With the pickleball courts closed during this period of enforced social isolation, I've seen the pickleball players in my community do some innovative things: one couple cleared their porch of furniture and set up a makeshift net using PVC pipes and cardboard. Others did the same in cul-de-sacs and covertly against walls of buildings after hours.

We've discovered that, yes, there is life after pickleball, though it's not as much fun. People are taking up long-abandoned projects, cleaning out garages and kitchens, and working hard to be safe. 

But one aspect of your pickleball game doesn't have to stop when you can't get to the court. Many of you have read my previous posts regarding the mental game—this is one more. Just as much as learning how to swing the paddle or learn the rules, your mental preparedness and attitude before you get to the court and while you're playing can make or break your game.

So you have lots of time now, right? Put it to good use! If you haven't already, start your mental workout today.

Whether you're new to pickleball or you're a champion, there are always parts of your game that could be improved. List those things (up to 3) and prioritize them in the order you'd like them fixed. Now, list methods or strategies that will help you improve the number one item on your "to do" list. (Don't toss the number 2 and 3 items; simply concentrate on the first one until it is better. Then your second item will become your first, and so on.)

Perhaps your number one need for improvement is returning the ball low over the net. What things could you do to make that better? Find someone who can watch you return the ball and coach you to doing it better. If you have a ball machine where you play, some dedicated time returning shots would be good. Get a friend who also needs help or drilling and trade off time. Hit against a wall over a painted line and score points for every hit that stays within a 6" zone above it. (Reward yourself with something when you get enough points.) Read what other people have to say about that problem on the internet, and watch videos explaining how to do it better. (Videos are good because you can use mental imaging to see yourself doing it right, too.)

You get the idea. When the courts are open again, you'll have a plan to overcome your weakness. 

But don't ignore one other list that's equally important—maybe more so. List at least 5 things you do well in your pickleball games and practices. These can be minor or major (e.g., I dink well, I have patience, I hit a good backhand, I communicate clearly to my partner). Every day or night, look at this list and even state the items aloud. If you think of new things, add or replace them. The key here is accepting that, while your game could be improved, you also do things well on the court. Knowing those things and centering on positive thoughts can help your game in many ways.

Once you're back to playing on the courts, don't abandon your lists or the process of remaining positive. Your process of improvement is, in itself, a positive thing. Take just the one element and make it better, while reinforcing mentally all the good things you already do. 

​Getting to the next level, whether 3.0, 3.5, or higher, isn't easy. The answer is practice, of course, but just getting out to the court every day isn't enough. You must practice with a goal in mind, and you must know HOW to practice to achieve that goal.
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 One "simple" way to get better is to concentrate on the skills that are missing from the level above your current level (based on these criteria as noted by the USAPA). ​

Let's say You haven't been playing pickleball that long and you want to get to be a 4.5 player. What do you need to do? What are the major differences between 3.0 and 4.5?

The table below (info from the USAPA website) lists these definitions:

I highlighted the two items in the table that popped out at me most often: CONSISTENCY and STRATEGY. Other elements are important, of course, but by the time a player has achieved 3.0-level skills, he or she knows how to do a lot of things—just not how to do them well, or consistently. What that player doesn't really know yet is the strategy that goes along with what is known: when to hit a dink instead of a drive, when to break out of dinking, and so on. That's the strategy bit, and learning is not all—it's also being able to know how to do it automatically and not have to think about it.

If you've read my posts before, you know I stress PRACTICE, and not just aimless hitting back and forth over the net. It's important to have a goal—one that's reachable and measured. Like consistently hitting that forehand that sometimes goes out of bounds or into the net.

Get a friend to work with you (or better yet, take classes) and make sure 1) you're doing the stroke correctly before you continue to learn it wrong; 2) concentrate your focus not on everything about that shot but rather small parts of it: hitting it at about the same height and to roughly the same spot on the court.

Once you have mastered that, move the shot to other areas. When that's easy, work on your backhand and do the same thing. All of this takes time, but if you do this practice consistently (couldn't resist putting that in), your game will improve.

Take things slowly and methodically, knowing it took a while to get from novice to 3.0. With patience and some help from your friends, you'll get there.

If you've had an opportunity to watch a tournament and saw stacking in action, you may have wondered why the players were moving around the court, standing together, or standing outside the court completely. If you're curious about stacking and how and when to incorporate it into your game, read on.

Stacking is used during tournament play to exploit a team's strength and minimize its weakness. The technique increases the number of times a person plays on the right (even) or left (odd) side of the court.

According to the rules, the non-serving partner or the receiver's partner may stand in any position (even off the court), as long as they stay on their side of the net. Therefore, both team members may stand inside their service court, and partner of the person receiving the serve may stand outside the court at the time of the serve. 

Some examples may help explain how and why stacking works, and why you might want to try it.

3) When receiving. The players in example 1 above are receiving the serve. Judy is the receiver, and John would normally be up at the non-volley-zone line in the left court. However, since John would rather be on the right, he stands outside the sideline, just behind the non-volley zone line on the right. ​After Judy returns the service, John moves in, and Judy rushes to the non-volley-zone line on the left.

Stacking isn't something you must do, but it can help your team play better and more consistently. You can choose to stack during only a portion of the game. Stacking can confuse your opponents and is sometimes good as a way to change things up. 

If you understand what stacking is and how your team (and your opponents) can use it, you'll have an advantage over those who don't.

​Happy stacking!

One thing I know is that many (or most) of the things you learn can help you understand, do better with, or improve upon something else. So bear with me if this sounds a bit crazy. ​​

I took a break from my current writing project—an update of The Art of Pickleball--and headed to the living room. I'm not much on watching lots of TV, but I adore Shark Tank. (If you haven't watched this program, I urge you to give it a try.) I like the original sharks, but one of my other favorites is Chris Sacca, an investor in major online platforms, such as Twitter, Uber, Instagram, and Kickstarter; he also owns & operates Lowercase Capital, a venture capital fund.

Many of us get caught up in the idea that there’s a right and a wrong way to do things, and that includes playing pickleball. Since you're reading this post, I would guess that you'd like to find that "right" way, the one that works for most people, and steer away from the "wrong" ways that go against conventional wisdom.

I cite myself as a perfect example. When I was first learning pickleball, I searched for a book that would tell me how to play better. I also asked good players how they did what they did. Later, as I began compiling material for The Art of Pickleball, I realized that, while some techniques were suggested more often than others, there was still a fair amount of difference of opinion among the "experts."

​Making it more confusing is that new methods appear as the game evolves. Take the ready position, for example. For years, it was accepted that you should stand facing the net with your knees bent and your paddle in front of you aimed at the 12-o'clock position (as viewed from above). Recently, an alternative method emerged at the net, where the paddle is held in the backhand position, ready to volley the ball back over the net. Now that's being refuted. Which method is best?

My point isn't to argue about how you should hold the paddle but to emphasize that there isn't one right way to do anything in pickleball. Instead, there are accepted practices—until someone comes up with a better way. Sometimes those best practices work for you; sometimes they don't. You must be the judge.

Remember, too, that no two bodies are alike. The person suggesting you hold your paddle at a certain angle might be quicker than you in moving from one position to another. What works for her might be terrible in your hand. 

My advice is to check out different ways of doing things and settle (for now) on what seems best to you. When a new method comes along, embrace it if it's better. Just remember: there's no one right way to do anything in pickleball, or in life.