What every coach says about the third-shot drop.

Why we wrote this instead of another drop-shot guide

We already have a written drop-shot guide. Third shot drop: how to hit one and when to use it walks through the basics. This page is different. It pulls four real coaching videos apart, line by line, and stacks them so you can see the mental models the best free coaches are teaching in 2026 and where the daylight between them lives.

The four sources we used:

• Briones Pickleball Academy with the 2026 walkthrough Modern 3rd Shot Drop: The Game Has Changed. Five distinct drop variants, including two Briones argues are new to the sport.
• Better Pickleball with CJ Johnson's drop-shot fundamentals video, the one that defines a "good," "better," and "great" drop in concrete bounce terms.
• PrimeTime Pickleball with US Open national champion Dave Weinbach teaching three keys plus the rule he calls "don't chase the garbage."
• Briones Pickleball Academy again, with the defensive companion video Stop Losing Points on Your 4th Shot. This is what the receiving team should do when the third shot lands.

All four are linked at the bottom. Watch them in full when you have an hour. The synthesis below is what surfaces when you read them together.

Where the coaches agree (the consensus core)

Across all four videos, six points come up explicitly or by implication. If you internalize only these, you will be hitting a 3.5-grade third-shot drop:

1. Grip pressure 3-4 out of 10. Both Dave Weinbach and CJ Johnson teach this exact scale, with 1 being barely held and 10 being a fist-clench. Tighter grips rocket the ball off the face. Softer absorbs pace and produces touch.
2. Short swing, contact out in front of the body. CJ frames it as "we're pushing the ball off the paddle." Briones frames it as no big backswing, primary motion from the shoulder. Dave frames it as low-to-high. Same instruction in three voices.
3. Forward momentum at contact, then move forward. Dave is the most explicit: never fall away on the third shot. Hit it, then walk in. The faster you reach the kitchen, the more pressure on the receiving team.
4. Open paddle face, lifting up. CJ teaches an open face tilted slightly to the side, not flat below you. Briones teaches the lift / push variant the same way. Both emphasize that the shot is a soft lift, not a chop.
5. The drop's job is to land in the kitchen at or below net height on the apex. CJ's three-tier definition is the cleanest articulation: a "good" drop is just soft and not in the net. A "better" drop lands at or near the kitchen. A "great" drop lands inside the kitchen and the apex of its bounce is below the top of the net, which forces the opponent to hit up.
6. If the drop fails, stay back and hit a fifth-shot drop. Dave's "don't chase the garbage" rule is the disciplined response when your third was too high. Coming forward into no-man's land just to commit to the bad ball is how rec teams give up the most points.

Where the coaches diverge (the real differences)

The coaches do not all teach the same drop. Modern coaching has fragmented the third shot into a family of variants, and the four channels we pulled here surface real disagreements about which one to teach first.

One drop or many drops?

CJ Johnson teaches one drop, the soft push, with strict mechanics and grip pressure. The pedagogy is "groove this one shot until it is reliable." It is the rec-coach approach. If you are 2.5-3.0, this is the sequence to follow.

Briones in the 2026 video teaches five distinct drops: the lift / push (CJ's basic), the topspin drop, the slice / back-spin drop, the drip / hybrid (between drop and drive), and the shovel drop. The pedagogy here is "each drop fits a specific situation, master the situation reads first." This is the 3.5+ approach. Trying to learn five at 3.0 is the trap that produces inconsistent thirds.

Dave Weinbach treats the third-shot drop as one shot that you should keep simple. The variation he teaches is timing, not type: how to handle a deep return without falling away, and how to recover with a fifth-shot drop.

Topspin drop versus the slice / shovel

Briones argues the modern drop has shifted toward topspin. The topspin drop dips harder after crossing the net, lands closer to the opponents' feet, and is far less attackable than a flat drop. Briones recommends an Eastern-ish grip, paddle tip dropped below the ball, brushing up.

CJ Johnson does not teach topspin in the foundational drop video. The basic drop CJ teaches is more lifted and floats with margin. Argument: rec players who add topspin before they have the basic mechanics will pop the ball into the net or send it sailing.

The honest take when you stack them: the topspin drop is the right ceiling, the soft-lift drop is the right starting point. CJ is teaching the foundation. Briones is teaching where you go once the foundation is in place.

Drip / hybrid: drop or drive?

The drip is what Briones calls a 60-70% swing speed shot, between a drop and a drive, aimed at the returner's feet on their way in. CJ does not teach it as a discrete shot. Dave Weinbach does not mention it in the third-shot tutorial. This is one of the spots where the coaching has clearly evolved past 2020 fundamentals.

The drip works because it punishes the most common rec-level mistake: the returner running in and trying to volley a low ball at their feet. If you are 3.5 or above and the drip is not in your toolkit, the Briones video is worth the eight minutes alone.

The shovel drop

The shovel is Briones's recovery shot. When you are reaching, when the return came in deep and you cannot get a clean drop, the shovel uses a hinged wrist and a pure shoulder motion to lift the ball up with extra margin. It bounces a little high and gives you time. CJ would call this a buy-time half-volley reset. Same idea, different vocabulary.

The five drop variants in Briones's 2026 framework

For 3.5+ players who already have a working drop, the Briones framework is the one to study. Each shot fits a specific read, and the choice depends on the return.

1. Lift / push drop

The basic drop. Used when the return is shorter and shallower, or as a fifth-shot drop after a defensive ball. Wrist locked and stable, lead with the hand not the paddle tip, feet stable. Primary motion from the shoulder.

2. Topspin drop

The modern weapon. Used when the return bounces higher (because you can get under it). Eastern grip, paddle tip dropped below the ball, brushing up. Margin over the net plus a steeper drop into the kitchen.

3. Slice / back-spin drop

For low balls or balls you are extended on. Closed stance, knee bend, wrist laid back at a 45-degree angle, paddle face open. Important: aim crosscourt, not down the line, because the slice tends to float.

4. Drip / hybrid

Between drop and drive. 60-70% swing speed compared to a drive. Brushed up but driven through. Targets the returner's feet on their way in. Sets up shake-and-bake opportunities for your partner. This is the one most rec-level coaching from 2020 missed entirely.

5. Shovel drop

The buy-time recovery. Hinged wrist, shoulder-driven, used when you are stretched or on a deep return and need lift plus margin. Bounces with some height, so be ready for the next ball.

CJ Johnson's five fundamentals (the rec-coach foundation)

If Briones is teaching the ceiling, CJ Johnson at Better Pickleball is teaching the floor. These are the five mechanics that make a drop work at any level. Internalize them before you reach for topspin or drip.

1. Open paddle face, tilted to the side, not flat below you. Helps lift the ball over the net. Flat-below is "extremely difficult to control."
2. Short swing, contact out in front. The longer the swing, the harder it is to control speed and trajectory.
3. Push sensation, not strike. You are pushing the ball off the paddle, not hitting at it.
4. Soft grip at 3-5 out of 10. Same scale Dave Weinbach uses. CJ is emphatic that this fundamental is "not talked about enough."
5. "Top corner of the box" footwork, an analogy CJ borrows from coach Ellis Park. Picture a box around your contact point. You are hitting the drop from the top corner of that box, with bent knees pushing forward through the shot.

Dave Weinbach's three keys plus the recovery rule

Dave Weinbach is a US Open national champion and his teaching is direct. Three keys, then a rule:

1. Grip pressure 3-4 of 10. Same as CJ.
2. Low-to-high motion. The drop is not a drive. The face moves up through contact.
3. Forward momentum at contact. "If you fall away at impact in any racquet sport, you lose power, you lose control, and you have nowhere to go." On the drop you also waste the precious seconds you needed to walk to the kitchen.

The recovery rule is the part most rec players miss. Dave calls it don't chase the garbage:

If we hit a bad third-shot drop, we stay back and we hit a good fifth-shot drop. If my fifth-shot drop is not successful, I stay back and hit a good seventh-shot drop.

The temptation when you cough up a bad third is to come halfway in and split-step in no-man's land. Dave's argument is that no-man's land is where you have no answers to any aggressive shot the opponent picks. Stay at the baseline. Hit another drop. Get a clean ball before you commit to moving in.

The defensive side: what the receiving team should do

The other half of the third-shot rally happens at the kitchen line, where you and your partner are deciding whether to take the ball out of the air, off the bounce, or back up entirely. Briones's defensive companion video is the cleanest framework anywhere on this.

The mindset, per Briones: take every ball out of the air, because air balls take time away from the attacking team and let you catch the ball earlier and out in front. Then shot selection is a function of contact height:

• Above the net: swinging volley with full pace. Keep the ball deep.
• Net level to slightly below: a roll motion, vertical low-to-high. Topspin pressure on their feet.
• Below knee level: step back, create space, attack the ball off the bounce at the apex with a two-handed backhand or a forehand drive.

Briones then names three transition scenarios the attacking team will run on you and the right counter for each:

1. The drive-drop. Opponent drives the third, hoping you give them a weak counter they can drop the fifth into. Your job: stay relaxed, hit the deepest most solid counter you can, do not over-hit and gift them an easy ball.
2. Aggressive topspin drop / drip. Opponent is rolling the third hard at your feet and crashing in behind it. Three valid responses: shuffle back and dink-angle, dink to the middle short into the kitchen, or at higher levels, half-volley dink to take the ball early.
3. A really good drop with crashing pressure. Sometimes their third is just too good. Concede the kitchen rather than send a high counter back. Give yourself the next rally.

The synthesized decision tree

Stack the four sources and a single decision tree falls out. Use it to pick which drop, which intensity, and what to do when it fails.

1. Return came back deep. Hit a soft lift drop with a 3-4 grip and forward momentum. Walk in.
2. Return came back shorter and shallower. You can step in and hit a topspin drop or a drip, depending on whether you want safety (topspin) or aggressive setup (drip). Walk in.
3. Return came back at your feet, low. Slice drop crosscourt. Hit it at 60-70% effort, knee bend, closed stance.
4. Return jammed you, off-balance. Shovel drop. Hinge the wrist, shoulder-only swing. Bounces with margin.
5. You hit a bad drop, the ball is high and attackable. Stay at the baseline. Hit a fifth-shot drop. Then a seventh-shot drop if the fifth was bad too. Don't chase the garbage.

Practice drills the four coaches recommend

Each coach mentions a drill explicitly. They are different drills hitting the same idea: drop reps in volume, then add chaos.

• CJ Johnson: stand at the baseline with a basket of balls. Drop the ball in front of you, hit a drop, isolate one fundamental at a time. Pure mechanical reps.
• Dave Weinbach: have a partner at the kitchen feed you a return. You hit the third, walk in, partner blocks back. Repeat for thirty minutes. Build the muscle memory of forward-momentum third shots.
• Briones: for each of the five drop variants, set up a rally that produces the right input ball, then drill that specific drop. The slice drop drill is closed-stance feeds; the topspin drop drill is feeds that bounce higher.

Pick whichever fits your situation. The point is volume. Dave is explicit: "It took thousands of shots, thousands, to get that shot where it's almost automatic now."

The mistakes the coaches see most

Across the four videos, the same rec-level mistakes come up over and over:

• Tight grip. CJ and Dave both call this out by name. Drops that come off a tight grip rocket up and become attackable.
• Wrist flick instead of shoulder push. Briones flags it on the lift drop. The wrist adds inconsistency.
• Falling away at contact. Dave's bedrock teaching. Almost every rec player on a deep return falls away.
• No-man's land after a bad drop. Coming halfway in and split-stepping is the worst possible position. Stay back or get to the kitchen.
• Trying topspin or the drip before the basic drop is reliable. Briones acknowledges this implicitly; CJ teaches around it; Dave doesn't even introduce variants.

Where this fits with the rest of the site

The third shot is one piece of a larger doubles arc. Once the drop lands and you walk in, the next decisions are about how to handle the transition zone and the kitchen-line firefight that follows. The drop is also the most common reason players plateau at 3.0; the how to break out of 3.0 guide treats the drop as the biggest single shot to fix at that level.

For the choice between drop and drive on the same third shot, see the drive vs drop decision tree. For the practice partner drills the third-shot drop benefits from most, see pickleball partner drills. For the mechanics on a single page, the third-shot drop explained guide is the older standalone treatment.

The honest summary

If you are a 3.0 trying to become a 3.5: master CJ's foundational drop. Five fundamentals, soft grip, push sensation, forward momentum. Drill it for thousands of reps before you reach for the topspin variant.

If you are 3.5 trying to become 4.0: add the topspin drop and the drip from Briones's framework. Practice the slice drop on low returns. Internalize Dave's fall-away rule until your weight is always forward at contact.

If you are already 4.0+: your foundation is solid. The remaining work is shot disguise (topspin and slice that look identical until contact), the situational read for which drop to pick, and the defensive companion (Briones's drive-drop counter and middle-dink response). The shovel drop is the recovery tool you want when you read a return wrong.

The drop is what gets you to the kitchen. It is the most important shot in the sport because every other strategy depends on getting two players to the line. Spend more time on it than any other shot.

Sources

• Briones Pickleball Academy: Modern 3rd Shot Drop, The Game Has Changed
• Better Pickleball with CJ Johnson: How to Hit a Pickleball Drop Shot
• PrimeTime Pickleball with Dave Weinbach: 3rd Shot Success
• Briones Pickleball Academy: Stop Losing Points on Your 4th Shot