Has someone recently told you about a fun game with a pretty strange name? Or
perhaps you're tired of explaining it to your friends when they say pickle what? do
If you want to know more about this great game stay tuned.
Hey everybody my name is CJ Johnson
This channel is dedicated to all things pickleball with a special focus
on players who are over 50.If you're interested in pickleball make sure you
hit the subscribe button and then the bill notification that way you'll know
when I post a new video every Saturday.
I play and coach multiple sports and
without a doubt pickleball is unique. It's easy to learn, but tough to master. It's
athletic and strategic and for most people the best part is it's very social!
Make sure you stick around to the end of this video, I'll give you the cheat sheet
that will help you to find the resources to learn to play pickleball on courts
near you.
Pickleball is played o n a court with the same dimensions as a badminton court,
44 feet long and 20 feet across.
There's a section called the non-volley zone that extends
from the net seven feet on each side.
You may hear it lovingly referred
to as the kitchen.
The right side of the court is the even side and the left side
is the odd side.
The net measures 34 inches in the middle and 36 inches on each end
There's no court difference for doubles
or singles.
Doubles is the most popular form of pickleball play.
Asphalt surfaces
are most common for outdoor play.
You'll also find pickleball played in the gym.
Now let's take a look at the equipment.
Paddles may remind you a bit of ping pong paddles.
Today they're typically made from composite materials and can be
no longer than 17 inches with the combined length and width no greater
than 24 inches.
The ball is similar in consistency to a wiffle ball. It's light
so it definitely is impacted by the wind. When it's dropped from a height of 78
inches on a granite surface the ball can bounce nor more than 34 inches.
Which if you remember is the height of the net at the center.
Yes there is a difference
between indoor and outdoor balls. Outdoor balls are heavier and harder with
smoother plastic. The easiest way to recognize them is they have smaller holes.
Outdoor balls are rarely used indoors because they skid and don't bounce as high.
Balls come in a variety of different colors which is especially
important for indoor play.
Let's play pickleball!
A team can only score points while they're serving. To begin the game or
after a side out, which is when the serve changes side. Play always begins on the
even side of the court.
The serve must be made with an underhand motion and the
paddle below the wrist without a bounce.
The serve is done on the diagonal and
players only get one opportunity to get the serve in.
Each player on the team
gets a chance to serve with the exception of the very first service of
the game. Don't worry about it everyone gets confused about that one!
If you win a point that person keeps serving, you just simply switch sides.
There's something called the two bounce rule. Since the serve is in the air the
returning team must allow it to bounce one time and the serving team must allow
it to bounce one time.
Volley means to take the ball out of the air you are not
allowed to touch or stand in the non-volley zone and volley the ball.
Games are typically played to 11 win by 2.
At the end of the game it's customary
for all the players to come to the net and tap their paddles.
Now why is it so addictive?
Anyone at any age can play. I love this video from the national
championships where you have two 80 year olds playing singles!
Anyone with a
little hand-eye coordination can pick up a paddle and be playing a game the exact
same day.
I know a lot of pickleball players who've lost weight and gotten
into better shape just because they started playing the game.
It's not an expensive sport to learn how to play court fees are free to very nominal.
Paddles cost less than a hundred dollars.
The USAPA runs a program called pickleball ambassadors and in many instances those
people who will teach you how to play, introduce you to other pickleball
players let you use some equipment and best of all it's usually free.
If you're excited to learn how to play pickleball, click over here there's a free cheat
sheet where I've organized all the resources you need to know about in
order to learn how to play. If you're already a pickleball player let's do
some recruiting, share this with a non pickleball playing friend so that we can
get more people in the sport. And then together we can
Train Smart, Live Bold, Age Well