THIS LESSON FOCUSES ON HELPING PLAYERS LEARN ALL ABOUT PICKLEBALL AND THE IMPORTANCE OF RESETTING “OUR” STYLE TO PREVENT BAD BEHAVIORS.

• PLAN #1: GRIPS. TEACHING WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO LEARN DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRIPS, AND WHY WE NEED TO PROPERLY GRAB THE PADDLE, FOREHAND, AND BACK TECHNIQUES.

• PLAN #2: GETTING RID OF BAD BEHAVIORS. THIS LESSON IS ALL ABOUT DEVELOPING PROPER BEHAVIORS AND GETTING RID OF THOSE BAD HABITS WE LEARNED IN THE PAST.

• PLAN #3: STANCE ON THE COURT. IN THIS LESSON, WE ARE GOING TO LEARN THE PROPER STANCE ON THE COURT, TALK ABOUT ANGLES, AND WORK AS A TEAM ON THE COURT. WE ARE ALSO GOING TO TALK ABOUT OUR GOALS IN PICKLEBALL AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO NEXT.

THIS LESSON FOCUS ON STARTING THE POINT WELL AND BEING A SOLID PLAYER AT THE NET. WE EVEN GET A LITTLE FANCY BY INTRODUCING SPIN (SOMETHING MANY PLAYERS LOVE LEARNING ABOUT).

• PLAN #1: STARTING STRONG. TEACHING WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO CARE ABOUT THE FIRST SHOT (SERVE OR RETURN) AND TO SEE IT AS A CHANCE TO DO MORE THAN JUST GET THINGS STARTED. DRILLS AND GAMES WILL BE USED TO HELP PLAYERS BE MORE DELIBERATE WITH THEIR FIRST SHOT, NOT TO HIT A WINNER, BUT TO TILT THE ODDS IN THEIR FAVOR.

• PLAN #2: VERY GOOD VOLLEYS. THIS LESSON IS ALL ABOUT DEVELOPING SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE AT THE NET. PLAYERS WILL WORK ON HANDLING DRIVES FROM THE NVZ AND SENDING THEM BACK EFFECTIVELY. PLAYERS WILL ALSO WORK ON THEIR VOLLEY DECISION-MAKING SKILLS BASED ON THE OPPONENT’S POSITION ON THE COURT.

• PLAN #3: ALL ABOUT SPIN. THIS LESSON PLAN GIVES PLAYERS A CHANCE TO LEARN ABOUT BACKSPIN, SIDESPIN, AND TOPSPIN*

WE ALL KNOW THAT THE THIRD SHOT IS A KEY PART OF PICKLEBALL: HIT IT WELL AND GOOD THINGS HAPPEN. HIT IT POORLY AND YOU’RE ASKING FOR TROUBLE.

THIS LESSON GIVES YOU THE TOOLS TO WORK ON DEVELOPING A VARIETY OF THIRD-SHOT SKILLS, AS WELL AS DEVELOP THE DECISION-MAKING NEEDED TO GO WITH THEM.

• PLAN #1: 3RD SHOT DRIVE. THIRD-SHOT DRIVES CAN BE A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY TO GAIN AN OFFENSIVE ADVANTAGE FROM THE START. THE TEACHING POINTS AND ACTIVITIES IN THIS LESSON PLAN WILL HELP GIVE YOUR PLAYERS CONFIDENCE TO USE THE SKILL.

• PLAN #2: 3RD SHOT DROP. THE DROP IS USUALLY VERY EFFECTIVE AND THE GO-TO MOVE FOR A NEW PLAYER. THIS LESSON PLAN WILL HELP PLAYERS THROUGH THE KEY TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF GOOD DROPS AND HOW TO DEVELOP THEM.

• PLAN #3: 3RD SHOT DECISION-MAKING. WHAT SHOULD A PERSON DO AFTER HITTING THE THIRD SHOT? WELL, IT DEPENDS. AND THIS LESSON GIVES PLAYERS A CHANCE TO DEVELOP THOSE CRITICAL DECISION-MAKING SKILLS.

THIS LESSON DEALS WITH HANDLING BALLS AT TWO ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM. ON THE ONE HAND, PLAYERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE TO PLAY AGAINST BANGERS — THOSE POWER PLAYERS WHO LOOK TO SPEED THINGS UP FROM ANYWHERE.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THINGS, PLAYERS MUST LEARN TO BE COMFORTABLE SENDING AND RECEIVING DINKS.

• PLAN #1: HOW TO BEAT BANGERS. THE FOCUS HERE IS ON HANDLING SPEED — WHETHER IT’S COMING FROM THE BASELINE OR UP NEAR THE KITCHEN.

• PLAN #2: DYNAMIC DINKING. WHEN OPPONENTS PLAY SOFT AND LOW BALLS UP NEAR THE NET, PLAYERS BETTER BE ABLE TO HANDLE THEM WITHOUT POPPING UP THE BALL. THIS SERIES OF TEACHING POINTS, GAMES, AND DRILLS WILL HELP PLAYERS KEEP THE BALL LOW AND SLOW.

• PLAN #3: MIXED BAG DRILLS. FUN AND FAST-PACED DRILLS AND GAMES. PLAYERS WILL GET TO WORK ON THEIR SERVES AND RETURNS, DROPS, DRIVES, SOFT GAMES, AND MORE!

THE SERVE AND THE RETURN WILL SET YOU UP FOR SUCCESS OR FAILURE FROM THE START. THIS LESSON GIVES YOU THE TOOLS TO WORK ON UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVING, DIFFERENT WAYS OF SERVING, AND THE MAIN GOAL OF THE RETURN OF SERVE.

• PLAN #1: SERVING. HOW TO SERVE, WHERE TO SERVE, AND WHY THE SERVE IS SO IMPORTANT. THIS PART OF THE LESSON IS ALL ABOUT THE START OF THE PLAY.

• PLAN #2: RETURN OF SERVE. THIS LESSON WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THE RETURN OF THE SERVE IS AND WHY WE NEED TO NOT ONLY RETURN THE BALL OVER THE NET BUT THE PREPARATION WE MUST TAKE THOSE MOMENTS BEFORE WE RETURN IT.

• PLAN #3: SERVE AND RETURN STRATEGIES. LET’S TALK ABOUT STRATEGY AND PRACTICE THOSE STRATEGIES IN REAL-GAME SITUATIONS.