Kitchen Recovery Drill: One Player Hits Open-Face Pressure Dinks; The Other Works Reset Footwork — Do Both Corners
Summary
Pickleball 360’s Collin Johns shares a two-player kitchen drill that trains defensive footwork and reset dinks on one side, and offensive dinking on the other.
One player creates offense with an open-face, straight-trajectory dink; the other works the specific footwork of playing defense and hitting a reset dink. Start with a high toss so the defender has a good hitting angle over the net, then repeat. Switch roles, and do the drill in both corners — a righty’s forehand corner on one side, backhand corner on the other — so every player gets every variation.
Start straight-ahead rather than a sharp crosscourt angle. That keeps the ball from running too far off the court and lets the defender focus on intentional footwork and recovery.
Key takeaways
- One player hits open-face, straight-trajectory pressure dinks; the other works defensive footwork and the reset dink
- Toss high to start, repeat, then switch roles; do both the forehand corner and the backhand corner
- Begin straight-ahead, not sharp crosscourt, so the ball stays on the court and the defender can train recovery steps
Action items
- Run this drill for several minutes in one corner, then switch roles before moving to the other corner
- Keep the first round straight-ahead; only add a sharper crosscourt feed after the recovery footwork feels clean