Baseline Drops
Why this drill
The third-shot drop is the shot that gets you from the baseline to the kitchen line, and it is the single most practiced shot in serious pickleball. This is the plain, high-repetition version — the one every drilling pair should own.
Setup
One player at the non-volley-zone line with a supply of balls; the other at the opposite baseline. Play on one half of the court, straight ahead.
The drill
The kitchen player feeds a medium-depth ball to the baseline player, who hits a drop aiming to land it in the kitchen — or low enough that the kitchen player would have to hit up on it. The kitchen player catches and refeeds. Do sets of ten and score each set: a drop the net player would have to lift counts, anything they could attack downward does not. Six of ten is solid at 3.0; eight of ten is a 4.0 number. Switch roles every two sets.
One thought to take on court
Think of tossing the ball underhand into the kitchen — the peak of its arc should be on your side of the net.