A player from team A hits a ball with spin on it and it goes over the net, bounces on team B’s side and then returns to team A’s side of the court without any player from team B contacting it.
Let us hear form you in the comments section. The answer will be provided in a follow up post!
Two new countries have been formally recognized through their pickleball associations as members of the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) community.
The UK Pickleball Association and the French Pickleball Association join the USA, Canada, Spain and India as members of the IFP.
If you want to read more about this, visit Jennifer Lucore’s website where she has Part 1 of an article about the International Pickleball Tournament 2015.
There is a quick, entertaining video showing some scenes from the tournament in Spain.
Of course those of us who have taken to the sport don’t have to be told that pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the USA and perhaps the worldand FUN!
The lack of a standardized warm up causes confusion for many pickleball players. It also prevents people from effectively preparing to play the game. Here is a quick demo of what a standard warm up could look like. Each players warms up groundstrokes, volleys, overheads and dinks in under two minutes.
Approximate List of Strokes Suggested based on video:
Click the link to see Third Shot Pickleball Past Newsletters.
Click the link to visit the Third Shot Sports Pickleball website.
*This information is being presented with permission from the author, Mark Renneson. Mark is a 5.0 pickleball player, coach and advocate. He is the founder of Third Shot Sports which provides first-class tennis and pickleball training. He lives in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. You can reach him at mark@thirdshotsports.com
Thanks to Mark and Third Shot Sports for allowing this to be presented on JBRish.com
Mark Renneson of Third Shot Pickleball and PB champion explains why it is generally not a good idea to hit a short serve.
This point was also made in a recent video I posted on JBRish.com which defines PB strategies for winning! If you missed that video with the top ten tips, you can see it here: Doubles Pickleball Strategy 101-How to Play Smart Pickleball, Ten Tips
QUESTION: During a pickleball game, a ball is hit from team A deep into team B’s court. The ball is contacted by a player on team B in an effort to return it and then, after the ball is on its way back across the court, the team B player yells “Out” to indicate that the ball was out of bounds which would then give team B the point.
Can a player call a ball out after contacting it in an effort to return it? Yes/No?
ANSWER: According to the USA Pickleball Association in conjunction with the rules of the International Federation of Pickleball, Yes, the ball can be called “out” after the player, or the partner, hit it.
Admittedly I am not the handiest person in the world. I do OK with some things, but anything that is involved, gives me pause. I must say that I think I could make one of the pickleball retrievers presented in this brief Gear Talk Video by Steve Paranto.
I you can’t bend down easily to retrieve pickleballs, especially if you are practicing with a number of them, then perhaps this will help.
During a pickleball game, a ball is hit from team A deep into team B’s court. The ball is contacted by a player on team B in an effort to return it and then, after the ball is on its way back across the court, the team B player yells “Out” to indicate that the ball was out of bounds which would then give team B the point.
Can a player call a ball out after contacting it in an effort to return it? Yes/No?
Let us hear form you in the comments section. The answer will be provided next week!
Every sport has two major components. First there are the physical skills, i.e. how to hit a ball, kick a ball, etc. Players need to master the different strokes, kicks or hits necessary to be successful on this level.
The second component is strategy. Beginners are often so focused on the physical aspect that they overlook the mental and strategic guidelines. The video below provides a brief outline of the types of shots and player positions necessary under certain conditions to enable a team to have the best opportunity to win a pickleball game..
I have outlined which skills are presented in which order and what the general time stamps are for each. Move the time-slider to get to any of the skills should you want to skip around or repeat a segment. The last ten minutes or so present a quiz for the viewer to test their understanding of pickleball strategies presented.
If you have some helpful hints, enter them in the comment section below.
Doubles Pickleball Strategy 101-How to Play Smart Pickleball, Ten Tips
00 – 1:10 – Overall Strategy and Goal – Getting your team to the net as quickly as possible.
Tip #1
1:11 – 2:26 – Shot #1: The Serve
Play it safe and do not miss!
Tip #2
2:27 – 3:55 – The Return of Serve
Aim for a specific spot in the left-hand court. The video explains why this is a good strategy!
Tip #3
3:56 – 6:02 – Return the Serve and Charge
The team receiving the serve SHOULD establish control of the net upon hitting the return of serve.
Tip #4
6:03- 8:42 – Partner positions
Play in tandem and not in a “this is my side, that is your side” manner. Another important note is to communicate UNLESS the shot is obvious and even then it may be better to call every shot; “you”, “me”, “no”, etc.
Tip # 5
8:43 – 11:26 – Third Shot Drop Shot
An alternate strategy is also provided for those who cannot make a third shot drop shot.
Tip # 6
11:27 – 12:37 – 4th Shot should keep opponents as deep as possible
Tip # 7
12:38 – 14:06 – Dinking when everyone is at the net
REVIEW
14:07 – 15:47 – Review of the first five shots of a Pickleball game
Tip # 8
15:48 – 16:34 – Net play – When to hit softly and when to hit hard
Tip # 9
16:35 -18:11 – Keep opponents back in the court if you can
Tip # 10
18:12 – 19:34 – Avoid low percentage shots
Down the alley from the back of the court
Lobbing from the back of the court
19:35 – End – PB Quiz with diagrams for viewers to test their knowledge of PB strategy.
I have worked with quite a few beginning pickleball players and they usually find it interesting that there are different indoor pickleballs and outdoor pickleballs. Generally speaking, indoor pickleballs are made of a softer plastic and have somewhat larger holes. The design was developed to enhance play on gymnasium floors in an atmosphere basically free of nature’s elements.
An outdoor ball is made of somewhat harder plastic to work well on cement/concrete or composite outdoor courts. They have smaller holes which will not catch as much wind and ostensibly provide a better game in the elements because of those modifications.
According to the USAPA, any approved ball can be used on any surface. Players, however, do prefer certain balls over others.
I play in one location that has a very light wooden floor and the light greenish-yellow balls are hard for me to follow. While the white balls are a bit better on that court, they too get lost in the reflection of the lights from time-to-time.
Pickleball has grown so much in recent years that enterprises are now creating new styles and colors of pickleballs. Of course these need to be “approved” by the IFPA/USAPA for sanctioned play.
The USAPA defers to the IFP (International Federation of Pickleball) regarding balls that qualify and this is what the IFP has to say about Pickleballs:
“All balls are approved in any color at the discretion of the tournament director. The large-hole balls are customarily used for indoor play and the small-hole balls are customarily used for outdoor play. However, all balls are acceptable for indoor or outdoor play.”
Here are the current Pickleball options taken from the IFP website:
While those pictured and listed above seem to offer many options, there are other contenders waiting in the wings…
The three pictures (above) of colorful JUGS balls are courtesy of Pickleball Central
There are a lot of balls in the air here and who knows where they will land? Of course we await their approval so we can play with those colors and materials we feel will deliver the best game under the conditions we wish to compete.
After playing Pickleball for a year and a few months, I have learned a few things that have helped me (and whoever my partner may be) quite a bit and one of them is to have someone on the team call every shot.
We have all seen a team watch the ball go flying by because each person thought the other was going to go for it; especially down the middle. This can be avoided most of the time.
When I watched the women’s doubles championship last year in Surprise, AZ, I noted that many of the winning teams called every shot or nearly every shot. When a player wanted to signal their partner to take the ball, they called “you.” When one of the players wanted the shot, they then called “me.”
Calling the shot is fine, but there is one caveat that goes with it. Whether or not it is a good call, if someone calls the shot for themselves, let them take it otherwise chaos will reign.
I like the use of the word “no” when a player wants to signal to their partner that they think a ball will be out. Some players shout “out,” but I am not sure how well using the word “out” for partner communication works in an official tournament.
One other call that is sometimes used is “bounce it.” If you think a ball may be close to landing out of bounds, this will announce to the person going after the ball to let it bounce first to see if it is out of bounds, i.e. a fault.
Partner communication can make the difference in close games!
What do you think? Are there any other ways you communicate with your partner?