3 Drills to Master Soft Hands & Touch 👏🏼 #pickleballdrills #pickleball #pickleballpro #pickle

Summary

Preston’s Playbook shows three progressive soft-hands drills at the kitchen line. Drill 1: partner speeds the ball up and you ‘catch’ it on the paddle by absorbing pace with an open face, a loose grip and a carving motion under the ball. Drill 2: block the speed-up, then punch the next ball back, changing grip pressure (soft to block, firmer to punch). Drill 3, the most game-like: reset the first speed-up into the kitchen, then counterattack the second.

Key takeaways

• Absorb pace with an open face, loose grip and a carve under the ball
• Grip pressure is a dial: soft to block, firmer to punch
• Reset first, counter second is the game-realistic pattern
• Touch is trained with structured progressions

Action items

• Drill 1: partner speed-ups, ‘catch’ 20 balls dead on your paddle
• Drill 2: block + punch pairs, 10 reps each side
• Drill 3: reset the first speed-up into the kitchen, counter the second
• Cue: ‘loose to absorb, firm to punch’