February 18, 2026

In this Newsletter:

👉🏼 Local 3.5+ ladies: A few spots left for this Sunday's Women's Doubles Strategy clinic!
🎯 YouTube video: THE most important shot to go from intermediate to advanced
⭐️ Upcoming half day camp schedule

THIS SUNDAY: Women's Doubles Strategy Clinic!

Sunday, February 22 | 9:00 - 11:30 AM

Level: 3.5 - 4.0

Take your doubles game to the next level! This clinic at California Smash focuses on doubles strategy and tactics, including partnering & stacking techniques to give you and your partner a competitive edge.

Register now: Click here to sign up

The Game Changing Shot I Wish I'd Learned Sooner

When I started playing pickleball, I was your standard issue tennis player, assuming Pickleball was like "mini tennis". My whole game was about hitting the ball hard, and I hit hard (successfully) right up until 4.0.

Because It's not that banging doesn't work, but it only works to a point. However, it took a lesson with Jessie Irvine to finally have it explained that mastering the transition zone is what separates intermediate players from advanced players. Nobody had ever told me! (granted there weren't a lot of youtube or Instagram vids at the time, or even good coaches around at the time)

That was the information I needed to really improve and start to creep past my tennis-playing peers.

And at the heart of transition zone play?

THE RESET.

Why a Reset?

Resets restore your position and help you get back to even with your opponents.

Here's the key principle: You're never out of the point if you can get the ball back down into the kitchen or towards the feet of your opponents, whether it's out of the air or off the bounce. That's the purpose of the reset.

Simple idea, challenging execution.

Key Techniques to Focus On:

• Soft but stable hand: control without tension

• Slightly open paddle face, to drop the ball softly into the kitchen

• Contact in front of your body - stay stable and balanced

Resets are not easy, but they're essential. In my video, I break down the concepts and illustrate examples of how to conceptually execute this shot. If you haven't had a chance yet, check it out!