How to Teach Pickleball

Pickleball is a little known game that has experienced a surge in popularity. Created in 1965 when two men tried to improvise a way to have some family fun on a lazy Saturday afternoon, the game has now grown into a national sport. Congressman Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell created the game by utilizing some available material and adapting badminton rules to apply to a new and intriguing sport. The newly invented game quickly became a family favorite. Even the Pritchard's Cocker Spaniel, Pickle showed a love for the game by faithfully chasing the ball, an action that eventually lead to the adoption of the interesting moniker, Pickleball.

Things You'll Need

• A marked court measuring 22' by 40'
• A 36" high net
• Pickleballs
• Pickleball paddles

Instructions

1. Familiarize students with pickleball equipment. Before you worry about the rules, allow new pickleballers to bat the ball around a bit and get a feel for the unique pickleball equipment.

2. Teach the serving rules. The serving rules in pickleball are quite particular. Teach your students that all pickleball serves must be underhand and that opponents receiving the serve must allow the ball to bounce once before returning the serve. Your students will also need to know the specifics of the serve. Inform them that all servers must serve with one foot behind the back line of the court, that the paddle must pass below the waist, and that the ball must be served diagonally across the court. Finally, explain that there are no second chances allowed for serving in pickleball. If a serve is unsuccessful, the ball is turned over to the opposing team.

3. Elaborate on the basic game rules. Teach your students that, after the serve, teams may either play a ball off of a bounce or volley. In pickleball, volleying is defined as hitting a ball prior to it bouncing on your side of the net. Much like other racket sports, teams win points in pickleball by hitting a ball that the opponent cannot successfully return. If your opponent fails to return the ball, hits it out of bounds, or causes the ball to hit the net, you win the point.

4. Outline the no-volley zone. To increase the safety and ease of the game, volleying is not allowed in the no-volley zone, which is a zone that extends seven feet out from the net on either side. In prohibiting volleying in this zone, the game creators intended to eliminate dangerous spiking of the pickleball and create more opportunity for the ball to be hit back and forth numerous times before a score is made. If a player volleys while in the no volley zone, the point is lost.

5. Explain the scoring system. Pickleball is played to 11 points. However, the victor must win by two points. If one team has 10, then the other team will need 12 points to win in accordance with this rule.

Tips & Warnings

• Pickleball was originally played on a badminton court and the dimensions required of a modern pickleball court are the same as those of a badminton court. This means that you can repurpose a badminton court and use it to play pickleball.

References

• USA Pickleball Association
• Pickleball.com