Order on the Court Blog: Players’ Tell reveals court experience

William Tell’s mythical archery expertise enabled him to focus and make the shot under pressure - as shown when forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head. The ability to slow down before ball contact adds control.

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In describing high stakes power games, you often hear commentators talking about the “Tell”, a small gesture a player may inadvertently show that helps other professionals around the table predict the strength of their hand. It could be an eye glance or blink, (hence the sunglasses), a slight gesture, anything that might tip the other player off in high stakes games.

When I’m teaching a new class of students, I look for these on-court “Tells” to help me evaluate players initially and help shape the pace and subject of lessons. 

An experienced badminton player’s Tell is their incredible and deadly accurate, overhead smash. Quick hands, fast feet, love of the Lob, and Overhead.

A tennis player’s unmistakable Tell, is the length of their swing, its fluidity, from set up to follow through. The long smooth swing necessary to generate enough power to control a ball across the larger court. The length of the swing, instead of a short chop, increases the amount of time the ball comes into contact with the racket strings, for generating massive power with top spins drives, or controlled slices.

This is both a blessing to a tennis player, who is converting to pickleball, as well as a curse. Because there isn’t enough time and space to accommodate the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) style of groundstroke. 

With these students, my focus will be to shorten their swing, into a much more compact, pickleball swing. Shorter backswing, low to high swing necessary to clear the net on the shorter court service,  with the paddle face aimed down, continuing after contact up to the shoulder length to apply spin.

It’s hard to modify a court swing that’s been hardwired over years on a tennis court, so I start where it all begins. With the feet. Good footwork is always in fashion. Using a proper set up with good court position, sets you up for a successful point, regardless of the court sport.

Stroke fundamentals: Grip, Setup, Contact, Sensation, Recovery, are surprisingly similar. Here are some of the key differences. 

In tennis, you have to time your court position, with proper footwork, to get your body positioned behind the ball to coincide with a closed stance sideways groundstroke, forehand and backhand. Because of a tennis’ higher mass, and ball speed, you have to be positioned correctly behind the ball so you can move forward and through the ball at contact generating power through the rotation of the upper body and hips. The power comes from the ground and moves through your centre of gravity.

In pickleball, the ball has less mass, moves slower, and the court is much smaller, meaning, you can get away with not having perfect set up at contact. You can hit many shots from the open position, using upper body only, with little to no rotation. This is both a blessing, especially for older players who can’t move as quickly, and don’t have the footwork for covering a larger court, or using the amount of energy required for a full ATP swing, with longer runs between points.

This is not to underestimate the speed and agility, or the amount of effort required to be a top ranked pickleball player. Absolutely not. But it does mean they can use other techniques, including strategies and tactics, that take advantage of the smaller court surface, with finesse and touch ball control.

As I converted from tennis to pickleball, I shortened my swing, changed from court positioning, moved away from the power game to a softer touch/feel game of pickleball. I refer to its footwork, affectionately as a “ballet”, the “Pas De Deux” on the pickleball court. Bringing order to the chaos of a pickleball game.

But I never gave up my unmistakeable Tell from tennis. The constant use of my non dominant hand throughout the stroke, and the point. 

I point to the ball during my approach and set up to time my distance and angle, for the forehand. It helps me gauge the height of the ball so I can select between a top spin drive, for a higher bounce, or a Third Shot Drop, for a lower ball that’s not on the rise and dropping. It’s a tool I use for shot selection during the point.

I also use my non dominant hand at the Kitchen Line to stabilize my paddle, and prepare the paddle head for either a block or punch volley. It keeps my shoulders level and helps me with consistency. It also helps change my grip from Eastern Forehand, a quarter turn to the Continental, opening up the paddle face for Volleys and Dinks.

Converted tennis players might pick up pickleball faster because of coordination and footwork, but they also come to the court with hard to break habits, including an unwillingness to get up to the Non Volley Line because of their habit of waiting for a harder hit, heavier tennis ball. 

They’ll struggle converting to the softer game of pickleball, which emphasizes agility and finesse. They’ll rely on hard top spin drives, which have a limited use against experienced pickleball players.

Some tennis players pick this up quickly and become formidable. But so do badminton players with their lightning fast reflexes and quick court agility. And so squash players who can run the court until next week, without tire, and use a skillful  blend of power and finesse.

The best pickleball players come from a variety of backgrounds, but one thing they all share in common. The willingness to learn, the love of drilling and practice combined with game play. With a mindset that acknowledges the virtues of consistency and patience.

Finally, another Tell many players show, is speeding their stroke up just before contact -- rushing the shot. I believe this tendency is due to the mistaken belief of trying to catch their opponent off-guard, and out of position. Instead, it has the reverse effect of building inconsistency into their games. Slowing the game down, speeds up your technique development, and increases your success on the pickleball court.

Speeding up the stroke, comes at the expense of a proper follow through, reducing the amount of time, the ball comes in contact with the paddle surface.

It increases the risk of miss-hits, and makes it difficult to place the ball with control and accuracy. While the flight path of the swing should be continuous and fluid, a slight hesitation can build consistency through control, resulting in a Tell that’s accurate and winning shot making.

And a good way of bringing order to the chaos of the court.

When technique matches the technology of the new paddles, it’s partnership in performance.

Weekly Blog: Order On The Court

Shot making accuracy using the new high tech paddles requires understanding its hitting characteristics. Is it a spin-generating power paddle - which tend to be less forgiving on touch shots — or a thicker control paddle — which offer a softer sensation but require opening up the paddle face to avoid net cords.

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Subscribe to Play to Win Pickleball newsletter for a chance to win new Selkirk paddle

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the first issue of the Play To Win Pickleball newsletter. 

For everyone else, what are you waiting for? I’m doing a draw for a new Selkirk paddle from my collection for the first 100 subscribers.

I start this week’s Order On the Court Blog with a shout out and a thanks to the readers of Play To Win Pickleball who have signed up to receive the 1st issue of the newsletter which will go out shortly.

It features advance issues of my weekly blog, local pickleball news, personality profiles, and whatever else I come across on my pickleball journey.

I believe this medium is most effective when it’s interactive and promotes interesting 2-way feedback. So to everyone who has signed up with their email, thanks, I’ll ’be sending you the first edition soon to your inbox. And I will respect your email privacy.

p.s. Comments, positive, negative, or otherwise are welcome; But original, thought provoking and informative feedback is wonderful, rare, and highly valued. Unlike my days in print newspapers, they’ll always be room to print them.

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Check your technique on touch shots when using new high tech paddles — it may need fine tuning to match its new dynamics

Pickleball players, even people who are new to the sport, have an interesting fascination with their paddles.

The first questions new students ask me are, “Why do my balls keep hitting the net?” “Where can I play in the winter?” Followed by, “I found a new paddle on sale. Is it any good?”

All players, understandably, are looking for any advantage — they don’t want miss out on the action, but many people can’t get over how expensive high end paddles have become.

“I mean come, on, $250 bucks?! It looks like an overgrown ping pong paddle on steroids, which I can buy for about $50. How come pickleball paddles are so expensive?”

It’s a good question. Even relative to high end tennis rackets which also feature the latest nano fibre technology, the cost of paddles has grown rapidly with the game. A lot of it has to do with the cost of R&D, the use of expensive new materials, and new manufacturing methods used to create longer lasting paddles for control and power.

Looking more closely into the paddle phenomenon, (it’s a massive $250 million market in the U.S), I want to report back on recent blog about the actual impact new technology has on game play.

Earlier, I had made the bold assertion I could quickly adjust my hit to compensate for entry level paddles to the extent where the exhalted benefits of the $300+ paddles would be negligible, 5% to 10% difference maybe, but not the 40 to 60% cost differential.

Easy to say, from someone who has 16 high end paddles in his collection, and whines when his perfectly hit drops hit the net cord despite this investment in equipment.

So I put it to the test this week at one of my classes. And the results were, well, pretty funny. I wish I had it on video.

The students were commenting on my new Lab Project 007 black and red, James Bond paddle and wanted to know what made it so special and hard to get in Canada.

Because they were already grouped around for a lesson on hard top spin serves, I suggested we put it to the test.

After explaining the benefits of focusing on skill fundamentals, “Which have a much bigger impact on your game, than new paddle technology. You can’t beat the benefits of practice, drills and lessons.” — I know, crazy eh? I proceeded to hit half a dozen top spin bullets with the 007. Each ball literally springing off the Titanium Mesh weave and landing in, just in front of the baseline every time. The students oohhh, and awwed, with the powerful serves, but it was no biggie.

Demonstrating technique becomes comfortable with practice, and if I miss the occasionally dink, or volley, I just make a quick joke, and move on. I then pulled out several more paddles ranging in price from $79.00, up to the Vanguard at $280.

I started with the base Selkirk Epic, predicting it wouldn’t make that much of a difference on the serve, and hit my drive directly into the net. Now, I now had the attention of the class. I hit another top spin, and it kind of went, blah. And another, into the net again. By the fourth hit, I got the base paddle’s sensation and was able to hit a decent serve, before going back to the Lab 007.

Smack! The ball positively flew off the paddle face in a tight arc again, to dispel my bold assertion that technology’s impact is minimal on game play. Wrong.

But true also. Because the more I adjusted my swing and follow through, with the paddle head held low to contact for more spin, the more consistent and accurate my serve became, albeit with a lot more effort, using the Epic.

So the moral of the story is, instructors should always stay humble. We’re learning as we go along, same as our students.

But also, you can play with an entry level paddle, but you’ll have to work a lot harder to get similar results using a better model.

It’s important to fine tune your technique to build in consistency on whatever paddle you’re using.

Going from a Selkirk Luxx or Vanguard in the XL configuration with a 20mm cushioning core, makes a heck of a difference in how you’re going to hit a close in volley, overhead, or Dink, compared to a 10 mm, or 14 mm Lab 007 in the Invikta shape — extended paddle length — version I’m using.

A big difference, — not necessarily better, or worse, but enough to mean it’s important to adjust your grip slightly, swing path, or paddle angle at contact. These affect spin, control, and power which need to be adjusted to suit the paddle’s characteristics.

Just to be clear in what I’m saying. When you switch paddles, hoping to gain a court advantage by investing your hard earned dollars in the latest technology, it’s important to understand the playing characters of your new paddle. Which takes time, and, ideally, practice outside of actual game play. The more technical these new, expensive paddles become, with the use of exotic carbon, kevlar, titanium materials, the bigger impact they will have on how the ball performs when you hit it; how you’re hitting it.

Which means it could affect how consistently you’re able to hit the ball, if you don’t adjust your technique, and continue to play the same as with your old paddle.

Understanding this, and understanding how to control the ball by using the paddle’s performance, will make the difference in balls flying off the paddle face in a tight spin and landing beautifully where you’re aim it, or catching the net cord on tight volleys and dinks.

The new paddles really are incredible, when technique matches technology. It’s a performance partnership, and part of what makes playing pickleball really special.

Order On The Court Blog: Archive

• December 2024
  • Dec 10, 2024 Order on the Court Blog: Players’ Tell reveals court experience Dec 10, 2024
• November 2024
  • Nov 16, 2024 When technique matches the technology of the new paddles, it’s partnership in performance. Nov 16, 2024
  • Nov 6, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: Mid court hesitation promotes defensive play, missed points and added pressure Nov 6, 2024
  • Nov 2, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: Poor positioning means lost opportunities to build points and win games Nov 2, 2024
• October 2024
  • Oct 15, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: — Sensation builds confidence and shot consistency Oct 15, 2024
  • Oct 13, 2024 Tethering improves teamwork and positioning for tough centre line shots Oct 13, 2024
  • Oct 2, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Now, Gwyneth Paltrow also wants in on Play To Win Pickleball action Oct 2, 2024
  • Oct 2, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Positioning builds consistency Oct 2, 2024
• September 2024
  • Sep 29, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Zen & the Art of pickleball Sep 29, 2024
  • Sep 25, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Starting your pickleball journey Sep 25, 2024
  • Sep 20, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Paddle profiles personality Sep 20, 2024
  • Sep 17, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Avoid injury but prepare for emergencies Sep 17, 2024
  • Sep 15, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — How my pickleball journey started Sep 15, 2024
  • Sep 14, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Always value good feedback Sep 14, 2024
  • Sep 14, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: You’ll find joy in repetition drills Sep 14, 2024
  • Sep 13, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Taylor Swift drops by to say hi… Sep 13, 2024
  • Sep 12, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Confessions of a tennis player Sep 12, 2024

Order On The Court Blog: Mid court hesitation promotes defensive play, missed points and added pressure

An effective midcourt transition game is key to getting to Kitchen Line consistently. This may include hitting ball when moving feet.

Play To Win Pickleball readers who have taken the time to read the dozen or so blogs I have written about the fundamentals of pickleball skill development, realize there is a common theme in how I approach improving play and playing winning pickleball.

1. You win by “Building the Point”. Setting up to play the shot after the one you’re currently hitting, not on a single winner-take-all-drive.

2. You set up for success with proper positioning on the court — with good footwork and busy feet.

3. You play as a member of a team, with “Tethering” working together to eliminate the gaps and improve court coverage.

4. The correct Grip, Setup, Contact, Sensation, and Recovery is progressive, and teachable.

To which I will add a sixth Fundamental for this week’s blog.

The Transition Game through the Neutral Court.

When we warm up, take lessons, or practice with a partner, we focus on the baseline for service and returns, and especially the Kitchen Line for in close Dink and Volley action. But it is the Neutral Zone where the majority of points are lost, before we even get an opportunity to be at the Non Volley Line. Notice how I said, lost, because the majority of points should be won at the Kitchen Line all things being equal.

Another way to look at this is, we spend the majority of time on those two specific areas of the court, when the Kitchen should be our ultimate destination, but earned strategically with the correct transition through the middle of the court.

When we do this, we ignore the fact most shot inconsistency — dropping balls into the net, lifting up floaters that become attackable balls, missed angled shots, occur on shots hit in the middle of the court.

Sound familiar?

So why is the Transition Zone, supposedly a temporary place for us to move through strategically on our way to a neutral position at the NVL not given the attention it deserves.  I’ll use a couple of examples from lessons to explain.

Students have no issue with lessons on shot making technique — how to hit the ball correctly to set up for a successful groundstroke. But they struggle with court positioning between points on the court, and moving up appropriately to the Kitchen Line.

I believe this is because they are naturally hesitant to move up into what may be an attackable ball — pickleball players are reluctant to move when the opposing team is already set up at the line. And loading up for a big return.

Students want to give themselves more distance from the net, believing it will buy them more time to react to a sharply hit volley or drive - and avoid getting hit with the return.

Perfectly understandable. Except, their mid court positioning, and reluctance to follow a drop up to the line, makes it harder to build the point, because it exposes the area around their feet, forcing a pop up and an attackable shot. It limits opportunities while promoting defensive play.

Which makes the following question even more relevant.

“Should we always wait to hit the ball when we’re not moving, or hit it when we’re moving up to the Kitchen Line?”

Another words, when we are at the baseline, returning service and the ball is coming back to us mid-court. Do we stop, hit and move, or do we move in while we’re hitting the ball, reducing the space to get to the NVL.

And the answer to the question is — drumroll — It depends.

Ideally, we always want to be stationary when we hit the ball because it reduces the risk of miss hit by taking the added force of our bodies moving forward. The mass of our body weight moving through the shot, at the impact point, increases the speed of the ball, but also adds another variable that can lead to overhitting the ball, or, if we don’t adjust our grip, hitting the ball directly into the net.

A hit from a solid stance, either Open, or Closed Stance is always better. But this will result is hanging out in places we really don’t want to be caught in for return shots.

This means learning to hit on the move. A soft top spin drop or drive from forehand, or using backhand slice (my preference after a drop) when following drop to net become key shots in building point and getting to NVL.

Being comfortable and slowing down for a controlled follow up to drop, when the opposition is already in their set up at the Kitchen Line, takes a high degree of confidence, and some skill.

You won’t naturally acquire this confidence, of hitting the ball on the move, in game play. It has to be practiced in a drill setting. Through, here’s the term again, repetition drills. Over and over again. Ideally, from a ball toss, or ball hit underhanded from the net, so you can practice the setup for the hit, and the timing, while you’re moving forward. Ball hit, thigh high, moderate backswing, in front of body; between body and net, either sideways or from an Open Stance.

This is a technique I try to practice often, because 100 per cent, it will be useful when I, or my partner has hit their return, and we’re moving up to the net. We’ll have to hit the ball on the move, and take up our position at the NVL. Basic Pickleball 101.

Without practice, under pressure, the odds of hitting in transition is probably 50/50. Good players? 80-20, and not surprisingly, this is why the best players 90-10 are always in position at the NVL because they haven’t missed their approach shots moving in transition.

Common sense, right?

Order On The Court Blog: Archive

• December 2024
  • Dec 10, 2024 Order on the Court Blog: Players’ Tell reveals court experience Dec 10, 2024
• November 2024
  • Nov 16, 2024 When technique matches the technology of the new paddles, it’s partnership in performance. Nov 16, 2024
  • Nov 6, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: Mid court hesitation promotes defensive play, missed points and added pressure Nov 6, 2024
  • Nov 2, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: Poor positioning means lost opportunities to build points and win games Nov 2, 2024
• October 2024
  • Oct 15, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: — Sensation builds confidence and shot consistency Oct 15, 2024
  • Oct 13, 2024 Tethering improves teamwork and positioning for tough centre line shots Oct 13, 2024
  • Oct 2, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Now, Gwyneth Paltrow also wants in on Play To Win Pickleball action Oct 2, 2024
  • Oct 2, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Positioning builds consistency Oct 2, 2024
• September 2024
  • Sep 29, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Zen & the Art of pickleball Sep 29, 2024
  • Sep 25, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Starting your pickleball journey Sep 25, 2024
  • Sep 20, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Paddle profiles personality Sep 20, 2024
  • Sep 17, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Avoid injury but prepare for emergencies Sep 17, 2024
  • Sep 15, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — How my pickleball journey started Sep 15, 2024
  • Sep 14, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Always value good feedback Sep 14, 2024
  • Sep 14, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: You’ll find joy in repetition drills Sep 14, 2024
  • Sep 13, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Taylor Swift drops by to say hi… Sep 13, 2024
  • Sep 12, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Confessions of a tennis player Sep 12, 2024

Order On The Court Blog: Poor positioning means lost opportunities to build points and win games

Footwork Masterclass on footwork and positioning by Enhance Pickleball is worth watching for technique

Before you start reading my blog this week, I want you to pause and take a moment to take a breath and clear your head. Forget for a minute about how to hit the pickleball, leave aside the technique of hitting the top spin drive, the backhand slice, the block volley.

Leave that technical information alone for a moment to percolate in the recesses of your memory.

Because I want to talk this week about how to build points on the court and win games against competitively paired team, right from the start of the 0-0-2 game score.

Let’s get into it — proper pickleball set up and proper positioning. This make or break it tactic puts you in position to win points consistently.

We over-rely on our groundstrokes, hitting harder, using more spin, mad dashes to retrieve a well-placed shot when if we set up and position properly, we can hit better, place accurate shots, and, importantly, WORK HALF AS HARD!

This point was made painfully clear to me in the midst of a 4.0-45 skill fundamentals boot camp. Points were only being allocated during the drill by the Drill Sergeant when the ball was hit at the correct court location. No matter how hard, effective or well-placed.

How unfair!

I kept losing points, even after winning them with a hard put away, or soft drop, because I was hitting the balls from the wrong location on the court — consistently.

This was an Ah Hah! Moment for me.

I would return a hard top spin return serve and linger from mid-court and attempt to win points using brute force, only to have points subtracted because I wasn’t putting myself in the best place to hit my shots.

Brutal, and effective.

I had grown complacent about using drives and slices instead of court positioning to play for the next shot, after the one I was making. I wasn’t moving my feet, which is a polite way of saying, I was being lazy.

This feedback changed my game and made me a better player. Because I learned, from constantly foot movement to close the gaps in anticipation of the opponent’s shot, I could predict play and control it by being in the correct position to make the shot.

I could start using the soft game, poach to cross the centre and put away an easy volley.

Now, I’m always edging over to the centre line, always shuffling my feet a step or two during set up, in anticipation of the next shot.

It’s remarkable how effective this simple technique is, in building an effective offence with a focus on a defence first strategy.

This technique of court positioning isn’t shown on training videos or talked a lot about, because players need feedback and correction by someone who is observing their game play.It’s difficult to self-correct positioning, because in the heat of battle, we can’t really see where we’re lagging behind. Our focus is on the success or failure of our shot making, the output of stroke generation, not the important input of proper positioning.

This is something you can practice with your partner using a simple drill and targets.

Put three targets on the court. Red, Yellow, Green. Red behind the baseline, Yellow in the Transition, middle part of the court, Green at the Kitchen Line. Practice with your partner first with rally, followed by playing games, of moving from the baseline Red, to Transition Yellow, up to Kitchen Green.

Repeat, over and over, so you can get comfortable putting yourself in the right spot to hit the ball with the objective of reaching Green for the winning volley.

This works for the north/south axis of the court — the longest part.

For the east/west axis, side to side, you’ll need to work with a team. Rally with the pair, feeding them underhanded balls, progressing to hit balls from paddle. Centre line, middle, then pull one player wide. If they leave a centre gap (they always leave an empty hole initially) because their partner hasn’t stepped over to fill the gap, hit a medium hard drive between them. Try it again, explaining what they can expect.

Over, and over again.

Soon, the partner reacts instinctively by covering their partner’s wide retrieval, closing off the centre court and putting pressure back on the other side.

Very effective learning.

These drills build on my recent blog about using Team Tethering to improve court positioning on the court.

Proper Positioning.

Good stuff, and the foundation to build your groundstroke, volley game.

Ok, now open your eyes. We can continue to talk about how to stop popping up your Third Shot Drop next week.

Order On The Court Blog: Archive

• December 2024
  • Dec 10, 2024 Order on the Court Blog: Players’ Tell reveals court experience Dec 10, 2024
• November 2024
  • Nov 16, 2024 When technique matches the technology of the new paddles, it’s partnership in performance. Nov 16, 2024
  • Nov 6, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: Mid court hesitation promotes defensive play, missed points and added pressure Nov 6, 2024
  • Nov 2, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: Poor positioning means lost opportunities to build points and win games Nov 2, 2024
• October 2024
  • Oct 15, 2024 Order On The Court Blog: — Sensation builds confidence and shot consistency Oct 15, 2024
  • Oct 13, 2024 Tethering improves teamwork and positioning for tough centre line shots Oct 13, 2024
  • Oct 2, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Now, Gwyneth Paltrow also wants in on Play To Win Pickleball action Oct 2, 2024
  • Oct 2, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Positioning builds consistency Oct 2, 2024
• September 2024
  • Sep 29, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Zen & the Art of pickleball Sep 29, 2024
  • Sep 25, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Starting your pickleball journey Sep 25, 2024
  • Sep 20, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Paddle profiles personality Sep 20, 2024
  • Sep 17, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — Avoid injury but prepare for emergencies Sep 17, 2024
  • Sep 15, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court — How my pickleball journey started Sep 15, 2024
  • Sep 14, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Always value good feedback Sep 14, 2024
  • Sep 14, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: You’ll find joy in repetition drills Sep 14, 2024
  • Sep 13, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Taylor Swift drops by to say hi… Sep 13, 2024
  • Sep 12, 2024 Blog: Order On The Court: Confessions of a tennis player Sep 12, 2024

Order On The Court Blog: — Sensation builds confidence and shot consistency

Sensation is a Technical Fundamental. The feeling a player should have when hitting a shot and/or the space through which contact is made.

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In a recent blog, The Zen of Pickleball, I wrote about Sensation, the almost indescribable feeling in your hand/wrist/forearm you have when your paddle connects to the ball.

The tactile touch between a drive, push, and block.

I’m going to dig deeper into this phenomenon in this week’s blog and will be coming out with a training video on this subject, because the more I play and teach, the more I’ve come to realize the central role Sensation has in developing consistency in an all-court game.

And the reason for this, the Why, is because once you have addressed all the other variables of stroke development — being at the right place, at the right time, using the right grip, the correct swing, with the proper swing, the only factor left to consider is the sensation when the ball hits the paddle face.

The area most affected, between the fingers through the hand, up to the wrist and forearm, has a big impact on how consistent your shot making is in pickleball, tennis, squash, padel, and every other sport where you hold a paddle, racket or club.

Why do think you still can’t serve an underhand consistently when you swear you’re using the same set up every time.

It’s because the split second the ball contacts the paddle face you believe something is “Off” and you miss-hit the ball. 

Darn frustrating isn’t it.

The good news is there is something you can do about it. By recognizing the sensation and leaning the distinct tactile touch, you can embrace it and hit with intention.

That small, almost imperceptible feeling of touch is the difference between a lovely block volley landing perfectly into the Kitchen or floating like a butterfly into an attacking put away.

But how can this be true? If it were this simple, why wouldn’t it be one of the first subjects taught in lessons, featured prominently in You Tube videos etc.?

And the reason for this is because it’s hard to describe, harder to explain, and nearly impossible to teach.

I’ll give you a couple of examples to illustrate the importance of sensation and let you decide.

I’ll start by using the Robo Golf Mechanical Arm that hits every drive perfectly 300+ yards. Pretty good sweet; You’ve probably seen it on the commercials for golf balls. 

If I can instruct players to use the perfect Grip, Set Up, Swing and Impact and they should all make perfect shots every time, right?

But what happens to the Robo Arm when a sudden 25 km gust picks up from right to left? That lovely drive is now off course 25 yards to the left. 

Because that technically superior Robo arm HAS NO SENSATION to allow it to compensate for the variables routinely found on course during round play.

It’s rubbish, useless for consistent shot making.

In the video I’m filming on the subject, I will use four different paddles, at different price points, starting at $100 CDN and working up to $350. 

I will attempt to hit hard, accurate top spin and slice forehands, backhands, Drops, Serves, Volleys to a target using the four different models.

I don’t have a Robo Mechanical Arm but my shot making is pretty consistent, and I can always edit out a net cord or two - j/k.

I’ll have the videotaped evidence to show on my website, but my question to you now is how much difference do you think the paddles will have on my shot accuracy and power.

10%? 20%? 30%?

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict negligible. Small impact on spin, maybe a foot on distance and speed but not much.

Why?

Because I’ve learned to understand the type of sensation required for a drive or drop or push and can modify the swing to compensate for using an entry level or high end paddle.

Good players can do this, but of course we’ll stick to our high end raw carbon skinned paddles because they feel so damn nice hitting the ball.

If I am right about how important the role of sensation has in making you a better pickleball player, why aren’t more instructors spending more time teaching it?

It might be a good question for you ask your instructor at your next lesson.

And yes, you can tell them who suggested you ask about Sensation. Say it was me, Mr. Robo The Mechanical Arm who suggested it.

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Weekly Blog: Order On The Court Archive Directory

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Tethering improves teamwork and positioning for tough centre line shots

Teamwork builds trust and points in pickleball.

Why is it we play team pickleball like Kings of our own Court?

For a team sports, it’s interesting how often it’s played as if the court were two separate laneways with an invisible fence separating both sides.

Or putting it another way, if pickleball really is a team sport, played by two people side by side, who rely on teamwork to build points, why do we so often play it like we’re kings of our own court; a party of one?

Communications? A barely audible awww, when they walk into your power alley as you’re set to launch a rocket; letting you know they’re sneaking up behind to hit your overhead smash? A brief intake of air as they load up to tomahawk the ball over your outstretched paddle.

I played this week with a partner, who for some unexplained reason, kept launching these weirdly timed lobs just as I was moving in take the kitchen line, only to face the prospect of a smash from a first hand, eye glass level, perspective. 

When asked to let me know if he was going to rely on the lob for his go-to play, he looked at me askance as if there was an unspoken rule about not letting your partner in on your intended strategy. 

Or how, I tell my partner, “No, big deal, but I’m a Leftie,” hoping to discuss playing the X cross, and calling forehands down the middle, only for them to reply, “Yeah, I can see that.” Before taking up residency behind their preferred court side.

You can see it for yourself when you watch a lot of recreational games. The two players stay to their sides and hit their assigned balls down a linear laneway.

Occasionally they’ll stray onto their partner’s court, often with hesitation that leads to an errant shot.

Good court positioning is more of a fortunate outcome than intentional strategy. Most of the players’ positional play is aligned to the court’s north/south longitudinal axis, not the east/west width of the court.

This alignment creates large gaps between players which is easy for a shot maker to exploit.

It reduces building the point with multiple hits that progressively get the team in closer to the NVL, into a series of one-off, do or die, shot making.

This situation, two players playing almost entirely by themselves, for themselves, is made most obvious when you watch a disciplined, competitive team, perhaps one that’s been training for a tournament. 

Familiarity encourages trust which builds teamwork, and it's a beautiful thing to see.

A moderately experienced tournament team will beat two more skilled players who haven’t put in time acclimating themselves to the other’s style of play.

Recreational play, in which play with a new partner every 12 minutes over a two hour period makes it challenging to consider team positioning.

But you can start to practise it, using the concept of Tethering. Imagine there is an imaginary tether between your partner and yourself. When they go wide for the ball you take  take one or two steps beside them, as if the tether is pulling you over to cover the gap between yourself. 

This works for both axis of the court, and when you start to practice it, it’s amazing how you’re in position to make the return. 

You anticipate your next shot better and you can hit it better because you’re now exactly where the other team is looking to hit between the gap.

Watch how good teams do this instinctively. They don’t have to move nearly as much or hit while they react to a ball off-balance, because they took the step or two to close the gap to their partner. 

Team Tethering. A great way of bringing Order to the Chaos of the Court.

Blog: Order on the Court - Collection

Blog: Order On The Court — Now, Gwyneth Paltrow also wants in on Play To Win Pickleball action

Gwyneth Paltrow shows support by sending Friend Request from her private Facebook chat. The PVT acronym means it must be authentic, right?

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A funny thing happened to me this week that I have to share.

Remember my earlier Blog I wrote about Taylor Swift calling me wanting use Chaos on the Courts as the basis of lyrics for a new song she was working on, and to book a lesson for pickleball. 

Of course, all of it was the product of an over active imagination, or a faulty AI request for building a website’s traffic.

 So imagine my surprise when I really did get a request from Gwyneth Paltrow this week to Friend me on her Private Facebook account. It must have been the real Gwyneth because it had a nice photo of her on her profile, and the letters PVT on it also, meaning it must be her private account. 

No, I thought maybe she wanted me to join her network to sell Goop, or Poop, or whatever her brand sells these days. I don’t think I would be qualified to do that. So I had to unfriend her, especially after she started sending me requests to chat in Messenger. 

I was a little worried though. Not that someone might be trying to scam me into believing it was her profile, when it was really an Uber driver in Nigeria. 

My wife asked me about it, and I said with false modesty, “Gwyneth Paltrow wants to chat with me.”

“That’s nice, Doug. What about?” asked my wife convincingly. 

"Not sure. I think she wants me to book a lesson with her, or sell her Goop or something."

”Ok, but make sure you get paid up front,” said Maureen, ever the pragmatist. “Let me know how it goes, and take the dog out for a walk.”

So, basically Gwyneth’s sincere request for a friendly chat, got about as much response from my wife as Taylor Swift’s late night call.

“Be sure you turn the lights off, after your call with Taylor,” said Maureen.

And that’s the problem with a long marriage. It’s hard to get a reaction. I guess I’ll have to wait until Dakota Johnson asks me out to lunch on Instagram. I hear she plays pickleball also.

Blog: Order On The Court — Positioning builds consistency

Kim Brent's Skills and Drills 4.0-4.5 training mixes strategy with skill development

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I've been using the term, "Bringing order to the chaos on the court" to describe the style of pickleball play required to transform the often chaotic style of play in both recreational and competitive play, into a more structured game with sound fundamentals. In this week's Blog, I delve deeper into what I mean, starting by describing my own challenge in improving my court game and building consistency.

 I credit my coach, Kim Brent, (I've included a photo from her current Level 3 Skills and Drills at the Nepean Sports Complex, for advanced players, 4.0-4.5. I'm middle row, beside Kim's Mom, Barb Kerr. Kim is front row, white Selkirk top) with identifying and addressing a bad habit I developed early on, likely a carryover from my tennis mid-court play. I like to hang out in the transition zone, between the baseline, and the Non Volley Line at the Kitchen, way too much. 

Instead of following a well-hit Drop Shot to the line, and taking up a more advantageous position at the NVL, I sometimes dawdle, with predictable results. Good players can exploit this indecision with sharply hit drives, ankle high returns, that force me to popup. With my coach's unrelenting commands, I now always follow a deep service return to the line, using the Open Stance, ready position, for the Punch Volley back to the opponent's feet, the Block Volley into the kitchen, or a short, top spin Speedup that is challenging to return depending on the height of the ball, relative to the net cord.

I’m good at it, and my invariably aggressive attack on the return of serve is often rewarded in an opponent's mis-hit because of added pressure.

But I still don't always follow a good Drop to the line, waiting a split second too long to determine its effectiveness, and to confirm my partner's positioning. It's something I'm working on. 

The specific NCCP skill for this is Recovery from the Drop Shot. I use a Green Light, Red Light analogy, with Red light being a high, attackable Drop Shop (shoulder height and above), for which the player moves back to the Baseline and assumes the ready position -- Open Stance -- for the next return.  Or, if it's a well hit soft Drop, chest height, and below, Green Light, moving quickly to the NVL.It’s a simple and effective analogy. Green light, Go!, Red Light, Stop!, Return to base.

I have posted a Lesson Video with my student, Peter, (Lesson Home) on this technique. Check it out. 

Midcourt hesitation results in another problem. Because I'm left-handed, I will sometimes wait midcoast for a ball to drop from its highest trajectory on the bounce, so I can hit the Drop into the Kitchen with more control. Conversely, balls should be hit at their highest point, for Top Spin Drives.This is a sensible approach; you want to hit Drops from balls that have lost their upward momentum and and dropping, but there is a problem with this hesitation. 

This helps simplify your shot selection: Move in to hit high, rising balls using Top Spin Drive, hit low balls falling with Drop, either from the Open Stance, feet apart, or Closed Stance, body sideways, contact point at a comfortable distance in front of body.

My partner mistakes this short delay with indecision on my part, and being right handed, has what they believe is forehand advantage for the centre line hit. They will step in, in front of me, and quick hit the ball, which sometimes hits the net cord. 

Good intentions, but often with a predictably poor result.

Moving strategically to the net and north/south court positioning (lengthwise) are skills I'm still working on in my game, and I find using drills an excellent way to help developing players address hesitation.

One area I’ve really improved my court positioning are the one or two steps needed to cover the middle part of the court, left open when a player moves wide to hit the ball. I've focused on anticipating this, and moving together with my partner to close the gap. It's been working well in tight games, and has become an important component of my defensive team play.

I’ll provide more examples of good court fundamentals in future blogs, highlighted with  instructional videos. Let me know what you think.

Remember to be careful out there; it’s chaos on the courts. See you next week.

Blog: Order On The Court — Zen & the Art of pickleball

Zen-like state leads to otherworldly court play

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The Zen of Pickleball. Teaching the unexplainable.
The subject of this week’s blog, Order on the Court is not something you read about in sports training very often. But I do like to mix it up once in a while, and what better way than to write about the offbeat, the unusual, or the wonderfully weird in the world of pickleball.
And you have to agree, that after the five or six highly marketed pickleball stars, invariably in the U.S, who are highly packaged by major sponsors to seem more…interesting, a lot of what we read and watch about pickleball is, well, a little dull. 
Not boring, exactly, but predictable, not really memorable, but, inoffensive. Kind of like your high school year book. Pictures of people, and players who are kinda memorable, but, easily forgotten.
When I started writing, somewhere between the end of the last Ice Age, and before we all stopped watching Zombie shows on television, the greatest sin imaginable for a writer was to be boring. 
You might make an unintentional error in a news story you were working on as a reporter. Or as editor, miss an intentional punch line by a bored reporter on the crime beat, “The Big Six Motel cleaning staff were surprised to find one of their rooms was completely bare, after all furnishings were removed by a guest. Police are looking for thieves with tacky tastes.”
But boring, never.
I had to acknowledge the reporter’s originality on my news staff, after walking him out of the office, when he wrote a column, using the following key letters to start each paragraph. 

P
U
B
L
I
S
H
E
R
S
U
C
K
S

So, here goes. Let me know how I do.
Once in a while, not often, but not that rare, I’ll be in an intense pickleball game and something unusual happens.

It’s like I’ve entered this different dimension where time stands still. I experience this weirdly wonderful feeling gravity has shifted the court floor towards the net. And I’m sliding towards it almost levitating to the Non Volley Line.
The closest comparison would be the feeling you get wearing a pair of inline skates with the big roller wheels. Effortless forward motion.
I would dismiss it as the early onset of an oxygen deficit messing with the neurons in my brain, but it’s not a one-off event.
And I don’t want to jinx it because for that brief moment my play is other-worldly.
My serve works, my volleys are properly angled and aimed perfectly. My top spin drives become laser beams; the one handed backhand, honed by years on a tennis court, return deeply hit balls to the corner; razor sharp slices on both ground strokes an inch or two off the net.Suddenly footwork doesn’t matter, because my court positioning is perfect, and instead of mid court drops that catch net cords with regularity, drop into the kitchen like big yellow marbles.
This supernatural state doesn’t last long, and soon the court balance shifts away from the net, making me and my partner work hard  to find any points we can get.
But it’s a real trip when it happens.
Which makes me wonder if other pickleball players also experience these moments of perfect bliss on the court. 
When the chaos lifts and is replaced  by a sensation of serenity and invincibility.
Sensation. 
The feeling you get when you impact the ball in the sweet spot of the paddle. Starting at your grip and moving up your forearm to shoulder. In the NCCP world of teaching, Sensation is one of the five Technical Fundamentals. One of the easiest to remember categories because there are only three: Hit, Push, and Block.
Sensation is one of my favourites because it makes perfect sense. I can relate to it. And take comfort in knowing even the NCCP subscribes to the notion that pickleball instructors have to sometimes explain the unexplainable. The state of mind, the Zen of pickleball.
I close this week with a reminder to be careful out there. It’s chaos on the court, until, for those those exciting moments of play - when it’s not.

Blog: Order On The Court — Starting your pickleball journey

Ronnie Hawkins personal and professional journey is a fascinating story.

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When I show my website to friends and family, invariably, the comment is often the same. “I don’t get it. It’s an website for booking a pickleball lesson, and it opens to show a mountain road winding along the coast. Shouldn’t the photo be of you, smiling, with a paddle.”  

I smile graciously, of course, thanking them for the suggestion, as if it had never occurred to me.

And I will be changing it up. I believe a good website should be a living, constantly evolving place. With a focus on interesting content, an occasional laugh or two, and, in my case, also to book a lesson with a certified instructor. 

But for now, the home page background stays because of the site’s stated purpose — “Your Journey Begins Here.”

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be taking the site’s visitors on a journey with Play To Win Pickleball as I continue to grow the content, improve its presentation, and promote its core mission statement — to be a voice of all things pickleball in Ottawa and beyond.

It’s an ambitious journey, a bold mission; I’m still mapping out its eventual destination. But I want it to be more than a web resource to book a pickleball lesson.

Why me. Why PlayToWinPickleball.com?

I spent over 20 years publishing newspapers, as a reporter, editor, owner in Ontario, writing hundreds of editorials, news stories, profiles of people, and weekly columns on a host of subjects.

I wrote about crime, the local political scene and local events, but I think my favourite column subject was a 10-part series on training my new puppy. I enrolled Samantha, a beautiful blue merle Australian Shepherd in a Dog Obedience Course and every week wrote about the experience, as I learned how to let Sam find her, “Place in the Sun” according to the Trainer. 

Picture a small puppy with other dogs of all sizes, and breeds, being trained to follow a master's command, when all they want to do is goof off and enjoy each other’s company. I smile thinking about it even now.

I think that column epitomizes the journey every dog owner takes when they get their first puppy. The highs, and the lows, including those suspicious wet spots on the carpet you only find when barefoot and turning in to bed.

I interviewed Prime Ministers, the rich and famous, the infamous, and Ronnie Hawkins. 

Ronnie was a true original. I met him in the smoke filled bar of the Empire Hotel on Huntsville’s main street. He described his incredible journey, fronting bands in honky tonk gin joints from Tennessee to Muskoka, that started with running moonshine when he was a teenager. Working with The Band, “I love working with Robbie (Robertson). Man, he had that talent, that great voice. Excellent musician and a great friend.”

I put down my notebook, pen and just listened to Ronnie talk about his illustrious past, and optimism for the future. It was very cool. And it reminded me, that everyone has their own journey in life. Filled with the highs, and the lows. 

We are defined by the journey we take, the people we meet, and things we try and our victories, as well as our failures. 

My journey is one of change. Pickleball being one of those major updates in my coding, but only one of many, as I continually fine-tune and hard wire my DNA.But enough about me. 

Let’s talk about your pickleball journey. Where you started, where you going. What want to do.

I have the privilege of meeting pickleball players from all walks of life, from beginners, who have never held a paddle, to 5.0 expert players whose life revolves around tournaments, ranking points and game play so competitive, it makes you dizzy.

As an observer, and active participant, I have a few points to make for people who are new to pickleball and don’t know where to start their pickleball journey.

Find somebody, anybody, and go to a court, a public court is fine, even a tennis court not marked for pickleball. They’re all over the city. Costco sells a decent set of two paddles and a ball for $100 bucks. Bargain. 

Go to the court, when there is no one else around so you can experiment without distractions. Find the half court marking on the court and the Service Box in the court. Stay in it, initially, until you get comfortable with the early motion of hitting the ball over the net. Which is several inches higher in tennis, but, again, don’t worry about it.

Don’t think about how you look hitting the ball. Don’t worry about technique, or the grip. Don’t even think about the rules, yet. Just focus on hitting the ball, back and forth for 30 minutes. 

That’s all there is to it. 

Feel how the paddle feels in your hand. How the balls flies with velocity when hit correctly, or flutters like a wounded duck with a mis-hit. Take underhand serves to your partner. Return their serves. Hit from the backhand side, notice how it’s easy to hit when you move your feet to get in a position to hit the ball, with a contact point in front of your body. Get under the ball and lift it over the net using a compact swing. Very little backswing, but follow through, high through the ball.

Feel the sensation of hitting the ball when it connects with the paddle face. The sweet spot. Try for control, and use co-operative play to make it easy for your partner to return the ball. So you’re not running all over the court, picking up errand balls.

See, it’s easy. Nothing to it. 

Now the backhand. 

Now, take 10-20 volleys, hitting the ball before it bounces. See if you can hit it back and forth to your partner 10 times. 

Celebrate the accomplishment. You have now officially joined the club of happy pickleball players. 

There is lots more to see and do on your pickleball journey, and we’ll get to all that in future blogs. 

But I want to end here by extending you a virtual fist bump with the words, “Good on you. And best of luck with your new journey. I’d love to hear about it.”

Order on the Court. Be careful out there, and remember to have fun.

Blog: Order On The Court — Paddle profiles personality

Paddle type says a lot about a person's personality

I’m in the middle of a passionate relationship with my newest Selkirk Sports buy — their new and sexy SLK Halo — a carbon fibre, Kevlar paddle.

She does have a mind of her own, however, and can fly off the handle with a mis-hit, unless she is respected and in the right hands.

Contacting her sweet spot helps.

Notice I said middle, because, yes, it’s inevitable; I will eventually be wooed by another new offering by Selkirk and the Halo will be relegated to a growing collection of some 16 high end models. You can see photos of my collection on my website page here. 

This habit has been enabled as the company’s Ottawa advocate, and I’ve grown as a pickleball player using their paddles. 

Lots of great paddles by other manufacturers out there, and their fans swear by them also. I’ve only just played with Selkirk and it’s worked for me.

I am a bit fickle when it comes to paddles and I like to experiment with the newest models. I’m taking a break from my first high end model, the sassy gold and white Tyson McMuffin Vanguard Invikta Power Air. 

I figured, correctly, any paddle with a name that long had to be something special and it really is. Quite an intimidating paddle to play with; it’s bone china hardness combined with the most spin control I’ve every played with, sounding like an angry Mastodon smashing its tusk into a prehistoric tree trunk. I’m not exagerating by saying it’s probably banned under some municipal bylaw. 

I love it because the TM makes me feel like a bad ass when I’m using it. Nice weapon for the warrior player in you.

I always wear my nicest Lululemon Tie Dye pickleball t-shirts when I play with the Luxx Comfort, because it’s a high society paddle. Great for when you want to get asked out for a boat ride on the lake, because it’s got class. It hits smoother than Grand Mariner, and has that lovely bite to it when you hit a clean hit. 

What’s not to like? Well, cost for one. Luxury comes at a price.

But if I was on a deserted island, surrounded by hungry sharks, on a pickleball court with only one ball and no fence, the Luxx would be the control paddle I would pick. Sounds like a nice getaway doesn’t it. 

This blog is about paddles because I’m teaching an Introductory class to new pickleball players, and they wanted to try out the latest Selkirk paddles to help them with their first paddle buy today.

Full disclosure: Selkirk Advocates don’t get paid to sell their paddles unless they have a retail agreement — which I don’t. I get demo paddles to try, and a discount on new paddles for purchase. 

I used the morning lessons to hold a blind test for the students. Which I think is pretty smart because they don’t have any reference for comparison purposes aside from the dreadful supplied paddles — possibly the worst manmade object, I’ve ever held in my hand. A relic from the past, made out of something resembling angry black formica. 

You see the issue here. New students, holding their first paddle and it’s something early Man would throw back into the fire and try to make fish hooks out of. 

I started the class working the basic forehand groundstroke. Low to high, contact point in front of the body, Eastern Forehand Grip, nice and easy, moving weight forward through the stroke, bent knees…and they’re using a supplied meat cleaver. 

Hitting net cords, backwalls, no control because no sensation of feel or hit with the paddle through the grip.

I rummaged through my bag and handed out half a dozen of my demos, Luxx Control, Power Air, S2 Vanguard, S2 Amped, Invikta Vanguard; really nice, high end paddles for Intermediate to Advanced players, and the SLK Halo. 

I didn’t introduce any of them, just put them in the students’ hands and let them hit forehands over the net. 

The difference was immediate, and striking. The raw carbon surface on many of the paddles gripped the balls, enabling the students to develop a top spin stroke very quickly. Frustration turned to smiles, turning to happy whoops with exclaims of, “Big difference. “Much better.” Or my personal favorite, “This paddle makes me feel happy when I hit the ball with it. Just happy.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

New paddles, new technology, consistency, control, accuracy, power, spin. Play to win pickleball.

Turning to the blind test, with no coaxing, the Halo emerged as the overall winner. The students liked how it hit. How it made it easy to control and develop the arc necessary to clear the net and bring it down inside the baseline. Lighter than some of my heavy hitting paddles, with a solid, harder hit than the lovely smooth hit power of the Luxx , another personal favourite.

New students to the game, but no preconceived ideas or bias either. 

And yes, the paddles mentioned are expensive $200 - $350 CAD models, but the Halo retails for $150 U.S. and I think it’s a bargain at the price.

We should do more paddle reviews with new students to pickleball and listen to what they have to say about their paddle discoveries. It’s very interesting.

And yes, it was hard prying the Halo back out of my student’s hand when the drill was over.

P.S. If you’re in the market for a new paddle and money is tight, check out Costco. They’re selling a Red Selkirk Slk Prime and it felt nice. It won’t have a durable carbon skin, and the abrasive painted surface might only last for a year, but it seems like a good choice for a price.

Blog: Order On The Court — Avoid injury but prepare for emergencies

Having a small kit for on court repairs is good first aid

This week’s week’s column is going to hurt to read — a little. So turn away now if you get woozy at the sight of a blood. 

With bone fractures related to pickleball increasing by 200% over the last 20 years, you knew I was going to have to address the inconvenient truth of growing injuries related to pickleball, sooner or later.

I was a Boy Scout growing up and our “Always Be Prepared” motto, for any emergency, was my mantra from ages 9 to 13. I carried around a compass, a small folding knife, a whistle, an old zippo lighter, and flashlight in a small pouch whenever I went down to the Scarborough Bluffs for a hike.

I didn’t happen upon any wild animals, but I did almost lose my eyesight temporarily, when walked up a steep embankment,  and came upon a woman tanning in the buff — on the bluffs - so to speak.

So, I was prepared for almost any type of emergency.

Later on, a small portable first aid kit, bursting with extra bandages, first aid tape, gauze, and especially handy, a small gravel brush, proved invaluable on a motorcyle ride to Manitoulin Island. I was on my Gold Wing and a rider ahead of me caught a wheel in deep sand and fell onto a patch small gravel, wearing a t-shirt.

Many kms away from Emergency. I used the brush to gently scrape away debris from the shoulder wound — yes, it hurts as much as it sounds, before sterilizing and bandaging up the grateful rider.

Since then, I’ve always had a small kit, and St. John’s First Aid and CPR training wherever I go. 

Which brings me back to pickleball.

Last year, during the indoor court season, I made use of the kit four times to bandage up an elbow with a deep abrasion after a fall, two ankles, and a calf muscle, before applying ice. 

Accidents do happen on the court with common injuries including ankle and shoulder sprains caused by over stretched ligament, micro tears, Achilles tendon, shoulder dislocation, knee injuries, rotator cuff injuries along with bumps and contusion.

At the start of each lesson series, I start by discussing safe court etiquette and avoiding common injuries by warming up, stretching first. We always warm up as a class first.

Running backwards to retrieve a lob shot is an easy way to have a bad fall. The correct way is using a deliberate side step and not adding to the court chaos with a mad, backward dash to the ball.

We’ve all been hit by the ball, and occasionally by an errand paddle. “Yours!, Mine!” helps on close shots down the middle of the court. 

I’ve been fortunate, touch on wood. My injuries have been limited to a bruised fingernail from a nice hard rap from my partner’s paddle when I poached an overhead. I don’t count the occasional skin abrasion from a fall or two diving for the ball.

I love the comment from a court monitor when on a full speed run to retrieve a hard drive to the corner, I stumbled and almost did a complete cartwheel. 

“Nice effort!” was the response, to a few paddle slaps of appreciation from amused onlookers.

Lastly, before I finish this week’s blog on injuries, how many of you have ever had an injury on the court requiring a bit of first aid? Counting the show of hands from the majority of my blog readers. 

Next, how many of you now have a couple of bandages, some alcohol pads and a stretch wrapping for a foot sprain in your bag in preparation for the next court injury.  Put your hands up.

Hmm, that few? Two?!!

Here’s a suggestion. Put a couple in your bag now, before you forget. Believe me, there will come a time, when you’re glad you did. 

Be safe. It’s chaos out there. And see you on the courts.

Blog: Order On The Court — How my pickleball journey started

Introduce a friend into pickleball and "Pay It Forward"

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The real reason I started playing pickleball

Yes, I know this week’s Blog’s cover art is a little cheeky. A little, self-possessed; but that’s ok. Us pickleball players have come out of the shadows and are ready to be counted.

I guess I could have called it, “Play to Lose, but Have Fun Pickleball.” But somehow it didn’t have quite the cachet as “Play To Win Pickleball.”

It might have been a harder sell with prospective new students.

“Yes, that’s right. Play to Lose, but Have Fun Pickleball, sign up right here.”

So yes, I’m competitive, my students are competitive, and if you’ve stuck around this long reading my blogs and web pages, chances are you’re pretty competitive by nature also.

And that’s ok. 

I used to think it was important to strike a balance between having fun, winning, and having fun, not winning, but it never works. 

I know I’m an instructor at heart though. I have to refrain from stopping, after an especially lopsided doubles win, and start offering the other players unsolicited, friendly advice. 

“Yes, popping the ball high up from the transition zone to my left side (I’m left handed) might not be the best tactic in that situation. But I’m sure we can find a better approach for beating southpaws.”

I think these helpful tips in recreational play are a no-no. But I’m not sure. Definitely not in competitive play. So I guess it just comes down to reading the room — the court, so to speak.

So I’m sticking with Play To Win Pickleball, and it seems to be working so far.

BTW, the quotes on the home page and site pages are real, and kinda unsolicited. I’ve gotten them off a post-Lesson Series evaluation survey I do of my lessons as a way to measure performance, their value, and the students level of satisfaction with my teaching. Pausing here, for all you Larry David fans out there, the results have been, “preeety, preeety good,” big smile.

To carry on with the premise of this week’s Blog, the reason I got into pickleball, was a bit of a fluke. I was living in a new community, west of Calgary, with new pickleball/tennis courts and I was stopped by a couple walking past the courts on my way to the lake.

Long story short, the couple was Tony and Linda van Son and they were starting a new pickleball club out at our lake community. Over a course of a couple of summers, pre-pandemic, they did their level best to convert me from a lifelong tennis player into a pickleball player. For which I’m hugely grateful, because they made me feel welcome, and worth their time and effort explaining why I couldn't serve and volley.

Or enter the kitchen to volley before the ball bounced. That was a hard habit to break

It was a humbling experience when an older gentleman in black knee socks invited me to play a friendly game of full court singles. He ran me ragged while daintily dunking me to oblivion. 

I knew I better learn the game fast when after giving him a couple of my hard top spin drives from the baseline. I  looked up to see him squarely at the Kitchen Line, holding his Joola paddle like a shield, with a big smile on his face.

Every weekend, from May until late October, the van Sons host players from the Cochrane Pickleball Club at the lake and put on recreational pickleball games with the emphasis on fun, and socializing.

Hugely popular, and pickleball at its best with all levels of play. Tony is one of the top ranked men’s player in his age group in Canada, so I learned from the best.

But the interesting thing is, I didn’t know it at the time, what a valuable resource I was given. Both Tony and Linda are terrific instructors, patient, supportive, knowledgeable. I kind of modelled myself after their approach of mentoring people in pickleball and helping grow the sport.

I didn’t have time to say it at the time, but I say it now, my active participation in pickleball, as a player, a student, a certified instructor, is kinda my way of “pay it forward” for whatever the Tony and Linda saw in me to provide that all important initial support.

I would encourage you, to find somebody who is new to pickleball, to invite them out to the court and give them a bit of your support and guidance when it really matters. Who knows, they could be the next world champion, a Canadian player

Good bye for now with a shout out to all my friends out on Ghost Lake in Cochrane, Alberta.

Blog: Order On The Court: Always value good feedback

Even Leonardo da Vinci appreciated good feedback wherever he could find it.

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There was once an unknown artist who lived and worked in the city of Florence 450 years ago. 

This struggling artist showed early promise and was full of ideas for big artistic works, that depicted big stories, such as Jesus sitting down for dinner with his disciples.

His name was Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo, was young but eager despite coming from modest means. He even had a place picked out for his painting which he was sure would finally give him the recognition he sought — a Dominican convent in Milano, the Santa Maria dell Grazie.

But Leonardo had a problem. Painting such a large scene would take a lot of paint and supplies, and he had very little money. So he went to his mama for support.

“No, Leonard. Large paintings cost too much. They use too many brushes. You’re best keeping at portraits. They bring us a few coins and keep food on our table.

So Leonardo listened to his mama and kept painting portraits of his patron's supporters, until he ran out of the friends. So he painted the wife of a Florentine merchant, Lisa Gherardini.

Leonardo was proud of his enigmatic painting, and had taken extra artistic license, but when he showed it to the cantankerous merchant, Francesco del Giocondo, he was met with derision.

“Leonardo, what have you done!,” said Franceso with exasperation. “Her smile, my beautiful wife, has a lovely smile, but you haven’t shown that in your painting. And it’s too dark, and the background. What’s in the background of my wife’s portrait. Did I tell you I wanted detail?”

So Leonard took half his usual commission and went home to dream about flying.

Years later, when he could finally afford to paint the Last Supper, he proudly showed his masterpiece to the Abbot, the head of the monastery who had commissioned the epic work.“Leonardo, Leonardo, who told you to arrange the disciples around the table that way? I wanted Peter over here, and Luke on the other side of Jesus! You’ve messed up the whole painting!”

So Leonardo, close to tears, accepted the criticism with stoicism and switched back from painting masterpieces, to drawing war machines designed to kill people.

As you can tell, I never let real facts get in the way of telling a good story, but the point is….good feedback is hard to get.

It’s not hard to get friendly advice in pickleball, suggestions to using harder drives, or trick serves, or stepping into the court after serving. The internet is full of tips on using a windshield wiper sweep of the ball from in close. 

But does this helpful advice mean it’s always best for the style of game you play, or want to learn how to play.

Should you be concerned about using too much paint with hard topspin drives, or leaving a messy court by poaching at the net? 

I love feedback, even when after I show what I believe to be a creative blog to be reviewed, and am told I structure is wrong or the font is too bold, or the home page photo isn’t really pickleball is it?

The point is, trust your instincts and trust your eyes. If the results show the benefit of changing your game, keep doing it. Which is why I always do what a trusted coach said about running up to the Kitchen Line on every service returns, and taking a step back behind the line, after serving, with shuffle steps at the Kitchen Line. 

Good advice that’s made a difference in my game.

The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper…thank God, Leonardo trusted his instincts, and had confidence in his divine talent as a painter, against a current of doubters and skeptics.

Blog: Order On The Court: You’ll find joy in repetition drills

Repetition drills build a solid foundation of consistency

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Hit, hit, bend down lower, hit, hit, hit…forehand…backhand…good technique. 

The joy of repetition in pickleball training can be found in practices and drills that feature accuracy and control, hard wiring the correct technique for easy use when it really matters in game play.

In my first blog I touched on the importance of repetition in process improvement…in this case developing consistency on the courts.

 Although becoming the  “Roger Federer of my public school’s red brick wall” by hitting it with a tennis ball 10,000 times was tongue in cheek, in fact it’s an appropriate metaphor for a specific approach to developing a better all-around court game. 

And it highlights a major departure point in early stroke development among pickleball players. Those who embrace the monotony of repetition, in developing the perfect groundstroke, and those who don’t.

In this blog, The Joy of Repetition, I focus on the importance of Repetition Drills to hard wire technique in hitting pickleballs and building your consistency to bring “Order in the Court”. 

It starts by acknowledging good pickleball players aren’t born with any unique skill set that makes them particularly effective in playing the game. Tall and thin, short and stocky, fast and agile, slow and accurate, pickleball is the great equalizer for players of all builds and sizes.

That’s a good reason to love the game. It respects effort and rewards the discipline of drills and practices. 

There is no one ideal body type for hitting a pickleball. I see that everyday when I’m running drills for Play To Win students. Athletic types can be humbled while they run around the court in frantic motion while slow and steady can win the day when it comes to the discipline of hitting the perfect 3rd shot drop. 

Slow the swing, bend your knees, lift with the large muscles of the leg, low to high, contact in front of body, lifting the ball high over net.

While it’s true some players are “naturally gifted” with attributes such as excellent hand to eye coordination, I’ve learned most of these super powers are imagined. Behind every excellent player, is a backroom of disciplined practice accompanied by a love of repetition.

There are outliers, but very few, something I’ve learned from training competitive players over the years. Some are naturally gifted, most are not and have been forced to compensate with repetition and hard work.Which should be encouraging for anyone new to pickleball.

It’s important information that bears repeating…repetition. We all have it within ourselves to become really good players if we leave our self-doubts at the table (“I’m too slow, I’m too short, “I don’t have a good backhand”) and focus on the things that have the potential to becoming really good at the game — repetition through practice and drills.

This is possibly the most important information I give to new students when they join Play To Win Pickleball lessons.

I love the lesson scenario when we start on the forehand and I’m at the Kitchen Line with a bucket of balls, hitting underhands to the player at the baseline.

“Ok, let’s begin.” 

Hit, hit, hit. Observation. Hit, hit, hit. Correction. Hit, hit, hit. Compliment. Hit, hit, hit. Switch to backhands. And over again.

The challenge for developing pickleball players is finding the opportunity for practising using Repetition Drills. That fact is, players want to play. And they do, often at the expense of practice.

Game play, either recreational or competitive, with its “Chaos of the Courts”, doesn’t easily allow for skill development in basic technique. That requires repetition in a controlled environment and a patient partner, perhaps a instructor who can feed 50, 100, 200 balls over the net.

Hit, hit, hit, back and forth. Correction. Hit, hit, hit. Over again. And again, and again. Five, 10, 15 sessions, working on groundstrokes, serves, service returns, drop shots, dinks, slices, topspins. 

You don’t have to love Repetition Drills to have the discipline to find the opportunity to actually do them, but it sure helps. 

I, for one, find Joy in the discipline of repetition. I like work that challenges, but can gradually be perfected over time, like a fine wine. The best things in life, like the reward you get from playing a challenging pickleball game, and performing at your best level, take effort and practise, and patience. 

It’s fair. To buckle down and get really good at something by doing the same thing, over and over again until it’s perfect. The perfect forehand or an exquisite one handed backhand from the baseline. That’s what I think about when I close my eyes and think about pickleball play. 

Not winning or losing a game. Over, done, time to move on, not dwell on the results of a competitive endeavour. 

But savour the joy of a job well done. Because of all the repetition, the preparation of building my game, one ball, one stroke, one drill at a time. 

Repetition Drills. Try them the next time you're out on the court with a partner or instructor. You have my promise they work, and they’re worth it.

See you on the courts.

Blog: Order On The Court: Taylor Swift drops by to say hi…

Taylor Swift takes time out from her busy concert schedule to check in on Play To Win Pickleball and book a lesson.

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It’s been a busy week with the launch of www.playtowinpickleball.com and my initial Blog, Order in the Court. Search engine optimization has resulted in unexpectedly strong growth with international interest from as far away as Germany, Ireland, the Philippines and of course Canada and the United States.

After ruling out the most obvious explanation for such a strong showing; I have relatives I didn’t know about, clicking with a show support from around the world. I can only put it down to the phenomenal world-wide interest in pickleball.

 Which brings me to share with you for my end-of-the-week blog, an interesting chat I had this morning with an avid pickleball player – Taylor Swift.

I can’t share with you our entire conversation, NDA, and all, but it went something like this.

 “Hello, is this Doug@ playtowinpickleball.com

 “Yes, who is this?” I replied glancing at the 5 a.m. time on the beside clock.

 “It’s Taylor, Taylor Swift.”

 “Who?” I typed.

 “Taylor, THE Taylor Swift. Maybe you’ve heard of me…283 million followers, $1.3 billion net worth….”

  “Yes, sorry, I don’t really listen to your music, but you seem nice. What can I help you with Taylor?”

 “Well, funny story, I was finished my concert the other night, and my assistant showed me your new website, playtowinpickleball.com. And, well, I am a huge pickleball fan… I love playing when I’m home in Nashville, and I read your blog, Order in the Court.

 “ It made me think about all the chaos I’ve been having with those darn MAGA people, after endorsing Kamala.

 “It really spoke to me, Doug.  I’m thinking about using it as the basis of a new song I’m writing….Chaos, Chaos, It’s Everywhere! Even in the Court….”I could hear an acoustic guitar in the background and Taylor started humming the lyrics to the new song.

 “It’s Chaos, Chaos, Chaos in my court, and I’m going to take that little ball of yours and smash…”

 “Ah, Taylor,” I replied wearily, stopping her.

 “It’s 5 am and I have to get up and teach a new class of pickleball players in a City of Ottawa class today…can we continue this conversation another time…”

 “Sure Doug. I just wanted to say how much I loved the new site, and if you have any suggestions on how I can build my followers base, I’d love to hear them.”

 “Ok, Taylor. Sure…”

“Oh, and Doug, can I book you to teach me how to beat Travis at pickleball? I could sure use some pointers from a professional, such as yourself.”

 “Anytime, Taylor. Just remember to fill out the Book an Appointment page and we’ll get back to you….It’s, um….$100 an hour…US”

 “Great Doug. Awesome. I’m going to go off and finish the song now while I drink my coffee. You’ve really inspired me.

 Disclaimer: The above may or may not be totally true. It was generated by the new Microsoft AI feature I’m adding to my site. It came up when I typed the term, “How to optimize a new website to attract new followers quickly. 

 Teaching Taylor Swift how to play pickleball was the number one answer.

Blog: Order On The Court: Confessions of a tennis player

Give me a court -- any court -- and I'm happy

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I’ll let you in on a little secret. 

I play pickleball — a lot. Pretty much daily. Hours a day, bringing order to chaos on the court that is pretty much most pickleball games — the best ones anyways.

But I digress. 

So I will tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about my inconvenient truth. Certainly not to one of my regular pickleball partners or one of my Play To Win Pickleball students.

The thing is, I started playing tennis many years ago. Hit, hit hit, forehand, hit, hit, backhand, hit…stop to run after a miss-hit ball. Hit, hit back and forth. Until I became the Roger Federer of the George P. Mackie Public School back wall. 

Now that I think about, getting decent court time was an issue even back in those days, the Dark Ages, before pickleball was invented; well not really, it was first played in 1964, and even I’m not that old. 

So tennis has been in my blood for a long time. Like when I got a summer job in high school, putting up the stands at the Canadian Open Tennis Tournament and watching Rod Laver and John Newcombe hit the ball back and forth on the grass court. Hit, hit, hit….back and forth.

I remember chasing down a white Dunlop tennis ball and handing it back, casually of course, to Rod and thinking to myself, “Damn, that short red haired man has a huge forearm.” 

I mean, it was bigger than my entire thigh, an arm so powerful, the old Dunlop wood racket was weaponized in his fierce some grip like an Australian Thor’s Hammer.

A decade later and I was sitting in an actual sit in the stands at the Canadian Open watching Bjorn Borg play an insolent headbanded John McEnroe. Hit, hit, hit…back and forth. 

Thinking. “Damn that guy from Sweden hits a mean two-handed backhand. 

The stroke was a thing of beauty, Bjorn’s backhand. All powerful, and beautiful in its simplicity and effortless grace. 

It was then, I realized, tennis, all court sports, actually, would become a lifelong pursuit and passion of mine.

This led to stints getting certified as an instructor with the Ontario Lawn Tennis Association, before they dropped the “Lawn” in their name, as they ran out of grass courts to play on in Canada.

I started my best summer job when I was still studying journalism, at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, before it became, Ryerson University, and way before its namesake became so controversial, it’s now called something completely different, who’s name escapes me.

I put on tennis lessons on the slick wooden floor of the basketball courts for eight players at a time, before there was a lack of available court space. 

Do you notice a pattern developing here. The lack of court time and difficulty in finding a place to play isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s been an eternal struggle, most of my life.

My love of tennis led me to, well the actual love of my life, Maureen, who will tell complete strangers that we’ve been married, um, I forget the exact number of years, but it’s really a lot, because we met at Ryerson and she was one of my early students.So fact #1, play pickleball, find the love of your life. It happens….

This also led to the sweetest summer job a guy growing up in Scarborough was allowed to have…. Head Tennis Instructor at an exclusive summer camp in Parry Sound. 

One moment, I’m trying to drown out the loud music while studying in my student residence, at Neil Wycik. The next I’m in a fabulous summer camp, 21 years old, and surrounded by attentive summer campers and tennis staff. 

The novelty, of someone actually listening to me at that age, and actually caring what I had to say, was intoxicating.

It went totally to my head. I even started wearing Izod sweaters and Crocodile tennis shirts. 

So getting back to the big secret.I’m a member of a whole bunch of pickleball clubs in Ottawa — Valley Stream, RA Centre, Ottawa Pickleball Association, Elmridge — the usual suspects..but I’m also a member of, gasp, the Rockcliffe Tennis, and play both tennis and pickleball, regularly at Elmridge.

I’m often in these post-match social chit chats after a double game (I play at the Men’s B Doubles Inter-Club level in tennis), drinking a non alcoholic beverage. I nod knowingly when the men tennis players, perspiring heavily, speak in conspiratorially voices of the damn pickleballers taking over court time. 

“Yes, damn pickleballers,” I agree to the group, hiding the fact, I’m actually one of those pesky picklers taking up 2-3 hours a day of precious court time. 

“So demanding,” I say, adding my comments for the tennis group, who nod sadly, wondering what the world is coming to, with the silly plastic balls, short paddles, and smaller courts.

Then, in the same afternoon, after a particularly competitive match, at Valley Stream — I mean, is there any game played at that club, that isn’t particularly, uniquely competitive, I take time out to cool down in the 32C weather.

“Tennis players are becoming a dying breed,” says one of my partners.

“Yes, I add with enthusiasm. “Like dinosaurs. They don’t even know their days of getting available court times, is coming to an end. A new breed of court players, us pickleball players, are going to inherit the earth, and all the courts on it.”

“So true, so true,” the picklers agree with knowing nods of their ball capped heads.

So there you have it. A pickleball player who not only has a past in tennis, but still plays tennis! And loves both games. I’ve even been know to darken the odd squash court occasionally. 

I’ll end this month’s blog with a tip about all three popular racket (and paddle) sports.

One of the most distinguishing features of all three. Is the intimacy of the court, the close surroundings of the court and proximity to partners.

Squash is defined by the closeness of this pas de deux. You’re continually playing with a human body and a swinging graphite racket, inches from your head. The ball travels periously close to your face at times, as you move out of the path of a lethal blade of the racket face.

Pickleball is the middleman in this ballet of court chaos. Close quarters at times, stepping out of the way of an errand carbon fibre paddle, trying not to get beaned in the back of the head when you poach a lob from your partner.

Tennis is the game of kings, and played, fittingly, at a distance from one another. Really no need to bother about getting hit by a partner’s racket, or beaned in the back of the head when he or she is serving — unless you’re really asking for it.

What they share in common, is the chaos of their courts.

Our effort, as avid court men, and court women, is to bring a sense of order to these courts.

And that’s what I will be talking about in my future blogs. 

Bringing Order to the Courts….See you soon. And remember, this is strictly hush, hush.