Letters From the Retirement Community (5): The Third Shot Drop and Lessons in Living Life’s Third Act

A pickleball strategy becomes a life lesson — why the subtle third shot drop mirrors the mindset and rhythm of a purposeful third act of life.

Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born — Albert Einstein

Arun Kumar

Summary: On a pickleball court in a retirement community, here is the nuance third shot drop to slow down the tempo of the game. It is more than a strategy just for the pickleball game, it is also a metaphor for life’s third act of life — retirement. This contemplative essay explores how mastering restraint, softness, and rhythm on the court reflects the wisdom, pivots, and quiet power needed in life of retirement.

There is a rhythm to happenings on the pickleball court. The pop-pop cadence of quick volleys, the squeak of sneakers pivoting close to the kitchen line, the satisfied grin of a well-placed shot. And then there is the enigmatic third drop shot.

I was engaged in a game on the retirement community court one afternoon, paddle in hand, waiting to receive the serve. I had joined the pickleball club just a few months earlier. Quickly to learn the basics, I was attempting to improve my game and learn new skills. In that effort, I found myself drawn to a shot that, on the surface, seemed contrary to the usual fast tempo of the play. The third drop shot, and I kept botching it over and over. I could not get the arc of the ball correct for it to land in the kitchen. It sailed too high (and got smashed back) or stayed too low (and went into the net). I had seen advance players use effortless motion, a floating ball that neutralized the opponent’s power and gave the serving term time to move up and reset the pace of the rally.

After I netted another third drop shot attempt, “Let the ball curve up and descend,” my partner said helpfully: “Soft hands. You are not attacking. You are giving a gentle embrace.”

It was in that strange, delicate moment — where strategy was ‘restraint’ — that I sensed that this shot was teaching me something beyond the game.

The Third Shot Drop

In pickleball, the third shot drop is a pivotal strategy. After the serve and the first return, the serving team faces an opponent already at the net ready to control the game. Their next move, the third shot, holds the key to shifting momentum and get back in the game on equal footing. Instead of driving the ball back with force, the third shot drop sends the ball to arc softly over the net and land in the opponent’s non-volley zone — the “kitchen.” It slows the game. It resets the tempo. It buys time for the serving team to move forward towards the kitchen.

In the often-frenzied pace of pickleball, the third shot drop is a whisper in a noisy room. A pause. A recalibration. An invitation for reflection.

The Third Act of Life

We often speak of life as a three-act play (although Hinduism talks about four phases of life). The first act is youth and early adulthood: the time of learning, exploring, striving, and accumulating. The second act is coming to full bloom — career, family, building, competing, and navigating complexity. Then comes the third act.

The third act is often framed in terms of ending one’s career and subsequent transition into retirement. It used to be regarded as a quick decline into the ultimate moments of life. But now, as we are living 30+ years after retirement, the third act is viewed differently. Much like the third shot drop, the third act is not an end; it is a strategic shift to a different game. It is about altering the rhythm, making space, and repositioning oneself on the court of life to play better, to play differently.

Where the first two acts are marked by pace, ambition, acceleration, the third is about intention and slowing down. It is a time not for brute power but for elegance, restraint, and perspective.

The Third Shot Drop and the Third Act of Life

Learning the third shot drop is about embracing subtlety. It is less about trying to overpower the opponent, more about making them engage in a dance of wits. The strategy feels remarkably similar to what it means to embrace the third act of life.

In retirement the metrics of change. Success is no longer about how fast you can hit or how far you can run. It becomes about choices where you would like to focus your energy. When to engage vigorously or when to let the ball drop, softly and intentionally, just over the net.

The third shot drop is not a retreat. It is a way to stay in the game longer and not let opponents overwhelm and force you to stay away from the kitchen, so they control the game. Likewise, retirement is not a surrender, but a recalibration of the values and goals we lived with. It asks us to trust that we no longer have to meet every challenge with full force. We have options now. The pace is ours to choose.

Practicing the Third Act

Just like the third shot drop, the third act does not come naturally. One has to work at it. It is surprisingly hard to let go of speed, of proving yourself, of believing that your worth is tied to litany of achievements, to work. It takes practice to unlearn old rhythms and adopt a gentler, more refined tempo.

Financially, the third act means shifting your view on money — from saving money for later to using what you have saved so diligently. Money becomes less about accumulation and more about using it for activities that give meaning and nourishment.

Emotionally, it means building a new sense of identity. Without the scaffolding of a job title or a packed schedule, it is time to redefine who you are.

Strategically, it is about learning to pivot. You try new things, take up pickleball, read and write, and if something does not work out, try something else. There is no judgement or shame in failing. It is an opportunity to align with your inner self.

And spiritually, the third act asks us to live with awareness of our finitude and learn to live with it in peace. It is a time when time becomes more precious. You begin to say ‘no’ more frequently and ‘yes’ more intentionally.

It is also a phase of life where transitions happen at a faster pace. A fall, and you have to temporarily withdraw from the game of pickleball and fill those moments with something else. Slowly, as decline in physique set in — joints become to ache, bending down to pick up the ball becomes an arduous task, it is time to pivot to other activities; perhaps learn Bocce Ball, or Tai Chi, or yoga. The key is to be agile and be prepared — have a portfolio of activities — so you can pivot.

The Wisdom of Softness

There is also an ancient resonance to all this. The Stoics spoke of living in harmony with nature’s course — not resisting what is but shaping your inner life in response. Epictetus reminded us: “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” In the third act, this wisdom becomes a daily discipline.

The Taoists went further: in Wu Wei, non-doing or effortless action, they praised the power of non-striving. Like water flowing around rocks, the wise do not contest every obstacle but find the elegant path through. The third shot drop echoes this — to consciously bring in softness when faced with the prospect of fast volleys.

There’s wisdom in choosing not to return volley with equal force, but to change the pace and engagement.

Returning to the Court

I am back on the court, feet shifting lightly on the baseline. The serve comes in. I return it. Now it is my third shot. It is time take a breath, to soften my grip, to let the ball descend just enough. And then, gently, I lift it over the net, watching it land perfectly in the kitchen. At least, that is something for which I am hoping.

This is also how we should live the third act. Not perceiving it as a dwindling finale, but as a strategic, meaningful continuation and change. Not driven by brute force or endless hustle, but by presence, purpose, and deliberation. It is time to slow the tempo, reclaim the rhythm, and play with the kind of grace that says: You have been here long enough to know what matters.

In the third drop shot, mastery measured differently. Not in the power of the shot, but in the wisdom of the drop. And then I executed a perfect third drop shot.

Ciao, and thanks for reading.