Kitchen violations happen constantly in pickleball. Everyone steps on the line at one point or another, but somehow no one believes they’re ever guilty. It’s a weird phenomenon where by the time your eyes look down at your shoe, it’s magically slid backward off of the line and provided justification for your defense. Because of this phenomenon, calling kitchen violations in rec play is just…awkward. Unless egregious, it almost always results in a discussion or hurt feelings. It’s like calling traveling in pick-up basketball. Be ready to fabricate an instant replay and break out a ped ..read more

Pickleball partnerships commonly lead to friendships, unless you’re the player constantly responsible for getting your partner bodybagged. Once or twice in a game is alright but three, four, or five is a good way to make sure you two never partner up again. The most common scenario for this pickle faux pas is while cross-court dinking.  Unfortunately, your partner is going to pay the price for any mistake you make cross-court. Here’s the example. You’re in a cross-court dink rally with your opponent. You want to show them who is boss and land a dink outside their left foot ..read more

Chemistry plays a major part in the success of a doubles team. Two less-skilled players who work together can beat two highly-skilled players who don’t mesh on the court. There are plenty of things you can do to help build chemistry with another player. Where to Stand We recommends the partner not hitting the third shot stand slightly ahead - as in closer to the net - than the player hitting the third. Since the player hitting the third will have the first judgment on the shot’s quality, the forward court position allows the partners to advance together on a good drop. Of course, if that d ..read more

You're in a dink war. The temptation to up the ante on each shot is great. You push yourself to the brink of the dink (pace, spin, angles), hoping your opponent will fold. It's a matter of pride. A battle of ego. The message: 'I can out-dink you all - day - long buddy.' But every time you up the ante, you up the risk. Your pride left the back door open, and in comes unforced errors. Don't let your pride get the best of you (ok, sometimes it's just more fun that way), play it safe. The middle dink ain't flashy and it won't land you on any highlight reels, but it's almost always a smart play. Of ..read more

Have you reached a plateau? Think your game is as good as it's going to get? Here are the best tips for moving past the 4.0 plateau. 1. Use the drive as a situational third shot, not necessarily your “go-to” Listen, I love to drive as much as the next guy. A player with a killer drive can be almost impossible to stop when they are hot, and the drive plays a much more prominent role in mixed than in gender doubles. With that being said, driving is much riskier than a solid third shot drop, and should be used more as a change of pace than as a “go-to,” especially since your opponents ..read more

Have you reached a plateau? Think your game is as good as it's going to get? Here are the best tips for moving past the 4.0 plateau. 1. Use the drive as a situational third shot, not necessarily your “go-to” Listen, I love to drive as much as the next guy. A player with a killer drive can be almost impossible to stop when they are hot, and the drive plays a much more prominent role in mixed than in gender doubles. With that being said, driving is much riskier than a solid third shot drop, and should be used more as a change of pace than as a “go-to,” especially since your opponents ..read more

A lefty-righty partnership is considered the future of pickleball. The big advantage comes in having two forehands in the middle, where most balls are hit. Now we'll examine what makes a lefty-righty partnership so special and provide some strategies for taking advantage of it. Playing with a lefty Left-handed people only make up about 10 percent of the world's population, so it's pretty rare to play pickleball against a southpaw. In fact, if you’re like me, you don’t even realize your opponent is left-handed until what you thought was a speedup winner comes screaming back at you. It ..read more

The ready position is a boring topic, but do you know what's not boring? Winning points. To win more points, you need to be better with your ready position. In particular, we’re talking ready position at the kitchen line. When you have less than a second to react, it’s a necessity to return to the right ready position every shot. Most people think they maintain a good ready position, just like most people believe they've never stepped on the kitchen line in their life. Zane Navratil demonstrates a drill for good ready position habits in a new video ..read more

While we know pickleball to be a fairly laid-back scene on the recreational side, rec play is just like any other scene: there are unspoken rules you should probably follow. So whether you’re new to the game or think you’re experienced enough to know everything about it (spoiler: you’re not), here are some of the “rules” of rec pickleball at most local courts: Sportsmanship & Fair Play Winning at all costs at the expense of sportsmanship rarely goes over well in pickleball circles. Players should make honest calls and exhibit good conduct even under the pressures of a competitive ..read more

If your coach gives you any of the following advice, it’s time to upgrade. 1. beat a banger you need to slow them. down This tip can be counterintuitive. Sure, you don’t want to play into their strengths, but you can’t try to reset and slow down every one of their speedups. The reset is a difficult shot and doesn’t punish your opponent. You’re better off hitting a counterattack to capitalize on their aggressive play. 2. Stay out of no man’s land Playing in no man’s land is unavoidable and sometimes advisable. Backing off the kitchen line can give you more time to recover and make ..read more