Sharing some wisdom from one of by pickleball besties (with permission, of course). These are some notes by Tanner Rice.
- Determine Type (Yin-Yang) – there’s no right or wrong but people tend to have more strengths for one side than the other
- Drops + Dinks – two shots that are unique and essential to pickleball
- Play – learn and fall in love with the game
- People – meet the community; play with ALL types and levels of people
- Practice – once you know the flow, go practice and build consitency
- Pressure – play in a tournament, get exposed; weaknesses are put under a magnifying glass under pressure
- Personal – develop a routine; everyone’s life is different but, depending on your goals, you will personalize a plan to become perfect
Very few things are black and white in pickleball. It is all about situation and intention. For example, you hit the ball and it hits the opponent’s body
- It is WRONG if you hit them to inflict pain.
- It is ANNOYING if you are mindlessly smacking the ball around and it hits them.
- It is CORRECT in a competitive setting with the intention to get a pop-up (i.e. aiming for hips or shoulders) and executing a 1-2 combo.
- It is OK if you run and reach out in desperation and it is your only shot that happens to hit your opponent.
- It is FUNNY if you hit a ball that is going way out and your opponent jumps into the ball.
All of these are the same when it comes to the scoreboard, but they are all perceived by your opponents differently.