The Art of Pickleball: Techniques and Strategies for Everyone

By Gale Leach

Pickleball is a fun, fast-paced game that is gaining popularity around the world because it's easy to learn and can be played by all ages.

This book describes everything fro

• Language: English
• Publisher: Two Cats Press
• Release date: Dec 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781937083649

Gale Leach

Gale managed her own tech writing business until she and her husband moved to Arizona, where they fell in love with the sport of pickleball. Hoping to learn more, and finding only one book about the sport, Gale researched and write The Art of Pickleball , which captured the Arizona Book Award in 2007. In 2011, she launched her own publishing company, Two Cats Press, and published her first book of fiction, Bruce and the Road to Courage, which won the Arizona One Book Award for Children. In the years that followed, she added four more novels to that series, published eight books by local authors, and finished two novels in a young-adult heroic fantasy series.Gale and her husband cohabitate with a dog, a cat, and a bearded dragon. When not writing, she enjoys playing music and singing, relishing the worlds of other fantasy authors, and battling for survival in computer role-playing games. Learn more at www.galeleach.com.

Book preview

The Art of

Pickleball

Techniques and Strategies for Everyone

A Pickleball

Gale Leach

The Art of Pickleball:

Techniques and Strategies for Everyone

Published by Two Cats Press

Two Cats Logo

13836 W. Terra Vista Drive

Sun City West, AZ 85375-5432

www.twocatspress.com

Fifth Edition

Copyright © 2021 by Gale H. Leach

Cover design and layout: Gale Leach

Illustrations: Gale Leach and Travis Leach

Photographs: Gale Leach, Morgan Engel, and Matt Derry

eBook design and formatting : Ken Johnson www.yourebookbuilder.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

International Standard Book Number:

ISBN: 978-1-937083-51-9

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Praise for

The Art of Pickleball

AZ Book Award

This is a wonderful book for beginners and seasoned players of pickleball. It brings you from basic to advanced ... if you want to go there. I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning either casual playing or for serious competition.

— Pierre J. Boudreaux, Lafayette, LA

I am an ex-tennis player and new to pickleball - the explanations of shot dynamics, rules, techniques and strategies are helping me to learn the game and to understand the differences between my past and present pastimes. It is thorough without overwhelming the reader and has a lot of photos for the visual learner on shot making. … Highly recommended.

— SherMar, Gardnerville, CA (Amazon.com review)

The Art of Pickleball is as indispensable as the paddle. Every easy-to-understand example is eloquently written with both the novice and expert player in mind. This is truly a book that can start you on the right path and help you grow into the best player you can be.

— Morgan Engel, Alameda, CA

This book is extremely well thought out and written. It goes over the basics of the game and beyond in an easy-to-follow manner. We use this book as a guide for our beginners lessons each week and have them available around the courts.

— Troy Konz, President, Sun City Grand Pickleball Club, Surprise, AZ

Excellent book for understanding and improving your game, whether a beginner or experienced player of the game. Ms Leach provides a solid resource for the game of pickleball, providing a glossary of terms, strategies for singles and doubles play, tips and tricks for improving grips, serves and returns, and much more. The helpful illustrations in this book give readers at all levels of play additional reinforcement of all the important fundamentals of this fast-growing sport. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to improve his or her pickleball play on the court and knowledge of the sport in general.

— David, Colorado Springs, CO (Amazon.com review)

This is an excellent guide to pickleball. Along with how the game evolved and is played, it moves into strategy of play. All the rules are delineated as well as special circumstances and cases. A must for anyone wanting to advance into the game.

— D. Fessenden (Amazon.com review)

I have really enjoyed this book. I've only played PB since November and play with quite a few people from my 55+ neighborhood. After I started using the book, people started asking if I've been taking lesions. I'm reluctant to tell them about the book. I pick one area in the book, like putting spin on the ball, and work on that for a while. Once I see improvement, I take another area to concentrate on.

— JLC (Amazon.com review)

Dedication

To my first pickleball partner—my husband, Richard—

whose ongoing encouragement and assistance

make all my projects better

and

To Carmen Agostinelli, friend and loyal supporter of my writing,

whose love of this sport reignited the flame

that brought this book to reality

A Note about Pronouns

Many people today replace the pronouns he and she with they, but I’m old fashioned. Throughout most of this book, I use the male pronouns he, him, and his as representative of all people, not in preference for men (though I like them).

Table of Contents

---

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Dedication

A Note about Pronouns

Introduction

A Short History of the Sport⁠

Why Pickleball?

Chapter 1: Overview of the Game

Game Sequence

Faults

Lesser-Known Rules

Scoring

Chapter 2: Warm-Ups, Fitness, and Safety

Flexibility: Warm Up and Then Stretch

Safety on the Court

Shuffle Properly

Don’t Back Up to Reach a Ball

Injury

Chapter 3: Equipment

Paddles

Selecting a Paddle

Paddle Price

Paddle Weight

Grip Size

Paddle Length and Head Shape

Paddle Materials

Pickleballs

Outdoor Pickleballs

Indoor Pickleballs

Clothing and Other Equipment

Shoes

Socks

Gloves

Chapter 4: Grips, Paddle Angles, and Ball Placement

Holding the Paddle

Forehand Grip

Backhand Grip

Paddle Angles

Flat Face

Open Face

Closed Face

Ball Control

Body Position

The Power and Direction of Your Swing

The Physics of a Hit

Wrist Movement

When to Hit a Bouncing Ball

Chapter 5: Stroke Preparation

Split Step

Ready Position

Back Court Ready Position

Non-Volley Zone Line Ready Positions

Good Footwork

Learn to Shuffle

Footwork at the Non-volley Zone

Chapter 6: The Serve

Underhand Serve

Forehand Serve

Backhand Serve

Body Position During a Serve

Problems with the Serve

Improve Your Serve

Chapter 7: Groundstrokes

Forehand and Backhand Groundstrokes

Two-Handed Backhand

Backhand Techniques

Recap of Groundstroke Techniques

General Problems with Groundstrokes

Drop Shot

Third-Shot Drop

Problems Specific to the Drop Shot

Half Volley

Problems Specific to the Half Volley

Dink

Problems with the Dink

Lob

Problems with the Lob

Chapter 8: Volleys

Punch or Block Volley

Forehand and Backhand Volley

Specific Problems with the Volley

Overhead Smash and Forehand Smash

Forehand Smash

Problems Specific to the Smash

Dink Volley

Problems with the Dink Volley

Drop Volley

Problems with the Drop Volley

Chapter 9: Spins

Backspin

Topspin

Sidespin

Returning Balls with Spin

Determine the Type of Spin

When to Hit a Spinning Ball

Adding Your Own Spin

Chapter 10: Playing the Game

Court Position

Rush to the Non-Volley Zone

Playing Singles

Serving in Singles

Return of Serve in Singles

Getting to the Non-Volley Zone

When Soft is Better

Send Your Opponent Back

Equipment and Footwear

Strategies for Singles Play

Playing Doubles

Choosing a Partner

Tips for Serving in Doubles

Stacking

Communication

Body Language

Shadowing

Watch Your Partner

Shots Down the Center

Poaching

Chapter 11: Strategies and Tactics

Goals

Limit Your Faults

Keep Your Head Still

Think One Step Ahead

Change Things Up

Target Your Opponents’ Weaknesses

Offense vs. Defense

Prepare for Each Shot

Positional Strategies in Doubles Play

Chapter 12: Practice, Correcting Problems, and Drills

Perfecting Your Skills

Practice with a Partner or Alone

Correcting Problems

Seek Help

Break the Problem into Small Chunks

Practice the Biggest Problem First

Keep Your Head Still and Watch the Ball

Correct Backhand Weakness

Loss of Serve, or The Yips

Drills

Improve Accuracy

Skill Drill Games

Skills Assessment

Chapter 13: The Mental Game

Make a Game Plan

Tips to Control Your State of Mind

Chapter 14: Etiquette, Ethics, and Sportsmanship

Etiquette

Ethical Conduct

Sportsmanship

Chapter 15: Notes about Tournament Play

Preparing for a Tournament

Tournament Protocol

Referees and Judges

Choosing Side, Serve, or Receive

The Bottom Line …

References

Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Appendix B: The Court

The Non-Volley Zone

Portable Equipment

Tips for Building Your Own Court

Appendix C: Wheelchair/Adaptive Pickleball

Court Dimensions

The Ball May Bounce Twice

Service

Non-Volley Zone

Games with Wheelchair and Standing Players

Singles with Wheelchair Players

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Footnotes

Introduction

Pickleball is a fun, fast-paced game that is hugely popular around the world. Easy to learn, it can be played by people of all ages in a relatively short period of time, and the small size of the court allows it to be played nearly anywhere.

While learning to play pickleball in 2004, I searched for books that would explain how to become a better player. The sport was still relatively new, and only a couple of books were available. After reading Bill Booth’s tips on the Sun City Grand Pickleball Club website, I began taking notes as better players shared their expertise.

Those notes formed the basis of this book—the result of examining what excellent players do that novice players do not. I searched out information about other racket sports, watched videos, read online sources, and included the notes I took as I learned the sport and became a better player.

Also included is the distillation of interviews with many pickleball players, professional and aspiring. The people I interviewed didn’t always agree about the best way to make a shot or the strategies that should be employed in certain situations. Because of that, you’ll find contradictory information in these pages. Ask five pickleball players what they do in a given situation or how they do it, and you’ll get five different answers.

As with any sport, pickleball seems to have many right ways to play. Because of that, I’ve included differing methods when significant disagreement occurred, or when it seemed that multiple options might help you discover what would work best for you. It will be up to you do decide what you like.

Few of you will read this book from cover to cover. Books of this sort generally contain too much information for that kind of reading to be useful. Only the information you’re ready for—that takes you from where you are today to a step above—will make sense and be helpful.

I hope you will read the sections of this book that interest you and browse the rest from time to time. Perhaps you’ll leave this book sitting on your coffee table and pick it up periodically. Books like this can be read again as you learn more about the game and your skills improve. Perhaps later you’ll discover new things upon rereading a passage that you missed the first time, or you’ll find new interest in something you weren’t ready for earlier.

That’s the best reason to come back and read this book: as your game improves, you will need to change your techniques and strategies, and you’ll be seeking new information. Here’s a general plan for learning and improving your pickleball game.

Learn how to play and practice. New players should read the rules and learn the basics of how to hit the ball and move on the court. Then study new ways to hone your skills as you improve. Watch and talk with players who play better than you do. Analyze what they’re doing and why, and ask to play games with them. Have someone videotape your play and watch it to see what you’re doing—not what you think you do. Make sure you do things correctly from the beginning, so you don’t have to unlearn bad habits later. Practice against a wall or with a partner, so you get intensive training on specific strokes. Once you do that, your game will improve.

Learn to warm up and stretch properly, and do it every time you play. Pickleball is easy to pick up quickly, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat it as seriously as any other sport. Sadly, injuries in pickleball are common and fall into two main categories: not warming up enough before play and going past your limits during play. Only you know your limits, and sometimes you’ll play harder than you should. Don’t overlook warming up so your body will be as ready to play as you are.

Practice the skills you know until you can do them without thinking. Then learn new ones. You won’t get better without practice, but pickleball practice is fun and easy. People have told me they enjoy going out to practice even more than they enjoy competitive games. Remember—you learn from mistakes as well as from the greatest shots. Get out and practice!

Become a better partner. Having good communication on the court is essential, but there are other ways to play better together, too. Talk with your partner about things you can do to improve your communication and rhythm on the court, as well as how to minimize your weaknesses and maximize your strengths. Practice communicating along with bettering your strokes.

Have fun. In your zeal to become a better player, don’t become frustrated or angry if you have a bad day or lose a match. Remember, you will become better with practice, and you’ll always play better if you relax. Be kind to yourself. Enjoy the game and have fun.

Look to the glossary of terms in Appendix A when a term isn’t clear, and check my website (www.galeleach.com) for resources regarding pickleball equipment, useful videos, and information that came about after this edition was finished.

I hope you enjoy this book. I enjoyed writing it, and I learned a tremendous amount from the other players who shared their expertise and stories. Please contact me with comments, questions, or suggestions. I’d love to hear from you.

Gale's Signature

[e-mail] www.galeleach.com

A Short History of the Sport⁠[1]

One summer day in 1965, Joel Pritchard, then a U.S. Congressman, and his friend, Bill Bell, returned to Pritchard’s Seattle-area home following a game of golf. They found their children complaining about being bored. Pritchard suggested the kids invent a game to play, and the young ones disappeared. When the children had been gone for some time, the fathers headed out to search for them. They found the kids playing on an unused badminton court with some old racquets, a net, and a ball, since a birdie was nowhere to be found. The volleying continued happily for the rest of the afternoon.

The next morning, Pritchard and Bell found that, instead of cooking breakfast, the moms had joined the kids on the court. They were having a great time, using table tennis paddles instead of the old badminton racquets. When they accidentally discovered that the ball bounced well on the pavement, Pritchard lowered the net to tennis height.

The paddles broke quickly, so the dads cut some new ones from scrap plywood and began searching for a different ball. The WIFFLE ball they found was close, but it didn’t last long and was designed to curve. Eventually, they found the Cosom Fun Ball which worked perfectly. They knew they had a great game.

Two weekends later, friend and neighbor Barney McCallum joined in the play and became the third founder of the sport.

As time went by, others discovered pickleball. McCallum wrote a one-page list of rules. He began by altering the rules of badminton to deal with the different equipment and the change of net height. As in badminton, each person had only one serve, although McCallum allowed the server to put one foot over the line (to accommodate a large tree that was in the way). He also made play between the adults and kids fairer by insisting that serves be made underhand (no overhead smash serves allowed).

But the player at the net still had a distinct advantage, so they made it illegal to volley the ball while standing in the area between the net and the badminton service area line. This area was eventually extended to seven feet from the net and was renamed the non-volley zone, or, as it’s affectionately known to players, the kitchen. The origin of the name kitchen is unknown.

More rules were added as time went by. In 1967, Pritchard built the first, permanent pickleball court in the backyard of his home in the Magnolia Bluff neighborhood in Seattle, WA. Other players built more courts in that area and on Bainbridge Island soon after.

Jump forward fifty-plus years, and pickleball is played as a competitive sport worldwide. Pro players travel full-time to national and international tournaments. Coaches offer at-home and traveling pickleball instruction. Communities are building more and more courts to accommodate the growing demand from local residents.[2] Pickleball is part of the curriculum in schools from elementary to university. And four years ago, a Pickleball Hall of Fame was created to recognize individuals who have achieved exceptional results in pickleball play and/or made exceptional contributions to the game. Not bad for something that began as an afternoon diversion to conquer boredom.

Why Pickleball?

People have always questioned where the name pickleball originated. In their book, History of Pickleball: More Than Fifty Years of Fun!, Jennifer Lucore and Beverly Youngren (daughter/mother) write: "Given that no pickles are used in pickleball, the game obviously has