Pickleball · Dinking · Tactics & patterns
Dink to targets in the kitchen
A crosscourt dinking game with small targets in each kitchen, so players learn where a dink hurts the opponent most.
Start / 5
- Time
- 15 min
- Players
- 2–4
- Age
- U11+
- Area
- Kitchen
- Equipment
- 6 pickleballspaddles4 flat markers or small towels
Setup
- Two players at the kitchen line, diagonally opposite each other.
- In each crosscourt kitchen, lay one target close to the sideline and one just in front of the opponent's feet near the kitchen line.
- A second pair can play the other diagonal at the same time; call "ball on court" and stop if a ball rolls across.
How it runs
- Start with a dink from either player and rally crosscourt.
- Score 1 point for any dink that lands in the kitchen and 3 for a dink that lands on or touches a target.
- A dink that misses the kitchen or pops up high enough to be attacked gives the partner 2 points.
- First to 21, then swap diagonals so both players dink from the forehand and the backhand side.
Coaching points
- Wide dinks pull the opponent off the court and open the middle for the next ball.
- A dink at the feet, close to the line, is hard to attack because it has to be lifted.
- Pick the target before the swing, and keep the same soft stroke for every one.
- Reset to the middle of your area after a wide dink: the reply often comes back sharp.
Common mistakes
- Aiming so close to the sideline that the ball lands out.
- Changing the stroke to hit the target and lifting the ball too high.
- Always going to the same target, so the partner reads it early.
Say it: “Choose it, then soft hands.”
Make it harder
- Targets only score if the dink is the second wide one in a row, forcing a pattern of wide then feet.
- Allow the partner to attack any dink that bounces above knee height.
Make it easier
- Use larger targets, such as a doubled-up towel or a hoop.
- Score the kitchen only for the first round, adding targets once the rally is steady.
Reviewed by the Sportdify coaching team.