Cerabino: Is the pickleball craze calling you? I dink you should find out (2024)

If you’re one of those millions of people who have decided to give pickleball a try, or are maybe just pickleball-curious, here’s some advice from somebody who is a few years down that road.

There’s a reason why pickleball is popular. It sells itself. Just go to a place where pickleball is being played on a recreational basis, and you’ll see and hear why.

It’s a joyous, social game, punctuated by laughter and smiles. Spend a few minutes watching and you’ll feel the urge to give it a try. And when you do, you’ll be able to hit the ball over the net with some measure of accuracy.

Then you’re hooked.

If you do plunge into pickleball, the initial cost of entry is relatively cheap compared to other sports. There’s probably an open-play public court somewhere near you, a place you can play for free.

A starter set of paddles and four balls can be purchased from Amazon for less than $40. But, here’s a warning: It won’t be long before you imagine that better equipment will improve your game.

(I just bought a $275 paddle this month — the seventh one I now have in my rotation of paddles.)

Tips for the newbie pickleball player

Before you play: Make sure you step on the court with court shoes, not running shoes.

It looks like players aren’t moving very much because in a doubles game there are four players crammed into a court that’s just 44 feet long and 20 feet wide. There’s no great expanse of court to travel to make your next shot.

However, there’s a lot of lateral motion in pickleball, sudden shifts to either side. Court shoes have the lateral support you need to avoid a preventable injury.

And beware of lobs. The most common way new pickleball players get injured is from backpedaling to hit a lob, rather than turning sideways, pivoting and running forward.

Make learning how to properly move back to receive a lob one of the first things you do. It’ll save you a broken wrist or hip.

The rules of pickleball are mercifully few and easy to understand. The scoring, however, is a little more challenging. Don’t let it stop you.

Getting started on your pickleball journey

My advice is to begin by finding a pickleball partner to go on the journey with you. It could be your spouse or significant other — although I know couples who refuse to play with each other in order to preserve their relationship.

If you show up at a pickleball court and announce yourselves as “newbies,” you’ll find others who are in your position, or more experienced players who are willing to help you get started, tell you where to stand, how to move, and how to keep score.

I’ve come to believe that it’s important to be kind to those pickleballers who are on their way up, because one day you will be on your way down, and they might be your orthopedic surgeon.

When getting started you should also look for beginners clinics offered at a facility near you. Then you’ll find yourself among a pool of other players like you. And you’ll be getting playing instruction from an experienced instructor who will make sure your serve is legal, your swing mechanics are sound and your placement on the court is strategic.

Go online too. There’s an expanding universe of valuable pickleball instruction from some of the game’s best players offered for free on YouTube and through social media sites.

There are also professional pickleball matches that are televised. Watching them will serve as both a demonstration and an inspiration.

More: Is pickleball the new shuffleboard? Or is it something for everyone?

I learned the game by doing all those things.

I started playing with my wife, and we quickly met other couples like us on the courts. We also took some clinics and I watched countless online videos on every aspect of the game, and joined a variety of Facebook pickleball groups.

After four years, I am still a mediocre 3.5 player, who punctuates brief exhilarating moments of competence with a steady diet of “sorry” to my partner.

But my third-shot drops are getting better, my phone address book is full of new friends who are listed under the word “pickleball,” my marriage has survived, and I’ve learned that I will be less sore if I avoid playing twice a day.

Frank Cerabino is a local news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, part of the Gannett Newspapers chain.