Want to take your game to the next level? Work on developing a few more skills? You’ll find a boatload of videos, blogs, articles, drills and lessons that focus on building your pickleball strategy and skills. You could invest every hour of every day for the next three years and uncover different perspectives/tools to help you develop pickleball strategies and tactical/technical skills to improve your game. Conversely, try and find resources to help you become a great pickleball partner. After a few Google or YouTube searches, you’d find only a few resources that shed light on this topic. Slim pickings. Why is this?
Two reasons:
The art and science of becoming the ultimate pickleball partner is not that complicated.
It’s very challenging to talk about the topic because it’s less about tactical or technical skills. It’s something else. So, let’s try and put our arms around the ‘something else’ as I’m sure you’d love to become the ultimate pickleball partner, if you knew how. Right?
(One caveat, this article was written with “open play” in mind and consistently switching partners. Tournament play is an entirely different set of circumstances involving a great deal of strategy and observing and synthesizing competitive strengths/weaknesses, etc. Less about fun and more about tactical/technical parameters. Way beyond the scope and intent of this blog submission.)
Full disclosure, you should know I became a USA Pickleball Ambassador because I love everything about this sport. It’s the fun component that gets me excited. I have turned dozens of people onto pickleball and that’s the best part of my role. I’m a 3.75 player and trying very hard to hit the 4.0 level. Not easy. Mainly because developing consistency is harder to master than one would think. So, in addition to attending clinics, drilling, watching videos, reading all kinds of stuff, I took it upon myself to become a good pickleball partner. So, win or lose, I choose to have fun with my partner. It’s nice to win, but most of all, at the end of day, I want to have fun. Close matches make my day. Sure, everyone likes to win. I’m a winner at 11-9 or 9-11, win or lose, as long as my partner and I had fun getting there. As I’m sure many of you do, I play up and I play down. The one consistent in my game is the fun factor.
So, let’s kick around some ideas on how to become the ultimate pickleball partner.
Communication is a strategy!
Begin with giving unwavering encouragement and support to your partner. You don’t need to attend a 3-day workshop to learn how to do this. Just think about building up your partner regardless if you/they hit a great shot, good shot or crappy shot. We’ve all been there. Welcome to pickleball.
The more you communicate with your partner the better. Start out the match by introducing yourself and make sure everyone knows the name of the players. Ask your partner if they have a preference on which side they prefer to start the match. Talk about forehands in the middle and taking those shots, or if one or both are lefthanded, talk about how to handle certain shots. Stacking? Consider sometimes saying “me,” “you,” it should eliminate confusion during play. Say “no” if the ball is heading out of bounds. Talk to your partner before starting, during and after your match. Communicate (often!) using verbal and non-verbal gestures. Keep it quick, precise and positive.
Build your pickleball vocabulary and actions.
Smile more, touch paddles after a great, or terrible shot. Learn to say nice shot, good idea, amazing dink shot, fast hands…nice way to keep them back, love it, sorry my bad, fabulous…etc. The important takeaway is be genuine, be you and build up your partner. NEVER show disappointment in your partner. Have fun. Everyone makes mistakes, just remember to focus on encouraging your partner and never tear them down after good shots, bad shots and everything in between!
Focus mostly on behaviors vs. shots.
Shots and skill level will vary significantly from a 3.0 to 4.5 player. If I had to summarize the various technical/tactical differences between these skill levels, you’d be reading a 450 page document. To keep this under 3 pages, let’s zero in on behaviors to unlock your potential for being the best partner you can be, regardless if you and your partner are intermediate or advanced players. One tip that should resonate all along the 3.0 to 4.5 spectrum is:
-It’s not a one man show on the court. It’s you and your partner together as a team. It should be an “us” versus “them” mindset.
Becoming the ultimate pickleball partner requires you to think about the feelings of your partner. We all invest a great deal of energy thinking about our own game and not thinking enough about our partners’ well-being. You don’t need to become a behavioral scientist or mental health counselor to achieve great success in becoming the ultimate pickleball partner. Camaraderie is key. Have fun, celebrate longer rallies with points won or lost with a paddle tap or fist bump. You’re in it to win it, but having fun is everything. Make sure you’re not telegraphing negative body language when your partner misses a shot. Instead, find something positive to say or make a positive gesture. A paddle tap and smile (“we’re good”) might be the ticket to keep your partner engaged. Just remember the goal: Build up your partner, whatever it takes. Think support not advice. Above all, remember no gasps or eye rolls.
In closing, everyone needs to take an active role in advancing their skill level. Pickleball is a highly complex sport with many nuances. We all should be accountable for learning and skill development of this great game. If you’re not already a TCPC member, consider joining. It will be the best $15 yearly investment you’ll ever make. Also, visit www.usapickleball.org to get more involved in pickleball, learn lots of stuff and find tournaments all around the country. It’s a bit more pricey to join, but these two organizations are a “must have” if you’re remotely serious about pickleball. Be safe and have fun!
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