A Pickleball Guide

A nice reference for my friends getting started with Pickleball.

What is it?

It’s kind of like a mix between tennis, badminton and table tennis. Like table tennis, it’s easy to learn, but has a high skill ceiling. You play with a paddle and a plastic ball similar to a wiffle ball.

Rules

An official rule summary is here.

To get started you don’t need a whole lot of rules, but you will quickly realize playing without rules results in a game that’s at the best hard to play, and at the worst, not fun to play! (probably a talk illustration here somewhere)

A lot of people when trying to decide if they want to give Pickleball a try wonder how it’s different from tennis.

There’s a picture of a court below. It’s smaller than a tennis court, the size of a badminton court. There’s a 7 foot area directly in front of the net that’s the “Non-volley Zone” colloquially called “the Kitchen”. If you’re standing in that zone (even if your toe is on the line) and you volley¹ the ball, it results in a fault. This prevents tall people from crowding the net and dominating the game. It also provides a target for you to “drop” the ball into when the game is getting “big” (people are smashing overhead balls and playing a more tennis-like game).

The plastic ball and paddle can also slow down the ball considerably vs. tennis. This makes it a friendlier game to beginners.

The service rules are also designed for longer rallies (more fun). The one that always trips up beginners is the “2 bounce” rule. The serving team needs to let the ball bounce a second time on their side before volley¹ is allowed.

Where do we play?

Here’s the list of courts we have in the area:

South Ave. Park, Beacon, around the corner from the Kingdom Hall

• 2 tennis courts with the lines for Pickleball
• surface is of good quality, and is in ok shape, there are some cracks and not good stuff for cleaning or squeegieeing
• kind of a sketchy area

Lime Kiln Recreation Center, Hopewell Junction, right up I-84 from RCA

• 6 dedicated courts (converted from 3 tennis courts)
• surface is like blacktop, not good quality, and there are a fair amount of cracks, but they try to keep it sealed
• very quiet, lighting at night (might be seasonal)

Other areas

South

• Peekskill
  • Granite Knolls, Mohegan Lake, not too far from the Taconic
    • 6 dedicated courts
    • excellent quality and in excellent shape
  • Charles G. DiGiacomo Recreation Area
    • 4 dedicated courts (?)
    • great quality

North

• Poughkeepsie
  • Hagantown Park
    • haven’t been here
  • James Baird State Park
    • 6 dedicated courts

West

• Newburgh
  • Cronomer Hill Park
    • pretty close park and seems very quiet
    • the tennis courts have lines for pickleball but they aren’t using the tennis court nets, so you have to bring your own nets
• Montgomery
  • Veterans Memorial Park
    • pretty good quality in nice shape (new)
    • can be busy with retirees (who seem friendly!)

What do I need to play?

Paddle

You can get beginner/wood paddles to get you going really cheap. I would probably recommend that, as it’s a fun way to get started. If you keep playing Pickleball casually it’s still really enjoyable.

If you want to upgrade, i’m still collecting a list of good buys for paddles.

Top of the line brands for Pickleball gear is usually Selkirk and Joola, there’s quite a few companies out there making equipment now. Pro paddles can be $200+.

As far as good values:

• Vatic Prism (review) is a really good choice for a legitimate paddle that won’t break the bank. These can be had for ~$90.
• If you want to roll the dice on a chinese paddle (that probably isn’t rated for tournament play), you can try the Juciao store on aliexpress , they have a ~$42 paddle that’s pretty good.
  • They also have a $27 paddle that I really want to try
  • Don’t be in a hurry for shipping, these will take a while to arrive

Ball

The way I understand it, there are currently 2 safe bets for Pickleball balls, the Onix Dura Fast 40, and the Franklin X-40. These both have 40 holes and are for outdoor use. Indoor Pickleballs will have fewer holes that are larger. For New York where it’s colder, i’d recommend the Franklins. You can play indoors with outdoor balls no problem, so I would just purchase the X-40, they have them at Wal-mart. The Onix are better for hot climates (think Florida), they stay harder in the heat whereas the Franklins get a little soft. This makes the Franklins a lot better as the temperatures drop.

The cheap balls that come with a paddle set can be fun to play around with or get started, but eventually you’ll deal with cracking and the ball wont bounce consistently.

Clothes

Court shoes are good to use if you have them, as they provide that lateral support which can help prevent you from rolling your ankle.