Want the Ball, Hunt the Ball: How to Control the Middle Court in Pickleball

The middle of the pickleball court represents the most valuable real estate in the entire game. It’s where points are won and lost, where partnerships either thrive or fall apart, and where the difference between intermediate and advanced play becomes crystal clear. Yet controlling this crucial space has little to do with power or aggressive shot-making. Instead, it comes down to awareness, positioning, and cultivating the right mental approach to every ball that crosses the net.

Professional player Jill Braverman recently broke down this concept in a video that challenges how most recreational players think about middle court positioning. Her insights come from coaching countless players at her camps, where she’s noticed a recurring pattern: too many people are asking the wrong questions when the ball is in play. Rather than confidently moving toward balls in the middle, players hesitate, defer to their partners, and ultimately surrender control of the rally.

The simple phrase “hit it high, you die” gets repeated constantly in pickleball circles, but knowing a rule and executing it under pressure are completely different challenges. Braverman’s approach goes beyond just understanding that high balls create problems. She focuses on what happens after you inevitably hit that less-than-perfect dink, and how your immediate response determines whether you maintain control or hand it over to your opponents.

The Mental Shift: From Hesitation to Hunting

One of the most striking observations Braverman shares from her recent camps involves the internal dialogue happening in players’ heads during rallies. When a ball comes toward the middle of the court, most recreational players immediately start negotiating: “Is it yours? Is it mine? Should I go for it? Will my partner get it?” This split-second of uncertainty might seem insignificant, but it fundamentally changes your positioning and readiness.

That moment of hesitation puts you on your heels. It transforms you from an active participant in the point to a passive observer, waiting to see what happens rather than making it happen. And in a game where milliseconds matter, where the difference between a winning volley and a mishit comes down to paddle positioning and weight transfer, that mental pause costs you dearly.

Braverman advocates for a completely different mentality: want the ball, hunt the ball. These four words represent a fundamental reframe of how you should approach every moment at the kitchen line. Instead of standing passively and hoping your partner handles the middle balls, you should be actively moving your feet, reading the court, and positioning yourself to take anything that comes your way.

This doesn’t mean abandoning your side of the court or creating chaos with your partner. It means both players should be moving with intent, both should be ready to take the middle ball, and both should be communicating through their body language and positioning that they’re locked into the point. When you and your partner both go for the same middle ball and your paddles collide, that’s not a mistake. That’s a sign you’re both hunting, both committed, both doing exactly what you should be doing.

The alternative, standing back and letting balls go through the middle because you weren’t sure whose it was, is what actually loses matches. Those aren’t close calls that could go either way. They’re points you’re gifting to your opponents because of mental uncertainty rather than physical limitation.

The Oh Snap Drill: Making Partnership Distance Concrete

Understanding that you should stay close to your partner is one thing. Knowing exactly how close, and maintaining that distance during the chaos of a rally, is something else entirely. Braverman introduces a drill she calls “Oh Snap” that transforms an abstract concept into something tangible and immediately applicable.

The setup involves two partners tethered together with a rope or elastic workout band. The opposing team earns points not by winning rallies in the traditional sense, but by forcing the tethered pair to separate and stretch the connection between them. This simple constraint forces players to move as a unit, to feel when they’re drifting too far apart, and to develop the muscle memory for proper spacing.

The ideal distance between partners, according to Braverman, is about one paddle length when you extend your right arm to the side and your partner extends their left arm. Not so close that you’re stepping on each other’s toes, but not so far apart that a ball can cleanly split you down the middle. This spacing allows both players to cover their sides while also being ready to poach and take middle balls aggressively.

What makes this drill particularly effective is that it removes the guesswork. Players often think they’re maintaining proper distance when they’re actually standing too far apart. The physical feedback of the rope or band makes it immediately obvious when someone drifts out of position, creating a learning experience that translates directly to match play.

During actual rallies without the tether, that same awareness remains. You develop an internal sense of where your partner is without having to look, allowing you to focus entirely on the ball and the opponents while still maintaining optimal court coverage. It’s the kind of partnership synchronization that makes good teams look like they’re reading each other’s minds.

The Core Principle: Clean Up Your Own Mess

Every player, regardless of skill level, hits balls that pop up higher than intended. The dink that catches the top of the net and floats, the transition shot that doesn’t quite penetrate deep enough, the volley that you don’t catch quite as early as you should have. These mistakes are inevitable in pickleball. What separates players isn’t whether they make these errors, but how they respond in the immediate aftermath.

Braverman’s guiding principle is beautifully simple: the mess you make, you clean up. When you hit a high dink, your first instinct should not be to back up, hope your partner covers it, or brace for impact. Your first move should be to get big in the middle, paddle up, weight forward, ready to handle whatever comes back.

This represents individual accountability within the partnership framework. You’re not leaving your partner to deal with the consequences of your mistake. You’re stepping up, taking ownership, and positioning yourself to turn a potential disaster into a neutral rally or even an offensive opportunity.

The mechanics of this response are straightforward but require practice to execute instinctively. The moment you recognize you’ve hit a ball high, you should be jumping into the middle with your paddle raised. Not a huge movement that leaves your entire side of the court open, but a decisive step that closes down the most dangerous angle. Because here’s what happens when you do this correctly: that high ball almost always comes right back to your paddle.

Think about the geometry of the situation. Your opponents are at the kitchen line. They see a high ball in the middle. The natural shot is to attack it, either with a hard volley or a roll. But if you’ve immediately positioned yourself in the middle with your paddle up, where can they hit it? Unless they possess exceptional touch and control, that ball is coming right back to you. You’ve essentially eliminated their best option through positioning alone.

Players who hit a high ball and then retreat, moving backward or standing still, are the ones who get punished. They’ve created space for their opponents to attack into, and they’ve put themselves in a defensive posture that makes it harder to reset the point. The difference in outcomes between these two approaches is dramatic, and it all comes down to that immediate reaction after recognizing the mistake.

Creating Space Before You Attack

Watch recreational players and you’ll see a common pattern: as soon as they see a ball that’s slightly elevated or close to the kitchen line, they try to put it away. They wind up and drive the ball as hard as they can, hoping for a winner. Sometimes it works. More often, it results in an unforced error or sets up an easy counter-attack for the opponents.

Professional players think about offense differently. They understand that attacking isn’t just about identifying a single attackable ball and going for it. It’s about setting up your attacks through strategic dinking patterns that move opponents around and create the spaces you want to exploit.

Braverman emphasizes this principle of earning your speed-ups rather than forcing them. Use your dinks to move opponents side to side. Make them stretch. Make them uncomfortable. Create separation between partners. Then, when you see genuine space opening up, that’s when you accelerate the ball. This approach dramatically increases your success rate because you’re attacking into space rather than attacking into bodies.

The speed-up to the middle is particularly effective when executed this way. It doesn’t have to be a blistering drive. Often it’s just a low, aggressive dink directed at the middle that forces both opponents to react simultaneously. They both go for it, they collide or hesitate, and suddenly you’ve won the point without ever hitting what most people would consider a winner. You’ve won through court geometry and intelligent positioning.

This patient approach to offense requires discipline. It means passing up on balls that look attackable but aren’t quite there yet. It means extending rallies by a few shots to get the exact look you want. But the payoff is substantial: higher percentage attacks, fewer unforced errors, and opponents who feel constantly under pressure even during dinking rallies.

Understanding Middle Court Control for Beginners

If you’re relatively new to pickleball, some of these concepts might seem overly complex or abstract. Let’s break down why the middle matters so much and how you can start applying these principles at any skill level.

First, understand that the middle of the court represents the seam between you and your partner. When opponents hit balls to this area, it creates uncertainty about who should take it. That uncertainty leads to balls falling between you for winners, or both of you going for the same ball and colliding. Neither outcome is good.

The solution isn’t to have rigid rules about who takes middle balls. Different partnerships use different systems: some say the player with the forehand takes it, others say the player who hit the last shot takes it, and some just rely on communication and feel. What matters more than the specific system is that both players are moving toward the middle with intent rather than backing away from it.

Think of it like playing defense in basketball. Good defenders don’t stand still and hope the offensive player doesn’t come their way. They move their feet, stay active, and position themselves to make plays. The same mentality applies to the kitchen line in pickleball. You want to be on your toes, paddle up, ready to pounce on anything that comes into your zone.

The “clean up your mess” principle is especially important for developing players to internalize early. When you hit a ball that pops up, don’t panic and back up. Instead, take a quick step toward the middle and get your paddle up. You’ll be amazed at how many balls that seemed like sure winners for your opponents end up coming right to your paddle, giving you a chance to reset the rally and stay in the point.

As for creating space before attacking, this is really about patience. When you’re starting out, the temptation to smash every slightly high ball is strong. But you’ll find much more success if you use those balls to push opponents out of position first. Hit a few dinks to one side, then attack to the other side where space has opened up. This strategic approach will improve your winning percentage immediately and help you understand how the pros construct points.

The Attitude Behind Elite Middle Court Play

What makes Braverman’s teaching particularly valuable is that she addresses the psychological aspects of middle court control alongside the technical elements. The best partnerships aren’t just physically skilled. They have a shared mentality about how to approach every ball, every situation, every moment of uncertainty during a match.

This mentality starts with wanting the ball. Not in a selfish way that leaves your partner feeling excluded, but in a confident, aggressive way that keeps you engaged and ready throughout the point. When both players on a team have this attitude, something remarkable happens. They start moving in sync without having to communicate verbally. They develop an intuitive sense of when to poach and when to hold position. They become genuinely difficult to attack through the middle because both players are always ready to handle it.

The willingness to collide paddles with your partner is a perfect example of this mentality in action. Most recreational players see paddle collisions as mistakes to be avoided. But Braverman frames them as positive indicators that both players are locked in and hunting. Obviously you don’t want to be crashing into each other constantly, but occasional paddle contact on middle balls means you’re both doing your jobs.

This reframe changes how players think about their court positioning and movement. Instead of trying to stay in your lane and avoid your partner, you’re actively moving into shared space, trusting that your partner is doing the same, and creating a defensive wall that’s nearly impossible to penetrate. The middle doesn’t become an area of vulnerability. It becomes your strength.

Practical Application: Putting It All Together

Understanding these concepts intellectually is the first step. Implementing them during actual play requires deliberate practice and conscious attention until the behaviors become automatic. Start by focusing on just one element during your next few sessions.

Maybe you work on the mental aspect first. Before each point, remind yourself to hunt the ball. Notice when you’re hesitating or deferring on middle balls, and consciously push yourself to be more aggressive about taking them. You’ll probably overdo it at first, taking balls that really were your partner’s. That’s fine. It’s easier to dial back excessive aggression than to build up from excessive passivity.

Or focus on the positional response to high balls. Every time you hit a dink that pops up higher than you wanted, make it a point to immediately step toward the middle with your paddle up. Don’t worry about whether the point plays out successfully. Just build the habit of that immediate response. Over time, you’ll start to see how often balls come right back to you when you’re positioned correctly.

The partnership distance element can be practiced during warm-up dinking. Pay attention to where your partner is without looking at them. Can you feel when you’re drifting too far apart? Are you maintaining that one-paddle-length spacing as you both move side to side? This awareness during low-pressure warm-ups will translate to better positioning during competitive points.

For the offensive patience required to set up attacks properly, try this: during your next few games, resist the urge to speed up any ball unless you’ve first moved your opponents to one side of the court. Force yourself to hit at least two crosscourt dinks before attacking. This artificial constraint will help you develop the habit of construction points rather than hunting for quick winners.

Why This Approach Wins Matches

The beauty of focusing on middle court control is that it compounds over time. Every point where you successfully defend a middle attack builds confidence. Every rally where you and your partner move in sync strengthens your partnership. Every high ball that you turn into a neutral exchange rather than a lost point shifts momentum.

Opponents start to notice that they can’t attack through the middle successfully. This forces them to try to hit lines or go for more difficult angles, which increases their error rate. Meanwhile, you’re creating opportunities to attack through patient point construction, putting balls into the spaces you’ve deliberately created rather than forcing attacks into bodies.

The mental edge this provides is substantial. When you trust your partner to be hunting the ball alongside you, when you know that any mistake you make can be cleaned up through proper positioning, when you’re comfortable being aggressive about taking middle balls, you play with more freedom and confidence. That translates directly to better shot selection, better execution, and more points won.

This is ultimately why Braverman’s teaching resonates beyond simple technical instruction. She’s addressing how players think about the game, not just how they execute specific shots. Pickleball rewards players who understand positioning, court geometry, and partnership dynamics just as much as it rewards players with great hands or powerful drives. Most recreational players are obsessed with shot-making and highlight-reel moments. But the reality is that most points are won through awareness, positioning, and mental toughness.

The middle of the court will always be where matches are decided. By wanting the ball, hunting the ball, cleaning up your messes, and maintaining proper partnership distance, you transform that space from a liability into your greatest strength. These aren’t complicated techniques that require months of drilling to develop. They’re mental and positional adjustments that can start improving your game immediately. The question is whether you’re willing to embrace the mentality that separates good teams from great ones: when the ball comes to the middle, you want to be the one who takes it.