game. 

“Everybody has different weapons. Some people have speedups, some people are counters. Some people have the best thirds, develop whatever that is. Your defense can be off the charts, but if you don’t have a weapon, you can’t win,” she said. “Find your weapon, develop it, and make sure that you’re constantly working on it. Once it gets good and it’s your weapon, don’t forget about it. You’ve got to work on it all the time because you can’t lose it.”

3. Fast hands

Waters concluded with a final tip: working on your hands.

As pickleball gets faster, having good hands on the court is key.

Waters suggested taking a page from Alshon’s book and doing wall drills. Or grab a drilling partner and practice with someone speeding up the ball or countering at you relentlessly. That can help you develop fast hands. 

“Figure out how to make your hands fast. If you have slow hands, whether you’re an amateur or a pro, you’re not going to win a game. Back in the day, 100% you could get away with it. Now, you can’t,” said Waters.

Now, it’s time to drill dinks, develop weapons, and work on fast hands.

That will definitely help you win more matches.

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