Pickleball from a Beginner's Perspective

As a beginner pickleball player, I had the privilege of getting my first lesson from West Reading Pickleball's Larry Zerbe, aka Coach Z. Coach Z, a highly-motivated, electric pickleball coach has spent a great deal of time bringing the sport to Reading, Pa. He was more than willing and ready to teach a beginner like me how to play pickleball.

Standing there on the court with him after a beginner’s lesson where I botched just about everything full of bad serves, harsh, clumsy returns, and little paddle dexterity, he decided to dispense some inspiring words. Pickleball had an advantage over other sports— it created a sense of community among its players, and Pickleball’s pacing of starting slow and gradually increasing momentum made it accessible to people of all health conditions and ages.  It helped foster a social scene that is difficult to find with other sports, especially Tennis where everything is high-intensity.

And I could easily see where he was coming from. I’m not in poor health, but to say I am fit or in shape would be a sorry overestimation to make. Despite that, being out there on that court, chasing the ball as quick as my uncoordinated, unskilled self could, and then using the paddle to return a monumentally amateur, but motivated swing— it wasn’t like other sports I had tried before. 

While tennis and other sports have a frustrating learning curve, pickleball has found a great middle-ground with leisure and intense play. Even just learning the basics was thoroughly fun. There were times during my lesson when we just stood on the court, observing players next to us play out all the core components of the game Larry had been teaching me. A lot of players started with light rallying until one of them forced a short shot, causing everyone to rush towards the “kitchen” (a no-volley zone near the net). The game then becomes a matter of controlling the pressure, where the closer you can stay to the kitchen and deliver short, powerful hits, the more pressure you can build. It’s even more effective if you’re quick on your feet and get to the kitchen before everyone else. But when both teams end up right at that kitchen line, that’s when “firefights” can break out, full of rapid returns and hard swings that allow the game’s momentum to reach its peak.

This kind of varied play in pickleball was why one of Larry’s lessons was to be “like a boxer.” In pickleball, there are tons of directions the game can take. It was all about being ready to react methodically to your opponent. If you think too much or second-guess yourself, you’ll mess up and miss opportunities. The only decision that needs to happen is whether you should be using the backhand or forehand in a return. In that way Pickleball calls on a player’s instinct, relying on natural finesse and dexterity instead of trying to calculate all your opponent’s moves and think ahead of your return.

With all that, Pickleball presents opportunities for people out there. It’s a fantastic way to improve your health while having a fun, social outlet for your energy. It’s not a game that you need to bring a friend to either, because West Reading’s Pickleball courts almost always have players willing to help beginners get started, or aid someone working on their serving and rallying. All you need to do is bring a paddle (I personally chose the Franklin Ben Johns Pickleball Paddle) and a big bottle of water because you’ll work up a sweat.

Take advantage of the sport’s surging popularity and get involved— you won’t regret it!