Pickleball Strategy: Partner Switch

Pickleball owes some of its origins to tennis, and ex-tennis players are making the switch to pickleball.  In tennis this year (2011) for men's doubles the points leaders are a set of brothers born 3 minutes apart named Bob & Mike Bryan. If you have ever watched them before, or any other great doubles team you'll know of the need for communication on the court. far too many times in pickleball I see a player encroach on his partners space, leaving a wide empty space for the opponents to hit the ball to. We might go across the front for a quick poach, or maybe our forehand smash is lined up better on our team members side, or even if we go for that baseline lob, we should be communicating with our partner by yelling "SWITCH." Then our partner knows that they should get into the other court to protect it as normal. Once the play is finished we switch back to our usual places. Watch some top ranked tennis doubles, or any other doubles racquet sport like badminton, squash, racquetball and see how the partners communicate with each other effectively. "SWITCH!!!"

Pickleball Strategy: Basketball defense

Every Monday, I help coach my son's elementary basketball team. One of the biggest drills that we work on is defense! Defense is not letting the other team score. Good defensive players in basketball like Kobe Bryant are how we should be playing pickleball. In basketball drills we do side steps, never allowing our feet to get to close together, getting our hands up and out for quick reaction, and always keeping an eye on our opponent(s.)

 When I'm playing with my pickleball partner at the net, and my opponent forces a shot to us down the side lines that my partner needs to go for, I have to do quick side steps to cover him up, not allowing a huge gap to come between us. My partner and I should be moving in tandem up and back, side to side. We need to know where the ball is at all times of course, but we also need to anticipate our opponents by keeping our eyes on them.  It's been said before, but get your paddle up; that helps for faster reaction that having your paddle at your waist, or at your knees. A great defense puts us in contention for great offense.

Pickleball in New Westminister

The other day I had the great opportunity to return to a great group of new pickleballers in New Westminister. They play Monday & Thursday mornings at Century House. They have 1 court available only, but have been rapidly filling it with new players. They all wanted paddles, and some instruction to make sure they were doing things properly. They also wanted to get prepared to compete in the 2012 Seniors games that will be in the backyard in Burnaby. It's great to see a group that is so excited to get out and play for exercise, fun social, and maybe a little friendly competition. That's what pickleball is all about.

Pickleball Nationals 2011 Results

Okay so the picture above isn't at the 2011 Pickleball nationals in Buckeye Arizona, it is from our own tournament in Abbotsford last year. But it does show a local mens double pair who attempted to compete at the recent nationals. Local players Dave Touchet (far right) and Pickleball Canada Prez Colin Caldwell (far left) competed in the men's doubles 60+. Although they didn't win or place for a medal, they held their own, winning 3 sets until they were eliminated.  Mark Friedenberg (creator of pro-lite paddles) & Alan Christiansen (creator of Spikes/ZZ2 paddles) eventually won the division.

Steve Wong (creator of S-type paddles) won 4 silvers in many different categories including the extremely rigorous 19+ mens singles.

Other notable  locals that won medals are Carol Haworth (Abbotsford/Chilliwack)  that won a bronze  with her partner in the women's doubles 70+. Congratulations Carol from your friends in the Fraser valley!!!!!

If you're interested in all the results, check out the USAPA.com 

Pickleball goes to University

Last week I had the great opportunity to attend a Pickleball session at our local University, or UFV. I didn't even know that a pickleball group existed there until I was invited to bring some paddles and balls to their group by their pickleball promoter: Bill Neudorff. Bill had mentioned that they usually average 8-12 players for their 1 hour session comprised of Faculty, staff, and students. Either there was a news that an outsider was attending, or they were new people excited about pickleball ( I choose the latter) there were 25-30 pickleballers in attendance. After giving some correction to their net heights, and some mistaken rules, I was able to give some instruction to this great group of players. The gym coordinator was overjoyed at the response, and even played along for the games, and was excited for the new outlet and sport to be offered at UFV. The students have a UPASS that allows them to use any rec center in Abbotsford free, and invited them to our nightly pickleball sessions to further their game. They play Thursdays from 4-5 pm in the gym, but according to the gym coordinator they are looking at extending the time.

Pickleball Rules Refresher: Service ettiquette

Last week at Pickleball I was playing doubles against a player who consistently served the ball to me before I was even ready. He said that as long as he was ready, then he could serve. Is this true?
According to the International Federation of Pickleball rules it states:

The 10-Second Rule. The “10-second rule” applies to both server and receiver, each of whom is allowed up to 10 seconds after the score is called to serve or be ready to receive. It is the server’s responsibility to look and be certain that the receiver is ready to receive serve.
4.J.1. After one technical warning has been issued by the referee, further delays on the part of the server or the receiver exceeding 10 seconds shall result in a technical foul and a point awarded against the offender.
4.J.2. If the server serves the ball while the receiver is signaling “not ready,” the ball will be re- served with no penalty and the server shall be “warned” by the referee to check the receiver. If the server continues to serve without checking the receiver, the referee may call a technical foul and award a point to the receiver’s score.
4.J.3. After the score is called, if the server looks at the receiver and the receiver is not signaling “not ready,” the server may then serve. If the receiver attempts to signal “not ready” after the serve is made, then the serve stands, whether or not the ball is returned.
IFP Comment: A receiver who attempts to return the service shall be considered to have been ready. If the receiver has signaled not ready, the service must be replayed.

Pickleball Rules Refresher: it touched me!

At pickleball last week, my partner was struck in the belly (he had some extra halloween candies, but nothing to say my partner had a big gut.) Would this be a fault to stop play, or should the point be replayed? 
 
A fault is any action that stops play or creates a violation of the rules. A fault will be declared for
the following:

7.F. The ball in play strikes a player or anything the player is wearing or carrying. There is one
exception to this rule: if the ball strikes the player’s paddle hand below the wrist, the ball is
still in play. If the ball strikes a player standing out of bounds, that player loses the rally. In
doubles, if the serve strikes the receiver’s partner, it is a point for the serving team,
providing it is not a let serve. This rule also includes balls that appear to be hit out of
bounds: during play, if you catch the ball or try to stop it from heading out of bounds, you
lose the rally.
USAPA Comment. If the player is in the process of changing hands with both hands on the
paddle, or is attempting a two-handed stroke and either hand is hit below the wrist, then
the ball is considered in play.

Pickleball Nationals 2010/2011

So for those of us not in the know, this week is very important to us pickleballers! I'm sure when you tell someone about what sport you play, you tend to get blank faces, or uproarious laughing. But as I said this week in Buckeye Arizona, November 7 - 14 is the annual Pickleball Nationals. It is the best of the best, the who's who in the pickleball world. At the tournament you will find all categories, and all ages represented (pre-teen, teen, under 30's right up to 80's, male and female.) Singles, mixed and gender doubles.

As you can see in the picture from last year the mens open doubles champions and bronze finishers are from Washington State. Besides the playing there is always releases of new paddles or protypes that have been approved for tournament play. Through my contacts I have personally heard of 3, and no doubt they will be offered to the public after the tournament ends. I will post the results next week, and keep you informed of any new paddles that come available.

Pickleball Strategy: Serve return

Very often, the best return of serve is a soft floating return that keeps your opponent in the back court. You will be taking advantage of the 2-bounce rule that prohibits the serving team from volleying the return of serve. The soft floater gives you and your partner plenty of time to establish your positions at the no-volley line. When you control the no-volley line, you have assumed the offense and put the serving team on defense. The other advantage of using this type of return is that it is one of the easiest returns to make and greatly cuts down on errors.

There are times when a hard driving return is appropriate. It can be especially effective if one of your opponents has a tendency to move up too quickly after the serve. If he has moved up too quickly, the hard drive forces him to backpedal quickly and forces an off-balance shot. But, keep in mind that your chances for error increase with that type of return. An attempt at a drive return means that it is much more likely that you will hit the net or hit the ball long. The other risk of the drive return is that it may be returned to you before you have had time to establish your position at the line.

Use the hard drive return every now and then for a change of pace and to keep your opponent off balance. But, most of the time, it would be wise to play the winning percentages and return a deep soft floater.

Pickleball Rules Refresher: Was that ball out?

So the other day at pickleball some dispute arose about if the ball had touched the line or not. One side had said that it was possible that it hadn't, yet the opponents thought from their angle it had hit the court. 
The ball can only touch the court at one point. As you can see in the first photo below, the center of the ball is touching the red. So, even though part of the profile of the ball is over the top of the line, the ball is out. The second photo shows a ball that is good because the center is touching the white line. Reference: section 6C of the official USAPA rules.
Note that this rule is different than the rule for tennis. A tennis ball can flatten out when it hits, so if any part of the tennis ball touches the line, it is called good.

Remember, all lines are good during the rally and the serve except for the no-volley line during the serve. A served ball that touches the no-volley line is a fault and results in loss of serve.

New Pickleball paddles arriving (Predator & Kryptonite 2)

We just ordered a shipment of new paddles from Pickleball Inc. The new models will be the Predator that weighs approx. 8.2 - 8.5 oz, and the Kryptonite 2 that weighs approx. 7.2 - 7.5 oz. The Predator model come in grey, crimson, and lime green, and are made with a carbon fibre composite material. The Kryptonite 2 comes in pink, red, green, black, purple, blue, and yellow, and is made with a graphite material. They should arrive mid November 2011. They will sell for $70 CDN.  Look for a paddle review on both once we receive them.

Pickleball Rules Refresher: Line calls

The other night at pickleball while playing with a new partner, an incident arose when a ball came hard between my partner and I down at our feet along the doubt line (middle line to the baseline.) It was on my partners side forehand, and rapidly descending from waist height to feet. My partner and I were within 2 feet of other, and passed between us and past us very fast. So fast that neither of us saw if it was in or out. We had a good idea that with its speed and trajectory it could possibly be outside the fault line, but unsure enough to make the call. One of our opponents was very quick to point out that it was in, and that he had won the point. So the question is, who makes the call?
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Pickleball like most racquet sports relies on the integrity of the players in calling shots in or out. The rule of etiquette suggests that players will call the lines as honestly and fairly as they can. Players should call the lines on their side of the net and opponents will do the same on their side. Opponents should never make a call on the other side of the net unless they are asked. If a team cannot decide on a line call, then the benefit always goes to the opponent. If a team asks for an opinion from an opponent, that decision is final. If no players responsibly saw the play finish a reserve is played. Again, fairness is the rule of the day. Remember it is only a game. Keeping this in mind will prevent conflict on the court.

Pickleball Strategy: Warm-up

So this post serves (2) objectives. The first being to show off my car, a 1974 VW Super Beetle. I call him "Archie" and he is my daily driver. The 2nd being that "Archie" like us, are getting older daily and take a little more time to get ready. I'm amazed when I get to the pickleball court to find people not stretching before they play. "Archie", my VW, takes time each morning gently getting started through his warm-up routine, before I can take him on main roads without stalling at the traffic light. So too with us, when we don't warm up before we play pickleball, we can due injury to ourselves, even stall out during a game. So take time when you arrive at the court with simple leg, arm, and cardio stretches for 5-10 minutes before you play. if you are unsure of some simple stretches you can do, e-mail me for some suggestions.

Pickleball Paddle Review: Changing grips

 The gamma gel grip at left has firm foam backing with gel for extra shock absorption. It is perforated for maximum ventilation. It sells for $10 and will fit any paddle.

The Gamma Ultra cushion has a raised rib, with an aerated grip. The stitched rib and perforations increase gripping power and moisture absorption. It sells for $10, and will fit any paddle.

No more candy...Play Pickleball

Okay, so you got a great deal on some Halloween candy at Walmart, and were expecting to have a multitude of kids at your door, but before the first little princesses and soldiers showed up your candy bowl was empty. Your wondering if you can even move today with the extra little Hershey bars, gum drops, and suckers that somehow "magically" got eaten. I say it sound like a perfect time to get playing pickleball. Hope to see you on the courts today!