Pickleball is Evolving: It’s Time Pickleball Coaching Does the Same
Editor’s Note: We’re excited to welcome Mark Renneson back on the blog! Today, he’s talking about coaching. And who better to than Mark, who heads up Pickleball Coaching International? We hear from plenty of readers asking about how to become or find a certified coach. This article from Mark is the best you’ll find on the topic. We hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more content from Mark Renneson.
Sometimes when I think about pickleball, a very specific image pops into my head: I think of a group of friends, back in the 1960s, smacking the ball back and forth in the summertime. It’s a classic image you may have seen: wooden paddles in hand, a makeshift court built on a dirt driveway, it's a vision of pickleball in its infancy, where the game had just been invented and was really little more than a fun way for friends and family to spend an afternoon together.
And when I think about this version of the sport, I imagine how the players would react to the notion of a pickleball coach. That is, a person who has gone through some kind of formalized, professional training that focuses on the skill of introducing pickleball to new players and teaching current players to play the game better. To be honest, I imagine these players laughing at the idea. I think they would find it amusing that this informal, backyard game of theirs would have a role for such a person. “Pickleball is not very hard to play” I imagine someone saying, “why the heck would you need a coach?”.
Courtesy of Mark Renneson
And it’s a fair question: why do we need pickleball coaches? What role do they play? And what does a high quality coaching education program look like in the context of pickleball?
Before going any farther, I should offer a disclosure: I myself am a professional pickleball coach. I travel across North America running clinics, camps and private lessons for people of all ages and abilities. I’m also the founder of Pickleball Coaching International which provides resources, training and instructor certification programs for current and aspiring pickleball teachers. So I don’t come at this question free from bias. At the same time, I think my role in coaching and coach education positions me well to articulate how I see instructors and coaches (I typically use the terms interchangeably although there may be some important distinctions) fitting into the landscape of pickleball. I’ll use the best arguments I can to make the case for why we ought to take pickleball coaching seriously.
Courtesy of Mark Renneson
First off, the most obvious role of a coach is to help people play better pickleball. Whether this is introducing the game to rookies or helping existing players improve their skills, a good coach can help bridge the gap between what is and what is possible. Just like we see in other sports adjacent to pickleball (tennis is the closest analog), well-trained coaches can offer insights to players that they may not arrive at on their own – or at least not as quickly.
It’s true that a good coach can point out errors, of course, but this is by far the least skillful (and enjoyable) part of the job. More importantly, they can offer practical tools to make meaningful changes to performance. They can ask questions that prompt deeper reflection: Why did you choose to hit crosscourt in that situation? What were your intentions when returning that serve? How does your team decide which balls to poach? What holds you back from playing your best? Good coaches are success seekers, not fault finders.
Many people who play pickleball would like to play it better. As with any skilled teacher, a pickleball coach can help to make that happen. This could take place in an individual setting (i.e. private or semi-private lessons, where the coach works closely with an individual or a team) but it is frequently seen in a group context like a clinic or camp. Indeed, group instructional programs are becoming more popular as they can provide a fun, social way to play pickleball, improve skills and keep things fresh. Running these well is harder than it looks and effective coaches have the skills to make it seem like a breeze.
Courtesy of Mark Renneson
Second, pickleball as a pastime has come a long way since those initial games on Bainbridge Island. While casual play still undoubtedly exists, we also see many examples of more formalized programming that requires organization and administration. Leagues, ladders, tournaments and social events go on pretty much everywhere that pickleball exists, and running these effectively takes some skill.
A well-trained coach should be competent at leading these events; understanding how different formats work and being able to identify which would be most suitable for their context. They should be able to make all the participants feel welcome, valued and important. While they are not coaching per se, executing these kinds of events often falls under the purview of a coach.
Now that we’ve outlined some of the responsibilities of a pickleball coach and how they can be helpful, let’s consider what a good coach education program looks like. I think that there are a few key components and these are the ones we’ve integrated into Pickleball Coaching International.
A Clear Philosophy. It is vital that a coach education program be able to articulate what it stands for. It should be apparent the kinds of values and principles that shape what the organization does and how it operates. For example, does the organization try to make all of their members coach in the same way? Do they suggest a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ approach to playing or teaching the game? Do they seek conformity from their members with an our way or the highway mindset, or do they allow for – perhaps even embrace – diversity of thinking?
Courtesy of Mark Renneson
At PCI, we believe that our job is to provide the best training we can to our members and try to articulate why some ways of approaching the game may be more effective than others. But we would never mandate what our members do or how they coach. While we might make suggestions about coaching best practices and make the case for why they are useful, we don’t think it is appropriate to tell our members what they can and cannot do. Our members are adults. They are professionals. We think it’s important to treat them as such and empower them to make the best choices they can.
High Standards. An organization's credibility is only as good as the standards it holds itself to. If we want pickleball coach education to be taken seriously, it is important that the program itself is fair but rigorous. What counts as ‘good’ needs to be made clear and the evaluation used to measure success ought to be transparent. Coach education programs that are seen as rubber stamps do a disservice to the profession and hurt the credibility of the industry. While the bar should not be set impossibly high, it should be challenging enough that people who get over it feel a sense of pride in doing so.
Practical Tools and Resources. Good coaching organizations are valuable to their members beyond the initial training or certification. Providing things like drill ideas, lesson plans, videos, and other coaching tools are examples of things that a coach education program should provide to their members to use after they’ve gone through the program. Providing liability insurance for members is also incredibly valuable and certificates of insurance should be easy to obtain.
Courtesy of Mark Renneson
Ongoing Support and Professional Development. It’s pretty disheartening to pay for a coach education program, go through it and then have little or no follow-up from the people that run it. We think it is important that there continues to be a good relationship with the coaches after they have gone through our program. Whether it is having master coaches available for advice, organizing in-person conferences or online sessions, good coach education programs make their members feel like they are a valuable part of a club. Personally, I love hosting online forums where our members can get together to talk about all sorts of coaching issues. Whether we are discussing pickleball tactics or technique, equipment or ettiquette, feeling like you are part of a group is important and good organizations value it.
The pickleball landscape is changing rapidly. Developing a pool of well-trained professional coaches is one part of that changing landscape. Personally, I think it is incredibly important that high-quality coach education programs exist. While it is true that people can get into pickleball without ever coming into contact with a coach, it is equally true that the evolution of the sport – both as a game and as an industry – is creating numerous opportunities for instructors of all levels. Like other sports that have a robust coach education ecosystem, pickleball should do the same; it will provide benefits for instructors and players alike.
