1. Be gracious, let's do this thing and have fun!
If you are obviously a stronger player than someone in your group, tone down the competitiveness and hit your opponent’s balls that they can return. Perhaps it’s a great time to work on a new skill. We are a club of many skill levels. In rec play, let's not exploit someone’s physical limitations or experience just so you can “win.” As you know, one of the best ways for people to learn is to play with better players. (Remember when you started out?) Even though the less experienced player is across the net from you, we are all on the same team. 2. When they call the score for someone else
Have you ever seen a Pickleball player call the score for their teammate before they serve. Much like a pitcher in baseball, teammates don't yell the out ball and strike count. Basketball teammates don't remind a player shooting a free throw that they're down 1 point with 2 seconds left in the game. Why you ask? Because it's super distracting and they're on the same team! Let your teammate call the score if they are serving - it's good for memory recall and it's the right thing to do. The Pickleball rules state you have 10 seconds once the other team is ready for the serve, so give that teammate ample time to get settled, state the score, and serve the ball with accuracy. If your teammate asks for the score, offer the score to them nicely and then get ready for the next play. Simple as that! 3. When they call the ball... for their partner
This is one of the strangest aspects of Pickleball. For some odd reason, a lot of people tend to call out, "YOU GOT IT" when they can't get to a ball. If you're a player and you're moving towards the ball rapidly then abruptly stop and say, "YOU'VE GOT IT" -- it's very likely your team just lost a point or got sided out. When you're playing a sport (any sport btw), it's okay to call, "I'VE GOT IT" -- because you control your own body and mind and your teammate can react to that. But if you're yelling to someone during a play telling them what to do, especially if they were already doing it -- you're only distracting them from the shot (during the shot) they were most likely already taking! So you have two choices. A) Call out "I've GOT IT" then take the shot. 4. When they try to console you after you've missed a shot
This is more of an etiquette thing but something to marinate on. In the heat of battle, people feel bad after missing a shot. But they are often NOT looking for sympathy. Much like a bad pass thrown in basketball, sometimes players will say, "My bad." What that person doesn't need is their teammate responding with, "It's okay." No s#@^ Sherlock. "My bad" or "Sorry" means, "I recognize I missed that shot but I'm moving on to the next play." This is not a time for consoling. Just accept your teammate is being self-critical and allow them to accept the blame with no comment. If you are going to say anything, try something such as, "All good!" -- which keeps it light and simple. Even, "Don't worry about it" -- is an extremely annoying response so keep that to yourself as well. |