Anna Leigh Waters on Pickleball Drilling vs. Rec Play

One of the top pros in the world, Anna Leigh Waters, recently weighed in on the long-standing debate between drilling and rec play when it comes to improving your game.

Anna Leigh shared that early in her career, she didn’t drill at all — but later realized she had overcorrected and was drilling too much. The key, she says, is finding the right balance.

“Drilling is great, but it’s not replicating exactly what’s going to happen in a game,” said Anna Leigh. “Right now, I’m drilling probably 60–70% of the time, and playing games 30–40% of the time.”

Her coach (and mom), Leigh Waters, echoed this sentiment: “When you’re drilling, you’re supposed to be working on things. If you don’t ever play in a game, you never get to practice using the things that you’ve learned in your drilling. You’re less likely to do those things in a match if you’ve never done it in practice,” she explained.

“If you’re drilling a forehand speed-up and you never play rec games where you get to actually hit forehand speed-ups you’re working on, you’re definitely not going to do it in a tournament or a rec game that counts because you’re going to be too scared. You have to play rec games because you’ve got to put to use what you’ve been working on.”

Both Anna Leigh and Leigh emphasized the importance of not just drilling, but also practicing your reactions to those shots — since real games always bring new variables into play.

The takeaway? Drill consistently, but don’t forget to get out and play.