(Our thanks to the Grand Pickleball Club for this information)

A Players
B Players
C Players
Novice Players
Newbies" & "Beginners
 

The following skill level sets are intended to be used as a guide when either instructing a clinic, teaching friends to play or as a helpful device in Ladder play.  It is not intended, for example, that all A Players have the skills listed, nor B, C or Novice.  It is useful to know what you should strive for at any given skill level.  Each player level of success will vary widely for each of the skills within each set.  Some of the “Super A” players may be very successful at many of these skills while a lower level A Player may have only limited success at many of these skills.  The same holds true for the B. C and Novice Player.  The point is that you can use this list as a guide to your improve your game. 

This is a working document so if you have comments, please forward them to Claude Eatherly.

“A Players”:

·        should know most of the rules of pickleball.

·        are generally able to control and place both the serve and return of serve.

·        are generally consistent in their play and understand the match strategy of the game and when to use specific shots.

·        can move effectively with a partner and easily switch courts to cover their partner’s side when required.

·        are comfortable playing at the no-volley line and work with their partner in doubles to control the line.

·        can usually block strong volleys directed at them at the No Volley Zone, or “Kitchen” and are developing their skill to place their volleys.

·        should be developing excellent footwork to move forward, backward and laterally with ease and quickness.

·        can generally sustain “dinks” and at times “put away” their shots.

·        can generally hit overheads and are striving to place them.

·        are striving to be able to change from a soft shot strategy to a hard shot strategy during any given point play or vice versa.

·        are working towards mastering the drop shot as a tool to effectively approach the no-volley line.

·        should generally be able to initiate the dink from ¾ court and should be working towards being able to dink eventually from the baseline.

·        are very good at avoiding returned shots which may be going out of bounds.

·        can usually recognize and exploit weaknesses in their opponent's game.

·        can generally poach effectively.

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“B Players”:

·        should be continuing to improve their knowledge of the rules of Pickleball.

·        should generally be able to get their serve in play and return most serves.

·        should be regularly serving deep and returning serve deep.

·        should understand most match strategy and tactics that apply to skills that they either possess or are trying to learn.

·        should be improving their skill to play with partners effectively.

·        should possess all shots; such as forehand and backhand, lob, overhead smash and continued dink, and hit them with a high level of consistency.

·        should be starting to practice dinks from ¾ court in practice and starting to occasionally try them in a practice game.

·        are improving in knowing when to make specific shots.

·        should be learning when to use soft shots versus power shots to their advantage.

·        should be gaining the reflexes and judgment to avoid returned shots which may be going out of bounds.

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“C Players”: 

·        know some of the rules and how to score after losing track.

·        will strive to get 3/4 of their serves in and to return more than half of backhands or overheads.

·        should be working towards serving to both sides of the opponent.

·        should be striving to place their serves and returns deep.

·        will move to the non-volley zone line behind the return of serve.

·        use deeper and higher serves to approach the non-volley line.

·        are working to develop consistent strokes.

·        should not be hitting returns up in the air, but making flatter returns.

·        Are not consistency in the overhead smash or the “dink” returns from well behind the Non Volley Zone, or “Kitchen”.

·        are trying to increase their skill in the lob as well as in hitting the lower and harder ball.

·        should be developing a sustained “dink” exchange at the net.

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“Novice Players”:

·        have had a lesson or have played with other pickleball players who have taught them the very basic rules of how to play the game.

·        should be learning to move around the court in a balanced and safe manner, as opposed to running at great speed and totally out of control, thus becoming a danger to themselves. 

·        are learning how to get their serve in regularly.

·        are learning where to stand on the court during serves, returns  and point play.

·        Are using deeper and higher serves and/or returns to move to the non-volley zone and should be allowed some freedom in staying back so they can improve their ground strokes.

·        know how to keep score and where to stand at the beginning of each point.

·        may not have learned how to effectively dink but should be attempting to do so.

·        should place more emphasis on keeping the ball in play as opposed to trying to hit it low and hard or trying to place it better than the player’s skill allows.

·        should be able to lob with a forehand when desired, although probably not well.

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"Newbies" & "Beginners" 

To assist the new club member in determining their level of skill, please follow these guidelines: 

A Newby is a person who has just joined the club and may not be able to hit the ball across the net or return balls, doesn't know the rules of play, scoring, etc.  This person probably has not played another racquet sport such as tennis, racquetball, paddleball, etc.  This person should be encouraged to take the Beginner lessons prior to playing during drop-in.  The Newbie grouping will only be used during clinics instruction. 

A Beginner either has had experience in other racquet sports, or has  taken  Beginner lessons, or has been playing with others for a while who have taught the person the basic rules of play and scoring, etc.  Beginners should not join the Novice Ladder until their skills improve commensurate with the Novice Player Skill List.  Refer to the Ladder Management Rules on the  "League/Ladder" menu link on the website for further information.

Note:  Thanks to the numerous members who contributed to this document and who participate in teaching the skills clinics.

“Lob Strategy”  Comments from Bob Halpin, a clinic instructor:

After teaching tennis for 14 years or so, I can see many similarities in skills to be learned and many similarities in player attitudes to some skills. Many players and probably you, as a "Power Player", typically look down on the lob as a shot that will not work in both tennis and Pickleball. I assume that is why you have generally overlooked that valuable shot in most of the skill levels. I, "as a player without any power" have had to resort to trickery, dinks, and lobs in both tennis and pickleball for survival and sometimes use it too much. I'm sure there must be a happy medium somewhere!

.....When I first started playing at Sun City Grand, before I moved here, I played with Bill Booth and some friends quite often.  As a tennis player and new pickleball player, I played around quite a bit with staying back and lobbing and keeping the ball in play as opposed to going to the net every time even though that was obviously the best bet.  I wanted to explore what might work.  The first thing Bill said to me was that in Pickleball the lob didn't work.  Well it was true at first but as I developed more skill through practice the lob started to work very well.  Part of that was that nobody had a very good overhead then because nobody lobbed.  As time went by, more and more people started lobbing and also everybody’s overhead started getting better from practice.

Obviously, the lob will not work very well when playing players like Pat Kane and Dick Lewis and Barry and some of the other top players.  It will work occasionally against them and it will work better and better as the skill levels and/or mobility drops.  Since most of the senior players have some mobility problems and skill problems, the lob will work well against most of our club players if used at the appropriate times and with some skill.  Part of the problem with learning to lob is that not only do you have to lob effectively, but you also have to learn to return the smash when your lob is not a winner which, in pickleball, is most of the time.  However, that is a skill you learn as you go and it takes some time also.

.....The forehand lob also happens to be one of the easiest shots to learn when compared with the dink, hard low shot or etc.  As soon as a Novice Player can actually play the game with any skill level, they should be introduced to it and consequently the overhead a little later.  Neither shot will probably be too great, but even a bad lob can work wonders in the novice division.  An attempt at proper technique on the overhead might prevent an injury from backing straight up.

Eventually a document on possible strategies for different skill levels and/or things that should be avoided when possible might be put together.  Of course, since there are differences of opinion on what works, this document should discuss pros and cons of the different ideas since they might be appropriate for different kinds of opponents.

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