Serving and Scoring - a New Video

Yesterday I posted about a series of new videos from Pure Pickleball that cover topics previously discussed but are worthy of updating the topic.

Today's topic is serving and scoring as covered in my prior posts Service Rules and Doubles Scoring and Player Positioning. The name of the video is How To Play Pickleball: Part 2 of 3 - Serving & Scoring.

The Court - a New Video

I am always on the lookout for new videos - even if they repeat information already presented. Pickleball is exploding and videos supporting it are always improving. I came across a few new videos from Pure Pickleball that are very well done and they will be the topic of the next several days.

First up is a video discussing the court called How To Play Pickleball: Part 1 of 3 - Intro & Definitions. It is a quick overview and aligns with my post The Court.

Answers to Rules Quiz - Serve

1. Jimmy has an extremely successful service game. He has mastered the art of hitting his serve deep into his opponent's court. This typically is sufficient since it keeps his opponent on the defensive. But that isn't enough for Jimmy. He wants to win the point outright on his serve, so he has been practicing a new power serve. The power serve requires changing his service motion to hit the ball with a sidearm style in order to the ball harder. In a game with John and Margy, he hits a serve so hard that John cannot react in time and the ball blows right by him for a service winner. Jimmy is pleased with himself...until Margy claims that Jimmy used an illegal serve with his sidearm motion. Who is right?

Answer: It depends. Sidearm style alone is not against the rules. The rule in question is the position of the paddle head relative to the wrist. The pictured serve, while sidearm, is within the rules. See the below Pickleball Channel video called The Power Serve with Slow Motion for a serve that looks questionable at full speed but is allowable when viewed in slow motion.

Rules Quiz - Serve

1. Jimmy has an extremely successful service game. He has mastered the art of hitting his serve deep into his opponent's court. This typically is sufficient since it keeps his opponent on the defensive. But that isn't enough for Jimmy. He wants to win the point outright on his serve, so he has been practicing a new power serve. The power serve requires changing his service motion to hit the ball with a sidearm style in order to the ball harder. In a game with John and Margy, he hits a serve so hard that John cannot react in time and the ball blows right by him for a service winner. Jimmy is pleased with himself...until Margy claims that Jimmy used an illegal serve with his sidearm motion. Who is right?

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Happy Easter

Net Rules Illustrated

I have posted a couple of rules quizzes about the net the past 2 weeks. Eric Hurst of Indy Pickleball has also been looking at the issue and came up with a good illustration.

Pickleball and Hilton Head

The Hilton Head newspaper - The Island Packet - had an article about the growth of pickleball in clubs and rec centers. It piqued my interest for several reasons. 

First, I regularly vacation on Hilton Head and have done so for about 20 years. Until recently, pickleball play has been nonexistent except for private clubs like Sun City. But that is changing.

Rec Centers Scheduling Note

Both the Henderson and Transylvania Counties gymnasiums will be closed tomorrow - Friday, March 25 - for the Good Friday holiday.

Get a group together and play outdoors!

A Video - Reset the Point

A recent post discussed resetting the point, which talked about techniques to bring a point back to neutral after failing to quickly win a banger rally. A Pickleball Channel Facebook video perfectly illustrates the concept.

The rally takes about 40 seconds yet a change of pace takes place 7 times with 3 resets occurring using drop volleys. Watch for the resets at about 15, 32, and 43 seconds in the video.

Answers to Rules Quiz - More Net

1. Jimmy has an extremely powerful ground stroke. In the middle of an intense match with John and Margy, Jimmy slams a ground stroke but hits it way too low. Amazingly, Jimmy's ball hits the metal horizontal bar at just the right angle to pop the ball up and over the net. John and Margy, having relaxed after seeing the low shot, were unable to recover to return the ball. Jimmy jumps up in joy claiming to win the point because the ball crossed over the net without hitting the ground. Jimmy knew a ball that hit the net and went over was good and he considered the bar to be part of the net. John and Margy were incredulous and couldn't believe such a poor shot could be rewarded. They disagreed with Jimmy and claimed they won the rally. Who is right?

Answer: John and Margy are right. Jimmy's shot is a fault.

Rule 12.J.5 When net systems have a horizontal bar that may include a center base: If the ball hits the horizontal bar or the center base before going over the net, it is a fault..

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Rules Quiz - More Net

1. Jimmy has an extremely powerful ground stroke. In the middle of an intense match with John and Margy, Jimmy slams a ground stroke but hits it way too low. Amazingly, Jimmy's ball hits the metal horizontal bar at just the right angle to pop the ball up and over the net. John and Margy, having relaxed after seeing the low shot, were unable to recover to return the ball. Jimmy jumps up in joy claiming to win the point because the ball crossed over the net without hitting the ground. Jimmy knew a ball that hit the net and went over was good and he considered the bar to be part of the net. John and Margy were incredulous and couldn't believe such a poor shot could be rewarded. They disagreed with Jimmy and claimed they won the rally. Who is right?

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Offbeat Sunday: The Great Pickleball Incident

A tale from Lori Duff:

I went to the Jewish homeland (south Florida) Christmas week so I could eat Chinese food and go to the movies with my parents and allow them to coo over and spoil my children rotten. My parents, as I’ve described before, live in a resort-style 55 or better community my father, Fred, refers to lovingly as “Club Fred.” One of the newest amenities is a set of pickleball courts. It replaced the basketball court that once stood in its place that I never once saw an actual resident using.

Apparently, no one north of Orlando (and 50 percent of those south of Orlando) knows what pickleball is, so I will explain. In a nutshell, pickleball is tennis for little kids and older folks. But, apparently, not for middle-aged folks with coordination issues. The court looks like a miniature tennis court. I’m told it is the same size as a badminton court, but telling me something is the size of a badminton court is as useful to me as a tail would be. Or maybe less, since at least I could use a tail to swat away flies. The rules for serving and scoring in pickleball are more like ping pong. The net is low, maybe waist high. The rackets look like oversized ping pong paddles, and you play with relatively slow-moving, hard, softball sized wiffle balls.

Upcoming Pickleball Tournaments

From NorthCarolinaPickleball.net:



(Removed by site owner)

Pickleball on TV?

I haven't seen an official schedule yet, but several sources have pointed to the news that CBS Sports Network will be covering a pickleball tournament. Our favorite little sport is becoming big-time. 

The first ever U.S. Open Pickleball Championships will be played April 26 - May 1st in Naples Florida. This tournament will be huge, having the most courts for a single tournament with 48. It will also have the most players and spectators. This tournament has more players registered than any other tournament in the history of the sport - 800 registered players with 5 weeks remaining to add even more.

Apparently, negotiations are being finalized to televise the the Pro Doubles finals within 30 days after the actual event. With over 50 million subscribers to CBS Sports, pickleball will be introduced to millions of people that will potentially become new players.

Stay tuned for updates.

USA Masters Games

I received an email today about a new tournament to be held Friday, July 22 - Sunday, July 24 in Greensboro, NC. The pickleball tournament is part of a larger event called the USA Masters Games. The organizers call the Games "a major Celebration of Adult Competitive Sports". From their website:

The USA Masters Games is slated to be a biennial games with the inaugural edition July 21-31, 2016 in Greensboro, NC.

In addition to high-quality, “Nationals-level” competitions in each sport, the USA Masters Games will feature Opening Ceremonies, Closing Ceremonies, nightly entertainment, and a Games Village. Serving as the Games Village location and central hub of the Games will be the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, where up to 8 sports, Athlete Services, Vendor Village, and Closing Ceremonies are planned.

Answers to Rules Quiz - Net

1. Jimmy has an extremely hard serve but can be very erratic. Jimmy knows that John, the opponent to whom he is serving, has a poor backhand and aims his serve down the middle toward his backhand. Unfortunately for Jimmy, his serve hits the top of the net and veers hard right. The unexpected turn surprises Margy, John's partner, and hits her head. Jimmy jumps up in joy claiming to win the point because an opponent was hit with the serve. John argues that Jimmy lost the serve because it didn't land in the service court. Who is right?

Answer: Neither is right. The serve is a let and is retaken with no change in score.

Rule 4.F.3 - Service Lets. The serve is a let and will be replayed if The served ball hits the net and strikes the receiver or the receiver’s partner.

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Rules Quiz - Net

1. Jimmy has an extremely hard serve but can be very erratic. Jimmy knows that John, the opponent to whom he is serving, has a poor backhand and aims his serve down the middle toward his backhand. Unfortunately for Jimmy, his serve hits the top of the net and veers hard right. The unexpected turn surprises Margy, John's partner, and hits her head. Jimmy jumps up in joy claiming to win the point because an opponent was hit with the serve. John argues that Jimmy lost the serve because it didn't land in the service court. Who is right?

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Follow the Ball

A while back, I wrote a series of posts about moving as a team. The first of these posts - Moving as a Team - Let's Stay Together - discussed forming a "wall" by positioning partners about 6-7 feet apart and moving together. A later post - Moving as a Team Part 1 - At the Kitchen Line - discussed where the wall should be positioned based on the court position of the opponent who hits the return.

I recently ran across an article that explains the same concept a little differently. I really like the catch-line that explains the concept in a simple phrase - "Follow the Ball". The article is from rvpicklers, self-described as a couple of retired women who live in The Villages but travel in their RV to play pickleball. The article follows and can also be found at their website rvpicklers.com.

Offbeat Sunday: Dirty Pickleball

A counterpoint to last week's posts on etiquette is shown in a video called Dirty Pickleball: Win At All Costs.

Serving Practice

A point that I have emphasized throughout this blog, starting with Service Strategies, is the first principle of serving - get it in-bounds. But play is changing as equipment advances as Matt Staub discussed in A Different Third Shot Strategy. The serve is becoming an offensive weapon at top levels of play. While that doesn't impact most of us, you can be sure that those techniques will eventually trickle down through the ranks. Mark Renneson offers a way to help you improve your service game in a video called Pickleball Strategies: Serving Strong.  Of course, it involves practice!!!

Block Volley

Several days ago I posted a couple of videos about resetting the point when opponents are on the attack (Conversions - Resetting the Point). Sarah Ansboury also has a video on the same topic. As usual, she goes into much more detail in her descriptions of the 2 main shots which she calls the block and the block and absorb.

The block is a return with a flat paddle, i.e., perpendicular to the court. It is intended to use the force of the opponent's shot to rebound the ball back across the net at a slower pace.

The block and absorb is a return with a tilted paddle, i.e., the top of the paddle is tilted back slightly. The shot requires minimal forward and downward movement of one inch or less. The tilt of the paddle is intended to absorb some of the force while adding spin to the return.

Enjoy the video called Blocking 2 Ways.

The Explosion of Pickleball Media

Pickleball spokespeople often refer to the game as the fastest growing sport in America. While there have been some educational media sites available for several years, they have been small in number. I have used a lot of them here in this blog, with videos from Deb Harrison and Mark Renneson among others. The numbers are now growing and it would benefit all players to check out some of these sites:

Deb Harrison

A Different Third Shot Strategy

In my post The Third Shot, I discussed 3 options for the third shot but ultimately stated "(the drop shot) is, however, the best option for the third shot...". While that remains true for the vast majority of players, some top level players have found one of the other options to be very effective due to the advances made in equipment. 

The first option I listed in that post was the low drive with topspin. The biggest problem with this shot is that it is hit so hard that it provides insufficient time to move to the kitchen. At most, the serving team can advance 1-2 steps before stopping to split-step. But this shot is now gaining traction.

Conversions - Resetting the Point

A serious weakness in my personal game is the inability to slow down the game when in a battle of volleys and smashes. As discussed in my post on Conversions, changing the pace or style from a previous pattern results in a much greater chance to win the game. Deb Harrison recently released a video (Reset the Point) in which she shows how to bring the point back to neutral from being in a war.

Deb states that a "war" must either be won or reset.  If the opponent appears to be gaining an advantage, the strategy must be to reset to neutral by dinking to slow the game. It is difficult to slow hard shots but there are a couple of ways to do so.

Ambidextrous Forehand

A long time ago in my post The Grip I discussed a method to avoid switching grips in the midst of playing a game. That method is to switch hands instead. I did not recommend using this method because it takes a lot of skill and practice to equalize shot-making with both strong and weak hands. Mostly I didn't recommend it because I hate playing against these players

Regardless of my preference, there are a few players who do switch hands. The following Pickleball Channel video called Ambidextrous Forehand shows one of the top players in the world, Wes Gabrielson, demonstrating the technique. The video is not too exciting, but does include some tips for hitting a forehand that apply even if using only the strong hand.

Tips to hitting a forehand:

1. Keep eye on ball through shot.
2. Keep body & legs low.
3. Follow through toward your target.
4. Keep your head down to ensure good contact.

Offbeat Sunday: Pickleball Blues

A fun video posted without comment.

Isolating a Weakness

A basic strategy of any sport is to exploit an opponent's weak points. This is especially true in matches when winning is important, such as in tournament play. After a couple of posts on etiquette, this topic might seem like the opposite of good manners. But players in these situations understand and accept the strategy as part of the game.

Finding a weakness might be as simple as a hitting to a backhand, hitting a lob over a short player, or hitting short drop shots to slower players. But the most frequent strategy is identifying the weaker player and targeting that player on every possible shot. That is the strategy highlighted in this Mark Renneson video from the USAPA Nationals called Pickleball Strategies -- Isolate a Weakness. The strategy is used even at the top echelons of the sport.

Analysis of a Single Point

Pickleball is a game with lots of action compacted into a short time. Sometimes a single rally contains a ton of information. Such is the case with the championship point at the recent Grand Canyon State Games as shown in the below video from Pickleball Channel's Facebook page. 

The team on the near court consists of Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner, generally considered one of the best, if not the best, women's doubles teams in the world.  Lucore is in the white shirt and Hamner is in the pink shirt. Let's go through some of the play:

3 Big Mistakes & 3 Benefits at the NVZ Line

One of my earliest posts was an article from Prem Carnot titled You. Must. Get. To. The. (No-Volley) Line. Prem has now done a Pickleball Channel video explaining some of the concepts he teaches about the kitchen line - 3 Big Mistakes & 3 Benefits at the NVZ Line.

2016 Senior Games Update - Again

I used the online registration system for the Senior Games and attended the kickoff lunch for Henderson County today. Based on those experiences, some additional information is available for the Henderson and Transylvania Counties Senior Games.

Henderson County

Registration is now open and ends March 31. Pickleball will be played at the Athletics and Activity Center on May 6. I spoke with one of the organizers who advised that pickleball is open to non-residents of Henderson County.

Online Registration is available at HCPRD.COM.

Registration is a 2-step process. The online system was developed by the state of North Carolina and is used by all counties. Therefore, a single account must be established first, including the selection of one or more counties in which a user chooses to participate. The second step is to select the games - pickleball in our case - individually for each county of choice. At this point, payment to the selected county will be required.

Etiquette - Before Serving

Experienced players tend to just walk to the serving position, check for opponents' and partner's readiness, call the score, and hit the serve. Such is not the case with beginners. In order to get comfortable with the rules and etiquette of serving, the following guidelines should be considered.

1. The server should ensure that he is serving from the proper court and that all players are ready, including both opponents and the server's partner.  This player can stand anywhere on his side of the court. It is good practice for the server to ensure his partner is properly positioned near the baseline or wherever their strategy dictates.

2. If the receiver is not ready to receive the serve or their partner is not in position, they should indicate so by either holding the paddle hand straight in the air, holding the non-paddle hand in the same way, or turning their back completely to the server. The receiver may do this because of a distraction, ball on court, movement behind the server, partner not in position or they need time to adjust a piece of equipment. It is not sportsmanlike to use delay of serve as a stalling tactic.