Hey there, it’s your coach Jordan Briones.
I had my friend Brooks come out to help me break down the forehand drive today. Brooks has an incredible drive with a tennis background that definitely helps, but what he’s about to share works for anyone who wants to add serious power and spin to their forehand without sacrificing accuracy.
If you’ve been struggling to generate pace on your drives or if your forehand feels flat and predictable, this breakdown is going to change everything for you.
The Three Things Brooks Focuses on for a Powerful Drive
Brooks focuses on three main things when he hits his drive. These aren’t complicated mechanics or fancy techniques. They’re fundamental movements that generate effortless power when you put them together correctly.
1. It All Begins With Your Legs
The very first thing Brooks thinks about is incorporating his legs. As soon as he sees the ball coming toward him, he knows he wants to get low.
This is where most recreational players lose all their power. They stand too tall and try to generate everything from their arm. But real power in pickleball, just like in tennis, comes from the ground up.
When you get low and load into your legs, you’re storing energy that transfers through your hips, your core, and finally into the ball. Your arm is just the delivery mechanism. The legs are the engine.
2. Why Clearing Your Hips Changes Everything
The second thing Brooks focuses on is clearing his hips. Just like on the serve, he’s going to clear his back hip and bring it through.
This hip rotation is where the explosive power comes from. It’s not a massive backswing. It’s a really quick hip rotation that generates all the speed.
A lot of players try to swing harder with their arm when they want more pace. But that actually creates tension and makes you less consistent. When you focus on clearing your hips quickly, the power happens naturally without extra effort.
Brooks uses a semi open stance positioned at about a 45 degree angle. This is the best of both worlds. It allows you to rotate your core and it frees up that momentum as you drive through the ball.
He likes the semi open stance because it’s easier to bring that back hip through. If you’re in a fully closed stance, you have to do so much more turning. The semi open position makes it easier to contact the ball out in front and still feel confident about making the shot.
3. Your Contact Point Controls the Shot
The third thing Brooks focuses on is his contact point. If his contact is back here behind his body, he knows he’s not going to be happy with the result.
He really wants his contact out by his front knee. When you hit it out in front like this, it helps you keep the ball lower and that leading forward naturally creates the follow through you need.
This is critical. Your contact point determines the trajectory of the ball, the amount of spin you can generate, and whether you’re hitting through the ball or slapping at it.
Brooks uses an eastern grip, kind of between eastern and semi western. It’s a pretty extreme grip and this helps him close that paddle face and get that spin on the ball.
If you have the correct contact point out by your front knee, your arm is just going to naturally flow through.
Brooks doesn’t take a massive backswing, but even with his compact swing, he has momentum coming forward already. If he just stopped at contact, that ball would hit the kitchen line on his side of the court.
With his forward momentum already established, his arm just naturally flows through. If he has to force that follow through, all he’s thinking about is trying to touch the back of his shoulder with the edge of the paddle.
His follow through ends really high, which is different from what a lot of players are taught. But it works because he’s making contact out in front and his body weight is moving forward through the shot.
The Grip and Tension Mistake Costing You Pace and Spin
One of the most common questions I get about powerful drives is about grip pressure and tension.
Brooks holds his paddle at about a four or maybe five out of ten. He likes to hold it loose. It allows his wrist to be relaxed and natural.
Any tighter and he feels like he’s going to spray the ball out. Being relaxed is key, not only in the grip but everywhere from the shoulder down. The power starts from your legs and then you’re just really letting it go.
This is counterintuitive for most players. They think more power means more tension. But the opposite is true. Relaxation allows for speed and fluidity.
What I Changed to Add More Power to My Forehand Drive
After watching Brooks hit his drives, I wanted to make some adjustments to my own forehand. My drives are pretty consistent but they’re not the fastest. I wanted to add some pace and power.
The first thing Brooks had me do was open my stance a little more. I was too closed. He wanted me to imagine driving that back hip forward and lining it up with my front hip.
I also needed to make sure my shoulders were turned properly in the setup. A lot of players don’t turn their shoulders enough and they lose all their rotational power.
Brooks wanted me to be aggressive with that back hip. Really whip it through quickly.
At first, my balls were sailing way out. I was leaning back or I had my paddle face too open at contact. Brooks noticed that my body wasn’t going toward my target. With that open stance, I needed to bring that hip forward with my body, almost stepping forward into the court.
Once I focused on my finish going more toward the target instead of just rotating in place, everything changed. The ball started coming off my paddle with way more pace.
One thing I noticed after working with Brooks is that my backswing was much bigger and more elongated before. Now I’m keeping things more compact but quicker.
That’s the key to Brooks’ forehand. He likes to stay short and compact. It’s not necessarily a really long follow through, but it’s definitely a longer follow through than his backswing.
My tendency was to rotate my hips but still keep my weight back. Brooks had me imagine someone right behind me giving me a little push as I’m hitting. That forced me to drive my weight forward through the shot instead of just spinning in place.
Here’s something that’s a big tendency for me and probably for you too. As I’m trying to swing harder, I tense up. That’s natural.
So I’m trying my best to use my hips really quickly but still stay relaxed in my upper body. Lots of breathing helps.
Brooks likes to breathe through the ball. It’s kind of like grunting but not making that loud obnoxious sound. Just breathing through the shot helps you stay loose while generating maximum power.
My Honest Take
Adding power to your forehand drive doesn’t come from swinging harder with your arm. It comes from using your legs, clearing your hips quickly, making contact out in front, and staying relaxed through the entire motion.
Get low and load into your legs. Use a semi open stance that allows you to rotate freely. Clear that back hip aggressively. Make contact out by your front knee. Let your follow through happen naturally. And most importantly, stay loose.
These aren’t advanced techniques. They’re fundamental movements that work at every level. But they require focused practice to make them automatic.
Give yourself some time to adjust to the new feelings, especially if you’re opening your stance more or focusing on hip rotation for the first time. It’s going to feel awkward at first. But once it clicks, you’re going to add serious pace to your drives without sacrificing control.
See you on the courts,
Coach Jordan Briones
