The wrong information can lead to frustration as you struggle with your game.  We have worked with hundreds of students who had been going down the wrong path with their game, feeling they could not get better at pickleball. And they did not know why.

It was because they had the wrong information. The good news is that with the right information, you can, in fact, play amazing pickleball.

Bad information comes in several flavors. Having this knowledge will help you identify bad pickleball tips when you hear them so you can keep going along a positive path filled with the right information.

 

Here are some of the most common sources of bad information.

#1.  A source who lacks the training and experience required to really help with pickleball tips.

Next time someone says, ” You need this pickleball tip,” ask yourself, “Who is the person saying this to me?”

It is not enough that the person may be a better player than you. That, alone, tells you nothing about their overall knowledge of the game, much less about their ability to provide you with information that is relevant to you and where you are right now.

It is the same with video content. You may be surprised to learn how easy it is to start a YouTube channel or Instagram account. You can then immediately start sharing all the tips you care to.

As a way of providing contrast, allow me to share our experience at Better Pickleball. My credentials include:

• A Master Teaching Professional certification in the sport of pickleball: This is the highest certification within our sport, awarded by pickleball’s original and longest-standing certification agency, the IPTPA.
• Creating pickleball content since 2018: Since 2020, I have dedicated myself full-time to the creation and dissemination of professionally designed pickleball courses. These are not merely “3 pickleball tips” for one thing or another; these are complete courses with a curriculum, objectives, and well-thought-out content.
• Studying hours of pickleball matches each week: This involves not just watching matches but breaking them down to analyze what is working and what is not.
• Senior Professional Pickleball player: This experience allows me to see the game at the highest levels, both on and off the court.
• Author of the beginner pickleball book “Play Pickleball”: I have written countless articles about pickleball, which can be read on our Blog section at BetterPickleball.com.
• Host of the weekly podcast Pickleball Therapy: I have been hosting this podcast for the past 4+ years, demonstrating my commitment to helping players enjoy their fullest relationship with the sport.

My fellow head coach at Better Pickleball, CJ Johnson, has:

• Over 4 decades of sports coaching experience: This includes coaching at the highest levels in three different sports.
• Been a professional golfer, a competitive race skier, and a personal trainer: CJ is still a member of the PGA,  continues to teach skiing at the iconic Palisades Tahoe (formerly known as Squaw Valley), and is a certified personal trainer.
• Completed extensive training in all aspects of coaching: CJ has completed thousands of hours of training focused on helping athletes achieve their best performance.
• Been a certified pickleball instructor since 2016: As one of the original online instructors in pickleball, CJ has been creating instructional content for the sport. She is also recognized as an innovator, having conceived and organized THE Pickleball Summit annually since 2020.

Together, CJ and I have developed the most comprehensive online pickleball instruction platform, “The Pickleball System,” as well as many well-known structures used in pickleball development and training. These include the Three Pillars of Pickleball: Mechanical (sometimes referred to as “technical” or “technique”), Strategic, and Athletic as well as the FOSS Approach.

I’m not suggesting that a person needs to have this extensive set of qualifications to be considered. But you would agree that they should have at least a minimum amount, right? After all, you are trusting your pickleball – which I expect is important to you – to this person and their advice.

Bottom line: if you have any doubt about the source of the pickleball tip or advice, keep it out. There is no reason to risk your pickleball happiness to an unknown or questionable source.

Pro Tip: the fact that an Instagram or YouTube channel has lots of followers is not indicative. Many of the top coaches in the country are unknown outside of their local communities. Resist the temptation to follow the crowd – it will often get you into trouble.

 

#2 Be wary of pickleball tips stated as general “maxims”

Pickleball tips stated as maxims are common. “Forehand in the middle,” “Get to the kitchen,” “You need to spin your dinks.”

Two of these three maxims are plain wrong.

And the one that isn’t, in itself, wrong is out of context and causes players more trouble than almost anything else in pickleball.

The two that are wrong are “Forehand in the middle” and “You need to spin your dinks.”

“Get to the kitchen” is the one that is nuanced.

Generally speaking, it is strategically better for us to play our pickleball rallies from up at the kitchen line (more accurately, nowadays, the Non-Volley Zone line).

But “get to the line” by itself ends up with players just running up there when they are on the Serve Side and getting smashed with ball after ball.

The reality of pickleball is more nuanced than just “run up here as fast as you can”.

When you hear a pickleball tip stated as a maxim, pump the brakes on it. Make sure it makes sense. For example, our “Respect the X” maxim is a rule that you can take to the bank.

Test the maxim out. Is it just something people say and repeat so much that they start to believe it? Or does it actually work in real pickleball play?

Bottom line: Be careful of falling victim to group think. There is a reason why many players end up stuck and cannot keep improving. Don’t get caught up in that cycle.

Pro Tip: If a player shares a maxim with you, ask them about it. You can be super polite, but ask them why they follow that rule. What objective does it help them accomplish when they play.

 

#3.  Getting the pickleball tip that is right for you

You are going to walk your pickleball path. How well you do it and how far you go will depend, in great part, on the quality of the information you receive. The well-worn saying “garbage in, garbage out” stays relevant because that is how things work.

If you ever get to a point in pickleball where you feel that there is more there and you may be missing it, know three things:

1. Pickleball has a boundless amount to teach. No matter how long you study this sport, it will always have something else to show you. And that is awesome; an inexhaustible source of growth and learning for you as long as you want.
2. You can, in fact, play better pickleball. Wherever you are in the game right now: from I can just get the ball over the net to I am the best player in my community. You can take another forward step. And then another. With no limit to it. Again, as long as you want.
3. The only things you need to keep growing as a pickleball player are:
   1. A willingness to do so paired with
   2. the right information that is also right for you right now.

That is a lot of “rights”, but each has its place:

• The information has to be correct – even when online content creators or your friends at the court mean well, they often share information that is just plain wrong
• The information has to be what you need – you are a unique player and what will work best for you is not the same as what will work best for someone else
• The information should be temporally correct – you change as a player over time. A concept that is appropriate for a 4.5 player may not be the best concept for a 3.0 player to be working on. You need the information that is right for you right now.

As you move forward, do your best to safeguard your pickleball by:

• Ask questions of the sources you are allowing in.
• Be wary of maxims. Test them and ask their purveyors more about the maxim’s significance within the sport.

If we can ever be of help to you, it is what we have dedicated our professional lives to doing. It would be our pleasure (and honor) to be a part of your pickleball journey.

 

 

Source: Roig, T. (2025a, May 10). Not all Pickleball Tips are Created Equal. Better Pickleball. http://betterpickleball.com/not-all-pickleball-tips-are-created-the-same/