In this follow-up to our paddle-angle masterclass, Michael and Mircea dig into the advanced version of one of pickleball’s most important (and misunderstood) skills: learning to read what your opponents are about to do before they do it.
After catching up—Michael’s Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina, CRBN’s new cold-weather gear, and the limited-edition CRBN Summit paddle drop—the guys jump straight into how paddle-angle reading evolves at the 4.0–5.0 level. At this stage, everyone can dink, reset, roll, and counter. The real separator becomes: who anticipates better?
And even more importantly: who disguises better?
Michael and Mircea break down the specifics of how higher-level players use paddle angle, stance, and subtle body cues to hide their intentions. They talk about why the non-returning partner should basically be a walking radar—predicting drops vs drives, sliding into better positions early, and helping their partner get up with less chaos.
Then they move into real on-court examples from their recent games together:
• Why giving strong players their favorite patterns is a recipe for pain
• How to instantly recognize flat drives that are 100% sailing long
• Why racquetball-style grips almost guarantee upward-facing, out-of-control forehands
• How Mircea disguises speed-ups so late that you can’t read the direction until the last millisecond
They introduce the concept of half-tracking, where you use your peripheral vision to track the ball into your partner’s contact but immediately shift your eyes forward to read your opponents’ paddle angles, shoulders, hips, and swing cues. This lets you anticipate flicks, rolls, chicken-wings, and speed-ups before the ball ever crosses the net.
To put it all into practice, they give three simple, powerful training ideas:
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Dink-only paddle-angle reads
Drill cross-court or straight-on dinks and make your #1 focus predicting direction based solely on paddle angle.
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Slow-motion prediction training
Film a point, pause before contact, and try calling the shot—line, middle, cross-court, drop, roll, or speed-up.
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Disguise training
Learn to hold your paddle still longer and change direction at the last moment so your opponents can’t read you.
The episode wraps with a huge truth bomb:
If you want to keep improving past 4.0, and especially if your legs and reaction time aren’t 22 years old anymore, paddle-angle reading might be the single biggest skill you can add. It lets you move sooner, defend more confidently, and see the game two beats ahead.
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