{"id":1376,"date":"2026-11-10T04:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T04:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/?p=1376"},"modified":"2026-11-10T04:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T04:21:20","slug":"prevent-on-court-falls-test-single-leg-and-tandem-stance-then-train-marches-multidirectional-steps-and-reaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/?p=1376","title":{"rendered":"Prevent On-Court Falls: Test Single-Leg and Tandem Stance, Then Train Marches, Multidirectional Steps, and Reaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content-asset videofit\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Stop Falls Before They Happen on Court\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NyAGlBx2gOY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<p>Selkirk TV notes that almost every pickleball player has fallen, seen a partner fall, or watched it happen nearby \u2014 and balance work is the overlooked way to lower that risk. The lesson starts with two at-home assessments (next to a chair, table, or counter if you need a hand): a single-leg stance for up to 30 seconds on each leg, first with fingertips on a stable surface and then without if you can; and a narrower tandem stance, one foot in front of the other, also up to 30 seconds on both sides. Pickleball spends a lot of time on one leg \u2014 walking, running, lunging \u2014 so these are worth improving.<\/p>\n<p>Those assessments can double as daily exercises. Then come three progressions: a standing march (brief single-leg support) that becomes a walking march with a half-second hold if the standing version is easy; multidirectional steps outside your base of support \u2014 forward, back, side, and a rotational step behind you \u2014 pushing back to stand tall each time so you can absorb a loss of balance instead of drifting into a fall; and the hardest, single-leg reaches, tapping the floor forward, side, at a rotation angle, and back, then returning to stand tall, on both legs. Stay next to something sturdy, and only progress if the earlier work felt solid. After a few weeks, retest the single-leg and tandem assessments.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Assess balance with a single-leg stance and a tandem stance (one foot in front of the other), up to 30 seconds each, on both sides, next to a sturdy surface<\/li>\n<li>Train a standing or walking march so you spend controlled time on one leg<\/li>\n<li>Then step and reach outside your base \u2014 forward, side, rotational, and back \u2014 and push back to stand tall; the single-leg floor-tap reach is the hardest progression<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Action items<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Today, test both assessments (single-leg and tandem, each side, up to 30 seconds) next to a chair or counter<\/li>\n<li>If either is shaky, practice the standing march daily; if both feel easy, add the multidirectional steps and then the single-leg reaches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"tdd-newsletter\">\n<p><strong>Get the 5 best pickleball tips every week<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/subscribe-forms.beehiiv.com\/v3\/loader.js\" data-beehiiv-form=\"0e5f3fe0-e4d3-4036-8d7f-c33b311980b2\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thedropdrive.beehiiv.com\/subscribe\">Subscribe free<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Selkirk TV notes that almost every pickleball player has fallen, seen a partner fall, or watched it happen nearby \u2014 and balance work is the overlooked way to lower that risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,381],"tags":[533,1402,546,1403,1404],"class_list":["post-1376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-footwork","category-technique","tag-balance","tag-fall-prevention","tag-selkirk-tv","tag-single-leg-stance","tag-tandem-stance"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/04-overhead-at-the-net-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedropdrive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}