Revised Pickleball Skill Level Definitions

By David Lopez (used with permission) — see more of his work at davidmarklopez.com

1.0 Skill Level: Beginner

Calls the paddle a racket, poops in pants, serves overhand, thinks pickleball is a stupid sport for old people, wears huarache sandals to play, is bored and wants to start drinking early. Thinks he had Covid in January.

2.0 Skill Level: Advanced Beginner

Thinks the sport was named after a dog born 20 years later, walks slowly through your match, does not close gate, drinks the last beer, hits on your spouse who hates you for poaching, played last 6 months ago indoors at a Michigan Y with his cousin from Ypsilanti, smokes between matches, falls often, serves the ball into the next court.

3.0 Skill Level

Forgets score frequently, talks during rallies, explains every freakin’ point (well the ball went this way, but I meant it to go there...uh, I know I was right here watching), hits their partner with ball or racket (still) at least once a game, trips partner regularly, thinks the third shot drop has something to do with an incurable disease, has a fit-bit.

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3.5 Skill Level

Frequently misinterprets NVZ rule, hits every single shot with maximin velocity, puts the ball in play roughly 50% of the time, argues line calls, laughs loudly, has new smart matching outfit, lays it up across the middle, only dinks accidentally, frowns at you when you say UP UP UP, calls the score for both teams, leaves phone on during match because daughter is expecting.

4.0 Skill Level

Sighs loudly frequently, wants you to stay for one more game, coaches you up on every single point, swears like a sailor, practices dinking in garage, pretends to be interested in your personal life, talks crap about ATPs and ERNEs, shows you new paddle (it’s not a racket, newbie), acts like a baby after losing, smashes the living hell out of your weak-ass lobs, plays at 3.5 in tourneys, openly argues with spouse during matches when supposed to be just having fun.

4.5 Skill Level

Brings 5 paddles, mysteriously disappears after playing once with mixed group of 2.0 2.5 and 3.0s, encourages you to poach so they can poach with reckless abandon, takes every shot across the middle, knows the rules but tells you to look them up so you can learn them, wears two gloves, hits you very hard with the ball at the NVZ (it’s part of the game) because your paddle was not up, subtly blames partner after loss, recommends videos, has stopped playing tennis, almost went pro, was club ping pong champion in 1987, had 3 ATPs and 2 ERNEs yesterday.

2.0

Played last 6 months ago indoors at a Michigan Y with his cousin from Ypsilanti.

5.0 Skill Level

Knows Ben Johns, has many many medals, post incessantly on PICKLEBALL FORUM about balls, rules, paddles and tournaments, wants pickleball channel on ESPN (cornhole wtf?), strategically hits to your backhand every shot, apologizes for hitting you very hard with ball at the NVZ because your paddle was not up, will gladly give you a lesson for $50, has 7 supercool pickleball outfits, drinks mysterious electrolyte concoction, is way younger than you, patronizes your terrible backhand, would love to play one more with you but has a dentist appointment and will see you at the clinic Saturday.

6.0 Skill Level

Shows up on the FORUM in foreign places playing pickleball, has savage tan and incredibly white teeth, can beat you in doubles as a singles player, sponsored but still broke, has a cool nickname, returns your ATP like it wasn’t nuthin’ bruh, dropped out of high school to go pro, walks on water, heals the pickleball lame, has a weighted paddle, stacks with partner in fast food line, has met you several times but still has zero idea of who you are, posts videos of 73 hit rallies, wears white unitard, dink...dink...dink then backhand rocket drive that hits you in the head and ricochets off your partner’s teeth. You’re in love, fanboy.

7.0 Skill Level

Communicates with partner telepathically, lectures frequently on the unified theory of pickleball, only plays for Bitcoin, went viral before Covid, appears in David Mitchell novel as pre-Colombia Incan pickleball god, Shroedinger’s cat is doubles partner, played on the moon, serve vaporizes, backhand contrails, body shot leaves you with a permanent tattoo. Holy damn.

Is a 3rd Shot Drop Offensive?

By Mark Renneson.

Text for the video is below:

In order to understand whether or not a drop is an offensive shot, it’s helpful to think about what that term — offensive — actually means. As far as I’m concerned, an offensive shot is one that causes trouble for your opponents — that is a shot that either wins you the point outright, or puts them in a difficult position and gives you an upper hand. Are there other definitions out there? Probably. But I think this one works pretty well. Let’s look at a few examples of causing trouble — or going on offence — in pickleball. 

One of the most common ways to cause trouble on the court is by taking away time. You can do this by hitting the ball earlier as well as by hitting a ball fast, so your opponents don’t have as long to prepare for it. We commonly see examples of this when players hit fast serves, volleys, flicks and drives.

A shot could also be considered offensive because of how much it moves the opponents. By making them chase the ball you put make it harder for them to hit precisely. You also increase the likelihood that they are out of position for the next shot. For both of these reasons we can consider moving an opponent to be offensive in nature.

 Ok. So that’s my working definition. Offensive shots are meant to cause trouble. Now let’s turn to the drop and see if it passes this test. Do these shots appear to be causing trouble for the opponents?  [No. No.No. No]

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Let’s think about he tactics behind the drop for a second. When it gets hit, one team (usually the returning team) is at the net and the player or team hitting the drop is not. The net team is threatening to pounce on anything that is high, so the dropping team is under considerable pressure.

If a team elects to play a drop it’s likely because they have assessed that a drive won’t work — that it will either fly long or be attacked by the net team. Same goes for lobs. So the drop really is the last option, that the net team has forced upon the hitting team because of their position at the net.

So even before the drop gets hit, we could reasonably assess that the hitting team is in a weaker position than the non-hitting team. 

Ok. let move on and assume the drop gets hit. Well, if it is too low or too slow, it’s in the net and the hitting team loses the rally right away. And if it is too high or too fast, it is likely to get pounded. The drop really has to be precisely hit if it won’t end in disaster. Again, the pressure the hitting team is under suggests that in this dynamic, drops come from a defensive place.

But what if the drop is perfectly hit? What if it sent at the ideal speed and height? Maybe that makes it offensive? 

A drop, by definition, is a low and relatively slow shot. It has to be if it is going to do its job of forcing an upward swing from the players at the net. But the fact that it is a slow shot means the opponents have a fair bit of time to set up and prepare for the ball. Even if the ball is hit near a sideline or between the players, it usually takes so long to arrive that the net team has all the time they need to get in position for it. The necessary slowness of the drop pushes back against the idea that it is an offensive shot. 

So what can make the case for a drop being a shot meant to cause trouble? One argument is that good drops are low. If a person receiving this low ball gets too excited or doesn’t give it the respect it deserves, they are likely to send it back with too much speed and pop it up. And we see this pretty regularly at the intermediate level. Someone gets a ball near their feet, panics a little and sends up a sitter. 

But as you go up in level, players are less likely to get flustered just because a ball is low. In high level pickleball, most of the balls are low. Players spend all day hitting balls that are landing near their feet. And because it is so commonplace, it becomes less tricky to deal with. 

Another factor we might consider in the argument for the offensiveness of a drop is spin. As paddle technology evolves, we’re seeing players use more and more spin on their drops. Sometimes it is backspin, but it is also topspin and sidespin too.

Hitting drops with spin can make handling the rebound a little tougher, since the spin can create a different bounce compared to a flat ball. In the case of topspin especially, not only does the ball rebound a bit faster to the opponent, the spin also helps the ball dip down sooner, allowing players to hit with a little more speed and still force that ever-important upward hit. 

And if players aren’t attentive to the spin, it can indeed cause them to misfire when playing their next shot. I think that when spin is present on a good drop it moves it closer to the idea of being an offensive shot, but I’m not convinced it takes it all the way across the finish line. 

Kyle Yates hitting a textbook backhand drop.

Finally, we can address what a good drop allows to happen next. Remember at the start of this video I argued that the droppers are in a weak position because they are at the back of the court and their opponents at the net are applying pressure? 

A good drop typically leads to a relatively slow next shot from the net team. And the fact that this next ball will probably be slow allows the droppers to advance to the net without too much fear. And this is the moment — this transition from the back of the court up toward the net — that the scales can started to be tipped. This is the moment when the dropping team can leave their weak backcourt position and move to somewhere they can start to apply pressure themselves. 

I would argue that this forward transition to the net doesn’t on its own qualify as an offensive moment — going forward doesn’t necessarily cause trouble for your opponents — but it does add some pressure. While the good drop the net team is receiving is not, on its own, a very difficult shot to handle, any mistake in playing it now becomes more critical. So what’s the final verdict? Is a drop an offensive shot? I’d argue no, not really. There are too many reasons to classify it as a defensive or neutralising shot — one trying to avoid trouble rather than cause it. 

But when a drop is well executed and the recovery is on point, it can definitely move things in a  direction that is more offensive. I might go so far as calling a drop a pre-offensive shot since when used adeptly — in combination with forward movement to the net — it can lead to an opportunity to turn the tables. But generally speaking, when a drop wins a team the point or leads to a put away, it is typically the result of the receiving team handling a relatively easy ball poorly, rather than the shot itself doing a lot of offensive work. 

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Pickleball: No, You Don't have to Play With Everyone Who Asks

By Mark Renneson

Whether it fully deserves it or not, pickleball (for the most part) enjoys a reputation for being a welcoming sport. Stories abound of non-players showing up at local courts only to be met by a friendly crew of pickleheads with some extra paddles and nothing but enthusiasm. We hear of travellers welcomed with open arms when joining a drop-in session in a different city. And if you ever need a place to crash, just find a local pickleball club and doors will open.

And this is good. But at the risk of blowing a hole in this feel-good bubble, I’d like to make a suggestion. I’d like to remind people that you do not, in fact, need to play pickleball with anyone that asks you to.

Most of us have been in a situation where people we’d rather not step on a court with ask us to play. Our reluctance might come from the person’s poor behaviour; perhaps they have been rude or abusive to others in the group. Maybe it’s a person with whom we have fundamental disagreements with — disagreements so strong that you can’t look past them even to play a game. Maybe you don’t want to play with them because, well, they’re level is just so much lower than yours and the people you are playing with that it will diminish the fun you and the others are likely to have.

Now I’m not saying you need to be rude in your rejection either. There are many polite ways to decline. But I am advocating for people to feel empowered to have some say over who they get on the court with.

The Exceptions

If you are playing at a venue that has clearly stated policies about how play is organized, and you choose to play there, then you are agreeing to play by their rules. If the common practice is that the next four people in line go out on the court together, it’s not cool to be number four, look up ahead, and then swap places with someone because you don’t like your grouping.

And if there is a sign-up board where the rule is if there is an open space anyone can add their name to it, if you want to keep playing with that crew you best abide by the rules when the 3.0 adds their name to the court with you and your 4.0 friends. You don’t have to like it, but by playing in that place you should honour their format.

Further, if you are all part of the same club you may have some measure of obligation to acquiesce since the nature of a club is that people are bonded together in a way that non-members aren’t.

Changing the Scenario

Let’s imagine you and your friends are enjoying a cold drink at your favourite bar. And while there, a person you don’t know really well — or one you do know but don’t care for — comes up and asks if they can join you. While you might choose to pull up a chair for them, you are certainly under no obligation. This is your time with your friends and you have the right to choose who you include (or not) in that group.

The same goes for pickleball. If you and the people you like to play with are enjoying some leisure time together, you are under no requirement to include someone else just because they ask. Their desire to be part of your group doesn’t outweigh your desire to choose who you play with.

That doesn’t give you permission to be rude or cruel, of course. There are many gracious ways to get out of this situation:

• “Actually, we’ve really been looking forward to playing together for some time. Maybe later?”

• “I hope you don’t mind, but we’ve got a bit of a rivalry going. We’d like to keep playing as a group.”

• “Thanks for asking. We’re actually all working on some things together so we’d prefer to keep our group as it is.”

• “We’ve had some really good games lately, and we’d like to keep it going. I’m sure you understand.”

Is it possible that the person being rejected gets their feeling hurt? Absolutely. And I think we have an obligation to limit the degree to which this happens. But it is also important to remember that they put themselves in a vulnerable position for that to happen when they chose to approach a group and try to enter it.

Dealing with Consequences

While I’m arguing that you should be able to freely decline to play with someone you don’t want to, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t consequences you might have to pay. You may be perceived by others are being a snob; of thinking yourself superior or too good to play with others. There can be social penalties too, like not getting invited to post-pickleball drinks or the next barbecue. How heavily these things weigh is a matter for each person to consider on their own.

It’s also important to think of other costs of turning someone down. Did you just lose out on making a new friend? Did you just blow a chance to make someone feel good and included? Was this a chance for you work on aspects of your game now that the competitive element wasn’t so strong? These are all worth considering when making your decision. It is just a game after all, right?

Mark Renneson is a professional pickleball coach and is the founder of Third Shot Sports and Pickleball Coaching International.

Calling a Match and Walking a Tightrope

By Mark Renneson

I've been noticing some discussion online lately about pickleball commentary during live-streamed matches. It seems that most people agree that they like having broadcasters include play-by-play. But people are also particular about what it sounds like. I’m no expert, but I thought this might be a chance to offer my perspective on what makes for good commentary and what causes it to fall off the rails. 

I think it is important to differentiate between colour commentary and play-by-play. The role of the latter is to describe the action in front of the viewer -- to put words to actions as they take place. Colour commentary, on the other hand, has a different objective. Its aim is to enhance the viewing experience in some way, not just describe the action as it unfolds but to help an audience make sense of it in ways that they might not be able to on their own.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of play-by-play in pickleball. This isn't based on some grand principle, but more on the idea that I can see where the ball's been hit, I don't need to be told about it. I prefer a broadcaster to speak only if it is giving me something I can't get otherwise. And to be told that a player is running to the kitchen or returning serve with their forehand doesn't really give me that. Some people may feel differently. But if you've ever heard me call a match, I rarely talk about the shots as they are happening. 

The enhancement offered by a colour commentator isn't in their ability to describe the action, but to make sense of it. This can be through analysis, explanation, observation, or anecdote; and it frequently includes all four. I try to draw the audience's attention to something I think they might appreciate but don't necessarily notice. This is frequently related to a team's strategy or tactics but could include unpacking a decision-making process or trying to anticipate adjustments that players might make as a match unfolds.

I think of the job as a mixture of explaining what has happened and predicting what will happen (although I tend to give more weight to analysis rather than fortune-telling). But there are some risks that come with the effort to add to the action. Generally speaking, when people complain about commentary their criticism usually takes these forms:

• The commentators were off-topic.

• They didn't give proper attention to big points.

• Their discussion was irrelevant to the action.

Really, these all boil down to the viewer saying: this isn't improving my experience of the match. And that's usually when they hit the mute button. So what’s going on? Why does this happen? I’m going to try to give my view of how things can fall off track

First off, let me start by saying that if I’m leading the commentary side of the production, I take full responsibility for any announcing-related problems that go down in the booth. If we miss a cue or drone on too long, that’s on me. And if I have a guest who is joining the broadcast, my job is to help them shine. If they don’t, that’s my failure, not theirs. Ok. So how do things turn south?

Too Broad a Focus. In some cases, the announcer thinks about the forest rather than the trees. Sure, they are watching this particular match, but it almost always exists in the context of a bigger story — a tournament. Broadcasters will sometimes still have other parts of that story in mind even though they — and the viewer — should be focused on a very narrow part of it; the match in front of them. This can be especially tempting if there have been some exciting stories from earlier in the event and if the match they should be focused on is, ahem, a little less captivating.

A Little Too Friendly. When broadcasters are working as a team they are bound to develop some kind of relationship. And a certain level of comfort and chemistry is good. But if you aren’t careful, that easy-going attitude can slip into ‘friend mode’ which can make the broadcast seem like it’s a couple of buddies hanging out on the sidelines rather than broadcasters doing a job.

Being a Good Host. I really enjoy inviting people into the booth. I make an effort to find people who I think will offer useful insights and who viewers will appreciate hearing from. And I’m always grateful when people take time out of their schedule to join me. What becomes tricky is the balance between giving that person space to be themselves, but also keeping the focus on the match we are watching. It’s kind of like inviting people to a dinner party — you want everyone to feel comfortable, important and valued. You want to hear what each person has to say. But if you pay too much attention to one person and their thoughts, it can cause the party to go sideways. When broadcasting, I have to think about the person in the booth, the people watching at home, as well as respect the people playing the match. It’s a delicate balance that I know I don’t always get right — often because viewers tell me!

Again, when this happens and I’m running the show, it is always my mistake — never the guests. My job is to guide the guest and to get the most out of them I can for the viewer without overshadowing the players. It’s true that it is hard. But it is also true that it is a pleasure to be part of a process that when done right, provides something enjoyable and valuable to pickleball fans.

Big Mistake: 'Competitive' Courts vs. 'Recreational' Courts

By Mark Renneson

If you are a regular pickleball player then you know that one of the hardest things to do in a group or club setting is to determine how court time should be allocated. Should you put the newbies on courts 1 and 2 and let 'Masters' play on 3 and 4? A challenge court where if you win you stay? Random selection? Trying to figure out how best to distrubute court time and access to a wide range of people can be a real headache.

Generally speaking, games are most fun when you are playing with people at a similar skill level. If the abilities of players are too far apart, the game is boring and/or hopeless. People don’t have to be exactly the same, but having some degree of parity makes the action more interesting. So how do you do it?

COMPETITIVE vs. RECREATIONAL

One method that is frequently tried is to separate courts and identify some s “competitive” and others as “recreational”. And while this might make sense at first glance, there is a significant problem: we’re identifying the wrong thing!

That's right. Playing competitively or 'just for fun' says something about your mindset, but says nothing about your skill level. A strong desire to win and willingness to try hard may be admirable traits, but they don’t much make up for the ability to hit consistent drops, devastating drives, or put away high balls on demand. There are extremely competitive 3.0 players who live and breathe pickleball, who travel to tournaments, who proudly wear the medals they've won and who will fight tooth and nail to win every point. And given the option between playing on the comp court or the rec court, these people would (rightly) gravitate to the competitive side. When it comes to pickleball, they are competitive.

Likewise, there are 5.0 players who show up for a little social time and couldn't care less whether they win our lose. If asked "are you a competitive player" these people would understandably answer "no" and move to the rec side of the gym. But that doesn't solve the problem of having skill level mismatches. While you might have grouped people who have similar attitudes when it comes to sports in general or pickleball in particular, this does nothing to make it more likely that the games will be good. A person can be as competitive as they want, but if the are severely outmatched by players with more skill, it isn’t much fun on either side of the net. Again, if you are looking for evenly matched pickleball games, organizing by attitude is the wrong way to go.

WHAT TO DO?

If organizing people by desire is a losing game, what’s better? Personally, I believe that if you want close games then you need to organize by skill level. Simple as that. This, of course, is easier said than done. Who is the arbiter to decide each person’s skill level? Is it based on notoriously unreliable self-ratings? Is there a test people have to take before stepping on the court? Some clubs that choose to use a challenge court system (i.e. you win you move up, you lose you move down) is tricky since it is relatively easy to isolate the weaker player which will simultaneously attribute the ‘L’ to his or her partner.

Personally, I like ratings systems that are as objective as possible. I find the wording of the current systems unnecessarily vague and open to interpretation. What exactly does it mean when a person has “increased consistency”? Increased compared to what? How do we measure that a person is “starting to understand the block/reset volley”? I prefer a system like the one we use as part of the PCI Level 1 instructor certification test (see video below).

It is relatively objective and a player either meets the standard or they don’t. It’s not perfect since it doesn’t take into account a player’s decision-making ability or ‘court sense’, but compared to the rather nebulous wording used in most current systems, I prefer its rigidity and focus on performance. To be perfectly honest, if I’m playing a good game with someone I don’t really care if they know why they are doing what they are doing — I just want them to be able to do it.

Mark Renneson is the founder of Third Shot Sports and Pickleball Coaching International.

Getting Back to Playing: What To Expect

By Mark Renneson

If you're like most people, you've had a PB hiatus. Here's what you can look forward to upon your return and what to do about it:

The Problem: Inconsistency. Pickleball is very much about timing: receiving fast balls at the net; hitting returns on the rise; co-ordinating switches with your partner and knowing who has the middle balls. After a break, it is likely that your timing will be off. 

The Solution: Be forgiving. Expect that you're not going to be playing your best right out of the gate and be ok with that. Pickleball is a game and games should be fun. Give yourself permission to have a good time even if you're missing some easy shots. It's a process. 

The Problem: Pain. Unless you've been doing some driveway training, you're probably not PB fit the way you were a couple months ago. There's a good chance you'll wake up sore.

The Solution: Take it slow. I know you are keen to get out there. But just as you should pace yourself when you go to your favourite buffet, being over-eager now can have real consequences. I suggest setting a hard time limit for the first few days. If you're accustomed to playing for three hours at a time, set the limit to 90-minutes your first day out. You'll be disappointed to leave but you'll be even more disappointed if you don't and the next day you can't walk. 

The Problem: Different groups of players. Just because courts are opening up, doesn't mean everyone is comfortable going back. You should expect that your regular contingent of players probably won't be there.

The Solution: See this as an opportunity. I know it's fun to play with a regular group, but this is a chance to expand your horizons. Maybe you'll discover that you and another person have great on-court chemistry. Perhaps you'll make a new friend since the cliques have to break down. This is a chance to grow your network of pickleball comrades. 

The Problem: Frustration. Even if you're happy to be back on the court, there is a good chance that you and your PB buddies have some residual stress. After all, we're still in the middle (?) of a global pandemic and we've all gone through a lot. Some of us definitely more than others. Given that, it shouldn't be a surprise if we find ourselves getting frustrated with our on play or with other people. 

The Solution: Be aware. The best way to combat unnecessary frustration is to anticipate it in advance. Knowing that you or others might be more apt to have a short fuse these days makes it easier to handle if it happens -- or even better, prevent it in the first place. Be kind to yourself and to each other.

Play Like a Pro: Return with Your (Slice) Backhand

By Mark Renneson

This might be another one of those articles that falls into the myth-busting category, but that's alright. Conventional wisdom is that you should avoid your backhand when possible -- and that you should aim for it when serving to your opponents.

The theory is that the backhand is a weaker or less versatile shot. But one of the things you often see from top players, is not only a willingness to hit a backhand, but often a preference for it. So why is that?

First, as servers at the top end of the sport continue to improve, we are seeing serves hit harder and with better directional control. This means that in many cases, there isn’t enough time for returners to move around the backhand even if they wanted to. If they tried, they’d likely be off balance or well out of position. So, the quality of the serve is a factor.

But the inability to avoid the backhand doesn’t tell the whole story. There are many examples of players who could avoid the backhand if the chose to, but they elect instead to hit it. Why? One answer lies in the third shot. As many of us know, the third shot is a critical moment in picklball — and this is especially true if the player hitting it is attempting a drop. If the ball sits up a little too high, it gets pounded. And if it is too low, it’s in the net. It is a a shot that requires near perfect execution or else the hitter faces disaster.

Now, a perfect drop is hard enough to hit in the best of times, but when the ball is spinning — with backspin, sidespin or both — this becomes doubly so. And it is here that we can find the value of the backhand return.

When it is well struck, the backhand lends itself to creating spin. The fact that the arm is moving across the body produces a pendulum-like action perfect for generating sidespin. This can be a real advantage when moving to the net. Additionally, many players find that when they hit a backhand, they are less likely to move unnecessary parts of their arm and wrist — biomechanical efficiency which is sometimes lost when hitting forehands.

The spin produced with a slice backhand has a way of confounding opponents. It seems like it should be easy to return, but often it isn’t. Incidentally, the usefulness of spin is one reason top players prefer playing with new paddles and used balls; a ball that is scuffed up will allow for more spin, as will a new paddle that hasn’t had the limited texture permitted on its face worn down.

Finally, some players will find that the slice backhand makes it easier to keep the ball low when hitting the return. It isn’t so much that a forehand cannot do this — it certainly can — but for many the slight high-to-low swing path feels easier on the backhand side. Travelling low over the net can be an excellent feature of a return of serve since it forces the opponents to hit upward, possibly from a weak hitting position.

So between the improved court position and the ability to hit a more challenging return, I encourage you to seriously consider improving your slice backhand. It will take some work, of course. But with a little effort, you may find your backhand is better than you think. Check the videos below to find out how to make your slice better.

Opinion: Don't Coach for Free

By Mark Renneson

There are two things I like about most pickleball players: their love of the game and their desire to help others play better. These two traits are perhaps even more prominent in people who decide to get into pickleball coaching as a business. Whether they are teaching as a side project or are giving it a go as a career path, the coaches I know typically radiate enthusiasm for pickleball and a desire to help people play it better. And this is incredibly important — but also very risky.

For those of us who are attempting to earn money through our coaching, the primary product we sell is ourselves. More specifically, in charging money for our clinics, lessons, boot camps, video analysis, etc., we are essentially saying: “Hey. I’ve got something valuable to offer. My knowledge, skill, and the other things I bring to the table are great enough that I charge people money to access them”. At its root, this is no different than other people who sell goods and services. 

The restauranteur argues that her food is worth buying. The florist claims his roses are worth $24.99. You are asked to pay money to watch a movie, go to Disneyland, or have other experiences that take time, effort, and expertise to provide. It’s how trade works: a person offers something for a price, and people can decide for themselves whether they are willing to pay it. But this is where many pickleball coaches run into trouble. 

I recently met a man in his early thirties who is known in his region as a good pickleball coach. Let’s call him Marvin. When I first met Marvin, it was as he was heading on the court to run a group lesson with three women who played at the 2.5 or 3.0 level. A nice, young guy who seemed well-liked, Marvin was a solid 4.0 player and appeared competent and professional. Marvin seemed well-positioned to be successful as a coach for beginning and intermediate players in this city that was pickleball crazy but not yet overrun with instructors. Later, we chatted and I asked him if he was doing much coaching. “Well”, he said, “not as much as I’d like. It’s been a bit tougher than I expected”. 

As someone who knows well the grind of building a coaching business, I empathized with him. But I was still a little surprised since Marvin checked off a lot of the boxes that busy coaches usually check off: he was in a good market without a lot of competition. He was personable, friendly, and a strong player. He should have people lining up for his lessons. “Hey, are you coming out tomorrow?” he asked. “What’s tomorrow?” I replied. “There’s open play, he said. “I’ll be there from 9-12. You should come”. I took Marvin up on his offer and that was when I discovered why his business was failing. 

I arrived to play around 1030am and was immediately confused — the four courts were full, but not a single person was hitting a ball. Marvin had all eyes on him and about 15 people were captivated as he was cheerfully explaining to the group (with excellent demonstrations), how they should rotate their body when hitting backhands so they could generate more power. His explanation of mechanics was very good. He projected his voice well and was clear and concise in his delivery. He was a good teacher. The problem wasn’t what he was saying — the problem was that he was saying anything at all. 

I laced up my shoes and joined in to play. While we were never on the same court, I noticed that Marvin continued to coach throughout the session — although on a much more individual basis than I first witnessed. He talked to teams about communicating on middle balls, he advised when to play a drop or a drive, he corrected grips and movement, and once he even highlighted the point that you should serve and stay behind the baseline by catching a ball after a player served and wandered forward into the court. “Marvin sure gives a lot of tips,” I said to my partner Bernice, a feisty 60-something woman I played with. “Oh yes,” she said, “he’s terrific. I love when he comes to drop in because I learn so much — it’s like getting a free lesson!”. And at this moment it became clear that the problem wasn’t the product Marvin was selling, it was that he wasn’t really selling it at all — he was giving it away for free. 

If we expect people to buy our product (i.e. our coaching services) then we have to place limits on access to it. If your favourite pizza place gave away their slices Monday to Saturday but charged for them on Sunday, I’m pretty sure I know what day you would not be eating pizza.  

“Have you ever taken a lesson with Marvin?” I asked Bernice during a break. “Once. But he pretty much talks about the same thing at drop-in so I figured I’d save my money for something else. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, right?”. My hunch was that it was Marvin’s genuine love of coaching that got him into this situation. He saw problems that he thought he could help with and he did so enthusiastically. But what he didn’t realize that at the same moment he was helping someone else, he was hurting himself. He was devaluing his product by essentially flooding the market with it. He was the pizza restaurant giving away slices all week and not wondering why Sundays were dead. 

I considered Marvin a colleague and didn’t know him well. He was not (at the time) a member of Pickleball Coaching International where we offer coaching resources and business support, so I was reluctant to tell him how to run his business. But, like Marvin, I’m inclined to help when I think I can. After open play ended, I was helping Marvin tidy up — although I wasn’t sure why it was his responsibility. I told him how much fun I had and thanked him for inviting me. I asked how often he comes to open play:

“Five or six times a week,” he said. “I notice that people really like hearing your tips and suggestions” I commented. “I guess so. I like helping and I figure if they see I can make a difference in their game, they’ll come to me for lessons.” “Oh, so this is part of your strategy?”. “Yeah. Like when you get a free sample at a store. If it is good, you’ll buy it”. I see, I said. “That makes sense. But what would you do if the store always gave free samples, and gave away really big portions of it. Would you still buy it?” I countered. “Maybe. But I’d probably just go eat the sample as my…. luuuunnnnch”. This was the moment that Marvin realized what was happening. That he was undercutting his own business by giving it away to his potential customers.

Coaches — especially those who are trying to develop a reputation and their business — have a tough task ahead of us. We have to convince people that our services are worth spending money on. And to do so, we usually have to give something away so people can see how great our coaching  is. Personally, I think Marvin was on the right track by using this forum to make that case, he was just overdoing it. Paradoxically, Marvin’s enthusiasm for coaching hurt his coaching business.

Had Marvin been a little more stingy with both his time and advice he offered, he’d be more effective at creating demand for it. Instead of being at drop in nearly every day, he could cut it down to four days a week. He would be there often enough to be present in someone’s mind and available to talk (and book lessons), without becoming a fixture they could rely on for free advice nearly each day. And instead of offering tips every chance he got, he could say things like: “Yes. Struggling with a drop is a common problem. It’s something we often work on in our lessons”. He already had the respect of the people (they knew his ‘pizza’ was good)  the time had come for him to have more respect for the product he’s selling — himself.

The business of coaching pickleball is incredibly tough. Would-be instructors have to compete against the fact that pickleball is relatively easy to start playing, that there are always people happy to offer their thoughts on someone’s game (for free), and that there is so much free online material available to anyone who wants it. Facing all of this, it is understandable that coaches can feel nervous about charging money for their lessons. But in an environment where so much is free, requiring money in exchange for access to their product the most powerful signal a coach can send that they truly believe what they are offering is worth something.  If the coach doesn’t value it — why would anyone else?

Mark Renneson is a professional pickleball coach. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports and Pickleball Coaching International. He can be reached at mark@thirdshotsports.com

Death of the Bowling Serve

By Mark Renneson

We should abandon teaching the bowling serve. There, I said it. Suggesting people serve in pickleball as though they are bowling is an inefficient technique that unnecessarily limits the server’s ability to start the point in a variety of effective ways. It deserves to go the way of the dodo and I’m going to make the best case I can for why.

Why this technique, anyway? We should think about why people teach this way in the first place. I’d argue there are two primary reasons and the first is related to the rules of pickleball. Serving as though a person is bowling virtually guarantees their serve will use legal technique. The bowling serve (with the paddle and the arm forming a virtual straight line from the shoulder down to the ground) all but guarantees the paddle head won’t be above the wrist at contact. The bowling technique also ensures that the swing will be going from low-to-high (i.e. the arm moving in an upward arc for you purists in the crowd). And making contact with the ball above belly-button height is really hard to do with a bowling action, so the whole contact-below-the-waist rule is satisfied. If following the rules were the only priority, the bowling serve would be just fine.

The Bowling Serve

A relic from pickleball’s past.

The second reason instructors sometimes advise new players to use the bowling technique is that they think they are connecting the player’s past experience with what they are doing now: “Just serve like you’re bowling. See, it’s familiar!”. The trouble is, when was the last time you went bowling? Most of the people I know are not regular bowlers. In many cases, people haven’t done it for decades, if ever. So while the idea of connecting past experience to current circumstances is admirable, if the person doesn’t have that experience embedded in their current memory, it falls flat. But let’s assume the person is a seasoned bowler, I’d still argue that the bowling serve is still a poor choice. Let’s look at some of the reasons why.

Too many segments. The arm has a whole bunch of parts: the hand and wrist; the forearm; the elbow and the shoulder. And when servers rely only on their arm to hit the ball, they need to use these various segments in their delivery. The trouble is, if one of these segments misfires and does the wrong thing, this can cause problems for the serve as a whole. And since power isn’t coming from any other parts of the body, all of these little segments need to be engaged pretty actively if the serve will be delivered with sufficient power to travel the length of the court. And the more parts that are engaged, the more risk of a breakdown.

Legal Yes. Efficient? No.

The over-reliance on arm segments to hit the ball — rather than body rotation — make it tough to generate easy power.

Power is good. As pickleball continues to move forward and evolve as an increasingly dynamic sport, we are seeing the game speed up — and this includes with the serve. Generally speaking, players prefer it when they are give more time rather than less to prepare to hit the ball. When a person serves with the bowling action, they rely almost exclusively on their arm to get the job done — their puny little arm. 

Think about other sports where players need to send a ball and like to do so with speed. Baseball batters don’t swing with just their arms. Neither do the pitchers throwing the ball at them. Hockey players use their whole body to rotate through the shot and even soccer players know that they can get more power if they use core rotation. Tennis players turn as they hit and golfers do the same. In most ball-striking sports, rotation is key to effortless power.

Controlling Height. Can slow serves that go high into the air be effective? Absolutely. But since the high arc and high rebound take a long time to occur, many people will be quite happy to have been sent this ball that gives them ample time to get ready. More often, a lower serve that bounces sooner and rebounds lower will be tougher, since it forces the receiver to hustle more to get to it before the second bounce. 

Hit a Forehand.

For most people, hitting what amounts to a normal forehand will be more familiar, comfortable and effective.

When a person uses the bowling action to serve, they nearly guarantee a high and slow delivery. The extreme low-to-high swing path of the paddle makes this so. While it is possible to angle one’s paddle face so the ball stays a bit lower, the wrist manipulation required is uncomfortable for most people, so high serves are usually most common.

Looking at alternatives. In my opinion, it makes far more sense to serve as though you are hitting a regular forehand — something that you and even most starting players will have some experience with. This technique is useful for a few reasons worth considering. First, it is much easier to rotate through the shot as the serve is struck. This means relying less on the multiple segments of the arm which, as discussed, can go haywire. Second, body rotation also makes generating power easier, since it is the bigger, stronger parts of the body doing the work. Finally, now that the swing is on a less pronounced low-to-high path (it still must move on an upward arc, remember), keeping the ball lower to the net is much simpler. While a lob serve can be thrown in when needed, it isn’t a virtual requirement as it is with the bowling serve. Finally, since this serve models quite similarly a regular forehand groundstroke — something players hit quite often — it becomes much easier to connect this technique with past experience.

I Know This.

A forehand serve simulates a forehand groundstroke in many ways. This will make it more familiar to most people than the extreme low-to-high path of the bowling serve.

What to do? Does this mean that everyone has to stop using a bowling serve? Of course not. If you love your bowling serve, good for you. But I would recommend to anyone offering instruction to really think about why they might advocate for one technique over the other. While the forehand serve isn’t as obviously legal as the bowling serve, with a little care and attention, it can be hit while consistently following the rules. And given the significant advantages, it’s probably worth moving in this direction. Bye-bye bowling serve!

Later, Line Judges

By Mark Renneson

Note: This essay originally appeared in week 31 of The Pickleball Lab — an online pickleball magazine offered for PB fans everywhere. While the material we publish in The Lab is typically exclusive for subscribers, we occasionally give everyone a taste of the kind of high-quality material we produce. Learn more about The Pickleball Lab here.

Let me start by saying how great pickleball’s volunteers are. The growth of the sport owes much to the men and women who give up their time to do things that frequently go unnoticed. And this includes people who give their time to be line judges. This article isn’t about line judges as people, but as people who occupy a specific position.

Quite often major (even not-so-major) tournaments consider medal matches important enough to have line judges on the court. These kind souls are responsible for calling out balls at the sides and back of the court so that, presumably, the match is played fairly. Like any official, the line judge is to be an honest broker, impartial about who wins or loses and by what margin. The trouble, however, is that when it comes to officiating pro level matches, having line judges actually causes more problems than it solves.

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Insufficient Training. I can’t count the different ways I have seen line judges indicate that they thought a ball was out. I’ve seen them point fingers skyward. I’ve seen them point sideways. I’ve seen them point down into the ground. I have seen arms raised in the air like a touchdown was scored and I have seen them waved across the body as though a players just successfully slid safely into second base. I have heard line judges yell “out”, and watched them say nothing. Why so many different ways to call the same thing? Because line judges do not typically have adequate training that ensures a consistent protocol and a chance to practice it. In many cases, line judges are literally making things up as they go along. That’s not good enough.

Fans First. Let’s be honest, if people are going to be line judges it is because they love pickleball. And there is a good chance that they are not only fans of the game, but very often fans of the people playing. I’m not saying it is impossible to make a fair call against your favourite pro, but it sure makes it a lot harder to overrule the person whose autograph you just got and whose signature paddle you covet. I have seen many instances (including as a player) that the line judge catches themselves literally cheering after a point is won or lost.

Actual footage of a line judge considering overruling her favourite pro player.

Unfamiliar Territory. The skill level of pickleball players operates on a bell curve and most people, by definition, are average. Of course, like most people many line judges occupy that middle ground as players. People who play at the 3.0 and 3.5 levels are accustomed to seeing the kinds of shots that other intermediate players send. They are used to the levels of speed, spin and shot-making that exists at that threshold. The trouble is, when people who are used to one kind of environment are all of the suddenly put into a very different one, it can be a real challenge.

As we know, the best-of-the-best hit far harder, with far more spin and with far more precision. They have to if they want to be competitive. They hit with angles and speed that many of us can — and do — only dream about. I would argue that the lack of experience dealing with these kinds of shots on a personal level doesn’t make it impossible for line judges to get the calls right, but it sure makes it a lot harder. And without the right training (see point 1), the challenge is even greater.

We Got This. I spend a lot of time around pro level pickleball. Whether it is playing, observing, shooting video or commentating for a broadcast, it’s a world I’m pretty involved in. And I can count on less than two hands the number of times I’ve seen blatantly bad calls made by pros against one another. On the other hand, I have seen far more missed or incorrect calls made by line judges who I believe were doing their best but still got it wrong.

Going Forward. As much as pickleball is growing, it is still a tight community, especially at the top of the sport. The pros see each other all the time. They are friends. They travel together. They train together. They often end up being opponents in one tournament and partners in the next. The closeness of the community means that if you get a reputation for being a cheat, you’ll pay a heavy price. This closeness creates an excellent opportunity for the players to police themselves. And for the most part, they do.

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I’m not saying there are never bad calls with the pros - there no doubt are. But what I am saying is that there aren’t so many that we need to designate well-meaning but often poorly prepared people to do it for them. In addition to the points above, I would also argue that many line judges don’t like being put in the position to have to arbitrate pro matches. It is stressful. Tiring. Hard. There is money at stake and it seems to me a disservice to put people in a position where failure is not only significant, but significantly likely. Instead, if we want to have line judges, let’s limit it to the lower brackets where there is less on the line (so to speak). Let’s let the line judges off the hook and let them, like the rest of us, sit back, relax, and watch some great pickleball. 0-0-2.

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Being In the Booth

I got the email in early October. It was from a Senior Director at Desert Champions, the group responsible for running the Nationals. "Good to see you in Vegas" the email read "are you available to talk tomorrow about working together at Nationals? How about 12:30pm?".

That email and the subsequent phone call (it actually took place about 30 minutes later once my kids were in bed) transformed my planned 12 days at Indian Wells from a Third Shot Sportswork trip into something very different. I was to be responsible for the planning and delivery of the official livestream broadcast for the Nationals -- and ambitious project of over 100 hours of coverage that included commercials, sponsor obligations, interviews and guest co-hosts.

I had done a fair bit of play-by-play work before (Pickleball Channel, CBS Sports) but this new role as the Producer was bigger and more complicated. It is fair to say that it was a little outside my comfort zone. This was a new beast.

The preparation included shared Google Docs outlining the "content plan" as well as texts and phone calls to make sure we were on track. I messaged Bill Francis from The Imagination Company, the Utah-based outfit that would be running the cameras. We had never worked together before but I had seen some of his streams from the Tournament of Champions.

Filawas the official apparel supplier of the tournament and they needed sizing information for shoes and clothing -- and quick. I was to be coaching in Florida in late October, so they shipped some samples to my hotel there to try on. A speedy email response and they were able to work to get the new clothes embossed with the tournament logo in time for the event.

I started to think about who I'd love to get in the booth to help do some analysis, but as I built my list I realized it was too early for commitments or schedules to be made, since their availability to stop by would often depend on their tournament performance and schedule. So I could plan -- but not that much. I was quickly learning that this was going to be a think-on-your-feet kind of project. Like any big event, you can make all the plans you want but you better be ready to drop them at a moment's notice and adjust.

Once it was made public that I’d be hosting Live @ Nationals I started to get message from people. Most were congratulatory. Some were people asking to be in the booth. The good news was, many of these people were already on my wish list. While we couldn’t yet set the schedule, we each knew that there was a desire to make it happen. I was off to a good start.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and it’s the day before the tournament. I met the rest of the team in the booth as well as the marketing team from Desert Champions. What I loved about this situation was that I was given the freedom to do my work, but also supported when I needed it. My boss Philippe and his team were terrific to work with.

I have to admit, it didn’t take long before I felt comfortable in this role. After all, as a professional coach I’m used to spending eight hours on my feet and doing a lot of talking. And luckily for me, the topic of pickleball was something with which I was pretty familiar. Perhaps the most fun was having various guests in with us. National Champions like Simone Jardim, Matthew Blom, Alex Hamner and (as of this tournament) Leigh and Anna-Leigh Waters dropped by as did Wesley Gabrielsen. Coaching experts like Sarah Ansboury, Morgan Evans and DJ Howard stopped in to say hello. We spent some time with USAPA people like John Jermstadt as well as other people establishing themselves in the PB world like Jay ‘Gizmo’ Hall and Noe ‘The Pickleball Doctor” Sariban. Michelle Esquivel brought her insights, as did Rob Cassidy and Lauren McLaughlin. It was a real eclectic mix of people which was something I enjoyed about the job.

The hours were long but satisfying. My boss was happy. Due to a variety of time and technological constraints, I wasn’t able to implement all of the plans I had. I wanted to do more roving footage. I wanted to shoot more matches on side courts. I wanted to spend more time talking with fans and players. Next time, I guess.

One of the things I wasn’t really prepared for was the post-Nationals talk on social media. I just didn’t consider that people would be particularly opinionated about the job we did. Perhaps that was naive. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive but there are definitely critics. As one learns to expect on social media, some people are more constructive with their criticism than others. I guess the things to do is to take it in a stride, be proud of the work you did and work to make it even better next time.

Thank you to the team that made it possible: Bill, Janae, Jeff, The Flightscope Guys, Steve, Lala and the Desert Champions marketing team. Special thanks to all of you who took the time to watch and comment.

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