As professional pickleball becomes more competitive and demanding, players must work increasingly hard just to keep pace with the evolving landscape.

Some players rise above the rest in that department, quickly climbing the ranks and establishing themselves as consistent top performers because of it.

It takes a lot for an athlete to reach a gold medal match on Championship Sunday, and Michael Loyd recently shared what he’s been working on to level up his game and break into the top 10 in singles. 

“I’ve been working with my trainer, Ty Woody, and we’ve been doing a lot of speed and agility type of work. A lot of it is very pickleball-specific, with a big emphasis on the first step and trying to get away from wasted motion more than anything,” explained Loyd. “Learning how to take a couple less steps and be more efficient with my steps has really contributed to my game.” 

Athleticism and movement are crucial on the court, of course, but how often does he go back to basics like dinks, drives, and serves?

“I normally drill and play a game once a day. But sometimes I’ll end up drilling twice if I can’t set up a game. And I drill six times a week,” said Loyd.

Luckily for us, Loyd has posted some of his favorite drills on his YouTube channel. These include aggressive dinking, resets from the midcourt, and third shot drive, fifth shot drop combos. He also prioritizes one drill being rhythm-based to maximize reps, and the second drill to be a competitive game to emulate a match scenario.

While some pros stick to regimented drilling schedules, Loyd found that it’s better for him to take one day off from pickleball per week.

“I like to take Sundays off to just rest, recuperate, and get my mind off pickleball,” he mentioned.

Rest of an integral part of Loyd's success.

“Resting is great because you have to have other things outside of pickleball. And that day off is good because it gives me time to go to church, hang out with my friends and girlfriend, and gives me the time to recharge. Sometimes recharging is just sitting at home and relaxing, and other times it's going out to dinner with friends,” he shared.“It’s really important to have balance in your life, so Sundays are usually my designated day where if I’m not playing on Championship Sunday, then I’m resting at home.”

But with Loyd’s strong play, I’m sure we’re going to be seeing him competing on Championship Sunday more often in the future. 

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