Third shot drop in Pickleball

Reviewer Real tested numbers instead of the usual 'just feel it out.'

Moderator Landing zone measured in feet, net clearance in inches, ball speed in mph down the line vs cross court. This is entirely the drop, quantified rather than vague.

Reviewer Structured like an actual lesson plan, not just a highlight of tips.

Moderator Systematically covers three distinct types of this exact shot - push/slice drop, topspin drip, and top-spin drop - with a named practice drill (the slinky drill) for each. Comprehensive coverage of the named skill.

Reviewer One of the better drop tutorials in this batch - specific and correct.

Moderator A focused, credible third shot drop tutorial - wrist lock, swinging from the shoulder, semi-closed stance - all core, correct technique points.

Reviewer The apex-control explanation alone is worth the watch.

Moderator Grip, shoulder-driven swing, weight transfer, apex control, golden landing zone. This is a full technical breakdown of the drop and nothing but the drop.

Reviewer The backspin-kick explanation for why your feet betray you on this shot is something most coaches never actually explain.

Moderator Comprehensive, entirely about drop technique - contact point, footwork against backspin returns, paddle face direction. Doesn't wander from the skill.

Reviewer If you only watch one drop video, make it this one - it tells you which drop to use when, not just one way to do it.

Moderator Every section is a different drop technique - push, shovel, topspin roll - each explained on its own with when to use it. Nothing but drop content.

Reviewer Great mental model: peak it on your side, get under the ball, wait for the apex. Fixes more drops than a swing tip.

Moderator All about the pickleball third shot drop: aim to peak the ball on your side of the net rather than just clearing it, brush up the back of the ball to add topspin, and wait for the incoming ball to peak before you hit it. Also explains the job of the shot, which is to buy time to move up to the kitchen. Squarely on target.

Reviewer Explains the why, not just the how - real pro-level detail.

Moderator A named pro teaching a specific, well-defined variant of the third shot drop (the 'drip' - a hybrid drive/drop with topspin). Entirely and specifically about this skill.

Reviewer Fixes the exact mistakes that keep new players from dropping consistently.

Moderator Goal of the drop, grip, swing size, wrist tension, spin types, and starts into aiming before the clip cuts off. All drop, all the time.

Reviewer Legit pro teaching a shot she's known for, good detail, good credibility.

Moderator A top-20 pro walking through her go-to slice drop step by step: commit criteria, footwork, grip, contact. Squarely the drop, one specific variant of it.

Reviewer The margin-over-the-net reframe alone will fix a lot of players' drops.

Moderator 100% third shot drop, specifically an upgrade/refinement angle (margin over the net, footwork/weight transfer) rather than the basics. Stays locked on the skill the whole way through.

Moderator Builds the pickleball third shot drop from the why: it neutralizes the receivers' advantage by making them let the ball bounce, so you can move up to the kitchen. Covers where the ball should peak (on your side, not over the net) and the lift-and-push swing with the paddle head down and the shoulder as the hinge. Squarely on the sub-skill.

Reviewer Best part is the why: the drop is there to neutralize, so peak it on your side and lift-and-push it.

Reviewer The 'close the drawer' cue actually works as a mental model.

Moderator The entire video is 'the only drop you'll ever need' - the push drop, taught start to finish with placement and common mistakes. Squarely and completely the named skill.

Reviewer Clean and correct - teaches you one repeatable shot instead of twenty.

Moderator Entirely third shot drop from first word to last - footwork, stance, grip, slice vs roll variants, when to use each. Nothing else creeps in.

Reviewer Teaches the spin mechanics AND when to actually use them, both matter.

Moderator Topspin drop is a direct variant of the third shot drop, and this stays entirely on that: paddle path, setup, when to pull the trigger on it versus a regular drop. On-topic throughout.

Reviewer Gives you the actual numbers and target zone, not just 'hit it soft.'

Moderator Every second of this is the third shot drop, nothing else. They define it up front for newcomers then go straight into aim height, pace and landing zone. Dead center of the skill.

Moderator Third shot drop touch and feel in pickleball: very soft grip, extend with the arm and shoulder instead of flipping the wrist, hit after the bounce at the apex rather than on the way up, and stay low with your legs. Includes two practice drills. All of it is the drop.

Reviewer Real coaching with drills: soft hands, wrist-squeeze, toss-and-hit. Use them.

Reviewer Smart teaching move - builds the drop from a stroke players already trust.

Moderator A full technique-plus-drill breakdown of the third shot drop, built by connecting it to a movement players already know (the dink) and then walking backward toward the baseline. Entirely and specifically the named skill.

Reviewer Clean, concrete three-step breakdown - good one to drill from.

Moderator Directly on the named skill - grip pressure, brushing for topspin, and shaping the arc are all core third shot drop technique elements.

Reviewer The spin myth-bust is worth the watch alone - a lot of players are told to slice this shot and shouldn't be.

Moderator Four tips, all specifically about the drop's mechanics - backswing, knee bend, spin, and margin for error on height. Tight focus throughout.

Reviewer The 'hit it on the way down, not the peak' cue is exactly right, and the drill itself is one you can go run today.

Moderator The whole video is a drill built specifically to teach the drop stroke - contact point, follow-through, timing off the bounce. No drift into other shots.

Reviewer Good single cue, easy to apply on court.

Moderator Directly about third shot drop footwork - stepping as the ball bounces, feet before hands, exactly the named skill.

Reviewer The traffic-light system is a keeper - it actually changes your decision-making at the kitchen line.

Moderator Entirely about the drop - not just hitting it but what to do after (traffic light system for moving in) and where to target it. Squarely on the skill even as it extends into post-shot positioning.

Reviewer Specific, correct cues that actually fix common drop errors.

Moderator Squarely third shot drop mechanics - contact point relative to the body, grip pressure.

Reviewer Solid starting point for learning the shot, not exhaustive.

Moderator Squarely the named skill - core third shot drop mechanics (paddle stillness while tracking, body weight not just arm, aiming middle).

Moderator Backhand pickleball third shot drop with a slice: line your feet up on the line to your target, catch the ball instead of chopping at it, keep the wrist locked, and shift weight from the back foot to the front at contact so the legs carry the ball. All of it is about the drop.

Reviewer Clear and practical: feet on the line to your target, catch the ball don't chop it, push with your legs.

Reviewer Good basics: step in, set the paddle early, catch the ball with a locked wrist. Short, so go drill it.

Moderator Pickleball third shot drop in under a minute: step into the shot with your weight going forward instead of hitting off the back foot, set the paddle early and keep it still with no backswing, then lock the wrist and drive through with the shoulder and legs. Every cue is about the drop.

Reviewer Real fix, clearly named - footwork and spacing over wristy hands.

Moderator Straight through, this is forehand third shot drop coaching - foot position, wrist vs shoulder, timing, topspin cue. No detours.

Reviewer Solid, and the reflex-based case for not rushing the transition zone is genuinely useful for older players.

Moderator Focused on the drop's purpose and the transition-zone movement that follows it, framed for senior players specifically. Stays on-skill throughout; the age-specific framing doesn't pull it off topic.

Moderator Three third shot drop basics in pickleball: keep the paddle still and tracking the ball with no late backswing, use body weight and momentum rather than muscling it with the arm, and aim at the middle of the kitchen where the net is lowest. All on the drop.

Reviewer Fixes for drops that sail: no last-second backswing, use your body, aim for the middle of the kitchen.

Reviewer One tip and the right one: let it fall into your strike zone before you hit it.

Moderator One tip for the pickleball third shot drop: make contact as the ball falls into your strike zone, not on the way up. Explains why: better timing, the ball travels along the paddle's path for longer, and you hit the middle of the paddle more often. Narrow, but all on the drop.

Reviewer Solid roll-drop cues, but learn the soft drop first and know when you'd choose this one.

Moderator The aggressive, topspin version of the pickleball third shot drop: get under the ball with your legs, point the paddle tip down so you can brush up the back of it, lay the wrist back and release it through contact. It's the roll drop rather than the standard soft drop, but squarely a third shot drop.

Reviewer Names the actual mechanics that separate a drop from an accidental drive.

Moderator Breaks the drop down into its real mechanical components: backswing size, hitting on the downswing, leg lift.

Reviewer Solid one-liner tip, but it's the appetizer, not the meal.

Moderator Whole clip is the third shot drop, nothing else. One specific mechanical fix (fixed contact point in front of the back leg) aimed directly at consistency on this exact shot.

Reviewer Solid modern technique cues, interrupted by a product pitch.

Moderator Explicitly frames the drip as a drop - 'the first drop that we're going to be talking about' - an aggressive modern evolution of the third shot drop, not a separate shot like the hybrid video. Squarely in the sub-skill, just the advanced end of it.

Reviewer Good diagnosis of what's going wrong, but it sells you the fix instead of showing it.

Moderator All six mistakes are third shot drop specific - serve creep, weight back, wrist use, rushing the net, contact zone, treating every ball the same. Squarely on the shot.

Reviewer Quick, correct cue card, but too short to teach the feel; assumes you already hit drops.

Moderator Twenty seconds on the pickleball third shot drop: weight loaded on the outside foot then moved toward the target, contact out in front in line with the back knee, paddle corner travelling from six o'clock to one o'clock. Directly on the drop.

Reviewer Good map of when to use slice, roll or push, but it names the shots rather than teaching them.

Moderator Sorts the pickleball third shot drop into three types, slice, aggressive topspin roll and push drop, and when to use each: slice on deep returns, push drop on short, low-bouncing balls, roll when you're being aggressive and moving to the kitchen line. About the drop, but it's shot selection rather than technique.

Moderator Twenty-second cue card for the pickleball third shot drop: load the outside foot and shift toward the target, meet the ball out in front in line with the back knee, and swing the paddle corner from six o'clock to one o'clock. All three cues are about the drop.

Reviewer Handy cue card, but too quick to teach the feel; you need to know the shot already.

Reviewer Good real coaching cues, but you're eavesdropping on a lesson, not watching a tutorial.

Moderator It's the topspin/roll variant of the third shot drop specifically, not the whole shot family - narrower than the full sub-skill but still squarely inside it, this is a drop, just the spin version.

Reviewer Gets the basics right but doesn't go much beyond a quick overview.

Moderator Short but squarely about the drop - why you'd hit it instead of driving through, and the basic setup (grip, paddle position, knee bend). No filler.

Reviewer The traffic-light framework fills a gap most drop lessons skip entirely.

Moderator This is about the decisions you make after hitting a drop (a green/yellow/red read on how it landed and what to do next), not the stroke mechanics - but it's built entirely inside the context of this shot, addressing a real gap most lessons skip.

Reviewer Legit strategic workaround, backed by claimed real results.

Moderator Discusses why the shot is hard from the baseline and pivots to a strategic alternative (drive on third, drop on fifth from an easier midcourt position) - still squarely embedded in third-shot-drop strategy even if the 'fix' is largely to delay it.

Reviewer Solid advice buried under a supplement ad.

Moderator Good third-shot decision-making, but a good chunk of the run time is a creatine ad and a real portion of what's left is actually selling you on the drive, not the drop. It's about the drop by consequence, deciding when NOT to drop, rather than teaching the drop itself.

Reviewer Good strategic context, but teaches no actual technique.

Moderator The entire video is a strategic discussion of the third shot drop - what it is, who actually needs it, and why - even though the conclusion is 'most of you don't need to learn it.' It's substantively about the skill's role, not off-topic.

Reviewer Good if you already know the game - not built to teach, more to eavesdrop on.

Moderator A conversational, high-level discussion of where to aim third shots (including specifically the 'shovel drop') between presumably strong players - relevant to the shot's tactical use, though it's targeting strategy more than drop mechanics.

Reviewer Great insight from a top pro, but thin on actual drop mechanics.

Moderator This is really a drive-vs-drop decision video, and most of the actual advice is don't drop this ball, drive it instead. Useful context for the shot, but it's teaching you when to avoid the drop more than how to hit one.

Reviewer Smart tactics once you can already hit the shot - no help if you can't yet.

Moderator This isn't teaching the shot at all - no grip, stance, or contact cues anywhere. It's shot placement (corners vs middle) and doubles transition footwork after the drop. Related and useful for using the shot well, but it's positioning strategy, not third shot drop mechanics.