Pickleball Strategies "Poaching"

Poaching

Make sure that your opponents are worried that you may poach. You are not doing the job if you are not giving head and shoulder fakes at the net. Occasionally poach just to make your fakes seem believable.
Make your opponent hit the ball to you. Make a head and shoulder fake in one direction and hold your position on the court. Your opponent will think that you are going to move down the net and he will hit the ball to you. Occasionally you will have to poach to make your fakes believable.
If both players on the opposing team are much better than one of the players on the other team than the stronger player of that team must poach and fake like he is about to poach to level the playing field. Only if you are playing to win, not playing for fun and the opposing team is hitting all their balls to your partner.
An excellent poacher should poach as much as possible even if all four are of equal ability His partner should not take this as a personal affront. It is proper play and good strategy. To poach is to cut off and hit the shot that your opponent hit to your partner.
Types of Poaching:
Waiting at the net until you actually see an easy return from your opponent and move across court to cut the shot off for a winner.
Player anticipates an easy return from his opponent and moves across the court to cut the shot off a split second before his opponent hits the ball.
It is important to pick the proper time in the game to poach.
Early in the game so that your team has time to recover in case you lose the point.
When your team is way ahead or way behind.
When you or your partner has just hit a very difficult shot at you opponents feet and you feel the opponent will be lucky just to return the ball without being accurate.

Coach Mo

Content from the Pickleball Strategy Guide by Coach "Mo"
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