Beginner to BEAST: Your Map to Pickleball MASTERY in 2025

[@itsnmynature4882]

I played my first game ever in July 2024, at age 70. I AM HOOKED. Now, I just have to get better. Your advice is just what I need to analyze my goals. No comparisons, just process and above all have fun!

[@CBLeePB]

It IS an addictive sport, isn’t it? Thanks so much for watching and taking time to comment. Good luck with those goals!

[@EMcInnis1979]

Love your video !!! Just what I needed 💜 my thing/goal is being present, I get so excited while playing that my body goes into auto-mode and hit everything that comes my way 🙈 after that the list on goals goes on… 3rd shot drops, not missing a serve, drives, etc. Thank you !!!

[@CBLeePB]

Thanks for watching!! I hear you on getting overexcited - that’s another goal I plan add later in 2025 - staying calm and hitting with control (even if it’s a put away).

[@Steve_K2]

It's hard to control my enthusiasm for this video. Brilliant analysis, wonderfully presented. I only wish I weren't coming up on 80 so as to better use the wisdom I've now acquired. My goals the past two years of playing have been to improve my strokes (backhand, serve, etc) and to have fun. The score doesn't matter. I'd rather our team lost 15-13 than we won 11-2. I've seen progress in my game, and expect to see more. Again, wonderful video. Many thanks, wise lady.

[@CBLeePB]

Thanks so much for watching and taking time to leave such a kind comment! I think pickleball is the real fountain of youth - glad we both found it!!

[@teacherjoedeveto]

Where I play, we always warm up by dinking 2 or 3 minutes, then when we play, we almost never dink again. I guess I’m a 3.5 player, but possibly 4.0 at speed ups and volleys. Dinking, on the other hand… maybe I’m approaching the 3.0 level. My goal after watching this video is to practice dinking against a wall and apply my new skills in games. I also want to learn to use dinks strategically to move my opponents around and set up better opportunities for myself.

[@CBLeePB]

My dinking game improved dramatically once I found a drilling partner - we work on things like trying to reach a hundred in a row (but subtract 20 every time you miss), games to 11 with no speed ups - only dinking, alternating the target back and forth between opponent’s inside and outside foot, etc. That said, I hear what you’re saying that it can be frustrating when you don’t actually get to practice in the rec games, though that may change as you get to higher levels where there is more strategic dinking.

[@averyhubert8303]

Very to the point and informative keep posting!

[@CBLeePB]

Thank you - I definitely plan to keep posting!!

[@sylvierossignol9757]

I have so many things to work on but control is top on my list…sending the ball where I want it, resetting, and staying within the no volley zone. I often end up backing away…I have to stand my ground. Practicing is a challenge because there is no place to do so indoors during winter but come summer, I will.

[@CBLeePB]

Thanks for taking time to watch and comment! That’s a bummer not to have a place to play during the winter. Watching video isn’t the same, but it can help with motivation and visualizing where you want to go with your game. And, I agree that holding the line and not backing up at the NVZ is challenging but important - I’m continually working on that, too.

[@SeattleTsunamiPB]

This is good stuff. Rings true for me and I need to do better

[@CBLeePB]

Well…we all “need to do better” but maybe it means just having more fun!!

[@perspicaciousfrog]

my goal: hit less than 3 shots out

[@afterthesmash]

In open rec play, you need to have a combination of performance goals with the ball and process goals without the ball. Here's how it plays out for me. First, I'm 6'5" and I really squeeze into the middle if the opponents don't actively attack my aggressive shading. When I'm playing left, it's my backhand side that is wide open. If I'm in a deep crouch with a wide leg stance, I can stab my backhand out a surprisingly long way without moving my feet, so I often get away with my central positioning. Second, from a low crouch I can reach surprising far _into_ the kitchen, to cut off crosscourt dinks on the volley. I'm even using the Tardio from time to time, sticking my non-dominant leg out behind me to lean even further forward, flamingo style. They can send me for a long run after a crosscourt ball, but the channel is narrow. Third, with my long arm poking into the center of the court, the opponents become nervous about landing central dinks. Fourth, I'm pretty much unlobbable at the 4.0- level. Any ball fired sharply upward from close range that manages to clear my upstretched paddle is likely to hang up there long enough for me to backtrack under it before it comes down again, and that only earns the opponents a smash from deep court. Finally, I also have a play style where I'm defensive/slow on balls below the net and aggressive/fast on balls above the net. I'm not one of these people who tries to stretch the yellow zone down to the top of my socks, trusting the grit on my paddle to bend the ball fair. I prefer easier shots with higher percentages. The net effect is that I steer the ball into slow kitchen play early in the rally, and then my opponents spend the rest of the rally freezing me out, until an errant ball finally pops up to my side, and my only contribution is initiating the kill sequence. This happens a lot, because my partner is often covering only six feet of the net front, crowded off to the size by my looming limbs in the middle. Then it is both opponents against my partner, but they can barely ever make my partner move his/her feet inside that narrow coverage zone. They have a narrow target to aim at, and my partner has a wider set of targets to aim at. If my partner has a steady hand, unusually my partner gains the upper hand. Consequently, I often play 75% of a two-hour block without the ball coming to my side, although my size and my nuanced positional play contributes greatly to the outcome. At first, when I finally became good enough to be worth freezing out, this annoyed me. Gradually I figured out that there is so much you can do while frozen out, if you care about positional mastery. It's surprising how many of my opponent's balls I manage to steer out of bounds by twitching like I'm about to go full poach just as they take their backswing. All the body mechanics of efficient footwork, staying on your toes, being in the right crouch, having the tip of your paddle at the right height, shaded to best advantage (forehand/backhand), whether to lean forward to attack or stay centered to defend, moving at the right speed and stopping in the right place at the right time, etc. can be practiced without the ball. All the mental mechanics of noting your opponent's techniques and tendencies can also be practiced without the ball. "The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting."- Fran Lebowitz But in pickleball, not having the ball is _not_ waiting if you are not asleep on the many process opportunities.

[@CBLeePB]

It is awesome that you have figured out how to stay active (and elicit errors) when you’re iced out 75% of the time! Even so, if I were in shoes, I’d be bummed because hitting the ball once in a while is also very fun. 😬 Dayne Gingrich recently had an IG post about how ridiculous it is to freeze someone out during rec play, because the focus should be on improving and working on things-not trying to win every match. We should WANT to involve strong players in the points. I get that your wingspan means you’re a risk for crushing every ball, but I’d hope your opponents mix in a fair number of soft, short dinks along the sideline to keep you from squeezing middle…