Getting Into Pickleball With a Confident Game Plan

December 16, 2024

Emily Burnett is the creator of The Pickleball Times, where she writes about the bigger picture of pickleball — the people, the stories, the industry, the magic of it all. Capturing what makes it a great sport for almost everyone, and writing to help keep it that way.‍

Lesson #1 of entering any unfamiliar situation: get as much of the lay of the land as you can before jumping in with both feet. In my solo foreign and domestic travels, this has involved a lot of walking around, studying maps, observing what people are doing and how they’re doing it, Googling, and asking questions of friendly folk. Doing this kind of research not only makes your immersion experience more pleasant, but it shows respect to the people in the place you’re entering. Bonus: you super expand your problem-solving capabilities.

And then at some point you just jump in and really learn by participating. This is where things get real and fun, especially when you have taken the time to get an idea of the customs beforehand. Armed with your baby knowledge, you approach the ticket kiosk or board the bus or walk into the corner cafe for a bifana where you stand at the counter with the locals like you know what you’re doing.

Getting into pickleball is remarkably similar to traveling to a new place.

This holds especially true for entering the sport as a beginner, but also applies to playing at a new court. Each place—each city, even each court—has its own way of doing things. Courts develop reputations for being beginner-friendly while others are more friendly for intermediate-to-advanced players. Of course, there’s no sign designating these dynamics and no one enforcing them, but they’re real and can affect the experience of someone unfamiliar with the court.

I have spent the past 18+ months traveling and navigating unfamiliar places and situations. These new experiences have included playing pickleball in various cities across multiple states, and as a solo advanced beginner. The rules and playing of pickleball certainly have taken some learning, but equally important has been learning how to get into the game—where to play, how to find people to play with, what “customs” transcend place.

As this sport explodes around the United States and around the world, more and more people are understandably looking to jump onboard. Join any Facebook page for a local pickleball group and you’ll see posts like:

Hi all, new here and to pickleball. Are there any chats started to arrange meetups?

I am new to pickleball and looking for a group of beginners to get started with.

New to pickleball but have played other racquet sports. I’ve played 3-4 times, but am wondering if anyone is willing to teach me some more.

I have a die hard pickleball friend who’s been harassing me for years to play. How do I start? Take lessons? I don’t have a partner.

The newbie interest bears out in my own conversations with strangers. I often ask people—cashiers, people waiting in line near me, friends—if they’ve played pickleball. More often than not, they answer that they have not, have been wanting to, but aren’t sure how to. I’ve been asked by multiple people, “Do you just show up to a community court and ask someone to show you how to play?”

Unless you live in a Truman Show-esque community, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’d be a bit like showing up to a pick-up basketball game and asking them to teach you basketball. This doesn’t mean you have to be a pro to step foot on a court, just that there are things you can learn ahead of time to make the experience more enjoyable for all.

Give yourself a big pickleball confidence zone

So how do you get into pickleball for the first time or in a bigger way? Well, you get the lay of the land, and then you jump in. To help you assess your new pickleball situation, I created the Getting into Pickleball guide.* It’s for people just like you who want to get into pickleball and aren't sure where to start.

Or maybe you've played with friends on a community court or at a paid facility, but still don't know how to really get into this game.

Or perhaps you’re traveling or new to a place and don’t how to get into pickleball in this new place.

As I see it, the magic of pickleball happens when you play with strangers and on new courts, and this principle-based practical guide is intended to help you develop a bigger pickleball confidence zone. A bigger confidence zone = more opportunities for connections and more play = more fun.

GET THE GUIDE: Guide: Getting into Pickleball » Powered by ThriveCart

It's not a Pickleball 101 guide or How Exactly to Play Pickleball guide. It's a critical guide to help you confidently get into and stay in the game, and how to find lessons and people to play with — in your community and in new places. This sport isn’t going anywhere but up, and I am excited for you to be as much a part of its meteoric rise as you want to.

What users are saying:

"This is a very accessible and comprehensive guide for getting into AND getting excited for pickleball. I really enjoyed the easy, step-by-step process and guide to not only understanding the game but the community around it, everything from where to play to how to introduce yourself to your fellow players." Spencer H

️️️️️ "This is so fantastic! So much good advice. This guide answers all the worrying questions I had before I risked showing up to the community courts for the first time. I feel less intimidated having read this, and I'll keep referring back to the tips and drills databases! Thanks!" Chris B

Ready to start?

Ready to kickstart your pickleball participation or build a bigger confidence zone around your play? The Getting into Pickleball guide is the idea place to start. It includes:

What you need, and need to know, to get started.
Recommendations for finding lessons and introductory classes.
Tips for finding people to play with beyond your introductory course—how to use Facebook groups and existing websites to find new friends to play with.
What you do when you show up to a new community court.
Checklists for getting started and finding people to play with. Who doesn't love a checklist of steps?!
BONUS 1: A Notion database of 40+ reminders and tips I've accumulated, ranging from how to handle unsolicited coaching to not apologizing for your mistakes to "the person with the forehand shot is typically responsible for it."
BONUS 2: A Notion database of 10+ drills for up-leveling your skills = enjoying the game even more because you'll be improving.