Dink, Lob, Overhead
Why this drill
The lob out of a dink rally is pickleball's ambush — and the overhead that answers it is the counter-ambush. Cycling all three shots in one sequence trains the transitions, which is where the points actually change hands.
Setup
Both players at their non-volley-zone lines, straight ahead on a half court.
The drill
Run the cycle cooperatively: three dinks minimum, then either player may lob — a real lob, over the paddle shoulder. The lobbed player drop-steps, tracks back, and hits a controlled overhead back to their partner, who resets it soft, and both players return to the line and resume dinking. That is one cycle. Count clean cycles; eight in a block is strong. The overhead here is a rally shot at three-quarter pace — placement over pulverizing — because the drill dies with the ball.
One thought to take on court
The moment the lob leaves their paddle, turn — watching it from a square stance is how you end up backpedaling.