10 Things Novice Players Do That Ruin Their Pickleball Game

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As a pickleball coach, I have been coaching for around 3 years. I am a fully insured PPR Certified Coach, and love introducing people to pickleball. I have taught over 500 people so far, and besides a few students falling, there has not been many bad moments. It’s always a good time teaching pickleball. I believe I have found my calling. Let’s just say, if you play pickleball, retirement is great!

After observing student after student on the court, there are 10 things that a novice student should stop doing that SCREAMS I’m a novice player.  Here they are:

1. Not standing on the balls of their feet.
   I tell my students, if you are not putting pressure on the balls of your feet and standing flat-footed, you are not in a ready position. Sarah Ansboury says pretend that there is a button on the bottom of your big toe and press that button.
2. Standing too close to the baseline.
   If you are standing too close to the baseline when you are receiving a deep serve, you are going to either miss the serve, hit it before it bounces, or hit the ball up in the air and out of bounds. Always stand a foot behind the baseline. My students say, “But what happens if they serve short?” Then you run like you’re 18 years old and get to the ball, I always say jokingly. But, if you see someone who constantly serves a weak and short serve, take a step inside the baseline.
   
3. Creeping up after you serve.
   Oh, seasoned pickleball players love to see their opponents do this…take a couple of steps forward onto the court after they serve. That’s a sign of definite weakness. Your receiver is going to return the ball deep back to you who is already a couple of steps too far forward, therefore you hit the ball before it bounces. FAULT! The saying is SERVE AND STAY!
4. Not getting up to the NVZ line.
   This is a drill I do over and over with my students. It’s return and RUN. Or I like to say…RUN LIKE HECK! Now, this is when I’m teaching people who can run and who want to become aggressive players. If you are not returning the ball deep and running up to the kitchen, it says…I’m still learning.
5.  Standing like a statue.
   They hit the ball and don’t move as they watch their ball fly over the net. Why? They are admiring their shot. Then what happens? They are not prepared for the return shot and miss it. Stop admiring your shot and immediately move and be ready for the ball coming back.
6. Not keeping their paddle up.
   If I see a player standing with their paddles down by their side, I know they are not ready to return a fast ball coming at them. In pickleball, a player does not have the time to bring the paddle up from the side of their leg, to return a fast ball coming at their backhand. Keep your paddle up! A coaching trick I use is telling my students to put their finger tips of their non paddle hand on the back of their paddle after every return. If this doesn’t work, I give them a ball that they have to hold on the back of their paddle so they remember to keep their paddle up. And this one seems to work…I tell them keeping their paddle up makes them look 10 years younger.
7. Not Focusing.
   Sometimes I see a ball fly by a student and they try to hit it after the pass. You know, the whiffing stroke. They look at the paddle like there must be a hole in it. How could they possibly miss that ball? They look at me, their coach, in disbelief. But seconds before, I could tell their mind was someplace else. I ask them, what were you just thinking of? They admit, they were thinking they had to get an oil change, or make a dentist appointment. Definitely not on the game at hand. You have to stay laser focused in the game. If not, it’s not fair to your partner, you or your opponents that are there because they want a good game.
8. Hitting the ball back to your opponent (politely).
   Isn’t that what you are suppose to do? No! During warmup we hit the ball back and forth to each other because we are WARMING UP. After that, make your opponents move. Don’t give them an easy shot to return. And go for their backhand, the weaker side. When I’m playing, I will hit to one opponent and if he gets it back, I’ll switch direction and hit to the other opponent. Keep them guessing. {Select Ray-Ban Oakley & Costa active polarized sunglasses}
9.  Hitting into the net.
   Time after time, I witness a novice player go for a put-a-way and they hit the ball with extreme force right into the net. That will hurt your ego. Then I look at their feet and find them standing a foot behind the NVZ line. If they were rather standing an inch back from the line as they should have, they would have gotten that ball over the the net and past their opponents. Win! Get as close to the NVZ line as you can.
10. Not watching the ball.
    A ball comes towards you and you swing and miss it. Why? You thought you were watching the ball but just as it comes a foot from your paddle, you look across the court towards your opponents, and you completely miss the ball. What happened? You took your eyes off the ball. Another good hint from Sarah Ansboury is point your paddle paddle at the ball as it goes back and forth. This is good practice for your brain to train it to keep track of the ball.

If you are a novice, above are 10 things you should work on if you want to STOP looking like a novice. If you master the above 10, you are no longer a novice player and moving in to the intermediate zone.

If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 941-400-0978 or email at dinkpickleball@gmail.com.

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Thanks for reading, Pickleball Terry

Pickleball Terry, Founder and owner of Sarasota Pickleball Organization, LLC