This is an outline of possible content for a one-hour “Intro to Pickleball” course. I am assuming that the goals of the class are (1) understand the basic rules; (2) be able to keep score; and (3) have a concept of how to hit the first four shots to get a rally started.
- What’s great about pickleball?
- You can start playing and having fun right away. It is easy to learn while also being very difficult to master.
- You can play with different ages and genders as power and speed are not as important overall as other skills.
- You can play almost anywhere
- The community is awesome!
- Equipment
- Different kinds of paddles
- Wood, Aluminum, Composite
- Sweet spot for paddles is between $50 – 100. You can go more expensive than that but hard to find a solid paddle under $50.
- Different kinds of balls (size and number of holes)
- Outdoor: 40 holes, tend to be harder than indoor balls
- Indoor: 26 holes, tend to be softer than outdoor balls
- Different kinds of paddles
- The pickleball court
- 44 x 20, Net is 36 inches on sidelines and 34 inches in the middle.
- Kitchen/NVZ line is 7 feet from the net. Another 15 feet from kitchen to baseline
- Side-to-side is 20 feet, each service box is 10 feet wide
- Compare to tennis court, which is 78’ in length. 19 extra feet on each side.
- Singles is 27 feet wide, doubles is 36 feet wide. Net is 42” / 36”
- This class is focused on learning how to play doubles
- Pickleball is overwhelmingly played as doubles game.
- Can also play as singles and a variant “skinny singles” but less common.
- Basic game play
- The rally begins with a diagonal serve across the net to the opponent’s service court using an underhand motion.
- The ball is struck back and forth across the net until a player fails to return the ball in accordance with the rules.
- Points are scored only by the serving side when the server or the server’s team wins the rally, or the opposing side commits a fault.
- The server continues to serve, alternating service courts, until the serving side loses the rally or commits a fault.
- Typically, a game is played to 11 by 2.
- Novel Pickleball Rules
- Three-part scoring: you announce your score, opp score, server #
- After the first server, both players on a team get to serve. You switch from even to odd sides of the court after winning a point.
- Two-Bounce Rule. After the ball is served, each side must make one groundstroke prior to volleying the ball.
- Non-Volley Zone (NVZ or Kitchen). An area within which a player is not allowed to strike the ball without it first bouncing.
- Serves
- Rules: correct server, contact below waist, paddle below wrist, feet correct.
- Court positioning (use circles to show locations)
- Mechanics: bowling motion, stance with feet parallel pointed towards target, relaxed but stable wrist, aim w/ followthrough
- Goals:
- Get the serve in (explain rules)
- Depth – the back half of the service box
- Location – the desired side of the service box
- Returns
- Rules: correct returner, let the ball bounce, get it in the court.
- Court positioning (use circles to show locations)
- Mechanics: same as the serve, although you have less control
- Goals:
- Get the ball in
- Depth – back half of the court
- Location – the opponent and place on court
- Get to NVZ line before return bounces
- Third shot
- Goal: hit a shot that allows serving team to move forward towards kitchen line, either in part or full.
- Options: drop and drive
- Technique:
- Drop is a lifting motion similar to serve, keys are forward weight and contact point and full follow-through.
- Drive is a 50% strength low groundstroke that is designed to give you an easier shot on the next ball.
- Fourth Shot
- Goal: choose the appropriate shot given Green / Yellow / Red
- Green: ball is shoulder-height or above. Hit down on ball.
- Yellow: ball is waist-to-shoulder height. Punch ball out.
- Red: ball is below waist. Dink ball to safe location.