Plymouth Pickleball’s Biggest Beginner Play & Learn Pickleball Session Was a Success!
Sunday, September 18th, we hosted a full gym of new to beginner pickleball players at the PARC gym in downtown Plymouth, Michigan! It started just before 10am when my wife and I pulled into the parking lot of PARC and we saw eager players already awaiting the gym opening.
I jumped out of my car to introduce myself and to learn the Plymouth natives already checked out the gym and were ready to play! Paul, my brother-in-law and co-founder of Plymouth Pickleball rolled into the parking lot with my sister, Angel, hopped out of the car, and we all carried our gear into the gym with our new friends, all excited to get things going!
The setup was quick, chaotic, but fun!
Gym dark. Fans off. Enthusiasm high. We all walked into the gym and got to work because we only had fifteen minutes to get everything setup before players were expected to arrive ready to play. We split up to divide and conquer. Paul and Angel worked on setting up nets. Katie, my wife, turned on the lights, fans, got the paddles, balls, and the sign-in station ready.
I welcomed guests as they all started to arrive early and excited to play. We had the courts setup just in time as everyone poured in, signed-in, and grabbed their paddles and a partner.
Warm up!
Every session, we have all players find a partner and start by warming up with volleys back and fourth from various depths. They start with short-range shots, then mid-range, and then serves. When a group feels ready, they can either practice with a group volley, hitting the ball back and fourth as a foursome, or if the group knows the rules, they can play a game.
This session, most courts had a majority of brand new players so introducing the rules was a necessity. We had one court with repeat players, so we used them as an example to help teach others the flow and rules of the game. I ran from court to court, checked-in with each group who was learning the game, and we layered in rules for everyone to learn.
Within thirty to forty minutes, most groups were starting to play their first game where they started to learn how to keep score.
How many courts did we have in rotation?
The PARC gym has four full-size pickleball courts taped-off. All four courts held doubles matches of new to beginner players throughout the session. We also setup a small skills court with a “dinking station” where players who were awaiting their turn could stay warm and work on skills like dinking or volleying at the net. With four courts, we can host sixteen players at a time in-game.
We had four players sitting out who would rotate in as the games finished. Sometimes, players liked using the skills-court, and sometimes players enjoyed taking a break. In the end, players shared that they felt they all got to play as much as they wanted, and when they rested, it wasn’t for too long, and they got back in to play.
Paddletek donated community paddles!
To our surprise, Paddletek, a Michigan based pickleball company worked with me to send us demo-paddles so that our community could learn about a variety of paddles, their shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. These, mixed with our free wooden community paddles made for a good contrast for new players to learn about paddles, and we want to thank Paddletek for their generosity. (Note: We are not sponsored by Paddletek and we do not have an official partnership at this time.)
We are currently working with TMPR sports, who is also a Michigan-based pickleball company, to bring their paddles to our community. We’re also identifying other pickleball companies that we can introduce their brand to our community as we grow. We’re excited to find new partners our community will love!
What were the highlights of this beginner session?
- Players showed up early and excited to play!
- We had a full-house, over twenty players who were brand-new or who have recently learned.
- By the end of the session, all players were playing pickleball. Following the rules, keeping score, and we used rally scoring to keep games fast.
Afterward, we asked the players for feedback and this is what we heard.
- Everyone said that we had the right number of players, hosted the gym for the right amount of time, and everyone got to play enough.
- By the end, all players said they feel they learned how to play pickleball.
- Players really liked the Paddletek paddles.
- Everyone had fun!
What did we learn that we might explore next time?
We’re starting to get a group of players who need less help and want to play more competitive games. This means we will start to host at least one court focused on competitive games for new players. First, we will determine how many players show up who are of this skill-level per session.
Then, we plan to dedicate at least one court for these players while the rest of the beginner session with new players are focused on learning the game. The dedicated courts will still be for newer players but will be available for those who know the rules and can self-govern their own game.
What’s next for Plymouth Pickleball?
- Our next session is Sunday, September 25th at 5:15pm we host another beginner play and learn session like this one. We are almost half-way filled so sign up before spots run out.
- We’re bringing more demo paddles. We just got off the phone with TMPR (pronounced “Temper”) and we are getting some temporary paddles from them. If you want to try those paddles, we will only have them for the next two sessions, then we have to return them. We will get a discount on TMPR paddles if anyone wants to purchase one through us. Details to come.
- October and November dates are established, they just aren’t live for registration yet. We will play most Saturdays between 2pm and 5pm. Details to come and registration will open later this week.
Next Session: Sunday, September 25th @5:15pm to 6:45pm
Remember, if you bring a new guest to any future event, you and the guest get 50% off. Just let us know at the door.
If you have any questions or feedback, please email us as info@plymouthpickleball.com.
As always, thanks for playing with Plymouth Pickleball!
Plymouth Pickleball doesn’t happen without the players. We started to build this community less than ninety days ago, and to see a full gym of enthusiastic players open and willing to learn makes us more motivated to keep going.
We owe a big thank you to our friends and family who have helped get us to this point through learning with us, setting up courts, making signs for the scarecrow and more. We also owe a big thank you to our first players who took a chance to learn with us.
You’re all awesome, and thanks for playing with us!
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