Fix Your Overhead Smash: The Pickleball Shoulder Mistake Everyone Makes

A clean overhead can feel like magic: fast, powerful, final. But when it goes wrong? It's usually not your shoulder's fault.

Most players try to generate power with just their arm. The truth is, the best overheads start from the ground up.

This week, we're digging into how your legs, hips, and core build the foundation for every smash, and why ignoring them might be what's holding you back.

Why Your Legs Matter More Than Your Arm

Most players assume that their overhead smash depends mainly on shoulder strength or paddle speed. While those factors do play a role, they're not the true source of power. If your goal is to hit harder while protecting your joints, you need to understand the concept of the kinetic chain.

The kinetic chain refers to the way different parts of your body work together in sequence to produce movement. In the case of an overhead smash, this sequence begins with your feet, flows through your legs and hips, passes through your core, and finally travels up to your shoulder, elbow, and wrist. When any part of this chain is out of sync or underperforming, the energy you generate either gets lost or ends up being absorbed by the wrong tissues, which often leads to injury.

Here's something most players don't realize: the majority of the power in your overhead smash doesn't come from your arm. Instead, it originates in your legs and hips. Your arm simply delivers the energy that your lower body and core have already generated. When you push off your back foot and rotate through your pelvis while engaging your trunk muscles, you create stored energy that transfers upward. The shoulder and arm are simply the last links in the chain, not the ones doing the heavy lifting.

This explains why players who lack strong lower body mechanics often complain about sore shoulders, aching elbows, or general fatigue in their upper body. They're relying too heavily on their arm to create power, which causes them to muscle through the motion instead of flowing through it. When your body works as a coordinated system, it feels effortless. When it doesn't, your joints notice.

A good way to self-check this is to watch your own movement. If your feet stay flat on the ground, if your knees hardly bend, or if your hips remain rigid during the shot, you're probably missing out on a huge amount of potential energy. In these cases, your shoulder ends up doing work that your hips and legs were supposed to contribute.

Biomechanical studies have shown that during elite-level overhead movements, the ground reaction forces produced during takeoff and landing can reach two to three times a person's body weight. That kind of force doesn't come from shoulder strength alone. It comes from well-timed leverage, efficient use of body segments, and a strong kinetic chain that functions as a single unit.

Fixing this pattern doesn't mean simply telling yourself to use your legs more. It means retraining your movement habits so that the transfer of energy from the ground to the paddle becomes seamless. This often involves working on your split-step timing, your ability to rotate through the hips, and warm-up drills that link your lower and upper body. In the next article, we'll go into a few ways to do exactly that.

So if your overhead feels weak, inconsistent, or painful, it may be time to stop thinking about your arm as the problem. Instead, you might want to look at your feet, your hips, and your core, because that's where the shot truly begins.

A Simple Warm-Up to Connect Your Legs, Core, and Shoulder Before a Game

Most players do some light stretches, a few dinks, maybe a couple drives, and then jump straight into full-speed play. But if your goal is to actually use your legs and hips to power your overheads and protect your shoulder, you need more than just a few arm swings.

The key is to prime your kinetic chain, not just loosen individual muscles. That means choosing movements that activate your hips, wake up your core, and get your upper body rotating in sync with your lower half. This is how you prepare your body to generate power efficiently, rather than muscling every shot from the top down.

You don't need fancy equipment or a long routine. This three-move sequence takes less than two minutes and can be done courtside, even in jeans.

1. Split-Step Hip Drops

Start in ready position. Lightly bounce on your toes, then drop into a quick mini squat while rotating your hips slightly left and right. This mimics the quick reaction needed before an overhead and teaches your body to stay dynamic through the hips.

• Do 10 bounces with rotation • Focus on quick landings and hip engagement

2. Diagonal Step-and-Reach

Step your right foot back at a 45-degree angle while reaching your left hand overhead and across your body, then return to center and switch sides. This integrates your hips, core, and shoulder into one coordinated motion.

• Do 5 reps per side • Keep the movement smooth and connected

3. Bounce-to-Overhead Shadow Swings

Do a light bounce on the balls of your feet, then explode into an overhead shadow swing. Emphasize pushing through your legs and rotating through your hips and trunk. Your arm should feel like the result of the movement, not the driver.

• Do 6 to 8 reps • Keep it fluid, not forced

This sequence isn't just about getting warm; it's about switching your movement strategy. It helps your nervous system recognize that your legs and hips are meant to lead the motion, which takes pressure off your shoulder and allows for more effortless power.

When you move this way, you're not just playing better, you're reducing injury risk. Your joints absorb less stress, your timing improves, and your energy transfers more efficiently from the ground to the paddle.

It's simple, quick, and effective, and once it becomes part of your routine, you'll start to feel the difference every time you go for that overhead.

That's it for this week. Hopefully you've got a better sense of how much your legs and hips actually matter when it comes to protecting your shoulder and powering your overheads.

Try the warm-up before your next game and see if you feel a difference.

Boris.

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read in this newsletter.