I start off learning a little about the Athlete & then we start. I coach Equipment, set-up like grip, stance & paddle face awareness. Next, I cover basic rules, scoring, & court positioning. Naturally from there, I also coach on ready position & proper athletic outside. The last 30 minutes, we focus on controlled forehand & backhand ground strokes, dinking with soft hands & simple serve mechanics. I don’t talk a lot. I give a short explanation with demonstration, high repetitions by the beginner with feedback. I have them focus on consistency & NOT power. By the end of lesson 1, the beginner athlete will understand how pickleball works, rally cooperatively, serve legally & keep the ball in play & feel comfortable stepping on the court without anxiety.
Really, when we get to this stage, it’s ongoing development, I start to really dig deeper & personalize lessons based on their strengths & weaknesses. We have fun learning how to disguised shots with placement. They get tested in a fun engaging way of playing with anticipation & confidence. I like to wrap up with the mental side of the game like patience, composure & momentum control.
Now, we get into the really good stuff. They will learn Game awareness m & strategy development . Here is what I mean by that. They will learn how to properly transition from baseline to kitchen, proper volley technique with paddle positioning, drop shots vs drives when & why, dinking with patience & placement, court positioning with a partner, shot selection, decision making, common patterns with serve+ return & third shot and lastly defensive skills like blocks, resets and soft hands. I know that was a lot but my students have a ton of fun while learning it.
During this lesson span, we work on consistency, movement & control. In lessons 2-3, I coach on improving their forehand & backhand mechanics. Footwork fundamentals( split step, balance & recovery), directional control, with cross court & down the line), serve consistency,& return of serve positioning, dinking fundamentals with purpose & a plan. Lastly, I start an intro to the non-volley zone along with the kitchen habits. The beginner athlete can expect pattern-based drills, live ball scenarios & I add in some pressure but not too much where they feel overwhelmed. The goal is to get them to fewer u forced errors & get them to understand smart shots vs risky shots.