The Difference Between Novice And Good Players by Terry Ryan

I tell my students, the first thing is you want to look prepared to play a good competitive game of pickleball. That means, proper foot wear, court attire.  correct stance, and a good paddle. At a clinic I was doing at a development, I was talking about this, and one man spoke up and said, “I just want to come out here and socialize.” Meaning, he didn’t want to be competitive. Okay, I get that but I cater to the more competitive souls. If you just want to learn the basics; here’s the kitchen, serve it across court, then I can teach you that in one lesson. But if you want to be someone other players want to play with, then you continue to work on your game to improve.

A good player will have:

• Endurance
• Court etiquette
• Proper clothing
• Brings plenty of water for hydration
• Knows the importance of a good court shoe
• Has a good paddle (Like a Gearbox)

And they will:

• Focus on the game
• Know pickleball strategies
• Be able to move fast
• Gets up to the kitchen and knows when to hang back
• Executes a serve that worries the opponents
• Is supportive of their partner
• Makes few unforced errors
• Does not take their partner’s forehand
• Knows the line down the middle of the court is only for the serve
• Makes shots to make their opponents fight for each return
• A gracious loser and winner
• Keeps score well without asking everyone else what the score is

What a novice will do:

• Stand up straight with the paddle dangling down by their leg usually looking around
• Mentally not prepared and thinking about everything else but the game
• Hasn’t worked out in a while so little endurance
• Slow moving up to the NVZ.
• Doesn’t know why they call it the NVZ
• Fears the kitchen
• Doesn’t like to dink
• Shows up wearing running shoes
• Forgets water or ice when it’s hot out
• Says things like, “That was on my side of the court!”
• Steals their partner’s forehand
• Crowds their partner
• Always plays defensively
• Shows frustration when they miss a ball
• Doesn’t have an eye to know a ball is going out so they hit it
• Gets angry and fights over the calls the opponents make
• Never says the correct score
• Seems to hit it into the net often

How to move from novice level to intermediate level?

• • Practice makes perfect. Drill, drill. drill until it becomes second nature.  Turn on your laser focus when you are playing. Think of nothing but the game and do not be distracted.
  • It’s  good idea to video your games then play it back to dissect your game. I just had a video of myself playing in a tournament reviewed by a pro player who gave me helpful suggestions.  I can do the same for you.

• When I started playing pickleball, I remember asking people what I was doing wrong in my game. They couldn’t tell me because a) they didn’t want me to get any better, b) they didn’t know what the heck they were doing so how could they tell me? Now, players have more advantages to improve quickly. Lucky them! If they listen to what their coaches say, like Coach Terry, they will improve in months to be a smart, competitive player.
• 
  

Things you must know and do:

• • Move fast
  • Have a good 3rd shot drop
  • Confident at the kitchen
  • Can dink 100 times in a row
  • Return the serve with a topspin groundstroke
  • Know it is : serve and stay: return and run
  • Put-away the put-aways
  • Be ready when an attackable shot comes over
  • Support your partner
  • Never throw away a serve
  • Always target the opponent’s weakness
  • Be ready to do a ATP when opportunity presents itself
  • Play as much as you can but also know when it is time to take some time off
  • Stretch and warmup before playing
  • Use the proper paddle to improve performance and reduce elbow stress
  • POACH!

Those are just a few suggestions I have. If you want to play better, you have to practice. Some people I see out there never drill/practice and I see them making the same mistakes over and over again. So, basically they are just reinforcing their bad habits. A good coach can stop you from doing that and put you on the right track.

Good Place To Begin

My Y Berlin clinic every Friday at 1:00 – 3:00 is a great place to drill. We have drills like: Weakest Link, 3rd Shot Drop. Walk of Shame, Red light/Green light, Pop Up, Money Ballzzzz

I also have a ball machine that we drill with.  In my clinics I do not stand around and talk. You will begin playing as soon as you walk in. It’s two hours of action and you will leave with knowledge and slightly tired…well maybe very tired.

Competitive players know they need to practice. Novice players just want to have fun and that’s okay, too.  What kind of player do you want to be?

Thanks for reading,

Pickleball Terry

PPR Certified Coach
USA Pickleball Ambassador
Creator and owner of SarasotaPickleball.com

Dinlpickleball@gmail.com