The Best Options for Filming Your Pickleball Play

One of the most overlooked ways to improve your game is to video yourself when playing. Unless you do this, you cannot see what your serve or third shot drop actually looks like. So videos can help you both evaluate your technique and parts of your game which need to improve. Do you miss a lot of third shot drives or backhand dinks? The video will tell the tale of your game and you have a number of options for creating videos of your game play.

Option #1: Smart Phone

The easiest way to video your pickleball game is to use your smart phone. I highly recommend buying an accessory such as a tripod or fence clip to hold your phone still. A few weeks ago, I went at the last minute to watch the Professional Pickleball Association tournament in San Clemente, California. I didn't have my tripod with me so I held my camera during some of the matches, and the video was wobbly to say the least. While I was there, I noticed Lauren Stratman had attached her camera to the railing above her match with a clip. I'm sure she had much better video quality than I did so be sure to buy a tripod or clip to keep your phone steady.

Option #2: Camcorder

Another option is to purchase a camcorder to video your pickleball games. In talking with fellow Pickleball University contributor, Shea Underwood, on the Pickleball Fire podcast I asked him what his set up is for creating videos of his game. He said he uses a GoPro Hero 8 Black and has four batteries to make sure he catches all of his action. If you read reviews on the best action camcorders, the GoPro products are always at the top of the list. Again, he uses a tripod to keep the camcorder steady. In doing a little research on the Go Pro Hero 8, I found there are different options including the black, silver, and white versions. The quality of the camcorder does vary by the color with the black being in the $300 range, allowing you to switch out batteries like Shea does.

Since I'm looking at creating more video content, I do plan to buy a GoPro Hero as I don't have the best of cameras in my phone. I'm not sure of the version yet, as I'm still doing my research but I really think the quality of Shea's videos are top notch.