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how to play pickleball
Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest recently hosted brothers Ben and Colin Johns on their Live morning show. They got a few quick pointers along with an ominous warning from Ben to “stay out of the kitchen” before they took to a make-shift court in front of the studio. Ben and Colin are to the…
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How do you know what improvement path is going to get you the fastest results? Having played pickleball for about 5 years now, I have had the pleasure of meeting and playing with a variety of players from varied backgrounds each possessing different skill sets. We are all able to get on the court and…
Read MoreThe one pickleball fundamental you have to understand
Pickleball is more than just getting the ball over the net and into the court. Pickleball is easy to learn but it can take a lifetime to master every aspect of the game.
The first fundamental that you have to understand is that the strategies when you are the serve team differ from the strategies when you are the return team. If you do not understand this difference, you cannot succeed as a player. Period.
When you are the serve team, you are at a disadvantage because of the Two-Bounce Rule. The disadvantage is that your opponents (the return team) will be able to move up to the NVZ line before you. Most successful doubles pickleball is played at the NVZ line. You must first neutralize that disadvantage and get you into position to win the rally and score a point.
When you are the return team, you have the positional advantage of being able to control the NVZ line first. You must maintain that advantage and make it as difficult as possible for the serve team to score a point.
Neutralizing when you are on the serve side of the ball and maintaining your advantage when you are on the return side of the ball is how you will win more rallies and, as a result, win more games.
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Have you ever played pickleball with a partner who just won’t come to the net? Pickleball rec play is one of the unique aspects of this sport, which makes it so enjoyable. You don’t have to have a partner to play. You can go to open play, and you get to play with a lot…
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One of the things that makes teaching pickleball so much fun is there are always exceptions to the rule. It also makes receiving pickleball advice confusing. In addition to teaching pickleball, I coach golf and skiing. In my career as both athlete and teacher, I’ve encountered a lot of advice-givers, some good coaches, and…
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A game as fast as pickleball requires an abbreviated pickleball language to communicate. One of the first phrases of pickleball language new players learn is the “non-volley zone,” the first 7 feet on each side of the net, is called the “kitchen.” A “dink” is a shot intended to land in the opponents’ kitchen. Yelling…
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Has someone told you about a fun game with a pretty strange name? Or perhaps you’re tired of explaining it to your friends when they say “pickle what?” When people ask me, what pickleball is, I sometimes have a hard time answering. It’s a little bit of ping pong, some tennis, throw in some…
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[Tweet “How would you like to improve your reaction time when you get into a volley exchange at the net? This single person drill will improve your reactions in no time at all!”] If your feeling that your reaction time is a little sluggish at the net. This reflex volley drill is going to…
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The clock matters only a couple times in pickleball. The entire score must be called before the server begins his or her service motion. When all players are in place, and the score has been called, the server is permitted 10 seconds to serve the ball. If you can’t manage that, it’s a fault against you.…
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Perhaps unique to pickleball, a ball can be hit twice, bounced on your paddle, or “carried,” as long as this occurs during a continuous motion in a single direction. The ball can also hit your paddle hand and still be returned legally. In fact, the ball doesn’t need to hit the paddle at all as long…
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