I would just like to get some feedback from players from all over. I am over 65 and a 5.0 player. I had an extensive tennis background which gave me an advantage when I took up pickleball exclusively. I have played PB in 10 states with with a wide range of skills. In these situations, I play PB like I play frisbee. I try to throw it so you can catch it. I might even throw it so you have to run a few steps. Why not get a little exercise? My overall experiences are players banging winners at the first and every opportunity.
Pickleball often involves players of different skill levels on the court at the same time. It seems that the prevalent style is to try to end the point asap. Does the player who has an easy high ball always have to smash it to end the point? Does that urge to win the point asap ever get satisfied? The last 3 times I have played, one really good player got hit in his eye, a 3.5 woman got hit in her mouth, I got hit where my voice changed, and many others got hit with body shots.
I’m simply trying to get more players to hit the ball to give their opponent a legitimate chance to return the shot rather than hitting an overpowering winner. I often wonder how the developers of pickleball played when it involved 3 generations of players from grand parents to parents to children? I don’t think they played the game to beat down the weaker players.
Is there such a term as “non competitive recreational games”? I strongly believe that there should be. I think that there should be competitive recreational games and non competitive recreational games. If you are truly playing with your peers, meaning that the players are close in ability, then play games competitively. Play to win. But when there are mixed levels of players on the court, slow down your shots, hit the ball with the intent of extending the rally and not ending the point, hit the ball to all players on the court and not bang shots to the weaker player at every opportunity. In other words, play to extend the point and teach others to do so as well. Let me know your experiences of hitting winners verses extending the point. And I’m thinking about coming out with a line of body armor and eye guards. 🙂