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Gale's Author Blog

Here you'll find news and notes about my writing and events, as well as articles you may find of interest. For a taste of something more personal, click "Leach Lines" below.

Leach Lines

Skill Level Assessment in Pickleball

4/12/2015

2 Comments

 
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Recently, I spoke with a group of pickleball enthusiasts at a local community. They are a new club, having only built their courts about a year ago (and they already have over a thousand members!). One of their questions had to do with how the clubs of which I have been a member handled "ranking" their players into levels for the purpose of playing on ladders, taking part in ranked training, and entering tournaments. It so happened, I'd just seen a humorous post on Facebook that defined skill levels this way:

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While meant to be funny, this list is not far off the mark.

Most clubs judge a player's ability by watching him or her during a game, and the criteria don't vary a lot from one club to another (in fact, if you search online for "pickleball skill level definitions," as I did," you'll see many documents listing the same things). 

I looked at a number of the online documents and compared their lists of required skills for the levels from 1.0 to 5.0. I've posted my compilation of the most common criteria on a separate page (click here). 

Some players don't like skill levels. Certainly, these levels can cause problems when, say, a husband and wife take their first pickleball lesson, hoping to play together, and a short time later, one of them has progressed to a 3.0 level, while the other is still a 2.0. And then there's the argument that the freedom to "play up" helps you increase your skills faster. That's true, but mixed-level play often only benefits the weaker player (not to say you can't have fun playing with anyone, no matter their level). If skill improvement is the goal, it's best for everyone if players are at the same level.

It's hard to assess our own skills, and quite often we think (or hope) we play better than we really do. Having an impartial judge point out the things you need to work on to achieve the next level is helpful for structuring your practice AND it also tells you what you're doing well. It's important to take stock of this, too, as you strive to become a better player.

Taking a skill-level assessment in stride reminds me of what happens when I get a good edit for my writing. I come away with lots of things to work on, at the same time that I know the rest of my work is okay, and I can build on that foundation. 

So take a look at my composite of the skill level documents. Take an honest look and figure out what you need to work on to get to the next level.
2 Comments
Bob Graff
3/9/2016 04:38:18 pm

Our community wants to evaluate peoples interest in pickle ball. Do you have an assessment tool or other source that we could use? We would like to convert a tennis court into some pickle ball courts.
Village of Oak Creek, AZ

Reply
Gale H Leach link
3/9/2016 05:17:42 pm

Most of the time, communities begin taping off existing tennis courts for pickleball use. As interest in the sport grows (which it always does, through word of mouth), groups begin petitioning the city, county, or local authorities to make such conversion a reality. As for an assessment tool—no, I'm not aware of any specifically. I published an interview with Mike Tagliarino about how his community managed to get some courts built. You can read that here, if interested: http://www.galeleach.com/pickleball-tips/continuing-the-success-story-the-upcoming-tournament-at-trilogy-at-vistancia
I wish you luck with the conversion. It can be a long process, but in all cases I know of, the effort has succeeded.

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    Gale Leach lives in Arizona with her husband, two dogs, a cat, and a bearded dragon. When not battling fur balls, she's working on a new series of novels for young adults.

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