Master Mixed Doubles & Playing w/ a Loved One! What's your "Non-Negotiable"?

Jill Braverman
3 hours ago
5 min read

My newest YouTube video helps you fall back in love with mixed doubles and gives you keys for playing with a loved one.

Jack Munro and I won gold in Cincy three weeks ago in a whirlwind comeback — down a game and 2-7 in the second, we came back to win it 11-9 in the third! You can watch the match here (it was broadcast on CBS Sports last week, too). Notice on match point what Jack and I do: we stay back. And what happens? Casey Diamond overswings on the fourth. If you've been to one of my camps, you've seen my 2-up-2-back drill and how I preach to NOT rush in on your third if the ball isn't good enough.

Here are SIX KEYS to winning in mixed doubles and/or playing with a loved one:

1.) At least one of you needs to drive the bus on communication:

If the woman can be the one calling "you" or "me," it puts her into an ACTIVE state full of agency versus a REACTIVE state guessing "which ball does my partner want?" She may not hit every ball, but she can be the conductor of the "you or me" symphony. Communication isn't an onus — it's a gift. I call it "legal cheating," and it's a great way to build new neural pathways by exercising your brain while you play.

2) What's your non-negotiable?

My sister can't stand it when I coach her. I can't stand it when she doesn't tap my paddle after a lost rally. Ask yourself, what's YOUR non-negotiable? Share it with your partner or loved one. It goes a long way, trust me.

3) Stop saying "you took my ball"

If it were your ball, you would have been there sooner. There's no "your ball." Cut that thinking from your life...and go get the ball! Jack Munro taught me his thinking on the age old question,"is it yours or mine?" He talks about "P1 and P2"--meaning Priority 1 hitter and Priority 2 hitter. P1 sets up to take the ball, but P2 is there also, just behind P1, in case P1 decides they don't want it. Translation: Both players should be prepared to hit every ball. Really let that sink in. Why I love this so much? Because it fires up your footwork thinking you need to be prepared to take or save every single ball.

4) If you're being targeted or iced out, practice this:

Being targeted? Start FERNE'ing (fake Erne). It's one simple step to give your partner space and get your opponent to freak out at your amazing off-ball movement. It's SO MUCH EASIER than you think. You may be wondering "what if my partner isn't there to cover me?" and I would say, still try it because often the player in front of you just panics and misses because they are watching your stellar off-ball movement. You can also give your partner a heads up, "Hey I'm going to dink down the line more today because I'm working on my Erne. You good with that?"

Remember, dinking down the line gives the erne and is the easiest way to funnel the ball to your partner. Dinking cross court funnles the ball back to yourself.

If you're being targeted, consider becoming a lob master. No one, and I mean no one, likes hitting balls to the player who has a deadly lob. Also considering attacking more. If you're getting a lot of balls the translation is, "we are not scared of you." So give them something to be scared about.

Being iced out? Practice learning your reach by poaching balls you never thought you could reach.

(You know you're getting good at pickleball when you look down and realize you ended a rally on your partner's side of the court.)

You would be amazed at what you can reach on a court when you give yourself the grace to whiff a couple and learn your reach.

If you're being iced out, stand in the middle of the court, ready to pounce on anything you can reach. But what if they go behind you? That's why my all-time favorite dinking drill is the Merry-Go-Round drill — the more comfortable you get grabbing balls behind you, the more you can scoot toward the middle of the court and poach.

5) Align on a plan, even if it's the wrong plan!

If you and your partner don't at least have a quick conversation about the strategy, it's much harder to assess if your strategy is actually working or not. Here's a few simple questions you should align on:

Which opponent are we returning to?*
Which opponent are we targeting in transition?*
Where are our speed-up spots?*
What's our dinking pattern?
Where do we want to hold on our counters?

*Simplify it down to these three questions if this feels overwhelming.

6) Understand who the weaker player is — and don't be afraid to attack the man early.

The weaker player is often NOT the woman. In fact, she's used to being attacked and often has great counters, hands, and resets. But the man is used to attacking and unused to being attacked — especially from the woman! So in the words of Andrei Daescu: don't be afraid on the very first rally to light the guy up if you're the woman (high left shoulder is usually the best spot). And remember my advice: on every team, one person likes it slow, and one likes it fast. Your job is to figure out who's who — and give them the opposite. In the words of Scott Crandall: "You don't need to beat both players on the court. Just one."

What are YOUR keys to playing mixed doubles or with a loved one? I want to know! Email jillybcamps@gmail.com

Last camps of the year! Only 1 spot left in August!

Alex Emery (6.0 DUPR, top 20 on APP Tour) is coming to Grand Cayman!

You know I only bring the best coaches to my camps, and Grand Cayman is no exception with Theresa Tarn and now Alex Emery, who gives me a run for best two-handed backhand on the APP Tour. Come to a camp and decide for yourself. Ps remember when Alex and I won a men's open tournament?!

This newsletter is brought to you by…DAPS shoes!

If you love my Monday Minute then please consider supporting my partners. Do you want your feet to feel amazing after you play? Then try DAPS! They just released PINK! Use code JILLYB and do NOT miss out on this fantastic color drop. Comfortable right out of the box.

We started asking students how they felt about our camps in a post-camp survey and here's what they said:

“Experiencing camp cannot be compared to online teaching or instructional videos. It’s 100 times better and more impactful. Being immersed in what Jill is teaching can be compared to watching pickleball on TV or standing on the court with the pro players experiencing their gameplay, mindset, strategy, and encouragement. It’s three-dimensional, not one-dimensional.”

“If you want to play like a pro, then you need to learn from a pro, and there is no better Pro to learn from than Jilly B!”

“I have attended many of the well-known Pickleball camps over the years. Jilly B's camp is by far the best camp I have ever attended. Jilly's style of instruction was exceptional. Unlike other camps, by the end of the day I learned so much, but did not feel overwhelmed. This camp has already improved my Pickleball game exponentially.”

“I learned more at JB’s pickleball camp in two days than I have learned in three years from clinics and coaches.”

Have a question for Jilly B? Email us at jillybcamps@gmail.com

Xoxo,

Jilly B